Weekend Letter

Ball Clock II ~ The Balls

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Jon Long Sr

In my last post on the ball clock I had acquired the glass dome that I would use to house the clock. Before I can design a track for the balls to travel, I had better know the size I’m working with.

The wall clock I made before used 3/8″ balls and while they worked fine when I had unlimited space, I felt that a larger ball could give me more power (weight) to work with. 1/2″ just seemed to be the right size as any larger and I wouldn’t be able to fit a straight line of them inside of the dome.

I’m hoping I don’t regret not sticking with the smaller balls and the freedom of movement they would afford. Time will tell.

So, I have purchased 100 steel ball bearings from a local supplier to start the project. At least they are pretty common and I should be able to easily get more if needed.

If it doesn’t work out, well there is always the Wrist-Rocket.

Now for design…

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Ball Clock II ~ The Dome

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Jon Long Sr

For a while now I have been thinking about building another Ball Clock. It seems that I have the time and can certainly use the mental escape that a project like this would afford. Last year had far too much drama for me so this should occupy my mind away from the maddening crowd.

I wanted it to be very different from the one I built 35 years ago and to use different methods to function.

While pursuing a local antique mall, something I enjoy, well except maybe when I see the toys I had as a kid, I came across a glass dome with a walnut base. It looked like the kind that you could use to display a large butterfly or small taxidermy critter.

I took it off the shelf and checked it out and then for the rest of the time at the antique mall, my mind was trying to envision what the clock could look like. The other consideration was if I could accomplish the project in such a confined space.

I weighed the pros:

The dome would provide a shield from dust and air contamination. Something that has caused continual maintenance with the wall version.
The dome would keep fingers out of the clock.
The dome would create a great display piece and finished look with the wood base.

& Cons:

The dome would limit the amount of drop I would have for the balls to do their work.
All operations would have to occur in inside the dome and within a 11.5″ diameter area.
Can I even do it?

Looking at 70 and realizing that it may be later than you think, when would I do it?

“The problem is, we think we have time.” Buddha

I decided to get the Glass Dome and give it a shot.

Since I have this blog, it may be a great way to log the progress and challenges.

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Just Bent?

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Jon Long Sr

After 50 years of marriage and three grown children, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that you cannot live your children’s life for them. They and only they, must solve the issues that arise in their relationships, both in and out of marriage.

That is not to say that you should not be supportive when asked and be available to listen to their laments. The rub comes when you try to “fix it”. It never seems to work and the odds are that the solutions that worked for you at their age, are not necessarily going to work for them today.

No matter how much they share, it will never be the “whole story” due to the parental barrier all kids keep in place to maintain an expected image with the folks.

Some rules I believe should be followed:

Make yourself available to listen.
Only offer advice when asked for it.
If marriage is involved, stay as neutral as possible.
That means not badmouthing the spouse because:
- They chose that person for a reason and you do not know all of them.
- There is always a possibility they will get back together and you cannot undo something you said about the other person.
- You will have to live with the feathers in your mouth for quite a while.
If grandchildren are involved that you may ever want to see again, stay neutral.
Give them space to work things out.
If you must help, don’t over-do it. The days of coddling are over
Keep an eye open for signs of depression, as it can lead to other serious issues.

Now, there are exceptions to every rule and sometimes parents must protect their children from abuse and life threatening situations created by the other partner.

There are lessons to be learnt with every situation we face in life. Some are more difficult than others, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart. Hurt is real and trust broken can take years to heal. Just remember that it has to happen from within, when the time is right.

It can be a helpless feeling to stand back and watch, but if the relationship is meant to survive, it will be theirs to fix.

Love, Dad

Images:

Broken Heart: Relationship-Bliss
“I Swear”: Quotes Frenzy

Posted in Human Nature, Marriage, Parenting, Relationships | Tagged Human Behavior, Love and Love Lost, Parenting, Relationships | Comments Off

Committment

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Jon Long Sr

Good Morning,

This last week we ushered in a New Year of 2014, but unfortunately is was fraught with the debris of 2013 storms.

I have never been one that cared for drama in my personal life and even less tolerant of it being thrust upon me by others. Like those who feel it is necessary to muster as many as possible for “their cause” and thus polarize a situation regardless of who is hurt along the way while taxing friendships and family relations in the mix.

Having had my share over the years of drama, I have paid a price for decisions that I alone have made, that have brought me angst. To the point that when faced with similar choices later on, have tempered me to pick another path in an effort not to repeat the same outcome.

Choices made at the time seem right enough, especially when emotion is involved, or hurt, or apathy, or our own selfishness not realized. It is later with distance and time that the true ramifications show up… sometimes even years later when you would least expect it. It is easy to become myopic and focus only on our needs, not seeing the “big picture” and how our actions do and will affect others. The human weakness of self-justification is one of the easiest things to do. We all do it, whether it is that extra charge on the cards because we “deserve it”, or that we are “worth it”.

Maybe we feel that our partner is not supportive enough and therefore doesn’t fulfill our needs. Could it be that we are guilty of the same thing and that is why the relationship is falling apart? After all “We are what we hate”. Think about it. It is so easy to overlook our own faults and see those things in others. The trick is to open your eyes a bit wider and look in the mirror.

Having gone through a rather amicable divorce early in my years, which included two children, things seemed pretty simple. Split the sheets and focus on raising our two children. Not so easy…as I was not there, as I would have been, had we have been one family. The twice a month weekend father doesn’t fill the void, no matter how you wish to justify it. The roll of full-time dad fell upon another man for at least the younger. It was he who helped shape this child along with his mother. I was lucky that he was a good man, as many times, a stepdad cannot make the connection. The older was out of the house way too soon and destine for a path that many of lesser constitution, would not have survived. Let’s just say the path never taken.

“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll

When the “opportunity” presented itself a few years later, I was once again faced with a similar decision. Poor choices on both of our parts lead us to the abyss and crossing it would take an effort by both, for one alone could not repair the damage done. There had to be changes made and commitments kept for all the time it would take to rebuild what was lost in the relationship by both.

It was also important to me that I did not repeat the same scenario with this new child as I had in the past. That this time… I would be there in the best capacity I could and while not perfect by any stretch, I would be there.

It took years to put it all back and not one regret in the 37 years for doing so. You see, we chose our path and when we make a conscious commitment, how we see it through will determine what we are made of.

“It is a wise man who learns from the mistakes of others and a fool from his own.”

Choose wisely…

Love, Dad

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Lucas Aries Long

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Jon Long Sr

December 21, 2013

Good Morning,

This week was filled with expectation, anticipation and general elation when a new addition to the family arrived albeit nine weeks early. As in the previous pregnancies mommy Kelly Long had endured another pregnancy fraught with just about every condition an expectant mom can go through including a fall down stairs, torn embryonic sack and premature delivery.

Every effort was made to keep the new arrival inside for just a little while longer so he could breath on his own and that every day lessens the risk brought on by a body not yet ready for “Prime Time”. When the time came, it was just four pushes and out popped the little guy, probably because of his small size and the fact that his sister and brother before had left well paved path.

Lucas Aries Long clocked into this life at 9:32PM on 12-19-13 and weighed in at 4lb 3oz. Sporting all fingers, toes, breathing on his own and a bit on the light side, he looks like things will be good to go and grow.

He is fortunate to arrive in this world now instead of 60 years ago when “Preemies” had very little if any chance of survival. The staff in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) is wonderful and I know he is in a good place for the next few weeks.

Lucas Aries Long is the second of his generation to carry on the “Long” surname and with that another generation of “Longs” on the family tree. Lucas was named out of a fondness of his mom for the name. Aries was because it is celestial. Maybe he will be a star traveler.

What the future will bring for Lucas is anyone’s guess, so I will be optimistic and say I hope that his world will be one of enlightenment, freedom, love for and from his soul mate and fellowman.

That is my hope. My fear is that it will not be that way and he will see the country to which he was born, give up it’s republic of freedom for the easy road of self-serving entitlement and greed. Only time will tell and if there is one thing I know, it is that nothing ever “ever” stays the same. Lucas will live in a world much different than the one I grew up in and with many things that did not even exist back then or now for that matter.

Love, Dad

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Our Time

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Jon Long Sr

Good Morning,

Facebook has turned out to be a great way to connect with old (and new) friends. Few are so special as the friends from our high school days when balancing on the edge of adulthood and adolescence. We were young enough to believe we would live forever, yet old enough to experiment with new experiences while protected by the judicial laws of adolescence. (under 18)

One of my close High School friends at the time was Don Sutter. We shared many of the inquisitive antics of that time. Reflecting on “Our Time” in Modesto, California, Don sent this email note, which caused me to pause and reflect on some of the things we did back then.

“It’s a sad commentary on the times we live in today, but by today’s standards we both undoubtedly would have ended up in federal prison for all the stunts we pulled back in the 60’s. It’s too bad kids today will never experience the freedoms we enjoyed at their age.”

Many of our “freedoms” back then, I believe came from tolerance and a deeper understanding of motive by the authority of the time. Sure, we got it trouble, but we were mostly remanded to our parents for discipline who were “involved” in shaping our development. And which was harsher than say, going to “Juvie”. (Juvenile Hall)

I have said it before, that my parents gave me enough room to experience life and make mistakes that didn’t kill or maim me, and then…this is important…to suffer the consequences of my actions. They were wise that way, as they understood that you couldn’t develop common sense without experiencing life and the results of your decisions. It required getting “out there” in the world and actually doing things.

First of all, you have to realize that my adolescence was in the mid 50s and my coming of age in the early 60s. Interesting times for our country as well. It was the time between two wars, Korea and Viet Nam. A transition time for music as “Rock & Roll” saw it’s genesis and would forever change how we experience music. The early 60s were a time of change as Civil Rights movements gained momentum while Hippies and “free love” permeated the social scene.

Back then there weren’t all the laws and rules that we see now. For now, there are so many restrictions that protect us either from ourselves, others or bad choices. Not to mention people that will sue for the littlest of things.

Some memories:

I played with Mercury. Not only did I play with it, I actually bought a pound from the local drug store. Try that today. Spill some and you have to call a Hazmat Team. Oh and I still have the bottle.
While working a Trains & Planes a local toy store, I would clean the Slot Track with Carbon Tetrachloride without using gloves and then clean my hands with it when I was done. Sure, it caused fulminant necrosis, and was banned in 1970, but who knew?
You could buy firecrackers back then. Not this woosie stuff they sell today but the kind that when used properly could flatten a 5 gal can filled with water or remove fingers from your hand if you disrespected them. M80s were great for fishing since they had a waterproof fuse. You could tape on a weight, light and toss them into the canal, then watch the fish come floating to the top. I heard they worked good on mailboxes too, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.
We would make our own Pipe Bombs if we wanted a real explosion. Of course you learned pretty quick that the farther away from it you were, the better to avoid the flying debris and metal end caps. With dynamite fuse they became waterproof and would find there way into the main canal. Of course that would have made National News today and chances are we would have been incarcerated.
It was a time before Estes and manufactured model rocket engines, so when we wanted a rocket, we had to make it ourselves. Aluminum tube, nozzle, fins and nose cone. The fuel was experimental, but mostly some form of gunpowder, which we purchased at a local gun shop. We were happy when they actually got off the ground and 10 feet into the air before exploding. Much smaller rockets were made with crushed match heads to get the phosphorus and stuffed in a tube made from aluminum pie tins. A friends wasn’t too cautious and lost his eyebrows for a while when a can full of match heads went off in his face. Little batches at a time were the way to go.
I made my own guns back then and shells. It was never to harm anyone, but more for the fun of it. Early ones were not much more than a hand cannon, where a ladyfinger firecracker was used for the charge and a marble for the projectile. Later they evolved into using a cartridge made from a shotgun shell primer, brass tubing, black powder and a lead shot.
It wasn’t all pyro stuff. We made tree forts (houses) high in Eucalyptus Trees. High enough that if you fell, well lets just say it would have left a mark. Forts were a big thing back then. We would spend days gathering wood scraps from around the neighborhood and looking for nails long enough to secure it to the tree. This was engineering at its basic level with trial and error teaching us physics in the process.
We dug tunnels under ground to connect forts and shored the tunnel up with wood along the way. I’m pretty sure mom & dad would have pulled the plug on that one had they known more about it. We used candles for light and took turns digging. Never worked that hard at home.
There was the spelunking of the irrigation conduits that ran under the road and through the fields. I suppose that had some danger to it as one never knew when the water would come. Added to the excitement.
We swam in the irrigation canals when the water came in. They were small and only about 4ft deep, but since we didn’t have a pool, it worked just fine to cool off some kids. Besides paramecium is protein.
After the orchards had been flooded by irrigation, it was great fun to go trudging through the mud. Pulling a friend through the orchard in a peach box sled. Eventually, it would lead to mud fights and rolling around in it like a bunch of piglets. Mom would hose off the crusted mud when we got home. I think mud was good for the skin.
After the orchard had dried up there would be cracks between the mud and when things were just right you could grab a block and pull it up. With a large rasp file from dad’s shop, I would fashion blocks and build castles and such from the custom formed dirt blocks. I think there was a lot of clay in the soil as it was slippery when wet and hard when dry.
Building airplanes out of scrap wood and tossing them from the hayloft of a friend’s barn just to see them drop like rocks, we learned about flight and what doesn’t work. Mostly what doesn’t work.
The barns were also great for sliding down the hay and throwing rocks at the bats that lived high in the barns. We broke out more shingles than hit bats. Still fun though.
When it came time for the peaches to be picked, a truck would drop off a huge load of wood boxes and stack them 8ft high by 10ft wide and 30ft long. We would climb up and carefully stack another row around the top while digging them out of the middle to make another fort. We
were big on forts back then. By propping up the boxes we were able to make a doorway from the orchard side that wasn’t obvious.

An old stripped down baby carriage was used as a car and one would push while another would pull. The lucky one would ride.

We made bicycles built-for-two by removing the front tire of one and attaching it to the back tire of another. A trick to ride.
I always liked glider airplane models and much preferred them over the powered kind. I actually lost one of my gliders, a Thermic 20 when it got into a thermal and eventually disappeared from sight. That was exciting to see it fly away. It would have been better if I had my name and address on it. Hindsight is 20/20.
We made our own kites back then out of newspaper or tissue and if we did manage buy a Hi-Flyer, we patched it when it got damaged. I didn’t own a nylon kite until I was well into my 20s.

Growing up on a rural road, surrounded by farms, vineyards, orchards and cow pastures, offered many opportunities for a young man to explore and innovate. Something that “city kids” would never experience.

I will be forever grateful for where I grew up and for having parents that loved and guided me with a tolerant hand.

As Don stated… many kids of today will never have the chance to experience the things we did, for the times have indeed changed as well as society and the virtual world is more enticing than getting dirty in some irrigation ditch or stomping around in the mud of an orchard.

I don’t regret a minute of it, for it is what has helped make me what I am today. Hopefully still a kid at heart.

Love, Dad

PS: The preceding was just a small fraction of some of the things we did.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the many definitions.

Posted in Childhood, Fun Times, Parenting | 3 Comments

Autumn Days

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Jon Long Sr

Good Morning,

The last several months, I have found it increasingly difficult to write my letters. And while enduring the little pangs of guilt for not doing so and also reminiscent that if I don’t do so, time will pass me by and the things I should have commented on will be forgotten and lost along the way.

The older I get it seems, the more I contemplate these autumn years and what lies ahead. I see the frailties of my neighbors, who for the most part, have lapsed me by a decade and I wonder if that will be me in the not-so-distant future. Ten years may seem like a long time to some, but I now have to accept that we have been in Arizona for ten years and it doesn’t seem that long looking back.

I have seen grandchildren strive and grow while another continues to be lost in a world intolerant of the dropout. New grandchildren arrive on the scene and a greater appreciation of what it takes these days to be a parent with all of the modern ways of living in a high tech world. In retrospect, I am happy to have been-there and done-that already. No desire to start again. We want kids now, we will borrow them for an hour or two.

I am constantly amazed at how fast the young kids pick up on technology. It seems so natural for them and I suppose it is that way when you grow up with something and have never known otherwise. Sophie is at-home with the iPhone when she uses it to practice her words. Laser focused and soaking up the info like a sponge. Jack likes everything that has lights and buttons. It is easy to say, “well we didn’t have that stuff when I was a kid and we got along just fine.” That may be true for then, but this is now and now is how things are done. I have had to learn the new ways, just like Sophie & Jack will have to do as they get older and newer technologies come along.

There are still times when I miss the halcyon days of a simpler time. I think that is pretty normal. The world turned a little slower back then without email, the Internet, 24-hour news stations. I didn’t know or care for that matter, what was going on in Iran, Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. My biggest concern was if Karen Anderson would smile at me or if I could complete the requirements for my Lion Badge.

Sure we had to practice “Duck & Cover” which I now understand should have been “Duck, Cover and kiss your ass goodbye, but we were innocent back then and actually believed the things our government told us. Nothing ever stays the same.

As the days become more precious, I will focus more of what really matters. Relationships with the ones you love. Everything else is secondary.

Love, Dad

Posted in Childhood, Parenting, Relationships, Thoughts | Comments Off

Choices

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Jon Long Sr

March 17, 2013

Good Morning ~ Saint Patrick’s Day

One doesn’t have to look very far to find a belief or “religion” that can fit with their comfort level for a belief system. As humans, we seem to have an innate need to belong to a group of like-minded individuals where we can share philosophies without fear of rejection. The synergy of association strengthens, reinforces and adds credence to our individual beliefs.

It follows… however flawed, that the greater the number of members, the greater is the validity of the chosen belief or religion. And… if we can convert the world, or at least most of it to our belief system, either by cajoles or oppression, then we must be right. But are we really?

Why can’t our beliefs be as diverse as we are as humans. Isn’t it important that we embrace our cultural roots so that our perception of a higher power is in-line with the world we live in and by which we are surrounded?

Of course, when you embrace a certain belief, it goes without saying that you would believe and have faith in it being the “one true belief or religion”. How else could there be full commitment otherwise?

So, for those among us who have difficulty deciding, here are some choices and while I’m sure there are many others and probably new ones formed every day that never reach the level of general recognition, this list should at the very least place a perspective of the diversity.

We will start with Abrahamic Religions:
A group of monotheistic traditions sometimes grouped with one another for comparative purposes, because all refer to a patriarch named Abraham. Note: Even within these are sub-sects adding to the numbers. (choices)

Bábísm
Bahá’í
Bahá’í Faith
Orthodox Bahá’í Faith
Islam
Kharijites
Nation of Islam
Shiite
Alawites
Ismailis
Jafari
Zaiddiyah
Ghulat including
Alevi / Bektashi
Ahl-e Haqq
Yazidi
Druze
Ahmadi
Sunni
Berailvi
Deobandi
Hanafi
Hanbali
Maliki
Mu’tazili
Shafi’i
Wahhabi
Sufism
Naqshbandi
Bektashi
Chishti
Mevlevi
Zikri

Judaism:
Contemporary divisions
Karaite Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Hassidic Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Reform Judaism
Conservative Judaism (Masorti)
Reconstructionist Judaism (arguably not a religion)
Humanistic Judaism (arguably not a religion)

Historical Sects:
Hasmoneans
Essenes
Pharisees
Sadducees
Zealots
Sicarii

Sects that believed Jesus was a prophet
Ebionites
Elkasites
Nazarenes
Crypto-Jews
Marranos
Conversos

Christianity:
Eastern Orthodoxy
Roman Catholicism
Oriental Orthodoxy (Monophysitism)
Nestorianism
Protestantism
Anabaptists
Anglicans
Baptists
Lutherans
Methodists
Pentecostals
Reformed
Calvinism
Presbyterian
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Unitarians
Waldensians
Latter-day Saints
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Community of Christ
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Seventh-day Adventist
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Messianic Judaism (not actually Judaism but rather Jewish-rite Christianity)
Samaritans
Mandaeanists
Rastafarians
Black Hebrews
Hebrew Christians

Dharmic Religions:
Religions with a concept of Dharma, also major religions of historical India

Hinduism
Agama Hindu Dharma (Javanese Hinduism)
Shaivism
Shaktism
Smartism
Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
ISKCON (Hare Krishna)
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission
Six major schools and movements of Hindu philosophy
Samkhya
Nyaya
Vaisheshika
Purva mimamsa
Vedanta (Uttar Mimamsa)
Advaita Vedanta
Integral Yoga
Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga
Hatha yoga
Siddha Yoga
Tantric Yoga
Ayyavazhi
Shramana Religions

Buddhism
Mahayana
Nikaya schools (which have historically been called Hinayana in the West)
Theravada
Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism)
Jainism
Digambara
Shvetambara
Panth Religions
Sikhism
Kabir Panth
Dadu Panth

Other Revealed Religions:
Believers in one God, also called classical monotheism, who follow an Indo-European culture of belief, philosophy and angelology.

Zoroastrianism
Magus (see Three Wise Men)
Gnosticism
Basilidians
Bogomils
Borborites
Cainites
Carpocratians
Cathars
Marcionism (not entirely Gnostic)
Ophites
Valentinians (see Valentinius)
Hinduism (Vaishnavism)

Indigenous Religions:
The orally transmitted canon of indigenous peoples, many involving some variant of animism and many defunct

African religions
Akamba mythology
Akan mythology
Ashanti mythology
Bushongo mythology
Bwiti
Dahomey mythology
Dinka mythology
Efik mythology
Egyptian mythology
Ibo mythology
Isoko mythology
Khoikhoi mythology
Lotuko mythology
Lugbara mythology
Pygmy mythology
Tumbuka mythology
Yoruba mythology
Zulu mythology
African religions in the New World
Kumina
Obeah
Santería (Lukumi)
Vodou
Candomblé
Macumba
Umbanda and Quimbanda
Xango
European religions
Anglo-Saxon mythology
Basque mythology
Druidry (Celtic Religion)
Finnish mythology
Germanic paganism
Norse mythology
Greek religion
Greek mythology
Mystery religions
Eleusinian Mysteries
Mithraism
Pythagoreanism
Roman religion
Roman mythology
Slavic mythology
Asian religions
Babylonian and Assyrian religion
Babylonian mythology
Chaldean mythology
Sumerian mythology
Bön (Indigenous Tibetan belief)
Chinese mythology
Shinto
Oomoto
Tengrism (Indigenous Mongol, Tartar & Kazakh belief)
Yezidis (Modified indigenous Kurdish belief)
Native American religions
Abenaki mythology
Aztec mythology
Blackfoot mythology
Chippewa mythology
Creek mythology
Crow mythology
Guarani mythology
Haida mythology
Ho-Chunk mythology
Huron mythology
Inuit mythology
Iroquois mythology
Kwakiutl mythology
Lakota mythology
Lenape mythology
Navaho mythology
Nootka mythology
Pawnee mythology
Salish mythology
Selk’nam religion
Seneca mythology
Tsimshian mythology
Ute mythology
Zuni mythology
Oceanic religions
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Balinese mythology
Maori mythology
Modekngei (Republic of Palau)
Nauruan indigenous religion
Polynesian mythology

Neopagan or Revival Religions:
Modern religions seeking to recreate indigenous, usually pre-Christian, beliefs and practices

Church of All Worlds
Dievturiba
Germanic Neopaganism also called Ásatrú or Odinism
Hellenic polytheism (modern revivalist forms)
Judeo-Paganism
Maausk
Neo-druidism
Summum
Taarausk
Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca
Dianic Wicca (Feminist Wicca)
Gardnerian Wicca
Faery Wicca
Feri Tradition

Non-Revealed Religions:
Philosophies not transmitted by a divine prophet

Carvaka
Confucianism
Deism
Fellowship of Reason
Spiritual Humanism
Mohism
Taoism

Left-Hand Path Religions:
Faiths teaching that the ultimate goal is separating consciousness from the universe, rather than being absorbed by it

Dragon Rouge
Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism
Church of Satan
Order of Nine Angles
Setianism also spelled Sethianism
Temple of Set
The Storm
Quimbanda

Syncretic Religions:
Faiths created from blending earlier religions or that consider all or some religions to be essentially the same

Arès Pilgrim Movement
Cao Dai
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)
Huna
Konkokyo
Law of One
Manichaeism
Unitarian Universalism
Universal Life Church
Tenrikyo
Theosophy
Seicho-No-Ie

Entheogen Religions:
Religions based around divinely inspiring substances

Ayahuasca-based Beliefs:
Church of the Universe (marijuana sacrament)
Peyotism
THC Ministry

New Religious Movements: (NRMs)

Indigenous NRM’s

Burkhanism
Cargo cults
Ghost Dance
Native American Church

African Diaspora / Latin American NRM’s

Rastafari Movement
Umbanda
Candomble
Kardecist Spiritism

Hindu-oriented NRM’s

Sai Baba/Sathya Sai Organisation
Hare Krishna
Transcendental Meditation
Sant Mat
Swaminarayan
Vedanta Society
Osho/Rajneeshism
Meher Baba (actually a Zoroastrian)
Oneness University
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)
Eckankar

NRM’s with Islamic Roots

Subud
Ahmadi
Dances of Universal Peace
Nation of Islam (Black Muslims)

Christian-oriented NRM’s

Unification Church
Jesus People
Children of God
People’s Temple
Pentecostalism
Holiness movement
Iglesia ni Cristo

Buddhist-oriented NRM’s

Soka Gakkai
Won Buddhism
Hoa Hao
Friends of the Western Buddhist Order

Chinese-oriented NRM’s

Way of Former Heaven sects, including
I-Kuan Tao (“Way of Unity”),
T’ung-shan She (“Society of Goodness”),
Tien-te Sheng-chiao (“Sacred Religion of Celestial Virtue”),
Daoyuan (“Sanctuary of the Tao”),
Tz’u-hui Tang (“Compassion Society”).
Falun Gong (“Dharma Wheel Work,” a qigong meditation group)

Japanese-oriented NRM’s

Tenrikyo
Seicho no Ie
Johrei (Johrei Movement – Sekai Kyusei Kyo Izunome Kyodan)
Reiki
Oomoto
Soka Gakkai
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)

Korean-oriented NRM’s

Chondogyo
Jeung San Do
Juche (The personality cult of North Korean leaders)
Unification Church

Vietnamese-oriented NRM’s

Caodaism
Hoa Hao

Malaysian-Oriented NRM’s

Sky Kingdom

Western Magical / Esoteric Groups:

Kardecist Spiritism
Theosophy
Agni Yoga
Anthroposophy
Arcane School
Association for Research and Enlightenment
Church Universal and Triumphant
Golden Dawn
Gurdjieff Work
AMORC
Spiritualism
Eckankar
Thelema
Argenteum Astrum
Fraternitas Saturni
Ordo Templi Orientis
Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis
Process Church of the Final Judgement
Order of the Solar Temple

White Supremacist Religions:

Church of Jesus Christ Christian
World Church of the Creator (Creativity Movement)
Church of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan [1]

Black Supremacist Religions:

Nuwaubianism

Alien-based religions:

The Aetherius Society [2]
Raelism
Scientology
Church of Scientology
Free Zone
Urantia, Book of
Universe People

Other NRM’s

Antoinism
Breatharianism (Air cult)
Brianism
Elan Vital
Faithists of Kosmon
Virus, The Church of
Tony Samara

Parody or Mock Religions:
Groups that poke fun at other religions or religion in general

Discordianism
Church of the SubGenius (The cult of Bob Dobbs)
Church of Jesus Christ Elvis

Fictional Religions turned Parody:

Bokononism
Jedi census movement
Flying Spaghetti Monster (Pastafarianism)
Invisible Pink Unicorn
Kibology
Landover Baptist Church
Church of Emacs

Had enough? I have…

In closing, something to ponder in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

“And we cannot be honest unless we recognize that we have to live in the world etsi deus non daretur. And this is just what we do recognize – before God! God himself compels us to recognize it. So our coming of age leads us to a true recognition of our situation before God. God would have us know that we must live as men who manage our lives without him. The God who is with us is the God who forsakes us (Mark 15:34). The God who lets us live in the world without the working hypothesis of God is the God before whom we stand continually. Before God and with God we live without God. God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us,” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison).

So, my take on all of this… Please feel free to believe whatever makes you comfortable, reconciled with the world and at peace in your soul. Just please don’t blow me up or lop off my head, because I may not agree with you precisely as you see it. And I, in turn, promise not to do the same.

Peace, Love and Happiness.

Love, Dad

List Source(s): www.skeptic.com; www.csicop.org

Thanks also to Wikipedia.

Posted in Human Nature, Religion, Weekend Letter | Comments Off

The Day After…

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Jon Long Sr

December 22, 2012

Good Morning, “The Day After”

Well, it’s the day after when the world was supposed to end and we’re still here. I’m pretty sure there are a number of people who are disappointed right now (probably the same ones that gathered in 1999) and hopefully many more who are relieved. I for one am happy to see tomorrow and the next and the next. There is still much more to do and not that many marbles left in the jar. So every day is becoming a bit more valuable and I am starting to scrutinize how I spend them.

I have a fair amount of respect for the Maya as one of the great Mesoamerican cultures. But, actually, there was nothing in the Mayan Calendar to say that it was

the “end of the world”. Even Yuri Knorozov, the person most instrumental in deciphering the Mayan Hieroglyphs has said that December 21, 2012 was only the ending of the 14^th Baktun and the beginning of the 15^th. A Mayan Baktun is made up of 144,000 days. So, welcome to the 15^th Baktun for the next 143,999 days, even if it is off the calendar. Maybe the Conquistadors were responsible for the absence of more Baktuns since Mayan hieroglyphs ended shortly after their arrival. The reasons for that is pretty much the same as for the Aztec and Inca demise.

So why this fascination with the end of the world? Is it possibly that some view it as a panacea for all the troubles we keep getting ourselves into. The final judgment when we will have to answer to our maker. An absolute solution to rid the world of the unrighteous. To me it is kind of like “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. After all, how do you know you are righteous without the unrighteous.

I for one happen to like our little unique planet and being here. Sure its not perfect and with imperfect people populating it, it will never be. As long as we succumb to the human frailties of the seven deadly sins, we will be mired in our own muck.

I consider nature to be perfect and all of the rest of the species flora and fauna in it. There is no real need for us to be here and I’m pretty sure everything else would be better off without us. We tend to be the ones that mess things up, create an imbalance and end up knocking over the dominos. But “it is what it is” and we are stuck with it for our given time here.

Let’s honor your fellowman and our Mother Earth. We will be the better for it.

Love, Dad

Posted in Human Nature, Religion, Thoughts, Weekend Letter | Comments Off

Jack Levi ~ Welcome

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Jon Long Sr

November 18, 2012

Good Morning,

Last weekend was filled with expectation, anticipation and general elation when a new addition to the family finally arrived. None too soon for mommy Kelly Long, who had endured another pregnancy fraught with just about every condition an expectant mom can go through.

When the time came, helped with the bouncing ball, she delivered a beautiful boy child. I can say “beautiful” since I am a grandpa for he could of looked like a frog and I would have still said he was beautiful.

Jack Levi Long weighed in at a respectable 8lb 10oz and only missing his father’s mark by 6oz. The last 6oz were probably in his father’s head. Sporting all fingers and toes and a little mishap with his collarbone, he looks like things will be good to go and grow.

Jack Levi Long is the first of his generation to carry on the “Long” surname and with that another generation of “Longs” on the family tree. Jack was named after the grandfathers on his father Michael’s side. Jack B Wright was Jeanie’s father and John Levi Long was my father’s name. A little of both for the name and hopefully some genetics as well, for they were both good men.

What the future will bring for Jack is anyone’s guess, so I will be optimistic and say I hope that his world will be one of enlightenment, freedom and love for and from his fellowman.

That is my hope. My fear is that it will not be that way and he will see the country to which he was born, give up it’s republic of freedom for the easy road of self-serving entitlement and greed. Only time will tell and if there is one thing I know, it is that nothing ever “ever” never stays the same. Jack will live in a world much different than the one I grew up in and with many things that did not even exist back then.

Love, Dad

Posted in Childhood, Parenting, Weekend Letter | Comments Off

Ball Clock II ~ The Balls

Ball Clock II ~ The Dome

Just Bent?

Committment

Lucas Aries Long

Our Time

Autumn Days

Choices

The Day After…

Jack Levi ~ Welcome

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