The Power of Us

Together, we can work together to make positive change- spreading unity, joy, and happiness! It is the only way! We CAN achieve harmony through self-transformation and Love. When one abandons selfish ego, God willingly gives back to us. Thus we can tune in with God on a daily basis. We need to do our VERY best in daily life, putting our whole-hearted soul into everything we do and constantly keeping in mind that God has his own wish. "A great reward shall be given to the one who maintains the heart of making his best possible endeavour, allowed by his present circumstances, for the Divine Plan" (Yokoshi Prayer Book, pg 173).

Balance

By balancing the spiritual essence of fire and water in the two dimensional cross, humankind can develop harmony with the universe and the Creator. By combining humans' own power with the power of God, we can achieve heaven on earth.

I believe the sun is rising, representing the dawning of a new age.

Transformation Through The Arts

One way of spreading the movement for harmony and heaven on earth is through the arts:

music,

"art,"

literature,

acting,

and even comedy.

Through these elements, we can spread various messages for positive change within ourselves individually and globally. But we can also share the beauty of the world. Through the movie and movement, "Playing For Change," the transformative power of music is shown.

Let Us Sing Together

We Are One

By understanding social, global, and individual ethical beliefs, one can gain greater insight into the spirituality of oneself and one's culture. We must break the bonds of our egocentric views, becoming global citizens. Through uniting our positive ethical beliefs in love and harmony, humankind can further come together to create heaven on earth. But what other steps must we make? What is the progressive movement of humankind? Where have we come from, who are we, and what is our collective destiny?

Ethics: Part Three

Barbara is a surgeon working at a major hospital. One day, she is caring for five young patients who are all dying because of the failure of a different organ. Barbara can save all five patients if she kills one healthy old man who is visiting the hospital for a routine check-up, removes his organs, and distributes them to the dying people. Is it permissible for Barbara to kill the man?

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Forbidden

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Permissible

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I rate this scenario a "1;" it is forbidden for Barbara to kill this one old man, even though she will be saving five young patients. This act is much more direct than the scenario of the train driver, stated earlier. The old man, does nothing wrong; he is healthy, solely visiting the hospital for a check up. But he is old and the patients are young, dying when, (we assume) they could have their whole life in front of them to help society. What has the elderly man done to deserve such a fate? How do we know he isn't a dedicated civil servant, living happily after giving back to the world? We know nothing about the patients or the old man; thus there is a sense of disconnection. Yet, by killing the old man, Barbara enacts a much more direct type of murder than in the first scenario. She is CHOOSING to take someones life. Thus, one may feel a greater sense of connection to the man in harms way than in the first scenario.

Ethics: Part Two

Andrew is a train driver. One day while he is driving an empty train back to the station, the brakes suddenly fail. The train is running fast down a track towards five workmen. If it hits them, the train will kill the five men. But Andrew can push a button to steer the train down a side track where there is only one man standing. Is it permissible for Andrew to push the button?

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Forbidden

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Permissible

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I rate this scenario as a "4;" it is more permissible for the train driver to kill one man rather than five. When pondering such a situation where there is a level of disconnection between oneself or the train driver and the people in danger, one tends to consider which choice will cause the least amount of damage. Even if one man's life versus five seems less damaging, one does not know anything about these people. The five men may be criminals or men just trying to make a living. One is also oblivious to whom the one "sacrificial" man is; he may be the best man in all the world for all we know. In this scenario, the train driver is caught between a rock and a hard place; killing anybody- as indirectly as it may seem- is a unrighteous task. Nonetheless, this sense of disconnection causes one to rely more upon logic, trying to do the least amount of physical damage. Who are we, that we are put in such situations, where we must judge the fate of another's life? How can we change this sort of reality?

Ethics: Part One

#1- 4

#2- 1

#3- 3

#4- 1

#5- 6

#6- 5.5

#7- 1

#8- 2.5

#9- 1

#10- 3

#11- 1

#12- 4.5

#13- 2

Day One: My History

"Call me Ishmael. I live in a boat," floating on the deep blue ocean. My boat is pink. Today I arrived in the Mediterranean, after being abducted by aliens and exploring the lost planet of Abdulala. I am a pirate to be; I even have a treasure chest filled with snackwells. A few minutes ago, I was so exited about being a pirate, I decided to go out and practice sailing. But as I steered the wheel, a giant sea monster- named Nessy- with 10 heads, one eye, a mile long tongue, and ten legs attacked my ship. She was teething; that's why she ripped off half my rigging, leaving me afloat for five minutes. I was forced to communicate with a whale- I have extensive knowledge of their language- who gladly transported me to the floating island. I was on my way to finding my "personal legend."

After eating all the cookies in one day, I realized I had no more food for the remainder of my long voyage- I was riding the floating island whose wheel is steered with the guidance of the wind. Eating all my cookies was probably a very bad idea, but I was so exited to finally be out on sea, I didn't plan ahead. My stomach began to growl; I felt it clenching, begging for food. What was I to do without food in this new voyage which lay before me? So, sitting on my behind, I contemplated the world... and the best way to fix some mushi sushi- a delectable dish of the native floating islanders. It contains a center of melted chocolate mixed with a spice made from coconut shavings. The inside is wrapped in layers of thinly sliced brussel sprouts, native to the island. I takes quite a developed and exquisite sense of taste to enjoy, but gladly, I have such a quality. But after eating so much mushi sushi, I became so fat, the natives awarded me the honor of being a sacred sacrifice to their gods. Immediately understanding my dilemma, I dove into the ocean. I floated for miles and miles until finally finding a way to hoist myself up over a log floating in the water. But then I felt the water growing faster and faster beneath me and I knew the doom that was ahead of me. As I came nearer and nearer to the largest waterfall in all the world, I prayed to God I would live. With that prayer, I went over the edge... and boom!

I was transported into space!

...

There I met some aliens and and they gave me some squished human brains that they picked up on their vacation to earth. (Later I found out, it was actually soaked chestnut shells, which they name after their likings.) They had large ears, and huge feet, and when they laughed, little pink bubbles came out of their noses. (This is how I came to name by most recent boat The Pink Bubble.)

After spending a week with the aliens, I awoke to find myself lying on the bank with the waterfall to the North. That fall hurt!!!

Then I remembered the last thing I had eaten had been cookies!

I was famished.

Watching little stars circulate around my head just like in cartoons, I thought I was going to die any minute. What was going to do???

...

Well for starters, I decided to fulfill my dream of running up and down the beach while eating a papaya and trying to blow up a balloon. It always sounded like fun- my friend had done an experiment on it in the 7th grade. Also, I decided to light Cheese-Its on fire and see how many tadpoles I could catch with my toes. I was surprised how much energy I had for a dying man, but life provides us with great miracles! This land was very interesting indeed; the soil glowed bright purple and the tree leaves were always on fire. Then I found out, I was actually being cared for by aliens. The aliens I was staying with, Yougombel and Kitchmapay were very welcoming and kind. There is quite a strong language barrier that we are working to get beyond. I wonder how long I will be stranded here? It is quite exhilarating! Apparently, the aliens leave their planet once a month to bombard others and get their food rations. It seems quite strenuous and superfluous but it works for them.

...

After such adventures, I decided to get going. Saying farewells, I left Yougombel and Kitchmapay. Upon walking for twenty minutes, something hit me...LITERALLY! It was a pink flying blowfish, with little butterfly wings. I named it Chubchub, after the great heroic pirate who use to be my invisble best friend (until we had a falling out that is). It still pangs me to think of him, but I felt it was time to move on. I felt the best way to this was to name my newfound friend after him. I concluded Chubchub was a good omen- after all, he flew right between my eyes, which meant I needed to watch out for something coming my way. Chub (as I called it) was about the size of a round grape. It had little purple bumps and turned different colors depending on it moods. It taught me about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as its world where everything eats butterflies and poops rainbows. (I hope to go there for my retirement. But I'll first have to become one with.......