The Official Website of Michael Corthell

  All animals (human and nonhuman) can feel pain, and can suffer, and ought to be treated the same - with love, kindness and respect.

“I made the choice to be vegan because I will not eat (or wear, or use) anything that could have an emotional response to its death or captivity. I can well imagine what that must feel like for our non-human friends - the fear, the terror, the pain - and I will not cause such suffering to a fellow living being.” ― Rai Aren Just one question for you to 'chew on' concerning carnism. Would it upset you if restaurants started serving puppy and kitten meat instead of cows? Robin's eggs instead of hen's eggs? Squirrels instead of pigs? Gorilla milk instead of cow meat?? ' “Being vegan is easy. Are there social pressures that encourage you to continue to eat, wear, and use animal products? Of course there are. But in a patriarchal, racist, homophobic, and ableist society, there are social pressures to participate and engage in sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism. At some point, you have to decide who you are and what matters morally to you. And once you decide that you

And further, it is true that God is manifest in everything. There is both the unity and a dynamic interplay between the one(the whole) and its parts. "All is one" doesn't mean a homogeneous sameness, but instead it refers to a dynamic interconnection and co-evolution between parts that are not different on a fundamental level(that is the unity at the quantum level). More on all of this later. :) 

  Life has a way of balancing( compensating for ) things. For example, those who have things in abundance will tend to worry endlessly about petty things like what to wear, how big a house to buy or what kind of car to drive.

Abundance to me is the inspired life I live, plus the highest quality of life I inspire in others. Having stated that. There's a lie that has infected humanity's thinking. It's an untruth that acts like a virus within our collective mind. And that lie is, 'There’s not enough to go around'. Gratitude (and sustainability) are the means of abundance. Just be thankful you have the ability to reduce suffering.... ''This is what you should do: love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men ... re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss what insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem''. ― Walt Whitman

 

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh We all need a thing that takes us out of our day to day, and reminds us that all will be well. Meditation, a nap, does that for me. Let it be. “The period between four and six in the morning is called the Brahmamuhurta, the Brahmic time, or divine period, and is a very sacred time to meditate.” ― Sri S. Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras

Some people want God, the Universe, to come to their rescue, and give them a new life, a new job, or some new and improved situation, but they don’t want anything in their lives disturbed. That's crazy, right?  For instance, if I wanted to remodel my home and told my contractor that I didn’t want him to touch anything, he would have told me that I didn’t really don't want to remodel. If I wanted new paint, a new floor, or new cabinets, none of that would be possible if the old stuff wasn’t changed out first.  Many times we need to be stripped, broken and removed from what we have come to rely on in order for us to be rebuilt with greater spiritual strength, focus and stamina.  It never feels good when security and other things are being taken from us, but if we can trust the process, we will experience greater good on the other side of the process. We need to trust God, and give Him permission to tear things down so that He can make things new(and improved).  It can be painful,

“I’m not telling you it is going to be easy; I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” – Art Williams When we turn the corner, and find ourselves facing in the right direction, then all we have to do is keep on walking. “Recovery didn’t open the gates of heaven and let me in.  Recovery opened the gates of hell and let me out!” – Anonymous

 

 

“Gaslighting are lies with a purpose to confuse and control.” ― Tracy Malone Invalidation, and the devaluation done by psychopaths and narcissists makes people feel crazy and unmoored ― it is the root of gaslighting ― either in personal relationships or in politics. Victims are told not to believe their eyes and ears. Their feelings are then purposely denied or manipulated in order to make them question their own reality and even their own sanity. “Remember, a fact is a fact, no matter how hard the liars  amongst you might try hushing it up.” ― Billy Childish

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive.” ― Dalai Lama Compassion can be painful but it doesn't have to be. Many of us hurt because when we feel connected to everything, we also feel responsible for everything. And we cannot turn away from injustice. Our destinies is bound up with the destinies of others. We must either learn to embrace the Universe as One(holy) or be burdened by it. Each of us needs to grow strong enough to love the All, but also be 'empty' enough to withstand its worst horrors. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ― Mother Teresa