As the world's cries for transformative change echo ever louder, I find myself weighed down by a solemn sense of urgency. From my seat at the Ravensbrook Sanctuary, I grapple with the unsettling reality of our societal and political landscapes, yearning for an awakening to our true spiritual callings. This episode is a deep dive into the essence of spirituality, shedding light on how it differs from the often-manipulative nature of organized religion, and it is an unflinching look at the power imbalances that stifle the voices of the many in favor of the few. We venture into the heart of global hotspots like Gaza, not to lament, but to galvanize action and reflection on how, together, we can steer our collective ship back toward the horizon of our founding fathers' original compass bearing.
Join me as we unfurl the sails of unity, navigating through the rich tapestry of human diversity, with respect and understanding as our guiding stars. In this sanctuary of thought and discussion, we celebrate the threads that bind us all—love, security, and the quest for freedom—while confronting the forces of control that have led us astray. We ponder the profound impact of a world where character and contribution, not prejudice and hatred, shape our destiny. And through it all, we herald the transformative power of love and mercy, envisioning a future where spirituality is not just a path to personal peace but a bridge to global harmony and justice for an enlightened, interconnected humanity.
As the world's cries for transformative change echo ever louder, I find myself weighed down by a solemn sense of urgency. From my seat at the Ravensbrook Sanctuary, I grapple with the unsettling reality of our societal and political landscapes, yearning for an awakening to our true spiritual callings. This episode is a deep dive into the essence of spirituality, shedding light on how it differs from the often-manipulative nature of organized religion, and it is an unflinching look at the power imbalances that stifle the voices of the many in favor of the few. We venture into the heart of global hotspots like Gaza, not to lament, but to galvanize action and reflection on how, together, we can steer our collective ship back toward the horizon of our founding fathers' original compass bearing.
Join me as we unfurl the sails of unity, navigating through the rich tapestry of human diversity, with respect and understanding as our guiding stars. In this sanctuary of thought and discussion, we celebrate the threads that bind us all—love, security, and the quest for freedom—while confronting the forces of control that have led us astray. We ponder the profound impact of a world where character and contribution, not prejudice and hatred, shape our destiny. And through it all, we herald the transformative power of love and mercy, envisioning a future where spirituality is not just a path to personal peace but a bridge to global harmony and justice for an enlightened, interconnected humanity.
Speak your mind on the show - Message Richard Ravenbrook
Speaker 1:
Welcome everyone. Welcome back to another episode, another spiritual message from the Pagan Preacher Podcast in the Ravensbrook Sanctuary. Spirit has been really heavy on my heart, you know, over the last few months, really the last few years, I think most of us out there can really feel I mean truly really feel deep within our spirit that there's big changes coming, that there's big needed changes coming, that things just aren't the way they should be, the way things used to be, that there's just a whole lot of things in our country, in our world, that are just absolutely, seemingly insane. At this moment we have situations and issues throughout the country, throughout our world, that shouldn't even be a question, that shouldn't even be questioned. It should just be simply right or wrong and then dealt with.
Speaker 1:
But in today's society we have an issue with trying to decide what is good and what is bad, what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, what is God, what is not God, what is religion and what is spirituality and what is spirituality. You know, these things they spin in our minds and they have our minds just spinning so fast. Sometimes we don't even know what direction to go. All we know is things aren't right. We want to call out, we want to scream for help, but then there's silence. Our leaders, our elected officials, seemingly do more damage every day than good Seems, like they are trying to destroy rather than trying to build up, are trying to destroy rather than trying to build up, working to control and submit the people of this world rather than enlighten them and empower them to be more. We feel this, we see this, we know this, we question it. We see protests all over the internet and on TV. We see all kinds of different things going on all over the world, and then some of us are trapped, some of us are enslaved in our jobs, some of us don't. We don't even know if we're going to be able to keep the lights on next week or if we're going to have a place to live or if we can properly take care of our children, because we live in a world that doesn't care about us. And there is a way out.
Speaker 1:
You know I've talked before about religion and spirituality. Religion is the enemy of truth, because a religious person will deny that truth if it opposes their religion. People want to push Specific religion. Whether it be right or wrong, correct or incorrect, accurate or completely False. They push it In a need of control, because spirituality is about enlightenment, it's about freedom.
Speaker 1:
I mentioned this because we look at through our work and we see the control and we see just how little power the normal everyday working person has has. How many powerful people, how many good, balanced-minded people go completely unnoticed every day because they're in a situation where it just doesn't. They don't see or they don't get seen. They don't have the money, they don't have the resources to publicize and they don't fit in with the narrative of what our politicians of today seek. We all look towards, you know, trying to find which person are we going to elect this year in the United States, and they give us a choice between two people. By the end of everything, you have a choice between two. Do we realize that there was probably hundreds of choices to choose from? But by the time we get done, by the time everything, by the time they are through, they have the two that they desire, the two that will fit the mold, the two that will fit the narrative, all politicians, all politicians that work in today's society, fit. They all sit at the same table and I know Spirit's going to have me kind of going all over the place right now. I urge you to take your time and listen Maybe re-listen to the things that Spirit says, because there's a lot on my heart.
Speaker 1:
There's a lot of things that are happening right now. You know it's almost April of 2024. Big things are coming. The war in Gaza is still going on, the manslaughter that, the genocide, the murder of children and women, of non-soldiers we know this. We know Israel is, at least the leaders, the current leaders of Israel have completely gone rogue and are completely bloodthirsty. Be it the world, though it may not be silent, it is actionless, and any kind of faith without deeds is useless, and any kind of faith without deeds is useless. We have these situations going on everywhere in Germany, france, but then in countries where we're allowed to do these things, like the United States, we barely see it.
Speaker 1:
We're all too busy. We're all too busy trying to make the money to pay the bills, because the politicians tell us how much we have to pay, how much they're going to take, what we're going to do each day and what we're not. And we complain at our table, we complain to the workers we work with and we merely move on and do absolutely nothing. And the few people that do stand up are seen as extremists. Now I know there's some people out there that take things way too far in the wrong direction, but there has to be action. There has to be a way to end the current suffering, and I guess Spirit is trying to tell us right now that the suffering isn't going to end. Using the current political schemes In this political realm, this political standard that we have today, where we elect people that they basically tell us who we can choose from, it's not gonna work.
Speaker 1:
We cannot change our country by doing the same mistakes that we've done for the last 200 years. There has to be change. There has to be a new way, a new form. We have to get back to we, the people, and understanding what the founding fathers intended, rather than trying to add and take away consistently in this country. You know we used to have morality in this country, even without religion. People could see things like what's happening to the Palestinian people and know that. You know this isn't about religion, because you can disagree with their religion and still agree that they are humans, that they are people and that they deserve a life just like we do. They deserve equality, they deserve land, they deserve families and they deserve to live without war. But where have we gone in this country that we will take a book, a book of 66 chapters, written and rewritten, and rewritten and edited over a dozen times, and we will take that book and give excuse to why we don't step in to save these people. Well, the Bible says that the Palestinian people, or the Israel rather, these are the chosen people. We can't go up against these people. They're the chosen people. Do you realize? Even if that were the case and I'm not saying that's the case, but even if that were the case, you know, we can rise up against the current government of Israel without coming up against Israel itself.
Speaker 1:
Evil has infiltrated so many areas of our world under the mask of godliness and holiness and purity. Most people don't even understand those words. They don't understand the word love and understand that love comes in many different forms and fashions. It's not just a sensual, passionate thing, but there's a love, a godly love for our brothers and sisters, of this world, of creation itself. And it doesn't matter what race or creed or religion, it doesn't matter what you look like, what you believe in, what your orientation is. All that matters is. You are a living, breathing human. You are my brother, you are my sister, no matter what else is in your life. You were put here on this earth by the same creator that put me here and I will walk beside you and I will protect your rights and I hope that you protect mine.
Speaker 1:
But we've lost that notion, we've lost that heart, not only in the United States but in this world, because we've had evil people that have come in and done so many evil things like slavery, taking men and women and forcing them to do things that are an abomination to humanity, period. And I think all of us have had these things, all these things done to our lives, because most of us, most races, have had something in their life, in their generations. Not only the American Indian you know all these but Africans and Irish and all of these people. We've all had issues the church in itself and I say the church because it's the church in itself, and I say the church because it's the church in a whole when it began to go through and force conversions, force people to convert or die. But it wasn't just that. In every society, even in the Native Americans, they fought amongst themselves. Tribes fought among tribes. Over in Europe, you had tribes fighting against tribes.
Speaker 1:
We have had wars and savagery throughout this world since the beginning. It isn't just white on black or black on white, or Japanese on this person or Chinese on this or whatever. You know. We look at these things and we try to give excuse to why we do the things we do and when in reality, there are. There is no excuse. We fight over land, we fight over resources, we fight over these things rather than working together in its ignorance and these evil forces, they stand back and they laugh while they control us and get us to do the things that they want us to do.
Speaker 1:
They give us these books that are supposed to lead us to God, when all they do is lead us away from the Creator. They lead us away from understanding the divinity within ourselves. They lead us away from understanding our own power and what our thoughts do in this world and what the spoken words do. That we don't understand that when we curse ourselves, when we curse someone else, that that truly is a curse. We put things in actions with our mind and our words because we are divine within ourselves and people don't know it. They don't understand it, they take it for granted. We're taught that we're just these physical, puny little things that walk this earth when you are way, way, way more than that. But they don't want you to know that. They don't want you empowered. They want you in a mode of submission and control, and we know we can understand that to a point, but there has to be a point where we come out of that. They control us because sometimes it can become total chaos.
Speaker 1:
It's like when everybody wakes up at one time and realizes that, hey, we've all been lied to. It's called a revolution. Things change dramatically, but a lot of bad and a lot of harm come in the process. Because, though people feel this and they know it, they don't know the direction which they need to go. They don't know what to do. They're angry, and they have good reason to be angry. They're frustrated, and they have every reason to be frustrated because not only do they lie to us, they lie to our parents, they lied to our grandparents. We've all been slaves to a system that cared nothing about us.
Speaker 1:
We were taught that we lived in the most powerful, best country in the world, when, honestly, that is nothing but a lie. The United States has committed more genocide and murder and slaughter than any other country in this world, and we've been taught that it's been done in a way of patriotism and for democracy. When we look at the truth, it's been about resources, land and power, and this has been going on for thousands of years. How do we find the way out of this? We find the way out of this by finding ourselves, finding who we are and going with who we are. Not just believing that you have to go to work to pay these bills, but understanding there's more to you than that, understanding that there's more to this world than that, that you may be, that you may have to be willing to take that risk, that you may have to suffer so that the next generation will not suffer, that you may have to even fight, that you may have to sacrifice, because we do these things to glorify the Creator, to enlighten the masses and to empower the future generations.
Speaker 1:
No matter whether you believe in one God or many gods, or no gods, the fact of the matter is we won't survive unless we unite together, unless we see each other as brothers and sisters, that we can unite in our mutual differences, or should I say we can unite in mutual respect and understand our differences. Understand that our differences don't have to separate us. Understand that our difference don't have to offend us because we're different, have to offend us because we're different. We are different, we come from different places, we look different, our traditions are different, our beliefs are different and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Problem with this world is that we keep trying to convert everybody to what we want and what we believe and what we are, rather than just letting the world and letting the people be people. That's the issues at hand Control, control, control. Rather than just take my hand and let's figure this out.
Speaker 1:
Brother, sister, come on, we can do this One day at a time. Your gifts and my gifts and his gifts and his gifts and the things that we know, combined together, can change the world. You say, well, you're a dreamer. Yes, I am a dreamer. Yes, I am a dreamer, but I also believe that it can be reality, that dreams often come reality many times, most times, because we all want every living breathing human in this world once. Love, security, safety, freedom we all have that in common.
Speaker 1:
Now it's just trying to figure out the things that oppose that for us, ridding this world of that evil force, creating the systems that will enable equality and justice for everyone and allow purpose for everyone, not simply based upon income, but upon your character and upon your gifts, your intelligence, the things that make you who you are, give you your purpose, understanding why you were here on this earth, why you are here. We're all here to do something, not just work. And the earth keeps spinning and things keep getting worse because many of us just simply aren't doing what we're supposed to be doing, because we're confused, we're blinded. We're blinded by religious indoctrination, by confused parents, confused grandparents, where their heart was pure and their heart was in the right place, but the knowledge that they were pushing was wrong, because they were taught wrong. They were taught things that they knew would control and down the road, the generations would be more controlled and more controlled, and more controlled.
Speaker 1:
When the people wake up, there will be a revolution. It'll be an awakening, a gathering of people, of minds ready for change, lovers of Mother Earth and the creatures that reside on this earth that we're supposed to live with, not destroy, push out, and that we won't treat other human beings like trash. You know, there's just no real word to put there how we can treat a living breathing human being like some kind of, because we wouldn't even treat an animal that way. We treat animals better than we treat some people, and it's disgusting. And at the same time, these same people will say that they believe in a God, they believe in a creator, they believe in whatever divine holiness and, at the same time, have no issue watching the creations of this world be slaughtered in the name of property and resources.
Speaker 1:
Where do we go? Where do we? Where do we stop this madness when everybody has to play God and say, well, I don't believe in that and I'm not going to accept that in my society? Well, you follow after something that this book tells me that I have to oppose. But do you not realize all that means is oppose within yourself. It doesn't mean that you have to try to keep people from doing it themselves. You know, religion is all religion. All religion is created by mankind.
Speaker 1:
Spirituality is about spirit, when spirit teaches. You need no book period, you need no formal book to read or anything else to understand spirit, because spirit teaches you all things in many different ways. It it's all about listening, paying attention, accepting. But we've lost how to do that, because sometimes the books that we read deter us from believing in what we're hearing. We feel it in our heart like, yeah, I know what you're saying and it it sounds good, but there is no. But truth is truth and sometimes truth hurts. Truth does cut cuts deep, because often, when we have believed something for so many years and then we're told the truth, it's like someone pulls the rug out from under us. Our life just stops momentarily, it could even take our breath away. Everything changes and it's like a baby. We've got to relearn everything because we but that's what it's about being born again, and I know I'm saying a lot of terms from christianity, but they fit in every religion, every spirituality, if you can apply it to what I'm saying that we are.
Speaker 1:
When we become enlightened, when we understand the truth for what it is it is, it's like a new life, it's like a new beginning, and sometimes that's scary. Most of the time that's scary, and then they understand that. Well, I thought this for so many years and I was wrong. How do I know this is right? Feel it, not just read it. Feel it, sense it, use your senses, not just your eyes, not just your ears. Your ears tune in to the things around. You understand just how we all are connected mother earth, all the people of this earth, the creatures of this earth, even the waters and the creatures within the water. We are all connected somewhere and until we reach the point in enlightenment in our society that we understand this and that we can give a mutual respect for this balance, our lives will never be right. We have to find that time and that place.
Speaker 1:
Got to get rid of the hate. You got to get rid of the bigotry, the confusion. Let people just be people. You know, I understand that we have some evil people out in the world that we must deal with, but there's far too many people in the prisons that shouldn't be there, far too many people being punished for crimes that they shouldn't have ever been punished for. We've got to learn what love is and what mercy and justice truly is. Thank you everybody for just taking the time to listen. I urge you, if you have to, to go back and re-listen. Please share the Pagan Preacher podcast and the intention of these podcasts. The intention is to bring about world peace, help with coexistence, end the bigotry and the hate. You know to teach people that when they are just deconstructing from mainstream religion that there is something far better, far more fulfilling when they begin true, true spiritual walk and learning the divinity within themselves. Be blessed and blessed be my friends. Thank you no-transcript.