Beliefs. . .

Somebody should tell this guy that no one is taking away his freedom of speech or his religion. . . I don't believe in ghosts but would happily sell my CDs to him, if he was interested. . . . (from http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/baptist-pastor-bans-gays-from-his-tennessee-hardware-store-no-ill-never-regret-this/) ". . . Jeff Amyx, a Baptist minister who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County, said he got to thinking Monday morning, after a Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, that Christians were the victim of a double standard that allowed homosexuals to stand up for their beliefs but not religious people. “They gladly stand for what they believe in — why can’t I?” Amyx told WBLR. “They believe their way is right, I believe it’s wrong — but yet I’m going to take more persecution than them because I’m standing for what I believe in.” . . . "

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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No Baggage . . .

. . . at least very little . . .

I have arrived at an eerie-yet-comfortable peace with myself and the world. Some people can see this just by looking at my face. I have no axe to grind with my fellow man, I am content with my life, I love (and like) my wife and children, I can tolerate my job (and even enjoy it frequently) as a means to allowing me to partake of the 'rest' of life.  I don't covet (there's that religious background again) physical things, whether or not they belong to other people or to the retailer.  I find joy in the richness of humanity and feel no need to impose any of my beliefs or perspectives on anyone else. I experience an unexplainable spiritualism in music that only gives more the longer I participate in it.

That's not to say I don't have my own problems and it's not to say that all is right with the world all of the time.  I don't wear blinders and I'm no Pollyanna.  There are many things that aggravate me and that I would, will and still constantly try to change for the better.  But I don't obsess over them.
All in it's own time. My days here are much too few to make myself sick over these things.

So as I sit in this mall and enjoy my coffee amidst retail space renovation, vacationing middle-schoolers, folks of various and sundry national and cultural backgrounds, mid-summer clouds gathering outside and anticipating  a quiet evening, wonderful meal, stimulating conversation and a good night's sleep later on, I also look forward to the prospect of more . . . music.


Baggage
©2006 Raymond M. Jozwiak



What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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My friend Howard. . .

.  . is a very wise man

 . . . not that Howard.  Howard Bess. The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska.  His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net. 

Howard says this week, and rightly so, that it's just plain impossible to leave religion out of politics. In fact, lots of Christians actually believe that American was formed by Christians and for Christians to be a purely Christian nation. In believing this, they think that the 'will of God', as they perceive it, takes precedence over all. In short, says Howard, they want control. Population growth is huge, air and water are becoming more and more polluted and we still sidestep the fact that this is all caused by fundamental religious conviction.  Howard says quite correctly that the Catholic church is a major polluter of the world through the promotion of population growth.

The recent misstatements on the part of a presidential candidate and a number of religious folks saying that the government is inhibiting their freedom of religion betray their ignorance. They can ". . . believe whatever they like, but when they propose that their doctrinal beliefs be made the law of the land, their beliefs become proper subjects of discussion in the political arena. . . " says Howard.

I can't speak for Howard, but from all I've read from him, he thinks similarly in this regard, but I, John Shelby Spong, Science of Mind adherents and a growing number of thinking, questioning, educated seekers do not pretend to know the 'will' of a 'God' based upon ancient texts, mistranslated and misinterpreted over thousands of years.  In fact, God to us is the ground of being.  It (notice I didn't say "HE") is a life-power flowing among all things, but first and foremost, from human beings.  So it stands to reason that anyone who holds an agenda to diminish the life of any human person, especially because they think that a book which contains the last word on the subject, tells them to, is very sadly mistaken. Likewise when they think that book entitles them impose some archaic social practices on the rest of the population, they once again err grievously.

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

 
Also download your
very own copy of
AMBIENCE & WINE
by Ray Jozwiak

Please visit
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