"A 'miracle' baby has brought a kind of mystical hope to people in Russia's mostly Muslim southern fringe who are increasingly desperate in the face of Islamist violence. From hunchbacked grandmas to schoolboys, hundreds of pilgrims lined up this week in blazing sunshine to get a glimpse of 9-month-old baby Ali Yakubov, on whose body they say verses from the Koran appear and fade every few days. Pinkish in colour and several centimeters high, the Koranic verse 'Be thankful or grateful to Allah' was printed on the infant's right leg in clearly legible Arabic script this week, religious leaders said. Visiting journalists later saw a single letter after the rest had vanished.... Islam in Russia is widely believed to have originated in ethnically rich Dagestan, where 3 million people speak over 30 languages and whose ancient walled city of Derbent claims to be Russia's oldest city.... Up to 2,000 pilgrims from Russia's 20 million Muslim population come daily to see the docile, blue-eyed baby, whose pink brick house has become a shrine.... They say the fact Yakubov's 27-year-old father Shamil works in the police force -- a regular target by militants -- is proof of divine intervention. Makhachkala's influential mayor Sayid Amirov, who has survived around a dozen attacks on his life since the mid-1990s, interpreted the recent buzz around the baby as a warning. 'What happened here is indeed a miracle, but this should also be a message to not take religion too far,' he told reporters.... 'Allah is great and he sent me my miracle child to keep our people safe,' [his mother] told Reuters, adjusting her tight purple hijab which crowns a multi-coloured kaftan. Though divine 'miracles' are common in Christianity -- such as weeping icons and stigmata, bleeding wounds in the hands and feet similar to those of Christ -- Islam rarely has them. Outside her home, pilgrims prayed and gave thanks to Allah...." -- Reuters, Kizlyar Russia, 10/21/09

"U.S. pop star Madonna will visit Malawi on Sunday to lay the foundation stone of a multi-million dolar girls' school she is building, her charity Raising Malawi told Reuters. The singer, who has adopted two children from the southern African country, is due to arrive on Sunday and attend a brick-laying ceremony in Lilongwe on Monday. The school is expected to cost about $15 million.... An AIDS epidemic has left over a million children orphaned in the impoverished nation...." -- Reuters Life!, 10/22/09

"... Affirmative prayer is a useful tool for focusing our thoughts on the truth that we are spiritual beings, filled with vibrant energy and renewing life. We, too, can use this tool in our daily lives. When we pray affirmatively about a health challenge, we are recognizing the life of God within. The act of affirmation can be thought of as 'the mental movement that asserts confidently and persistently the Truth of Being in the face of all appearances to the contrary.' As we pray affirmatively, we assert our confidence in God's healing power within our minds and bodies. We affirm daily, even momently, that we are one with God and that the life of God is flowing freely within us...." -- Deborah L. Cameron in Affirm Life! for Silent Unity

Graphic above left: digital graphic of former ancient Afghan stone Buddha destroyed during Taliban takeover in that nation

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit." -- Zechariah 4:1-6 "Silence is God's first language. Everything else is a poor translation." -- St. John's Episcopal Church, Johnson City TN "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." -- The Roan Mountain Institute of Christian Science and Health, Mother Church of Christian Science "....Sufis believe that enlightenment comes through experience, not intellect, and urge the individual to assume responsibility for her own life, not to trust any authorities, not even spiritual teachers.... Sufis believe the conventional or 'logical' ways of thinking must be transcended if insight is to be gained. And Sufis believe that hope for survival of the human race is to be found in evolutionary change in which new organs will be developed. These organs will enable humans to transcend time and space through telepathy, prophecy, and clairvoyance...." -- Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest by Carol P. Christ in From Motherhood to Prophecy "Religion is a unique force in society. It promotes both good and evil. Historically, it has helped to abolish slavery. It has promoted racial integration, equal rights for women, and equal rights for gays and lesbians. It has motivated individuals to create massive support services for the poor, the sick, the hurting, and the broken. Conversely, it has been used to justify slavery, racial segregation, oppression of women, discrimination against homosexuals, genocide, extermination of minorities, and other horrendous evils." -- Religious Tolerance "I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the Lord, that does all these things." Isaiah 45:6-7 Widely varied in size and structure, picturesque houses of worship cling throughout generations to Appalachia's hills and hollers. There's an echo of faith in everyday conversation and an ancient devotion steels residents in courage, humor and grace as they struggle with weather-related and man-made catastrophes. Eunice Soper has written many devotional books, mostly for children. Semi-retired from professional service worldwide for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, she and her husband, Francis, radiate peace, strength and practical good-heartedness from their adopted home in Virginia's central Shenandoah Valley. Her many ACR/OSCR-published inspirational tales are archived and referenced by her name in ACR's XYZ Index.

".... Though most sophistocated Jewish and Christian thinkers would deny that they think of God as an old white man in the sky, the unconscious association of deity with maleness is perpetuated by language and symbol...." -- Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest by Judith P. Christ "....Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them...." -- Genesis 26-27, New International Version "....Father of day, Father of night, Father of black, Father of white, Father, who build the mountain so high, Who shapeth the cloud up in the sky, Father of time, Father of dreams, Father, who turneth the rivers and streams...." -- Father of Night by Bob Dylan Beth El Shaddai, a small Messianic Synagogue uniting Jews and Gentiles from Birmingham Alabama, updates their informational site weekly with pertinent Biblical history, feasts and holidays, and maintains related web links. "The [Japanese] Ninja that played an important role in the information battles upraised their abilities to the highest level by using the Ninpou they established. The Ninpou forming prompt actions and the toughest mental powers can also be a trustworthy guide to success.... The Iga Ninpou were developed in order to train the mind, techniques and body of the Ninja. Among the secrets that turned impossible into possible, there are relaxing techniques, health maintaining methods and healthy diets that all can be adapted to the lives of modern people. " -- The Truth of Iga Ninja "Mine is the secret that opens upon the door of youth and mine is the Cup of the Wine of Life and the Caldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of Immortality. I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man upon earth. I give the knowledge of the Spirit Eternal, and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before.... I who am the beauty of the Green Earth, and the White Moon amongst the stars and the mystery of the Waters, and the desire of the heart of man, I call unto thy soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the Soul of Nature who giveth life to the universe; from me all things proceed and unto me all things must return.... I have been with thee from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire." -- Book of Shadows "...So let our sacrifice rise before you today, And fully follow after you, For those who trust in you will not be disappointed. So now we follow you with all our hearts; we revere you And seek your face. Do not disappoint us, But deal with us in your forbearance And your abundant mercy. Deliver us in your wonderful way, And glorify your name, Lord; May all who do your slaves harm be disgraced; May they be put to shame and lose all their power and might, And may their strength be broken. Let them know that you are the Lord God alone, Glorious over the whole world." -- The Song of the Three Children: 16-211,, The Apocrypha trans. by Edgar J. Goodspeed; also see Old Testament Apocrypha, Wesley Center for Applied Theology; and Gnostic Virtual Home)

Video above "Amazing Grace" in Tsa-la-gi, the native American Cherokee language transliterated to syllabary by the great and legendary tribal genius Sequoyah (Tsa-la-gi for the English word "love" include gv-ge-yu-i, a-da-ga-u-e, tsi-lv-quo-di, a-da-ge-yu-di, tsi.) Evolution Weekend -- sponsored by The Clergy Project of historic Butler University in Indianapolis -- unites clergy and layfolk in "... serious discussion and reflection on the relationship between religion and science. One important goal is to elevate the quality of the discussion on this critical topic - to move beyond sound bites. A second critical goal is to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith. Finally, as with The Clergy Letters themselves, which have now been signed by more than 12,000 members of the clergy in the United States, Evolution Weekend makes it clear that those claiming that people must choose between religion and science are creating a false dichotomy...." Butler University is: "Ranked 2nd best university in the Master's Midwest category of U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges; Named a "Best in the Midwest" college by the Princeton Review; North American Pharmacy Licensing Exam ranks Butler in the top three schools nationally; Butler's dance program is one of the top five in the country." Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn seeks to unite Western abstract and esoteric traditions (e.g. Gnostic, Cabalistic, Masonic, Rosicrucian,...). Sister Mary Rose McGeady, administrator of Covenant House, writes a very readable monthly on-line newsletter about her experiences with some of the 44,000 homeless and runaway children CH helps each year. Covenant House offers assistance, including food, clothing, medical aid, educational and vocational training and counseling, through shelters in 15 major cities. Their toll-free NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) connects children to counselors and resources in any area.

"... And Jesus was a sailor/ when he walked upon the water/ And he spent a long time watching/ from his lonely wooden tower/ And when he knew for certain/ only drowning men could see him/ He said All men shall be sailors then/ until the sea shall free them/ but he himself was broken/ long before the sky would open/ forsaken, almost human/ he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone/ And you want to travel with him/ you want to travel blind/ and you think maybe you'll trust him/ for he's touched your perfect body/ with his mind" -- Suzanne, Leonard Cohen Video meditation above is "Asa To Ma - Vedic Mantra"

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"My wish for all of you is that your Light may shine brightly and purely, that your Dark Nights of the Soul may bring you awareness and knowledge. That you may at the last find someone to take on your light and set you free." -- To Serve the Light, an address by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki

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"Last year, Mr. Cao [Maobing] was in trouble with authorities after he protested against corruption and tried to organize fellow workers into an independent trade union. In December, one day after he spoke with foreign reporters about his complaints, the police took him to a psychiatric hospital, where he has been medicated and forced to undergo electroshock therapy, said relatives and friends who insist that he is not insane but a determined advocate. The hospital director says a committee of 17 experts has declared that Mr. Cao suffers 'paranoid psychosis.' Even given such cases, Mr. Munro said official data indicated that China's political use of psychiatric confinement had declined significantly in the 1990's, before Falun Gong was banned a year and a half ago. Now, he said, 'the new repression of Falun Gong has sounded a loud warning bell.... The mental-pathology model is being extended to religious nonconformists,' Mr. Munro charged. He calls this a potentially ominous harbinger as China enters an era of rapid social change." -- Psychiatric Abuse by China Reported in Repressing Sect, by Erik Eckholm, New York Times

Video above: Fire of Anatolia (Anatolu Atesi) dancers from Turkey

Also check out excellent music streaming from Project Vibe "The fight is not over!"