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Old Catholic Encyclopedia

	Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature [2 volumes] List Price: $219.95 Sale Price: $29.80 Used From: $32.00
	The Roman Catholic faith has inspired some of the world's greatest creative works and has been a powerful force in history from the Roman Empire to the present. Catholic writers reflect their heritage in their works, and generations of readers have continued to appreciate the Catholic literary tradition...

MIND CONTROL: Moving Beyond Belief

“We all suppress the wanderer that waits to travel the unbroken road. We all fill our minds to tell the stories of old in a new way. But it is indeed a question of matter and truth. As adults, what do we expect to attain from religion? What do we really ask ourselves to realize? Do we threaten our minds and hearts to believe a certain way? Or do we ask in earnest to believe what we once felt to be true in the first place? In many ways, answers have found ways to reach our questions? But it is within our questions, within our silence, that we can find the attunement of sanctity. What should we ask?—that is a question that goes far beyond any answer. Do we ask for what we already have? Manifestation is nothing more than thought. With thought can the world find peace. Through thought, solutions manifest themselves. When conquered by judgment does the separation occur, and hope finds its place among doubt. Life becomes separate from its living. Separation is without connection. We all let pain reign over life. But life is full of pains to bear if not managed with grace and love.”

   I had been isolated for many years, not intentionally, but by being put into an unnatural situation, or rather, a religion that expected it. I will not specify the religion because I don’t want to degrade any belief that in one way or another can benefit someone, but I don’t feel that separating yourself from your non-religious family and friends in order to be saved by God is beneficial or healthy for anyone.

   I remember the days when all I wanted to do was to play outside, feel the crisp breeze that invited my imagination into realms of adventure. I never played with other children my age, let alone many children at all. So my joys were simply to be allowed outside in my own fantasy where, if I had ever felt lonely before, I would conjure up a world that would consume my mind for hours. These were the best moments of my childhood that I can still remember dying out one late spring day.

   I began to learn that I was forbidden to salute the flag, recite a pledge of allegiance, celebrate my own birthday, or even Christmas. At that time my father taught me that I should "look forward" to God's "Day of Judgment."

   I remember the days when my thinking was altered into wanting nothing more than to wait for the end of the world. It was a time that could never come in this life, nor had ever occurred in the lives of before. No one had ever experienced it. But all who knew prayed for it to come soon.

   At such a young age, I became judgmental and arrogant toward “worldly people”; therefore people judged me and treated me the same way that I treated them. You can imagine the troubles I had in grade school. It wasn’t until I was older that I began to realize what I was doing.  A child is not taught to think for themselves. A child born into a religion simply doesn’t have a choice to believe any other way.

   It is common throughout history and its still continuing today, the staggering amount of children each year that are being physically abused by strict religious beliefs. But how many children are being abused mentally by organizations that claim to have “The Truth”? 

    It is tragic that, for example, some Muslim children as young as eight years old have scars on their backs from beating themselves with zanjeers (long chains with sets of curved knives attached at its end). But what’s more heartbreaking is what these children grow up to believe about life.          

   Although I was never physically beaten, I spent several hours a week studying a “newly translated” bible and going to “meetings,” being emotionally pounded by Man’s opinion of God. Everyday I was to consider that, if I had any friends that were not of our religion, they could be killed by God’s wrath -- perhaps within a year. So when I did befriend any worldly kids, I’d feel guilty about it, scared that God would reject me from his kingdom on earth. I ended up believing that everybody I knew could soon be slaughtered by God’s wrath as He cleans his planet.

   But at around sixteen years old… well…, things begin to change…

    According to Adherents.com, 33% of people in the world are Christian. That includes: Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Latter-day Saints, Evangelical, SDAs, AOGs, Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses. During the late 19th century, a German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, challenged the foundations of traditional morality and Christianity when he wrote: "Which is it, is man one of God's blunders or is God one of man's?"

   Buddha once said: "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." (Quotations: God/Religion)

   The long-term effects of growing up in an environment of pending disaster are hard to predict, but since I experienced it first-hand, I can say that the processes of deprogramming such beliefs are difficult if rarely possible.

   I happen to be a survivor of such a mental tragedy.  It began when I started thinking for myself, asking questions that neither my religion nor my father could answer. I went though a process of feeling as though I’ve lost my ground. I was lost from God, if He even existed. I went through a time of rejecting God. I would have gone through a complete mental collapse if it wasn’t for the people who fought to reach me and help me along the way. But it took several years of isolation from religion and other people’s opinions before I could allow such contact from the outside world. For me to be able make my own decisions was a great accomplishment.        

   In conclusion, I can only wish that others could discover the power of being silent. To realize how quickly fear and judgment can reign over your life without you even being aware of it. I can only wish that adults in religious organizations would realize what they are truly teaching their children, and in turn, the generations to come.

    But perhaps that’s all that is needed. The power of even the slightest thought can propel great things. “Though thought do solutions manifest themselves.”  As adults, what do we really expect to attain? What do we really ask of ourselves to realize? If we could only realize the true power in one loving thought… our lives could be much different. 

L. Starling

http://www.starlingbooks.net

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Works cited

Halloran, James.  “Quotations: God/Religion” The Quotation Station. Posting date      unknown.  Sept 6th, 2005 

Tentmaker Ministries. “Quotes”  Tentmaker.  Sept 6th, 2005. Sept 6th 2005.            

Wicks, Robert.  "Nietzsche, Friedrich."   Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  AUG

            26th , 2004.  Sept 6th 2005. 

 Adherents.com: National & World Religion Statistics - Church Statistics - World Religions,       “Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents” Posting Date: August             24, 2005. Sept 14th 2005             

About the Author

Lacy Starling started on the journey toward being an author when she was 17. After attending writing conferences, joining writing groups, attaining a degree in Freelance Writing and Journalism and writing her first novel, the harsh realization of the writer's world finally kicked in.

After 12 years of editing manuscripts and soul searching for the right agent and publisher, still the rejection letters piled ever higher and the decision to give up was on the horizon. Yet, she concluded that it was better to climb over the brick wall of rejection and accept herself into the self-publishing world.

http://www.starlingbooks.net was created in 2005. Her first novel "Journey's In Between " was released in October, 2008. Her second book, "Sacred Reflections" was recently released in early spring 2009.

Together with her husband, J.R. Magill who is a comic book artist, they have created a new comic book series titled "Lemurian" that is available at http://www.newdestinycomics.com.

When not writing, she is helping to promote other writers and artists on their independent journeys through the self-publishing world. She is also a graphic artist and photographer and enjoys traveling to research ideas for her future projects.

	The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha List Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $16.00 Used From: $7.80
	The New Revised Standard Version is the most accurate and accessible Bible translation available today, and has been accepted by almost all major US denominations. Prepared by a multidenominational committee of scholars who based their translation on the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts, the NRSV is also the most sensitive text on the topic of inclusive language...

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Catholic Family Bible - Black $79.95 The Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (the Ignatius Bible ), the text used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is now available for the first time as a deluxe Family Bible. This beautiful translation known for its accuracy, readability, and fidelity to tradition, is now printed in large, easy-to-read type, with over 180 full-color illustrations, and many special features including a 16 page Family record on laminated paper; Old Master illustrations of Old Testament heroes and prophets; a ???pilgrimage in pictures??? to important Shrines and the Holy Land; Full color sections with art and meditations on the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross; 48 inspiring pages on the Life of Christ as painted by the Old Masters; Study aids"including a 256 page Biblical Dictionary and Concordance; Deluxe side-sewn binding and beautifully gold-gilded page edges, and much, much more! This extra-large size, glorious Bible with a cushioned, gold-stamped cover will last for generations! Now with the RSV-CE text and this superb quality you'll have a Bible that is sure to speak for generations"clearly and elegantly.

Catholic Family Bible - Ivory $79.95 Revised Standard Version The Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (the Ignatius Bible ), the text used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is now available for the first time as a deluxe Family Bible. This beautiful translation known for its accuracy, readability, and fidelity to tradition, is now printed in large, easy-to-read type, with over 180 full-color illustrations, and many special features including a 16 page Family record on laminated paper; Old Master illustrations of Old Testament heroes and prophets; a ???pilgrimage in pictures??? to important Shrines and the Holy Land; Full color sections with art and meditations on the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross; 48 inspiring pages on the Life of Christ as painted by the Old Masters; Study aids"including a 256 page Biblical Dictionary and Concordance; Deluxe side-sewn binding and beautifully gold-gilded page edges, and much, much more! This extra-large size, glorious Bible with a cushioned, gold-stamped cover will last for generations! Now with the RSV-CE text and this superb quality you'll have a Bible that is sure to speak for generations"clearly and elegantly.

Catholic Christianity $17.95 For the first time in 400 years the Catholic Church has authorized an official universal catechism which instantly became an international best-seller, the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Using this official Catechism, the highly-regarded author and professor Peter Kreeft presents a complete compendium of all the major beliefs of Catholicism written in his readable and concise style. Since the Catechism of the Catholic Church was written for the express purpose of grounding and fostering catechisms based on it for local needs and ordinary readers, Kreeft does just that, offering a thorough summary of Catholic doctrine, morality, and worship in a popular format with less technical language. He presents a systematic, organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental Catholic teachings in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition. This book is the most thorough, complete and popular catechetical summary of Catholic belief in print that is based on the universal Catechism. "In Catholic Christianity , Peter Kreeft has taken the core of the Catechism's teaching and has represented it in his pithy and winning style. The result is the best entree to the Catechism yet-and therefore the best entree to the Catholic faith." "Karl Keating Author, What Catholics Really Believe "Peter Kreeft's work is: 1) unfailingly brilliant 2) intellectually agile 3) astonishingly perspicacious 4) gloriously orthodox 5) Chestertonian-ly aphoristic. Buy and read this book, and be instructed and delighted." "Thomas Howard Author, On Being Catholic "As an apologist who speaks at many seminars and conferences across the country I am often asked what book I would recommend for an adult catechetics class. I always find myself recommending three our four books rather than one. No longer. This is the ONE book I've been looking for! Dr. Kreeft gives a summation of our Catholic Faith based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church that is filled with bite-sized morsels of truth and producing a veritable feast of faith!" "Tim Staples Radio Host and Apologist Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., a Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, is a regular contributor to several Catholic publications, and is the best-selling author of over 25 books including Prayer for Beginners, Back to Virtue, A Refutation of Moral Relativism, Heaven the Heart's Deepest Longing, and Fundamentals of the Faith . '

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	The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha List Price: $29.99 Sale Price: $16.00 Used From: $7.80
	The New Revised Standard Version is the most accurate and accessible Bible translation available today, and has been accepted by almost all major US denominations. Prepared by a multidenominational committee of scholars who based their translation on the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts, the NRSV is also the most sensitive text on the topic of inclusive language...

	Signs and Symbols in Christian Art: With Illustrations from Paintings from the Renaissance (Galaxy Books) List Price: $19.99 Sale Price: $9.61 Used From: $2.38
	First published in 1954 and having gone through several editions, this comprehensive book remains the authoritative source in the study of symbols in Christian art. This paperback edition includes all of the three hundred fifty illustrations from the original edition, as well as the complete and unabridged text, revealing ...