When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was:
– Do you believe in God?
And he always answered:
– I believe in the God of Spinoza.
Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.
Spinoza:
God would say:
Stop praying.
What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve made for you.
Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That’s where I live and there I express my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don’t blame me for everything they made you believe.
Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can’t read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son’s eyes … you will find me in no book!
Stop asking me “will you tell me how to do my job?” Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.
Stop asking for forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I’m the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?
Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.
My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.
I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.
I can’t tell you if there’s anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there’s nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won’t ask if you behaved right or wrong, I’ll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…
Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don’t want you to believe in me. I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me. What kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?
I’m bored being praised. I’m tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That’s the way to praise me.
Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you’ve been taught about me.
What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?
The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.
– Spinoza
Anonymous asked:
I saw your AMA post. Do you have any tips/resources on self-publishing, or ideas of where to start looking for info?
Tips and Resources for Self-Publishing
Self publishing is amazing because you get to be in charge of literally every aspect of your book, your book’s publication, and your book’s distribution. But it’s a LOT to learn.
I'm going to put the rest of this under the break because it's a lot, but hopefully this helps anyone looking for tips and where to start!
This is great info! Thank you for putting it together.
I just wanna let any Canadians know that we can get free ISBNs from the government:
clandstn-deactivated20230102
“A wolf pack: the first 3 are the old or sick, they give the pace to the entire pack. If it was the other way round, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. In case of an ambush they would be sacrificed. Then come 5 strong ones, the front line. In the center are the rest of the pack members, then the 5 strongest following. Last is alone, the alpha. He controls everything from the rear. In that position he can see everything, decide the direction. He sees all of the pack. The pack moves according to the elders pace and help each other, watch each other.” -Unknown Cesare Brai’s photo.
this is the coolest thing i’ve read on tumblr wow
Did you know….An oyster that has not been wounded in any way does not produce pearls?
A pearl is a healed wound.
Pearls are a product of pain, the result of a foreign or unwanted substance entering the oyster, such as a parasite or a grain of sand.
The inside of an oyster shell is a shiny substance called “nacre.”
When a grain of sand enters, the nacre cells go to work and cover the grain of sand with layers and more layers to protect the defenseless body from the oyster. As a result, a beautiful pearl is formed!
The more pearls, the more valuable the oyster is.
—————
Maybe we should all start believing that our wounds will be the place where we grow our own pearls! And as one of the replies below quite rightly says it is of course where the phrase, ‘pearls of wisdom’ comes from.
Shared from @BossedUp
destinyrush
A hero without a cape
Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto, and she is a senior chief - political leader of a region with a population of about 900,000 people.
She didn’t run for election; she was appointed, without her knowledge, while she was living and working in a completely different part of the country. She just received a call one day telling her to come back to her childhood home, because she was in charge now.
So she did; and when she arrived, she discovered widespread sexual abuse of children. She browbeat 50 uncooperative local leaders into accepting her decision to annul all the marriages. She then fired four of them when they continued to allow children to be married off in their areas. She still faces widespread opposition from parents who consider it their right to sexually abuse their daughters if they want to; but Kachindamoto very evidently does not give a fuck, and is continuing to use political and legal means to protect children in the region.
She’s not just an anonymous do-gooder; she’s an effective political leader despite incredibly difficult circumstances. Theresa Kachindamoto.
Go Theresa!!
“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.”
— Neil Gaiman
Time to listen to bigmama947 ladies! This is how the patriarchy plays us…
In her own words;
Judi Dench
"Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.
Your sense of humour though, will only get better with age.
Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.
Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.
Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.
Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.
Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.
Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,
they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.
Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.
These are the things which will only get better."
Soul Alchemy
♡ Emma Thompson - ‘Imagine’ - Endangered Species Women ♡
“Loving the natural you should be an every day occurrence. Constantly worrying about your reflection and criticising yourself, your body, your shape or size is an act of violence against yourself.”
Written by a mother of an Uvalde victim:
"The chicken soup in her thermos stayed hot all day while her body grew cold.
She never had a chance to eat the baloney and cheese sandwich. I got up 10 minutes early to cut the crust off a sandwich that will never be eaten.
Should I call and cancel her dental appointment next Wednesday? Will the office automatically know?
Should I still take her brother to the appointment since I already took the day off work? Last time Carlos had one cavity and Amerie asked him what having a cavity feels like.
She will never experience having a cavity.
She will never experience having a cavity filled.
The cavities in her body now are from bullets, and they can never be filled.
What if she had asked to use the bathroom in the hall a few minutes prior to the gunman entering the room, locking the door, and slaughtering all inside?
Was she one of the first kids in the room to die or one of the last?
These are the things they don’t tell us.
Which of her friends did she see die before her?
Hannah?
Emily?
Both?
Did their blood and brains splatter across her Girl Scout uniform?
She just earned a Fire Safety patch.
What if it got ruined?
There are no patches for school shootings.
Was she practicing writing GIRAFFE the moment he walked in her classroom, barricaded the door and opened fire?
She keeps forgetting the silent “e” at the end.
We studied this past weekend, and now she doesn’t need to take the spelling test on Friday.
None of them will take the spelling test on Friday.
There will be no spelling test on Friday.
Because there is no one to give it.
And no one to take it.
These are the things I will never know:
I will never know at what age she would have started her period.
I will never know if she had wisdom teeth.
(Or if they would have come in crooked.)
I will never know who she spoke to last. Was it the teacher? Was it her table partner, George? She says George is always talking, even during silent reading.
Did she even scream?
She screamed the lyrics to We Don’t Talk About Bruno at 7:58 AM as she hopped out of my car in the circle drive.
She always sings the Dolores part, her sister sings Mirabel and I’m Bruno.
“And I wanted you to know that your bro loves you so
Let it in, let it out, let it rain, let it snow, let it goooooo……..”
Did the killer ever see Encanto?
Could we have sat in the same row of seats, on the same day, munching popcorn?
What if Amerie brushed past him in the aisle? Did she politely say, “Excuse me,” to the boy who would someday blow her eye sockets apart?
Was he chomping on bubble gum as he destroyed them all?
If so, what flavor?
Cinnamon?
Wintergreen?
Was the radio on as he drove to massacre them? Or did he drive in silence?
Was the sun in his eyes as he got out of the car in the parking lot?
Did his pockets hold sunglasses or just ammunition?
These are the things I will never know.
There is laundry in the dryer that is Amerie’s.
Clothes I never need to fold again.
Clothes that are right now warmer than her body.
How will I ever be able to take them out of the dryer and where will I put them if not back in her dresser?
I can never wash clothes in that dryer again.
It will stand silent; a tomb for her pajamas and knee socks.
Her cousin’s graduation party is next month and I already signed her name in the card. Should I cross it out?
That will be the last card I ever sign her name to.
The dog will live longer than she will.
The dog will be 12 next month and she will be eternally 10.
What will the school do with her backpack?
It was brand new this year and she attached her collection of keychains like cherished trophies to its zipper.
A beaded 4 leaf clover she made on St. Patty’s Day.
A red heart from a Walk-a-Thon.
A neon ice cream cone from her friend’s birthday party.
Now there will be no more keychains to attach.
No more trophies.
Surely they can’t throw it out?
Would they throw them all out?
19 backpacks, full of stickered assignments and rainboots, all taken to the dumpster behind the school?
Is there even a dumpster big enough to contain all that life?
These are the things someone else knows:
The moment the semiautomatic rifle was put into his hands--was “Bring Me a Higher Love” playing in the gun store? “Get off my Cloud” by the Rolling Stones? Maybe it was Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
Did the Outback Oasis salesperson hesitate as they slid him 375 rounds of ammunition?
not my problem my kids are grown and out of school
Or I don’t have kids, so I don’t have to worry about their skulls getting blown across the naptime mat 
Or fingers crossed there’s a good guy with an equally powerful gun that will stop this gun if needed
Did they sense any danger or were they more focused on picking that morning’s Raisin Bran out of their teeth?
My Nana used to say, “Pay attention to what whispers, and you won’t have to when it starts screaming.”
But now I know there is a more deafening sound than children screaming.
More horrific even, than automatic rifles on a Tuesday morning.
I beg the world:
Pay attention to what’s screaming today, or be forced to endure the silence that follows."
Q&A…well let’s just call it answers! 🤪😉🤣
Told us EVERYTHING we need to know!
Bless they were so Tired & Sleepy…
Sam confused 🫤 as to when baby was born was it whilst shooting? before shooting or after? 🤭…and Cait doesn’t care that he’s blown it! 🥰 aww…
They were so natural, fun! THEM! Wasn’t it wonderful!
Lovely to see them very Happy!
Caits giggle is adorable! 🥰
🥰😍🥳 the look…the smiles…
Cait tells us his books coming out for her birthday, he calls it his big book of cait 🤭…. Cheers Guys!
Now onto the tequila… 🤪😏🥳
Post 3 May 2022
Anonymous asked:
Hi Bat! I was at the Sunday 3pm show of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). It stars James McAvoy. Before the show, I spotted Sam Heughan when he bought a beer from the bar. He was wearing the same jacket that was on the fan pics in NY. I wasn’t sure at first it was him but he removed his mask to drink I knew for sure it was him. He was standing by one of the bar tables very low key. I don’t think anyone noticed him. I wasn’t sure if he was waiting for someone because he was by himself at this time.
I didn’t want to bother him and I was too shy to talk to him and my friend had arrived by then so we went to our seats in the orchestra. We were seated on the left side group of seats. A few mins after, Sam walks in (he was seating in the center area by the aisle on the 2nd row. I was diagonally maybe 4 rows behind his row on the opposite aisle. He had an empty seat beside him. Just before the play starts, the theatre starts blinking their lights to signal to the audience that the play is about to start. Just then an usher walks towards Sam’s seat followed by a tall, skinny lady with dark bob cut. She was wearing a black mask but I recognized Caitriona because of her walk. She has a “walk”. Anyway, he stands up to let her in and puts his hand on her back as she gets by and then sits down. I was totally surprised to see them together.
At intermission, they were quick to get up to walk to the lobby. I tried to spot them but couldn’t see where they went but they were back to their seats just before the 2nd Act started. At the end of the play after the curtain call, they were quick to get up with Caitriona grabbing Sam’s hand and an usher came to them and they followed her out to the lobby. I thought maybe they were led backstage to talk to James McAvoy. He was really good in the play.
Anyway, I thought I share this now since I just got back from NYC.
PS. I have a picture of Sam in the lobby if you want it.
Hi I am Brooklyn Anon. Please don’t publish my identity because I don’t want to get grief from people. But I am sending you a pic of the lobby area of BAM’s Harvey theatre and then Sam’s picture. Sorry they are a little blurry bec my iPhone is old.
Muchas gracias por la confianza para compartir tu experiencia y las fotos.😘😉
Thank you very much for the confidence to share your experience and the photos.😘😉
Brilliant !! So they were in NY together Easter weekend.
“Yesterday, I went to a wedding. The bride, Anastasia, wore a white dress and a veil tucked under a crown of flowers, paired with a leather jacket and knee-high combat boots. The groom, Anton, wore black Levi’s and black boots. The couple posed atop the ruins of our hometown, Kharkiv, which has been under near constant bombardment. They kissed and danced to music playing from a nearby car stereo, in an empty street that would normally be filled with traffic. Luckily, there were no air raid sirens.
Before the war, Anton was a dentist, and Anastasia was a nurse in the oncology unit of a hospital. (She shaves her head in solidarity with her patients). Since the Russian attacks, they’ve been running a makeshift pharmacy out of what used to be a hipster coffee shop. Instead of doling out overpriced cappuccinos, Anton and Anastasia are getting medicine like antibiotics and other supplies to elderly and sick Kharkiv residents through a network of volunteers.
They’ve been working around the clock for weeks. Now it was important for them to get married. None of us had ever seen a wedding like this. It was the best one I’ve ever been to. This wedding was for the whole city, and for the whole country.
Anton and Anastasia were a couple full of life and fighting back by simply declaring: Despite all this, we will plan for the future. It was like they were saying to the Russians: You may try to take away our future, but there WILL be one. Anton and Anastasia have no plans to go on a honeymoon anytime soon. One day, they want to go somewhere with a beach and palm trees. Before that happens, there is a war to win, and brutal days ahead. But yesterday, there was hope, and beauty, and love inside the ugliness.
Glory to Ukraine
Best take I've read so far about this pitiful situation 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Very well said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
