Silence between heartbeats, in a room without mirrors...

Have you ever felt the need to live in a room without mirrors?
Moving in the shadows created by the "what is and always will be".

Have you ever felt scared for the silence between heartbeats?
Deafening yourself with the noise of your "real life".

Aren't the dreams what always made the wheel turn?
Yet in dreams we all leave that what touched us...
left behind like the end of a movie.

"Do what you need for the goal"... yet it hurts 'cause the goal is what needs to be done!
Yet it hurts.. out of sync with yourself...

Maybe more than "what goal" or "what needs to be done",
is the ability to live in a room that has mirrors...
is the ability to find comfort in the silence between heartbeats.

Scientology ripped off by Star Wars?

Scientology is one of the most well known new religions there is. Created in 1952 by L Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer that decided to create his own church.
A lot of its attention comes from its best known ambassador, Tom Cruise, by all the crazy behaviour and remarks during the last few years.

To explain very quickly what this religion is all about, let me just throw some alleged facts:

Pay or work!
To be a part of the church you either pay lots of money, or you pay with work (sometimes enforced by
corporal punishment;

Contract of a billion years!
At some point you're pressured to sign a contract where you pledge your soul to the church for the period of 1 billion years (yes.. a lot of zeroes) - read more

Be audited while grabbing 2 cans of aspargus connected to a ohm meter.

"Auditing involves the use of "processes," which are sets of questions asked or directions given by an auditor. When the specific objective of any one process is achieved, the process is ended and another can then be used. By doing this, the subjects are said to be able to free themselves from unwanted barriers that inhibit their natural abilities". This is done while the person is subject to measurement using a "E-Meter", which is a device that measures "Body Thetans" (I will explain what those are further ahead)- read more.also if you want an E-Meter yourself, here's how to make one with Redbull cans.

There are no mental illnesses

Scientology church doesn't like their participants to be treated in any way for mental illnesses. The contract gives them the right to get you out of any facility where you're being treated for mental illnesses and take you back to the church. They say mental illnesses don't really exist and that it's just the person's "Body Thetans". That was most publicized when John Travolta's sun died, allegedly due to lack of care by his parents that didn't acknowledge his autism due to the Scientology's Church doctrine. read more

The super powers church!

When you're an advanced OT (Operating Thetan, which is has several levels from OT I to OT VIII) in the church, you're supposed to be able to live forever, have telepathic powers, telekinesis, etc. Tom Cruised is believed to be able to do all these things! read more

Where did Star Wars get the inspiration?

This is the best part. When you reach the level of OT III (brainwashed-a-lot), you're told the real story of the church. I will not comment any further because I don't need to. I will show the manuscript from L. Ron Hubbard, telling us all about it:

Transcription:

Data (1)            (1)The head of the Galactic Confederation (76 planets around larger stars visible from here) (founded 95,000,000 yrs ago, very space opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet -- 178 billion on average) by mass implanting. 
He caused people to be brought to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an HBomb on the principal volcanoes (Incident 2) and then the Pacific area ones were taken in boxes to Hawaii and the Atlantic Area ones to Las Palmas and there "packaged." 
His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading data by means of circuits etc. was placed in the implants. 
When through with his crime Loyal Officers (to the people) captured him after 6 years of battle and put him in an electronic mountain trap where he still is. "They" are gone. The place (Confed.) has since been a desert.

What does the "good book" say about slavery?

The Bible mentions slavery on several occasions, and that is something to be expected since it was quite a "trend" during the times where the Bible was written!

But since god loves us, and the Bible is for everyone and for the good of everyone, surely it will have harsh things to say about it, and a lot to say about the need of freedom for all people!

However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you.  You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land.  You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance.  You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way.  (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)

Oh, so, it actually gives the recipe on how we should get our slaves. And what about slaves with family?

If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years.  Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.  If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterwards, only he will go free in the seventh year.  But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him.  If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.  But the slave may plainly declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children.  I would rather not go free.'  If he does this, his master must present him before God.  Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl.  After that, the slave will belong to his master forever.  (Exodus 21:2-6 NLT)

So, that's good news! You will be free after 6 years! You only work for nothing and have no freedom for 6 years! Although, at that time, the life expectancy was, at most, 40 years. So that's a big chunk of life! And your wife and sons or daughters! They can remain propriety of your master! Then, the only choice you have to keep them, is to become a slave forever! Hooray for the Bible! So many options!

But that not the only thing it says about family and slavery!

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.  If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again.  But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.  And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter.  If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife.  If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.  (Exodus 21:7-11 NLT)

Oh. So, if you're a woman, you can't go free like men do! Unless your master becomes your husband and doesn't feed you, or clothe you, or sleep with you! That would be so sad, when you're forced to marry your master and then he fails to forcibly sleep with you!

Well, I hope at least that the Bible teaches masters to be kind to their slaves!

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished.  If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property.  (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it.  "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly.  Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given."  (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)

There, you see! You can't beat your slave to death. He must at least survive one day or two! That's love!
And what encouragement shall the Bible give to the slaves. Words of hope for freedom?

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear.  Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.  (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed.  If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful.  You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts.  Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.  (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

Is it just me or it seems that all of this was written by someone who really liked to have slaves? There's your wonderful bible right there.

Why is everyone going to Hell?

"Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 - The Bible

So, lets try to understand who will not go to heaven (and thus, going to hell):

Fornicators - so, a fornicator (I assume) is someone that has sex even when he's not trying to procreate, which is pretty much everybody.
Idolaters - pretty much every Catholic, Hindu, or pretty much every religion has it's own statues as idols so people can worship them.
Adulterers - I'm very amazed on the quantity of people that I learn that has betrayed their spouses and girlfriends/boyfriends. So I would think there are a lot of people in this category!
Effeminate - really? Have you ever seen me in recorded video? I look like a girl gesticulating. Should I go to hell?
Homosexuals - I've read that around 8% of the world population is gay.. that's a lot of people in Hell!
Thieves - well.. I could understand those. But at what level? If I steal an apple from a fruit stand will I spend eternity burning?
Covetous (Marked by extreme desire to acquire or possess) - ok, if someone here is not covetous put his hand in the air! Just so I know who are the liars, in case liars also go to hell :) And, by the way, that's what make capitalism work :P
Drunkards - Well... there goes the UK :D And to be fair.. most of the world.
Revilers (To use abusive language) - Really? How many do you reckon this one puts in hell? How many of you can really say that you don't use curse words?
Swindlers (To cheat or defraud of money or property.) - there goes the banks and people that cheat on taxes and stuff like that :)

Is it just me or this kind of "words of wisdom" we find in the Bible just sound like some rant someone was shouting and another person just happened to write it down, to joke about it later?

What do I know.. I'm going to hell. But for the looks of it, I will have a LOT of company :D

Just keep me feeling alive...

Years have passed
Bones have been broken
Smiles have been put on
Tears have been shed
Roars have been yelled
Laughs have been had
Dreams have been shattered
Expectations have been exceeded
Lips have been kissed
Hearts have been broken
Games have been played
Lives have been lost

Ups and downs, lefts and rights
The wheel keeps in motion
And with it, the emotion

Make me laugh
Make me cry
Make me feel I can fly
And then rip my guts apart

Do whatever you like
Just keep me feeling alive

There once was a man...

There once was a man sitting and writing...
well, nothing comes out, but at least he is trying.
"About what should I write?", thinks the man puzzled up.
Every time he starts writing there's always a "but".
"Should I speak about feelings and what makes me sigh?
Should I speak about life and of times that went by?"

There is always a story that he wants to tell,
about dragons and fairies... his dead brother... Miguel.
About making balloons that fly through the air.
About perilous plays that no others would dare.

About friendship and love, even brotherly brawl,
about not saying nothing and saying nothing at all.
"Maybe people could show what they feel down inside
by showing it's color! Maybe having hair dyed!".
Signs of smoke through the air that would say all that matters
that would scream what you feel, way before a tear splatters.

"I could write down a story about a tortured soul,
about how his life's losses are taking their toll".
Then again life has sorrow, but also has light,
"I could write about bunnies and carrots they bite!"

Random things come to mind and the wheel once more turns
maybe balance is something that comes from these burns.
How the passion of moments can draw such a smile
but then guts get ripped out of you once in a while.

All the stories fly by, all at once in his head,
about this one that lives.. about that one who's dead.
About horses that run... free in the wild
about Alda, the warrior, that fights for her child.

"There is Christmas and family and lights and a tree,
there are gnomes in the garden, that no one can see."
There is tea, there's a rabbit and a crab that can sing,
"with a suit.. and sunglasses! Maybe even a ring!"

All he knows is this randomness that flows through is head
where he takes all the energy to get out of bed.
He can tell you his stories, he will tell you, I'm certain
he will let you inside... he will open the curtain.
But you won't understand, when he opens his doors.
That's ok, 'cause I bet he won't understand yours.

Why am I a vegetarian? (FAQ)

If you're a vegetarian you can relate to this. Every time someone finds out you're a vegetarian you get asked a load of questions. A lot of them are repeated, some are not. A lot of the times we're almost attacked and asked for a coherence that you can't find in any "non-vegetarian".

Anyway, I thought it would be fun, maybe educational and probably a great mind tidying process, to compile some of the questions and try to come up with answers that can make sense.

I'll start by saying that this is all based on my current set of beliefs and that I'm always challenging them and questioning them and that they can evolve at any time to something a bit different. Let's just call this a "snapshot" of my beliefs and principles at this point in time.

1 - Are you a vegetarian?
I usually present myself as being a vegetarian, but in fact I'm not technically one. Although in some ways I surpass the definition of vegetarian, in others I fall a bit short. This happens because I still eat cheese and free range eggs (and sometimes eat products that use milk or cream or other dairy products, or even caged chicken eggs).

Let me give you a quick explanation on types of vegetarians:

Vegetarian: person that that doesn't eat any kind of product that comes from animals. That not only includes meat and fish, but also milk, eggs and even gelatin. There are also those who don't even eat honey since it comes from exploitation of bees (although usually this is a vegan approach).
Lacto-Vegetarians: vegetarians that also consume dairy products.
Ovo-Vegetarians: vegetarians that also eat eggs (usually free range).
Ovo-Lacto-Vegetarians: well.. guess :)
Vegan: it's a vegetarian that goes beyond the care for a vegetable diet.  He/She also doesn't use any kind of products that come from animal's exploitation. That counts for wearing any clothes that use animal skin, wool, silk, furs, etc. Not even older camera films that contained animal gelatin.

I consider myself (up until now) some kind of Ovo-Lacto-Vegan, since I also don't buy anything that comes from animals (no leather shoes, no wool, etc) up to the best of my knowledge. I hope one day I can become a full vegan. That would be awesome and it's a great goal for me.

2 - Don't you like meat?
You will probably never meet anyone that likes eating meat more than me :)

3 - Why are you a vegetarian?
I think a lot about that. I'm always questioning myself about this and why.
I spent a lot of time in the past taking care of abandoned animals, either directly taken from the streets, of just to help animal associations. I even built an infirmary at home to hold ill animals to take care of.
I also participated in rallies and demonstrations for animal's rights.
It was suddenly very obvious to me and at the same time made me feel very stupid to come home after those activities and eat a steak from an animal that spent a miserable life to end up on my plate.
I really don't want to feel that my existence is the cause of any kind of suffering.

4 - But if the animal has a great life, do you care if he dies?
I have to confess, and this is one point that can change later: to me, if an animal has a great and peaceful life, and if he dies in a truly non-stressful way and without any kind of pain, and if it's death doesn't cause suffering to another animal (like from the same family), then it's just like a plant. This is the rational thought I've been struggling up until now. Anyway, up until today none of this is possible (for what I know). I really care a lot about not creating suffering.

5 - But why animals, why not people?
If you know me, you know the answer. If you don't, I can tell you that I didn't only work in the past to save and care for animals. I also volunteered for some time (and I am expecting to continue) to help homeless people. As I said before, I am against any kind of suffering. I will always try not to use animal tested products, as I will also always try not to buy products from sweatshops (like child manufactured products).

6 - I think your position is a bit fundamentalist 
We can't just call a principle of never doing something we consider wrong as being fundamentalist. Would you call someone that, by principle, will never kill another human being, a fundamentalist? Or someone that will never rob, or hit someone. If you call this being a fundamentalist, then maybe I am.

7 - How do you know plants don't suffer like animals?
I can't be sure. But to the best of my knowledge, and from what I know of current science, they don't. Everything I do, and all my beliefs and principles, come from the best use I can make of my current knowledge, and I'm always trying to learn more.

If you think there are more constructive question I could add to this post, just shoot it in the comments or by email.