Conference hydra::dejavu

Would you happen to have a copy of ... ah ... the original for those of
us who don't have it committed to memory?

    OOPS! :-)
    
    Am I unprepared.  I don't have the originals.  I will bring them with
    me on Monday or perhaps someone can help us out.
    
    Sorry
    
    Ellen
    

    Don't you mean you will *not* lie.  (see no. 9 in previous entry.)
    
    :-)
    shannon

    
    Shannon - 
    
    You're right, and I am blushing, bigtime.
    
    Sorry, I was translating from the KJV in my head as I was entering the
    text.
    
    The corrected verion is shown below:
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        
    Here's a paraphrased verion of the Original 10.  Jewish culture divides
    these into two parts.  The first part (1 - 4) is considered to be man's 
    duty to God, and the second part (5 - 10) is considered to be man's duty
    to man. ("Man" here is used in the general sense to mean mankind - men
    and women.)
    
              The Ten Commandments, As Given By Jehovah, God Of Israel
    
                            To Moses, on Mount Sinai
    
                                 (circa 500 B.C.?)
    
                               (Paraphrased Version)
    
    
    1.  You will have no other gods before Me.
    
    2.  You will not make any graven image (for the purpose of worshipping
        it).
    
    3.  You will not take My Name in vain.
    
    4.  Remember the Sabbath Day, keep it holy.
    
    5.  Honor your mother and father, and you will have a long life.
    
    6.  You will not kill.
    
    7.  You will not commit adultry.
    
    8.  You will not steal.
    
    9.  You will not lie.
    
    10. You will not covet your neighbor's belongings.
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    It is interesting that Christ, when asked about the 10 Commandments 
    basically responded:
    
    The greatest commandment is that you shall love the Lord your God with
    all your heart, mind, and soul, and the second is like unto it:  You
    shall love your neighbor as yourself.  
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Hope this helps this topic.
    
    
    
    Bill Slater
    Colorado Springs
    Spiritual Anarchist
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    <RE:  2 Commandments that Jesus left with us
    
    Just for fun, I'll add my interpretations of these.
    1.  I AM LOVE - in action - Allow me to demonstrate myself through you.
    
    2.  Experience the uniques I AM'ness of yourself and know that it is
        unconditional love.  And when you're with someone experience their
        unique I AM'ness by being fully present with them.  
    
    Can't wait for some of your interpretations.
    
    Ellen

    re: .6 (Ellen)
    
         I don't believe in "commandments."  Suggestions, perhaps...
    
    Frederick
    

    > I don't believe in "commandments."  Suggestions, perhaps...
    
    Thank you Frederick, would you consider replacing the word
    commandment in this exercise with the word suggestion and 
    sharing your interpretations with us?
    
    Ellen
    

    re: 1659.8
    
    "I wouldn't dream of telling you what to do."  But I might suggest. :-)
    
    Ellen       

    re: .8 (Ellen)
    
        Sure...and I'll even right a screenplay.  I'll get Charlton
    Heston and have him part the Read See, have him fight the Fair-OH!,
    have him predict sunset and sunrise and a plague of VAXes, have
    him stiffen his snake into a good, useful rod or walking stick,
    make him turn tumbleweeds into burning torches by simply staring
    at them and, at the end, turn his hare gray and have him start
    a commune somewhere in the dessert.  And, I'll give this movie
    a real catchy title, call it something like "The Ten Suggestions."
    
    Hmm, loses something, doesn't it?  ;-)
    
    I'm sorry, Ellen, I can hardly do as well as my friend Lazaris has
    already kindly offered.  Please see notes 358.162, .163, .164 and
    .177 for some nice little sayings or phrases, etc. many of which
    stack up quite well "against" the Ten Commandments.
    
    Frederick
    

    I may be leaving this Friday, and since I started this, I think it only
    fair to share the rest of my responses to the assignment.  Hope I have
    time to see some of your interpretations.
    
    I will use the paraphrased version in note 1659.3 for the original
    commandment (suggestion for Frederick :-))
    
    >You will not make any graven image (for the purpose of worshipping
     it).
    
    Understand that everything comes from me and I love everything that
    I create.
    
    >You will not take My name in vain.
    
    Don't complain.  I create what you ask for and I do it with perfection.
    Don't boast.  Understand that the pride you feel for an accomplishment
    is my gift to you for allowing me to work through you.
    
    >Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
    
    Set some time aside to communicate with me and listen to what I have
    to say.
    
    >Honor your father and mother, and you will have a long life.
    
    Know that I AM is your masculine side and when used, are your thoughts
    (or ideas) for good; and your spirit is your feminine side and acts as
    your feeling side when we are connected.  Together they represent the
    necessary strength and courage to follow my direction.  Both are very
    necessary and good.
    
    >You will not kill
    
    Choose your words and actions carefully.  They can destroy your
    potential to express love.
    
    >You will not commit adultry.
    
    Avoid dwelling on things that can turn you away from the truth.
    
    >You will not steal.
    
    Don't diminish another person.  I have no favorites.  All of my
    children are joint heirs and equal in my eyes.
    
    >You will not lie
    
    See only good in one another and when you speak use praise.
    
    >You will not covet your neighbor's belongings.
    
    Don't concern yourself with what another person has.  Your spiritual
    journey may not require these things.
    
    Hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
    
    Ellen

    The Ten Elliptical Subliminal Suggestions
    
    1. No Whining

    The ten 'commandments,' like so many OT so-called directives from
    God, many of which make absolultely no sense to us, when taken
    literally, in our own culture -- the book of Leviticus, for example, is 
    full of very, very strange commandments like Thou shall not get tattooed 
    or Thou shall not wear clothing woven of two different materials --
    pretty much constituted practical advice, IMHO, for the society at the
    time, advice aimed at preventing that particular society from 
    destroying itself.
    
    I wonder if, 3000 years from now, Charlton Heston will be held up as
    an example of a God-inspired prophet, and his Hollywood movies revered as 
    divine interpretation of the Bible and Truth -- commandments in and of
    themselves. 
    
    Ah, how we love to project our own perceptions onto other cultures in
    other centuries.  How we love to project what we perceive to be their
    culture onto ours, in this century.
    
    Paul
    

    
    
    Re .14 (Paul)
    
    Which of the Ten Commandments do you feel was appropriate some millenia
    ago, but is no longer relevant?
    
    
    Marilyn

    .15  Marylin,
    
    My main point was that, like much of the OT that has to do with
    practical advice for the society at that time, rather than real directives
    on how we should live for all time, the commandments, IMHO, weren't 
    meant to be commandments in that sense (directives from God to us
    for all time), but rather in the good-advice-for-society 3000 years
    ago.   God-inspired advice can take on different forms, given the
    time/place/culture, IMHO.
    
    As for the commandments themselves, let's take the one about keeping
    the 'sabbath'.   This is interpreted by a lot of people to mean that
    one day of the week must be regarded as 'holy' and must be set aside
    for worshipping.  Well.... I think part of closing the gap of
    separation between ourselves and God/All That Is/the Divine Light
    has to do with meditation/prayer.  However, it is not necessary for
    us to set aside a specific day for it, or to make one day more 'holy'
    than all the others, in terms of communing with the Spirit.   I also
    don't think attending church on the sabbath is necessary, either.
    (I mean, if this is the way you commune with God, great... but...
    I think I've made my point.)   Perhaps there was some specific
    cultural reasoning behind the 'sabbath commandment' back then, that
    would get people into the practice of meditation/prayer.   Today,
    a commandment such as this would tend to backfire, I think.   Some 
    born-again Christians have difficulty understanding the Catholic
    concept of lent, since, some of them say, sacrifice for the Light
    of God should be intense round the clock, 365 days a year.   No
    one form of worship is innately 'wrong,' in other words.
    
    Hope this answers your question.
    
    Paul
    

    
    Re .16 (Paul)
    
    In your previous reply you brought up something which, though I did not 
    specifically state, I certainly had in mind when I wrote my memo
    (although I'll excuse you for not "getting"it :^))
    
    I think the Ten Commandments, unlike a lot of the directives and
    prohibitions of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are still 
    valid today, and except for the first four, are found in laws that we
    are bound by. The first four are, admittedly, more open to
    interpretation, but that is the beauty of them. Keep the Sabbath holy
    may mean a very specific thing to, say an Orthodox Jew, and a very 
    different thing to a New Age type person, yet they can both satisfy it
    by keeping the day (or days) holy *as they perceive that to be*.
    
    That is what differentiates that Commandment from one very specific 
    directive, such as you mentioned against tattoos, etc. Whether they 
    are from God, or simply good advice from men, in my opinion, they have
    stood the test of time very well.
    
    
    Marilyn

    Yes, Marilyn,
    
    I agree, and I think all of the Commandments are valid as they fit with
    the truth that each of us believes.
    
    ellen
    

    Marilyn
    
    I basically agree... sorry for not 'getting it'.  ;)
    
    Part of the process of understanding the meaning of any given holy
    writing (God inspired writing), thousands of years old or no, is
    application to one's own unique walk with Divinity.  In other words,
    meaning/application transcend words -- words being a man-made tool, 
    which themselves do not/cannot carry the essence of the Spirit of
    God/ATI.   Trying to swallow the OT writings by defining universal,
    literal absolutisms (for lack of a better term), including these 
    'commandments,' can lead to dead ends as well as continued separation
    between ourselves and the Divine Light.   (But who am I to say what
    is right/wrong, possible/impossible, for anyone?)
    
    Paul
    

    What many readers may not realize is that the Ten Commandments are
    the Christian focus on the laws of the Old Testament.  There are
    hundreds of laws in the Old Testament which Jew apply to themselves;
    there are only seven which they believe apply to everyone.
    
    These are the Laws of Noah, or Noachide Laws:
    
    1.  Believe in a single deity.
    2.  Refrain from murder.
    3.  Refrain from theft.
    4.  Refrain from adultery (or vile sexual practices).
    5.  Refrain from consuming the flesh or blood of a living animal.
    6.  [I forget.]
    7.  Establish courts of justice.
    
    							Ann B.

                    <<< Note 1659.2 by YOSMTE::WILKES_EL >>>
    
>      			I don't have the originals.  I will bring them with
>    me on Monday 
 
ummm ...

Thou shalt not get them through the security gates if thou is talking about
THE originals!

dougie
   

    

    Thou shalt not squeeze toothpaste tubes verily in the middle.
    
    								- JIM CAD*

.20> 5.  Refrain from consuming the flesh or blood of a living animal.

Hmm, I guess that rules out clams on the halfshell. Rats. And here I
thought I was being such a good boy.

Now I wonder what they meant by "vile sexual practises" ...

Cindy, what an amazing coincidence you should bring that up! You must
be psychic.

As it happens, in high school I developed a very strong curiosity in
how clams reproduce. I don't know why, but it just seemed like an
important question. I mean, just how *do* clams reproduce? They can't
swim around or anything. I ended up doing a fair amount of research
into this question, and learned a great deal about clams (none of which
affected my taste for raw clams).

    Mike,
    
    Since you did the research, please tell us how?  Now I'm
    curious.  :^)
    
    Joanne

    Hi Ann. I think these commandments you listed all apply to me, save
    number 1. 
    
    I've been practicing your number 6 for years. Anyone asks me anything
    important, I always say "I forget" :-) Great rule to live by.
    
    Hmmm If I break these laws am I guilty of Noahcide or is that only if I
    kill someone named Noah. :-)
    
    Mike, inquiring minds want to know. How do clams mate. I know they're
    bi-valves. So I suppose they must ....... hmmm No I can't make such
    statements in a NOTESFILE. I'd be set hidden and might be taken to
    personel. Best just stay quiet and wait for Mike and the scientific
    explanation. :-)
    
    PJ

  
    If they get too excited, do they become unhinged ?
  

I'm sad to report that clam reproduction is very boring, just like at
our house -- no, no, just kidding, don't tell my wife, please!

First of all, clams are hermaphroditic, meaning that they have the
organs of both sexes. However, they can't mate with themselves, because
both sets of organs aren't ready at the same time. What happens is that
the "male" and "female" clams just sit there with their shells open,
and the "male" releases sperm into the water, which finds its way over
to the "female" who's got these eggs sitting there. Several dozen eggs
get fertilized (forget the exact numbers; it's different for different
species), and when they get big enough, the "mother" ejects them into
the mud, where they start forming shells almost immediately. They're
practically microscopic when planted in the mud, and if you've ever
been clamming, you've seen some of the tiniest clams you could possibly
imagine.

So that's it in a clamshell, so to speak. Hardly worth waiting for, was it?

And now, back to the Ten Commandments ...

    
    
    Don't pity the poor oyster,
    Trapped in it's crustation cloyster;
    For it can either be
    A he or a she
    Or both, if that's it's choyster!
    
    E. (only 4329 notes to go and I'll be caught up...)