Istiqlál, 04 Mashíyyat (Will), 179 B.E

Seen

Snapped a photo of this small patch of the succulent, orpine (Hylotelephium telephium), while on a walk with my brother-in-law this morning. (Notice those God-forsaken creeping thistle finding their way into the scene?)

Wikipedia offers quite a list of alternative names: livelong, frog’s-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John and (saved the oddest for last!) witch’s moneybags.

Wikipedia goes on to quote this anecdote:

“They were hung in a room, where a girl was to be married to a boy. If the stems grew together, this ‘sign’ would mean that the marriage would be blessed and she would be happy. Alternatively, if they grew apart, the marriage prospects looked bad and if a stem died, this would portent death.” 1. Who knew?!

Done

Drafted the October issue of the “How’s The Weather?” Newsletter for distribution via MailChimp next week. Thanks to Michael Greenman for the content!

Participated in a Zoom call with members of the Wellness Weavers Inner Circle. Helen Stucky Risdon convenes the group for an hour-long call at noon every Friday. Like me, Helen believes that timebanks can evolve to represent the value of the whole person, 24 hours / day. Although I didn’t get to stay on the call for the entire hour, what I heard inspired me to keep writing about the concept.

Trimmed ¾ of the row of Forsythia viridissima. Again, I didn’t trim them last year so suffered the consequences this time. But they are beautiful when they flower in the spring!

Fixed a double batch of lemon chicken for my daughter and son-in-law. I’ve offered to teach them how–it’s so easy–but their approach is if dad’s willing to do it why ruin a good thing ;-)

I’m calling it good for today…

Noted

Astral Prospecting on Instagram | Astral Prospecting on YouTube — Topwater GIANT! Fall Smallmouth are on FIRE! (FISH OHIO) | Astral Prospecting on Facebook

Marc Bosserman on Instagram | Marc Bosserman on Facebook | Marc Bosserman Music and Musings on YouTube

Tab’s Galaxy on YouTube

Quoted

Each one of the divine religions has established two kinds of ordinances: the essential and the accidental. The essential ordinances rest upon the firm, unchanging, eternal foundations of the Word itself. They concern spiritualities, seek to stabilize morals, awaken intuitive susceptibilities, reveal the knowledge of God and inculcate the love of all mankind. The accidental laws concern the administration of outer human actions and relations, establishing rules and regulations requisite for the world of bodies and their control. These are ever subject to change and supersedure according to exigencies of time, place and condition. For example, during the time of Moses, ten commandments concerning the punishment of murder were revealed in His Book. Divorce was sanctioned and polygamy allowable to a certain extent. If a man committed theft, his hand was cut off. This was drastic law and severe punishment applicable to the time of Moses. But when the time of Christ came, minds had developed, realizations were keener and spiritual perceptions had advanced so that certain laws concerning murder, plurality of wives and divorce were abrogated. But the essential ordinances of the Mosaic dispensation remained unchanged. These were the fundamental realities of the knowledge of God and the holy Manifestations, the purification of morals, the awakening of spiritual susceptibilities—eternal principles in which there is no change or transformation. Briefly, the foundation of the divine religions is one eternal foundation, but the laws for temporary conditions and exigencies are subject to change. Therefore, by adherence to these temporary laws, blindly following and imitating ancestral forms, difference and divergence have arisen among followers of the various religions, resulting in disunion, strife and hatred. Blind imitations and dogmatic observances are conducive to alienation and disagreement; they lead to bloodshed and destruction of the foundations of humanity. Therefore, the religionists of the world must lay aside these imitations and investigate the essential foundation or reality itself, which is not subject to change or transformation. This is the divine means of agreement and unification. 2

  1. Davison, Michael Worth; Martin, Neal V, eds. (1981). Reader’s Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader’s Digest. ISBN 978-0-276-00217-5. [return]
  2. ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ʻAbduʼl-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912. Edited by Howard MacNutt. 2nd ed. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1982, 338-339. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/26#987408459 [return]