Mind ..what you think..(1)

---

Newton: “(my job, in the scientific endeavour is simply) …thinking God’s thoughts after him..”

Einstein: “i want to know God’s thoughts - the rest are details”

---

What’s this that’s come into my mind jest now? -

the thought of where our thoughts come from & go.

And whether God who made the world somehow 

would all my thoughts, desires, and mind just know?

And if this God; not “male” or “female” by 

our own conceptions, as a child might think;

but by that practice where the “male” would try 

to stand for male and female on the brink

of knowledge & connecting in the wild

with things unknown or diff’rent that process.

The God’s much bigger, & ‘tswe who’re styled

to be as male and female - God's likeness*.

And as such, male and female form a whole

that's meant to be the likeness here of God. 

Where each could learn to not see pow’r as sole-

-ly what wins out at end; for there’s a lot

that's given just by love - and it's not blind,

though sometimes it would choose to act that way,

for purposes that power cannot find 

it ever can quite see. It cannot say.

I’m wondering if that's a metaphor 

that's meant to lead us on to further ways

to partner up with what we're put here for,

and thus to learn the ways that love displays.

If thoughts are known to God, could we know his -

(as Newton and old Einstein had claimed)?

What tones and textures make us think that “This, 

is “his” voice.” As do sheep, & dogs we’ve named.

---

*  “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ 27So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (‭Genesis 1:26-27 NIVUK‬)

Paul, an emissary of the Lord Christ to some  new followers of the Lord: “..for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ. (‭1 Corinthians 2:16 NIVUK‬)

---

You are my roosting place! My parent hen.

You wake me up each day and then again.

---

Oh God, you are the essence of the good. 

All goods and services that ever had

a speck of goodness in them, truly could

be called the good's; and services “not bad”

that were for building up, and serving well,

are thereby sourced from you our very “Dad”.

A sadness is that we may bring a “hell”

into the world made good. So very sad

indeed, that God was “grieved in heart” himself.

A God, who did not baulk at bearing grief

sounds not to be a god who’s in good health.

But that is just our self serving “belief”

based on our own ideals, & not his way.

The scriptures here tell a report that’s short

& to the point, & this is what they say

that he was grieved in ways that we’d purport

as truly good, creative, true, and right.

But I could not myself have guessed at this.

This is what keeps a poet up at night.

The root and flow’r essential of goodness

would now bear grief, for us. He chose this free.

He calls us to come follow, and then go

with God to places he chooses to be.

And we would, like Pete grow, to not say “No!

I never knew this man”. (I’m glad he wept!

For Pete was us, there in that story, we

would, like him too have claimed much, but have slept.

I’m glad you helped that rooster count to three...

---

Notes 

• . “And God saw that it was (very) good.” (7 times, in Gen 1)

• . This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.’ (‭Ecclesiastes 7:29 NIVUK‬)

• . “And God was grieved to his heart, that he had made the Adarm” (Gen 6)

• . It is in God’s essential nature to be unconstrained, except by himself and his word, i.e. to be able to choose.

• . In Christ we have now been made “partakers of the divine nature” (2Peter 1: 3-11)

• . Peter’s boast that even if all the others forsake Jesus; he never will.

• . Jesus’ prophecy, provoking Peter’s boast, and immediately after it, that they would all (including Peter) forsake him & fall away, and that Peter, far from never forsaking him, would three times deny knowing Jesus, then the rooster would crow (three times). 

• . The (4 fold) story of the events in the 4 tellings of the one gospel (commonly called “gospels”) “according to Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke, according to John.

• . Compare Judas & Peter… then recall a sure saying: “‭If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13 NRSVUE‬)

---

Human Observation & Rationality finds its limits

---

What amazing reading is that ancient Jewish wisdom book Qohelet (or Kohelet; often called Ecclesiastes in English translations). It is showing the ephemeral or virtual nature of the whole of life and what we call Reality, and kind of poking holes in the “human left brain hemisphere's” kind of way of seeing reality as gaining profit for the self and showing that way of living or approach to life, is too insubstantial and isn't actually founded on evidence… it's kind of a circular thing within its own rationality and an interesting kind of Eastern-mindset refutation to Western beaurocratic materialism -  wherever it shows itself - in the Christian church or out of it, in our business or commercial life & employment.

---

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.” (‭Ecclesiastes 2:24 NIVUK‬).  

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure for ever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. … 

So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot.” ‭(Ecclesiastes 3:12-14, 22 NIVUK‬)

[18] This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given them – for this is their lot. [19] Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God. [20] They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. (‭Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NIVUK‬)

This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.’ (‭Ecclesiastes 7:29 NIVUK‬)

[15] So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

[17] then I saw all that God has done. No-one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no-one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it. (‭Ecclesiastes 8:15, 17 NIVUK‬) 

Human observation & rationality is not enough to comprehend human meaning & purpose, when our reference point is simply everything “under the sun”, or “this side of death”.

[7] Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. [8] Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. [9] Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this vaporous life that God has given you under the sun – all your vaporous days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labour under the sun. [10] Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (‭Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 ‬)

---

born of the spirit?

 Airborne - Zephyr

---

I feel a ruffle, hardly breeze.

Don't hear a shuffle but see trees 

that shiffle and do sway and bend 

and wave to me as though a friend,

Then sideways as I look ascance

I see some start to sway and dance 

and with a knowing nod per chance 

they beckon me to join entranced.

It's like they have a gnostic muse 

that helps them to take on the news 

that one day soon all human’s views 

will have the poetry to choose

to dance with trees; and every part 

the mountains, seas might make a start 

but we will soon add to that art 

and give a voice that's, not so smart 

as glorious, and good, and game.

When humans who do bear the name

of Lord Adarm, & Lady Eve,

who were to rule, to serve each leaf

& ev’ry living thing on Earth

it turns out if they have their birth

from heaven, then creative love

had plans that were quite far above

what first was spoken to them then.

The “How much more..?” saying, means when

all new humanity again

is sheltered by its mother hen…

The mountains and the hills will quake

in their excitement,  trees will shake

and dance & clap, stomp, whistle, hum,

and we will sing, and beat a drum

It’s hard to wait. I think I can.

I draw to state what woman, man,

or child can do when we will be

more like a babe, or like a tree

that’s moved by wind, and breeze as saith

ol’ Shakespeare who claimed “bated breath”

for someone who might conquer death

or cancer. So the good dreameth.

---

.. our main recourse is his resources.

---

Good on you for keeping your ear out for that brother from another mother!

---

God please keep working in that son of yours,

and help us to have your love here because 

we otherwise have not a chance to do 

the job you've given us, and see it through.

---

A maze meant….

 

---

Oh God you are amazing, and we're glad 

that you're the one whom Jesus called his "Dad";

the "ABBA" of a child whose dad is loved, 

and trusted more than anything that shoved 

before his face. His own desires, confessed,

were not allowed to rule him, unless blessed

and carefully weighed by his dad who knew best, 

then he would forward move through any test…

---

what’s a 'meta' for?

---

I've been listening to Ian McGilchrist’s tome, The Master and his Emissary, about the specialties & interactions of the two hemispheres of the human brain, and also to Ecclesiastes where the ancient ruler/ teacher/ writer seems to be trying to understand bigger meanings but by always confining his view to what's “under the sun” not letting himself reference something outside of this Universe, - and he finds that it's actually pretty meaningless. If the writer is Solomon, he is torn, for he’s had some sort of experience with god that brought his knowledge of God to another level of not just a knowledge of the existence of God, like a rock exists, but the knowledge of interacting with this God, in his own body and seeing God respond to his sacrifice in the temple when he built it; so he's kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. (The Hard Place being life without reference to God or putting yourself under his laws, and The Rock being God himself.. who is willing to smash, to decimate, and descicrate any special treasures, which get in the way for his real special treasures which are his children. For them to learn something he's willing to do anything to his stuff. 

Well that got me thinking about meaning and purpose and the experiences I've had of seeming to lose all meaning and purpose, which match with strokes or things that have happened to someone's right hemisphere and where their left hemisphere is trying to do that bigger job of discerning meaning and purpose (but it can't because it only lives within its virtual reality of the model it makes of the world that it can play forward and backwards, it only deals with the parts, aspects, and that sort of thing. It can’t perceive metaphor (at least not well) so I got me thinking about metaphors again…

---

what’s a meta for?

---

Well what's a metaphor?

-  if not to make a better law 

that serves the people 

who are like to God?

the people who are meta’s 

for the purpose of betters 

will need to see themselves like that a lot.

It's true we are a simile or likeness to the God,

creative love which made and keeps the world.

But God likes to creatively give metaphors a shot, 

so we are those who are his flag unfurled.

And he's our rock and fortress, 

our buttress and our shield,

our light and comfort and our home address,

our hiding place, & house, and home & field,

our root-stock, & our head, 

our cap- & corner- stone.

The stuff of life for building, 

making movement from what’s dead,

who wants to be connected not alone!

We have each meta for the purpose of pointing above,

but only right brain-hemispheres can see 

the purposes and meanings that draw out and lead to love. 

From what I understand that's how things be. 

So let the right hand hemisphere grow stronger in me still,

and let me see the purposes you’ve got;

to be myself your servant who works with you to fulfill

not plans of mice & men, but plans of God!

---

the story of Ruth

(hear here!) - see the Hebrew text on the left, & the NIV English translation on the right - which David Suchet uses to tell the story 

---

When times were pretty tough, & things went bad

then bad-luck seemed to win out - sailing free,

it could not stop the influence (and sad-

ness), of honour & serendipity.

This story has through hesed-love progressed;

and some have noticed it’s the jewel there.

Ruth’s moth’rin-law is bitter & depressed,

but providence comes too, & shows its care.

The laws of Isra’el, were set by God,

to mean the poor, and disenfranchised folk,

were able to do work & earn somewhat,

then there were honoured greetings from this bloke,

old Boaz, who treats servants, workers, lads

with great respect (& so is growing them),

might feel he’s past his prime, or lost his chance

at having faithful loving, good woman.

We see his kind, protecting, provide-ance

of goods & ser-vic-es to those around,

his thoughtfulness and planing, confidence

in someone higher to make good abound,

and so concerted efforts are deployed

and simple good is backed & wins, somehow.

A state of blessedness is just enjoyed,

and if we blink we miss the star’s own bow.

For his work is all there behind the scenes,

alluded to, or hinted at a lot,

(but with some dead-end trails, so other means

won’t be confused with means & ends he’s got.

---