Just a periodic reminder today that here’s a link to my free Scala and functional programming training video courses at LearnScala.dev.
Scala, Java, Unix, MacOS tutorials (page 1)
A few years ago a Christian friend asked me, “Do you think I’ll go to hell if I vote for Donald Trump?”
I had to think about that for a little while, and my first response was, “I don’t think any mortal human being is qualified to answer that question,” and then I followed that up with, “But, if you’re even asking that question, you’re obviously concerned that you will go to hell if you vote for Trump, and I can guarantee you from my own experience, that will be something you will think about when you are dying.”
I know a little about being on a death bed
October, 2024: After Donald Trump recently stated that he hated to pay overtime and would try not pay it, almost every union in the United States has come out in support of the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
This includes the UAW, AFL-CIO, IAM Union, IATSE, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, United Steelworkers, the Teamsters Union in many states, the Machinists Union, the AFSCME, and many more. I’d link to them all, but the page where I found this image shows many of the unions that suppported Harris BEFORE Trump said he hated overtime pay.
As I read this NY Times article about What ‘The Apprentice’ Gets Exactly Right About Trump, these lines from Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal” ghostwriter really stick out:
“The first lesson is that a lack of conscience can be a huge advantage when it comes to accruing power, attention and wealth in a society where most other human beings abide by a social contract. The second lesson is that nothing we get for ourselves from the outside world can ever adequately substitute for what we’re missing on the inside.”
This is a short collection of quotes from Rumi:
My religion is love.
Love is the bridge between you and everything.
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
Be a witness, not a judge.
You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.
I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.
Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.
Past and future veil God from our sight; burn up both of them with fire.
Here are some Northern Lights, as seenin Louisville, Kentucky, in October, 2024.
If you’re interested in mindfulness and meditation, this scene from “Star Wars: Rogue One” demonstrates mantra meditation at its best: Belief, total commitment and single-mindedness, and practice in action.
A few related quotes:
“You must concentrate upon and consecrate yourself wholly to each day, as though a fire were raging in your hair.”
~ Zen Master Taisen Deshimaru
As a quick note today, here’s a list of my currently-free books and online video courses about the Scala programming language and functional programming (as of October, 2024):
This is a photo I took of the entrance to El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico. My notes say that the church was opened in 1816.
As I’ve mentioned before, it drives me crazy when politicians and other people on tv wave a Bible in one hand, while simultaneously breaking The Ten Commandments on a regular basis. Even though I pray for them and try to forgive them, those charlatans and that hypocrisy drives me nuts.
I have also mentioned that I have a friend in their late-80s, and his biggest concern in life is for the mistakes he has made, and that he might spend eternity in Hell.
A True Christian cannot vote for an anti-Christian
I think about these things when I think about people who vote for politicians who wave the Bible with one hand while simultaneously breaking The Ten Commandments with the other.
If you are a Real Christian, you have to be concerned that if you vote for a politician like this, there’s at least a chance you’ll be going to Hell, right? 🔥
I believe that true Christians know what I mean: If (a) you recall The Ten Commandments, and (b) find a politician that has potentially broken nine of them, then (c) that politician is the very definition of an ANTI-CHRISTIAN, right?
A vote for them is literally a vote for the OPPOSITE of Christ’s values.
I just don’t think that can be good for your soul.
“Swami Vivekananda says that if you have ever felt the urge to stretch out your arms in trying to embrace the universe, you have felt the truth. Not one atom in this universe, not one insect, not one life here is different from you. It is you yourself. It is one life and one consciousness. It is a joy, an enormous creativity of the consciousness which shines in all these ways. When you experience the universe, you are tasting yourself!”
~ Swami Sarvapriyananda, Dissolve into Infinity
“Just as water wears away stone over time, daily practice thins the veil of illusion.”
~ Ram Dass, in Polishing The Mirror
Pete Rose was Charlie Hustle. All these years later, and the the game hasn't seen another player like him. RIP, Pete, October, 2024.
A squirrel asking for some Buddha wisdom, and admiring that nice acorn hat. (Friends always send me squirrel photos because I lived with a squirrel in Talkeetna, Alaska.)
Last night I passed out for the 10th time. As usual, I woke up in the middle of the night, and knew that I felt really bad. I ran to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face, and knew I was going to pass out before I could get the Benadryl open. So I got back into bed and passed out.
Of course, when you pass out, you never know if you’ll wake up again, but so far I’m 10 for 10.
A unique thing about this event is that I was hit very hard in the top-right part of my head in the afternoon, and still have that pain today. I suspect that it had to do with this syncope event.
Dear Fellow Christian Voters,
As I’ve written many times here now, it drives me crazy when politicians and people on television (a) wave a Bible around in one hand while (b) simultaneously breaking The Ten Commandments with their other hand. This is one part of American society that just needs to stop.
To that end, here’s an image that I hope will help you visualize and think about Heaven. If you’re young and don’t think much about Heaven (and hell) that’s okay, but I can tell you that an 80+ year old friend has said that the main thing he thinks about now is that he doesn’t want to spend ETERNITY in hell.
So when you vote, please trust in Jesus Christ and the Bible, and not all these other people that are frankly liars who are willing to sell their souls. Please don’t sell yours to support them; there are people like myself who care about you.
As a little yoga/savasana tip, here’s a collection of 50+ phrases you can use to help relax and focus, both before and during savasana.
Please note that I don’t know the original source of all these quotes. I had a few yoga instructors back in the day, so I got a collection of the quotes from them.
I came across two quotes recently that seem related ... and not necessarily just in a spiritual/religious way:
“The devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you’ve ever wished for.”
AND:
“The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.”
Lately I’ve been thinking about how some people get to a certain point and then never mature any more. It’s like maybe they get everything they ever wanted, and they stop there. They become comfortable or complacent, and in doing so, they create their own prison.