Obligatory Frienditto post...

First, let me just state that I do not and will not use frienditto. I do kind of like the ability to archive the entries and comments from your friends list to be able to refer to them later (I have issues with the behavior pattern of closing off someone's access to a friends-locked post if you argue with them over the content of the post and can think of several instances where I would like to retain the posts and comments that had been made before I was locked out, but do not have a copy of those posts saved from before I was locked out), but I do not believe that such archiving should be done publicly and anonymously on the internet as is done with the frienditto service. I don't think that even public posts should be archived in this manner, as you are essentially syndicating their content without their permission. (Which is a copyright violation.) A more honorable method of reaching the same ends (for public posts) would be to make a post in your own journal linking to and summarizing the post your friend made, and archiving your own post.

Second, if I find anyone on my friends list is using frienditto to archive posts (either mine or others, with the sole exception being to archive their own posts) I will remove them.

Hey There

It's amazing how little things will conspire to make you feel like someone just reached out and gently tapped you on the heart and said "Hey, I'm here, this is what you're looking for, stop and pay attention."

I was following some links from sites on nonviolence. Read some interesting things on Quakers and their history of nonviolence, that connected in with some things on the Mennonites and similar beliefs that included the word peacebuilding. I was intrigued, because the Mennonites are really big around here, and Quakers reminded me of some statements a friend has frequently made about them as a Christian group he really respects, so I typed in the word in a search engine. "Peacebuilding".

The first result? http://www.karunacenter.org/

Those who know, or can guess, the first time I heard the word Karuna will know what I'm talking about.

I don't know if the specific information I'm looking for will be on this site, but I definitely feel like I'm on the right track here to finding what I'm looking for.

"May your compassionate actions, as pure as gold, come back to you a thousandfold."

Strange Question

Does anyone who was an avid fan of Doctor Who remember the use of violence to resolve the conflicts the Doctor found himself in? I really can't recall if it was or not, I last saw the show when I was quite young, but at the moment I'm not remembering any instances of violence used by the Doctor or his companions and that might tie in with other thoughts if it holds true.

Archiving Thoughts

Just about to pass out, but read a quote and had a flash of connection that I wanted to preserve 'cause I'm not sure I'll remember it properly in the morning:

"Compassion must be extended to the enemies of the Jewish people...(for) they, too, are created in the image of god, and the distortions which lead them to wish us ill are the product of a world of pain and cruelty that shaped them in this particular way." -Michael Lerner

My mind connects this with the Qlipoth and the Nightside of the Tree. If one takes suffering to be what broke the sephiroth and created the qlipoth when the essence of All That Is was poured into them, then the nightside of the tree and all of the adverse expressions (aka vices) of the sephiroth could theoretically be healed through compassion and the alleviation of suffering in those expressing the adverse traits.

I am not sure if that theory is true or not, but the association between these ideas feels promising.