That Famous Verse of the Letter to the Corinthians

For Christians, one of the a strangest and greatest cases of a complete turn-around of one's beliefs happened to St. Paul the Apostle. From being one of the most infamous prosecutors of those who believed in Jesus, the Christ from Galilee (Rabbi Yeshua Ben Josef to the Jews), he became a driven, courageous and defiant apostle in propagating the new faith. He labored for many years enduring many hardships and obstacles, including imprisonment. Yet he was resilient and proved to be a prudent spiritual as well as organizational leader.

As with most things that start out in the beginning though, it was often a struggle with confusion, distrust or the lack clarity and direction. The beginnings of the early Christian church at that time was no exception. The Bible records that he wrote several guiding and faith-sustaining letters to these newly established Christian communities. Once, he wrote a letter aimed at the church in Corinth as he was in prison and unable to be physically with them. He attempted to ease the troubles coming both from within the various Christian groups as well as from outside pressures. Part of his first letter to them became one of the most enduring and famous of his messages. Simply put, to me he was trying to say: "Guys, let's not do this. Let's not fight among ourselves. Remember what we believe in and what we're trying to be."

Today, we hear it often recited during weddings since the theme of it centers on LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Look Before You Leap

What's the very FIRST thing you have to do?

Granting you're the "Good Samaritan" ready-and-willing type, let's play the scenario game: so you're out walking with friends/family or significant other and having a good time. Turning to a corner, you see what appears to be a man lying on the street. Drunk? Maybe. Injured and unconscious? Possibly. Instinctively, you want to come over to find out what happened and how you can help the poor man, which you do.

So after deciding to ask your friend or relative to call for help with his/her cell phone or trying to revive him or doing a primary survey assessment while mentally going through your CPR drills should they come into play, which task actually comes first?

Sometimes in our overzealousness to help out, we forget that we might become victims ourselves. This could very much arise from the fact that we didn't survey the area and check on how safe or secure the situation really is. How safe was it actually to approach the victim? In failing to do so, me might become part of the problem instead of the solution.

Let's go back to the picture above. It's very easy to "tunnel-vision" and zero-in only on the victim, which actually happens in an emergency or a hi-stress situation so its best to prepare for it. In the perimeter, are there hidden or unseen debris, obstacles or objects which may hurt/harm/hinder you or the victim more? How large is the area you're going to position yourself in? What's on the other side of the corner? Is the ground level, slippery or covered with any material (part of the consideration if and when maneuvering or evacuating becomes necessary).

This becomes even more relevant if we consider a wreckage-type accidents like a vehicle head-on collision or a plane crash. An exploding fuel tank becomes a real consideration then! How about a car dangling precariously off the side of a cliff or elevated road? Do you think your added weight or motion might cause it to fall altogether?

This is an important lesson I learned as well. Sometime back when I was undergoing the Red Cross SFA-BLS training (Standard First Aid and Basic Life Support, a five-day course that I encourage you to take should you have the opportunity), during the mass casualty scenario exercise, everyone rushed out of the building premises to a specific area outside where a number of simulated "victims " were located. On the threshold of the gate however, I was able to stop for about half a second and do a wider field-view of the area. Fortunately I was able to spot a lone "victim" who was partially obscured since she was lying next to a vehicle. Looking back, if I hadn't done that short stop, she would've probably been missed and left there because of all the simulated confusion, panic and greater concentration of victims/casualties somewhere else.

Survey the area first!

Shooting and Gunfighting: The < 2%

There's a school of thought by researchers and experts that proposes that, of the given total population, only less than 2% are truly gifted. By "truly gifted" I mean the unique, jaw-dropping, exceptional kind.

So what's that picture of a man with the gun and coin above? That folks is Jelly Bryce, the FBI's legendary shooter. To describe the context of what he's doing above, it's a time-lapse photo of him dropping a coin from shoulder height then drawing his gun and shooting with the same hand before the coin reaches waist-level!

A link to a good read about him -

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/957612/posts

It all boils down to reflexes coupled with trigger control. Simple enough right? Well, that's like saying the control on the pressure of the stroke of the brush by Da Vinci or a Japanese shodo (calligraphy) artist is simple enough. To even begin to appreciate the level of skill these folks have, you need to have years of training and practice.

Then there's Jerry Miculek. My sometime firearms and tactics instructor had the rare pleasure of meeting him once. On shaking hands with him, he said Miculek's hands were so large they could almost wrap around both of his (a big grip does help)! Smith and Wesson firearms even made a revolver model in his honor. The video below. Don't blink -

If There Is ONE Film I Urge You To See. . .

this would be it: Zeitgeist, the Movie.

From the German meaning "the spirit of the age". Extremely controversial and assailed by the mainstream. As someone who's been a sort of outsider (sometimes even an outcast) for most of my life, I'm not afraid to consider some of the things the film tries to present.

Fair warning though, if you're a devout Christian, Part 1 might be extremely offensive. IMHO despite being thought-provoking indeed, I do not believe it entirely. By the fruits of his efforts, Christ had a profound effect in this world and I'm not just saying that because I was born a Christian. I've also done my own pursuit and research into history and I thank God he sent him to us. You can take refuge in your faith.

A link to the full video below and if you can spend two hours with a very open mind about the roots of the long-established ways of doing things and what's happening to the world around us -

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=zeitgeist&emb=0&aq=f#

I honestly don't know how it would affect this blog. Might be accused of being a conspiracy nut or worse. Amen (from the Hebrew meaning "so be it") then to whatever.

EDIT - I just watched the film's continuation, just released last October: Zeitgeist: Addendum -

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=zeitgeist+addendum&emb=0&aq=1&oq=zeit#

Coincidentally, John Perkins whom I heard about some time back, is featured in the film. He wrote the book: Confessions of An Economic Hitman (that title alone seems ominous already).

The REAL Superman

Being a US Navy SEAL commando/special forces soldier though, his body's got to be in the peak of human physical endurance from running in all those ultra-marathons!

I must admit though it's very "macho" motivating!



Now if I can only move my lazy butt to exercise more. . . Kaso masarap matulog eh!

How the Mind Perceives

: )

Right back at you!

Recently it was reported that the folks Down Under saw a "smiley face" appear in the night sky caused by just the right alignment and position of the moon and the planets Venus and Jupiter. Isn't that something? Nakakbilib ano po?

Well, what's even more interesting actually is how we're able to see things and associate such on seemingly random or non-related objects around us. Ever hear about the "image" of the Blessed Virgin or other religious figure miraculously appearing in the splash marks of water on the side of a church wall? How about the resemblance or profile of the "face" of a famous actor on--of all things--a potato chip?

In Psychology, we learn that the human brain is basically hard-wired to perceive patterns. It's part of what inherently made us man. This is a natural consequence of our overall evolution since long ago to look for meaning (or purpose subjectively and philosophically speaking) in our existence. This thought process doesn't just stop there though. In our seeing or hearing of the world around us, we acutely zero-in on things and associate with them objects with significance to us.

This mental phenomenon is known as pareidolia. Here's a link for more info -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

Oh, below is one very cool example.

(Photo from paranormal.about.com)

If you look at the pic above it's obviously an image of a family; a father, child and mother. It's said to be from Sweden from the early 1900's. Some though, especially religious Christians, may see at first glance a Chirst-like image within the visual context.

Don't see it? Here's the clue: the child's head wearing a cap, if you look at it in a certain way, is the "eye" of Christ and the right sleeve forms his nose. Get it na?

It is said though that the child died afterwards. So is it some sort of sign or miracle? Is the photo apparently indicating that Christ is welcoming the baby? Personally, I wouldn't attach any religious significance to it readily. But I leave that up to your own faith.

This Is So Very Wrong!

A Sale stampede in the US kills a store worker and the rabid buyers just couldn't care less!?!! 'Tang Ina! When I first heard about this news bit, it was OUTRAGEOUS on so many levels I couldn't believe it! But it DID happen -

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081129/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_death#fullhttp://