The Strange Reality of Religion

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness." ~ Dalai Lama.

Religion is an interesting topic but forbidden in conversation along with politics and I figured I would put the topic of religion out there. I would imagine receiving loads of negative but snide comments from people, particularly from the Christian community about this topic. I will post this blog, leave it as is and get back to my Daily Yoga! I'm hoping people would understand my curiosity and frustration on religion. For now, I plan on setting up a list of books to read once when I'm finished reading 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' by J.K. Rowling along with the last two books of Harry Potter ('Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' and as well as 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows') and my next book after the Harry Potter series I had in mind is 'God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything' and 'The Portable Atheist' both by Christopher Hitchens. There will be plenty of books on (anti) Christianity and as well as Atheism along with anything Agnosticism. Don't get me wrong, I will eventually read the Bible to gain some sort of understanding what and research what Scientology is exactly and what they do in their place of worship. Hopefully I would gain some understanding and knowledge of what other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. With all this talk about the Islamic "extremists" in the media is preposterous because I personally believe that not all Muslims are terrorists and the media would plant negative ideas in peoples minds into believing that anyone who happens to be a Muslim is a terrorist. I would not want anyone who disrespects a Muslim by calling them "Towel Heads" or "Dot Heads" and what exactly have they ever do to you? Stop being a bully, sit down and shut your mouth! No one is forcing you to be friends with them, mind your mouth and mind your manners! (*Somewhere out there is a tree, tirelessly producing oxygen to you can breathe, I think you owe it an apology. I've heard smarter things from a schizophrenic with Tourette's.*) Anyway, the saris that the Indian women wear are very pretty and I admire their choice of clothing. I plan on  learning to put the Hijab on and it looks interesting but cool to keep my hair covered. I respect the Islamic religion and as I would most religions but I'll leave it as is.

I don't know or rather, I'm not completely familiar with Scientology and I don't know what Scientologists do when they're at the Scientology Center or Scientology Church or whatever they call their place of worship. But thank God for Google search and if it weren't for Google, I would go straight to the source. Anyway, I know there's a Scientology Center somewhere in the Times Square area but never had any kind of interest or the heart to visit a Scientology Center out of all the times I've been hanging out in Times Square for the last twelve years and I don't know what they do there but it sounds like it'll satisfy my curiosity once when I'm familiar with Scientology. Other than that, as far as I know, I personally haven't met anyone who is into the whole Scientology thing and I've read articles about Scientology on Huff Post, titled 'This Is One Of The Most Shocking Scientology Stories Not In 'Going Clear'" back in March. I found it to be interesting or maybe perhaps I don't understand what Scientology is, exactly and I don't want to sit here believing that Scientology is some sort of cult that no one seems to understand. Believe what you want but I'm open to different religious beliefs and I don't want to get caught up in any misunderstandings when it comes down different religions. Whatever that these people who are into the whole Scientology thing may have to say then I'll consider it, leave it as is but I refuse to convert non-Scientology members into being a Scientologists because it's not my job to convert non-Scientology believers into Scientologists, it's pretty much up to you. As the saying goes: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

I've had several people encouraging me to attend Sunday service and I haven't had the heart or the interest of attending Sunday service. Or perhaps I'm not spiritually ready to consider the idea of having to read the Christian bible but I've read several books on the Wiccan arts in the past and I don't speak about my interest or curiosity of Wicca. Some of the books I've read in the past were 'Nocturnal Witchcraft' by Konstantinos, 'Va-Va-Voodoo: Find Love, Make Love & Keep Love' by Kathleen Charlotte (a book I had bought at Enchantments in the East Village) a year ago and I still have to read 'Practical Guide to Psychic Self-Defense' by Osborne Phillips and Melita Denning but for my own future reading, I plan to read 'The Inner Temple of Witchcraft' by Christopher Penczak and 'The Salem Witch Trials' by Marilynne K. Roach. I've even bought a necklace, Talismans for Ghost Hunters/Attracts Good Spirits from Enchantments about a year ago. As mentioned earlier, my next two books I plan on read are 'God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything' and 'Portable Atheist' by Christopher Hitchens once when I've read and watched the remainder of Harry Potter series, I am curious enough to see what this author has to say. It's sad to hear that people say that God is supposedly "good" but look at the world around us, people dying from cancer, all this gun violence going on in schools since Columbine High School massacre (and Congress is just taking their sweet old time, not doing much to help out or prevent future gun violence, especially among the police, criminals or fellow students from using such force), more and more people being homeless here in New York (before you all jump down my throat, New York is the only place that I have ever known since I was about six weeks old), and people  making more of a big stink over the LGBT community and as well as Planned Parenthood but why not come together to end gun violence and let's find a cure for both cancer and AIDS/HIV? Look, if you can't stand seeing a gay couple who love each other (and minding their own business) and learn from it but if not, then I am sorry you're so damned miserable and lonely that you haven't found any acceptance in other people, especially in the LGBT community. Mind your manners and business. I realize it's "unnatural" but I can't help but feel happy for them. Anyway, when I'm ready, I'll consider in attending Sunday service in the future!

 

Blessed be,

Jennifer

Darth Vader's Guide to Fitness Challenge

"There are some days I feel fat. I'm not convinced there's going to be a moment where every woman in the world wakes up and feels like a million dollars. So, what I want to do is give women the tools that will help when those moments come up. Sometimes it can be as easy as telling yourself that you are beautiful." ~ Ashley Graham

Boy oh boy! I'm in need of getting in shape because I want to feel better about myself in a [healthy] way and I am pretty sure I "look" fine the way I am. As of lately, I've been doing Yoga for Belly, Butt & Thighs with Chrissy Carter (I normally do the Thighs and Complete Core segments) and I should get back into the Daily Yoga which is about 44 - 45 minutes long so worth the time (and energy). My personal goal is to increase strength in my core but more than that is to focus on my workout routine for the next eighteen months of Daily Yoga (both morning if I have time when the time permits and if I can I would do the evening yoga if I'm not totally exhausted at the end of the day), Yoga for Belly, Butt & Thighs with Chrissy Carter, and Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout but I will also squeeze in Rodney Yee's Yoga for Your Week and as well as Self: Sculpt Sexy Legs Fast! I have an idea on how I'm going to do this, for Week one: Three days of Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout and two days of Daily Yoga, Week two: Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout for three days and Rodney Yee's Yoga for Your Week for two days, Week three: Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout for three days and Yoga for Belly, Butt & Thighs with Chrissy Carter and Week four: Shape: Ultimate Bikini Boyd Workout for three days and Self: Sculpt Sexy Legs Fast! for two days then I'm going to repeat but in reverse, meaning three days of yoga for three weeks/cardio for the fourth week and two days of cardio/weight training. If I could afford it, I would go to Body By Berle in Fresh Meadows for that one-on-one personal training and I could save myself $200 bucks for about ten sessions, I feel like I need the extra help in getting in shape which is why I need the extra help! I don't know who to ask for some fitness help without emptying my wallet or even the bank account just to have a personal trainer assisting me whenever I'm not feeling as confident as I would like. It's between Body By Berle; Better Body Bootcamp or Bootcamp Republic for my personal weight training experience. Once when I achieve my goal weight of anywhere between 125 - 130 pounds, I plan on shopping at Trash and Vaudeville for some Tripp pants (I'm good on shirts for now), shoes or boots and some accessories to compliment most but not all Goth outfits once when I have my finances together in the mean time!

Main areas of my body I know I need most help with are inner thighs; arms; building my core muscles and minimizing that back fat. I mostly need help improving my posture as I workout and build stamina at the same time. I need to get back into doing 'Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout' and 'Daily Yoga' more just to get in shape when I can. I ever want to get into some yoga classes, there's the HotFlexYoga for more of a workout when I have some sort of income coming in and I haven't had a chance to check out HotFlexYoga since they've opened several years ago. I haven't been asking around for a personal trainer because of my financial situation and financial concerns. I would do the whole gym membership but decided not to because why spend more money on a gym membership if I haven't asked anyone to go with me and having to spend more money than I should when I can either go to a place like Body By Berle or Bootcamp Republic to get in shape? I would personally ask my sister, Gwen for her assistance since she's a certified personal trainer at a gym in Las Vegas, Nevada but however, she can't be at two places at once! I may as well find someone who wouldn't mind helping me out and if I were to do Bootcamp Republic for three-weeks then I'll take on the 22-Day Vegan Challenge to speed up my weight loss effort so when I go to the beach or the pool, I wouldn't have to worry about other people silently body shaming me either amongst themselves or with friends. Partly I am doing this to prevent other people from body shaming me just because I've lost my motivation to lose weight since 2009 and partly I want to lose weight because I want to lose weight and feel better about myself. If I'm going to take on this fitness challenge then I would have to change my diet in order to lose weight and get in shape to have a successful relationship with both food and fitness. When time permits, I'm going to head to Barnes & Noble to purchase 'Mandy Ingber: Yogalosophy'. Again, I could use all the help I need to get in  the best shape ever!

I'm going to give myself sixty days to get in shape but I should start with thirty days with a combination of Daily Yoga, Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout and as well as Yoga for Belly, Butt & Thighs with Chrissy Carter with hope that I would feel the difference within thirty days without having to change my diet (yet). I'm too intimidated to do my workouts out in public without a trainer, for example: At a park like Marie Curie in the Bayside area of Queens (New York) where they have a little area for those who want to focus on their workouts because I mostly feel awkward in working out solo without having a personal trainer at my side helping me out! I've considered in having someone who has trained people for the half marathons and whatnot, I haven't found the person who trains people for marathons or just a regular personal trainer. I realize I've gained some weight and no point of mentioning it but thank you for your concern(!). I feel like I need a trainer because I feel like I need that extra push/motivation and I would start my workouts strong then I'll slowly fall off the band wagon but I have struggled to get back on track. Once when I go on the 21-Day Vegan Challenge, I plan on preparing meals from '1,000 Vegan Recipes' by Robin Robertson and if you're wondering on how you would get protein through food, look for pages xii and xiii of '1,000 Vegan Recipes'. For more information, please check out pages 585 and 586 along with Recommended Reading on page 587.

Before you all start making erratic comments about my weight, here is what I will say is: "When was the last time you saw your whole body in the mirror? However, I would take you to an eating competition, but it looks like you already won. Twice." If I were to weigh in at (let's say 120 pounds or less) my goal weight, I'm sure people would make comments such as "You know, just starving yourself isn't gonna make you look like a supermodel. You have to actually look good too." or other comments such as "Good luck finding a guy who likes 'em bony." (Having people say "Eat a hamburger!") My best advice is to leave the person alone because you never know what their situation is [health wise] when it comes to their weight and food. I am that type of person who is made fun of because of my weight, I feel like it encourages me to eat much more than normal instead of being encouraged to lose weight and let me be the one to lose weight when I'm ready! I've honestly had people asking me if I was pregnant and my response was that I've never lost my pregnancy weight that I've gained then plus some. I'm not sure if I should be insulted by that question or if I should just laugh the question off and I realize it's an innocent question. Which is part of the reason why I want to lose some weight so I can get people to stop asking me if I'm "pregnant".

Warm blessings,

Jennifer