Where will you be tomorrow?

"The wiser you are, the more you believe in equality, because the difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to all that is unknown." ~Albert Einstein 

In case you aren't aware, some persons believe that the Rapture is going to occur tomorrow (at exactly 6 p.m. on May 21st 2011). Apparently there is to be a worldwide earthquake which will alert the human race to the beginning of 'Judgement Day'. There aren't that many people in Trinidad and Tobago talking about it though thanks to the Internet we're all quickly becoming aware that tomorrow might be the last day here for some. Some of the sites / links I've found:

• The end-of-the-world fact sheet 
• Why we're enraptured by the Rapture
• 8 Great Rapture Day Moments  
• NORAD - Rapture Tracker -  apparently, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has  announced it's intention to track the Rapture (as it tracks Santa Claus' journey around the world), as a curtain raiser to tracking the End of the World... 

I don't particularly believe in the Rapture... or the End of the World really... or Judgement Day... but then I'm not a Christian of any kind. I'm more likely to follow sites that promote religious tolerance  than sites like this one. There are religions that have been around since before Christianity and those that have come up after... I'd like to take the best of all of them. Something I read that moved me a bit... this link which states what's going to happen if the predicted Rapture does not occur. It's partly why I'd rather say that I'm spiritual and not religious.

Today is a special day for my family. We celebrated with ice cream (2 different flavours!... lol) ... tomorrow we're likely to be out to dinner around the time of the predicted Rapture. We'll be in the company of people that we love... doing something we love. It's perhaps how people should spend every day... giving thanks for what we have and the moments we're experiencing. 

Wherever you are and whatever you believe - I wish you a wonderful weekend.

peace,

Ren

Maha Shivratri tonight...

"Different paths to realization are prescribed by the three Vedas, by the Sānkhya, Yoga, and Shaiva doctrines, and by the Vaishnava shāstras. People follow different paths, straight or crooked, considering one best or most appropriate for their temperament, but all paths lead to You, just as different rivers flow into the same ocean." ~ Shiva Mahimnah Stotram (Hymn to the Glory of Shiva) 

When people ask me what religion I follow I usually comment that: 'it says Hindu on my birth-paper'. This is largely due to my mom (her background is Hindu) than my dad (I'm still not quite sure what his beliefs are... when I was much younger and now learning about religion I thought he was an atheist but no... I found out later that his family is Christian). As a Trini though I can say [quite calmly] that I've got family that belong to all the major faiths in our country - as in Hindu, Muslim and Christian (Presbyterian and Roman Catholic)... this is part of our culture... part of what makes us Trinis... our diversity. 

I like the freedom of being able to choose to follow whatever concepts or beliefs resonate most with me. I have taken part in Buddhist and Native American Indian rituals. I would like to whirl with the Sufis at some point in my future. My background though is strongly Hindu (again because of my mom). I wouldn't change it... mostly because in reading and listening and experiencing the energy of it - it resonates with me. 

Tonight is Maha Shivratri - in years past I have kept the vigil though tonight I won't because I'm working tomorrow (and can't take the day off or go to work zombie-fied). At least once in your lifetime, whatever religion or faith or belief you hold, I'd recommend keeping a vigil - for prayer, devotion, contemplation. It is an experience that lets your soul breathe - or at least that's what it feels like to me. As though in one night I can come close to understanding what there is to understand... of attaining the unattainable.

peace,

Ren