First of all, do let us define mantra. Apparently there is no generally accepted definition of mantra. Renou has defined mantra as a thought.[ Mantras are structured formulae of thoughts, claims Silburn.[Farquhar concludes that mantras are a religious thought, prayer, sacred utterance, but also believed to be a spell or weapon of supernatural power.
Apparently I am not alone in my love of it.”It is most popular. It’s quite possibly the most famous psalm in the Bible (and there are 150 of them!), almost certainly because of its connection to funerals and ultimately death. And there’s no question that it is a comforting passage in that regard” That in a way, seems rather strange to me because I have envisioned reading it, emotionally, at the time of my fourth marriage. Of course there will be a Muslim ceremony but also a Christian ceremony has been envisioned.
Let envision be our first word, its definition is: imagine as a future possibility. One could also say:envisage, picture, see in one’s mind’s eye, conjure up an image of; intend, propose, mean; conceive of, think of, see. So I can envisage, picture, conceive of a conjure up a second ceremony in Scotland, in Dryburgh Abbey. Muslim wedding dressed are beautiful – opulent fabric and plenty of it – not one of those strapless atrocities showing much of the bride’s bounties. The marriage can be conceived of but first there must be a radical lessening of the coronavirus and its mutations. The other problem is that there is no groom in sight and he must fit careful criteria – the very most important is that he must be of the faith. .
During almost all my life the 23rd Psalm repeated itself in my head, particularly during challenging times. There is no way to know why, but there is a reason to know how, as I was raised in the Christian faith (Protestant version). It was a considered, careful and complete upbringing (in this regard, not others.) ; Sunday school, choir singing, church and church groups during the week. So it is clear that the words came from those times. This conjecture is supported by the fact that the St. James version is the one echoing in my mind, not the later revised biblical versions. For those not raised in the Christian faith (or those with poor memories) do let me orient you to the subject matter. .
The Lord is my Shepard I shall not want
He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He resoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteous for his names sake.
Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death I shall fear no evil.
For thou art with me, thy rod and they staff, they comfort me.
Google speaks to the teaching of the Psalms: “It’s quite possibly the most famous psalm in the Bible (and there are 150 of them!), almost certainly because of its connection to funerals and ultimately death. And there’s no question that it is a comforting passage in that regard.It speaks about God being our shepherd and all the wonderful things that he does for us, his sheep. I remember to read Psalm 23 at times when I worry about things and when I feel lost, just to remind myself that God is in charge. He is the good shepherd who takes care of us. The valley of the shadow of death is also defined: It is a very dangerous place.
I have provided the beginning of the hallowed psalm, next to be provided is the concept of evil using memorable quotations. The quotations were found in an old very tattered book found on my bookshelf. The Companion Dictionary of Quotations, no date of publication shown, just that it is Printed and Made in Great Britain. It begins with The Intent of the Book.
“This little book is intended as a handy reference volume either in the home library or on the study table. It should prove particularly useful to school children and older students, to teachers, lawyers and clergymen, and for the busy man or woman who occasionally may wish to use an appropriate quotation or may desire to locate one that he or she has heard.”
The discovery of this book was accidental, the search was for another book. No idea where this treasure purchased, but the assumption is the UK. One can find what you are looking for with ease as it is indexed and organized according to subject, then arranged according to the alphabet. So stealthily turned the pages to E and found Evil, fortunately what I was looking for. There were several entries, the most meaningful are cited:
“Evil is wrought by want of thought,
As well as want of heart.” Hood
“None are all evil”—Byron
“The evil that men do lives after them
The good is oft interred with their bones”:—Shakespeare
Evil, Goodness in Things—
“There is some sort of goodness in things evil,
Would men observingly distil it out.” Shakespeare
Evil, Relativity of Good and—
“If we rightly estimate what we call good and evil, we shall find it lies much in comparison” —Locke.
All of those quotations provide us with a glimpse into the concept of evil. As usual I shall provide some personal material. Most recently evil reared its ugly head in my life. In many ways the pandemic keeps us all from evil as bars are closed, dens of inequity and closed, contact with strange men is forbidden, casinos were closed briefly. Unfortunately churches and mosques are also closed but worship at home is possible, particularly for Muslim women. Nonetheless, evil came tiptoeing into my life, so one will note that the meeting did not take place in a bar, nor in a den of inequity, nor in a casino.
Now it might have been a strange man but it was not a stranger. Hahahaha. This story did have a happy ending as good did triumph over evil and there was a fast retreat into the safety and protection of the Muslim faith. Wise Man recently made this observation.
He: The Islamic faith does protect you!
Me: You are so wise, yes it does!!!
The faith protects all Muslim women. It is protection, not subjugation as viewed in shallow Western uneducated minds. Subjugation is the action of bringing someone or something under domination or control. Synonyms of the verb subjugate are: conquer, vanquish, defeat, crush, quell, quash, gain mastery over, gain ascendancy over, gain control of, bring under the yoke, bring to heel, bring someone to their knees, overcome, overpower, hegemonize; enslave, tyrannize, oppress, repress, subdue, colonize, suppress; tame, break, humble; lick, clobber, hammer, wipe the floor with, walk all over. An antonym is liberate.
Muslim women are liberated by the faith, not oppressed, repressed, subdued, suppressed, overcome nor brought under the yoke. They are neither quelled or quashed, nor gained ascendancy over. They are not enslaved, not tyrannized , not humbled, nor licked. Mops are used to wipe the floor with, not women. Actually in some ways they can overpower and overcome Muslim men.
Here is a sneak preview. The next blog will examine the concept of evil in the Muslim faith but, at the moment, I shall give you a break and describe my yesterday. For the first day, in many, nail salons and hair dressing establishments were open. This is a mark of my incredible success. I was able to obtain a blow dry, a mani and a pedi by noon yesterday. That is success in any person’s mind. Then it was off to Book Passage, the independent book store. It was hardly off to as it is in the same shopping centre. Went there to promote my book on the Tate, attempting to get them to put it on their shelves. More about that tomorrow.
I did order two books, iWatch and iPad for Dummies. I also purchased two stuffed animals, absolutely darling. They shall be pictured. One is a llama and his name, approved by staff at the store, shall be Delhi. The other a unicorn, who has not been named yet. Was thinking of Replacement Unicorn, but that is not very nice to the new guy. He is replacing the unicorn given to me by the Royal Family of Qatar on New Year’s Eve 2019. I do have a photograph of it and it will be included in tomorrow’s blog. My unicorn is considerably smaller – the Royal Family one was HUGE, it is because they have SO much money. Hahahah
