eye open

When I was in high school and I wanted to get bigger and stronger for sports, I was at the mercy of my high school lifting coach. My coach was perhaps better than most at the time, but honestly the programming was not effective. We were stuck doing 3 sets of 10 with no concept of progressive overload so we made some progress if we stuck to it but without better programming the potential for progress was extremely limited. Fast forward to today and I have watched a high school kid come into the gym and go from completely untrained to an absolute beast in a few short years thanks to the information that is available to him via the internet. He has access to a free education via YouTube where he consumed content from powerlifters which made it possible for him to achieve numbers I never dreamed of as a teenager. Beyond basic programming he learned proper technique, nutrition, and supplementation. His powerlifting total passed mine in short order. Does this same concept carryover in t...

Lately I’ve been on a kick promoting monasticism on social media.   I got a lot of pushback because of it, and that’s okay.   I think the crux of the matter was that people who were already married or are planning on getting married took it personal when I laid out the argument that monasticism is a higher path than marriage.   Where did I get such a ridiculous idea, anyway?   Allow me to explain. First, I’ll cite a few sources.   I have two books called The Law of God .   One is by the priest Daniel Sysoev who was killed in a church in Moscow by a Muslim man who was angry that he had been converting Muslims to Orthodoxy, and who is generally known for his missionary work in bringing people from other faiths into the true faith.   In the section of his book dedicated to the sacraments of the Church he has a subsection on monasticism.   In this section he cites the apostle Paul who “says that one who remains a virgin is more blessed than one who en...

I work as a groundskeeper at a hospital.   I’ve been working there for 18 years.   It’s a four man crew.   I’m the only person in the department who graduated from high school, and sometimes I feel out of place.   When I was in high school I went to class and passed without having to study.   The guys in my department skipped class to smoke cigarettes and joints, probably.   They didn’t study either, probably.   The previous lead of our department also didn’t graduate high school.   He could barely even read or write.   When he would try to write “grounds” (as in “grounds department”) he would spell it “gronds.”   I could just picture him staring into space and trying to pronounce the word phonetically, mouthing the “o” sound, when he figured that one out.   Nobody ever said anything to him because it probably wouldn’t have done any good because he was so hard headed that he was impervious to being told anything.   Also, we tho...

A few years ago I was contacted by my priest who asked me if I could give a ride to church to a new member of our community.   He was a college age kid (Zoomer) who attends the local university.   He gave me the boy’s phone number and I arranged to pick him up outside of his dormitory.   He came to church with me, and stayed after the service for coffee hour.   The boy’s name was Adam.   Sitting around the table during coffee hour our conversation turned towards politics and somehow the name of Nick Fuentes came up.   Suddenly, out of nowhere, Adam turned to me and asked me point blank “would you die for Nick?”   I was taken aback, and didn’t exactly know how to respond.   It was clear to me by the way Adam had asked this question that he had already settled the question in his own mind, and if I had asked him the same question he would have answered in the affirmative.   This isn’t the first question that a normal person would have asked in ...

 Repent! - First word of Jesus' public ministry Let me record how I chose the name "Young Penitent."  I was a rapper and I was trying to think of a name to go by.  I had just become a Christian and so I thought I needed a new name.  My old rapper name was MC faim.  I chose the name faim as a dyslexic anagram with a secret meaning that nobody but myself was privy to.  Ok, I'll tell you what it meant: "what am I forgetting?"  Turn the "w" upside down and you have an "m."  Re-arrange the letters, "m, a, i, f" and you spell "faim" (pronounced "fame").  I won't tell you what I meant by "what am I forgetting" except that it was a sort of mantra that I thought of one day when I was on 'shrooms.  Ok, I'll tell you what it means: the thing that I am always forgetting is that I always take it a step too far.  Well, that is what my older brother told me one time.  I guess it just stuck. There; you ...

Is there a spiritual dimension to the war in Ukraine?  Of course there is a spiritual dimension to any event in world history, no matter how insignificant the event might be.  But the larger question is whether this is a war of good against evil, a righteous war, a war that can be painted in stark black and white colors.   Many people have already decided that this is the case, that Putin is setting down his foot and saying no to the evil globalist empire.  I sympathize with people who have taken this viewpoint, but I think we need to show restraint and reserve judgment before we jump to a conclusion which may not be correct.  Let us not forget how everybody got wrapped up in the Trump presidency, the same Trump whose most enduring legacy will be the Covid vaccine.  I liked Trump.  He did a good service to our country.  But was he the person that we all hoped and thought he was?  No, he clearly wasn't.  What is the lesson we can tak...

 When I was young I suffered greatly from depression (major depression which became bi-polar depressive type with psychotic features which became schizo-affective disorder).  I suffered more than most.  It broke me.  Then there was the heartache.  Pain!  Then there was the stomach ache.  More pain! Now my mental illness is treated.  I swallowed the red pill and quit giving women power over my emotions.  I discovered I was celiac and went on the gluten-free diet.  My pain and suffering are mostly resolved.  Even the back pain that began a number of years ago has been lessened due to my strength training.  So where am I going to get my suffering from now?  I have a guess, or rather a hope.  I hope to suffer for my faith.  You have to get your suffering in somewhere.  There are no free passes into paradise.  

 Press Release for Thursday, February 10, 2022. Statistics from the CDC on mortality rates have just been released and what they tell us many will find alarming.  It seems deaths are up, and yet we have not been able to find out what is causing these deaths.  There are some peculiarities about these statistics: young, healthy people are dying suddenly.  These are young people who for the most part had no previous morbidities, and so to many these deaths may seem unexpected.  We reached out to the worlds top medical expert Bill Gates to see if he had any insights into why people are all of a sudden dying: "It is true that people are dying suddenly," Gates said in a squeaky voice.  He continued: "We need to have a conversation about death and rethink the cause of death.  Previously people thought that death would usually happen to old and sick people, but we are finding out that this really isn't the case.  Young and healthy people die suddenly, and...

 The other day I picked up my bible and began reading.  This is something I do every day, as a rule.  I was disappointed when I noticed that the leather binding of the cover was beginning to unravel.  This bible is printed by Cambridge University Press, King James Version.  I thought that it was of excellent quality.  The paper they use is high quality, and durable.  Nevertheless, the cover is beginning to unravel.  I doubt this is because of overuse.  I've only been using it for 14 years, and I treat it with proper respect.  I don't throw it around, or handle it with soiled hands.  This cover should not be unravelling so soon, and it makes me wonder.  Perhaps the printers of this book are counting on people buying the book, and then letting it sit on the shelf?  It would have been a simple step for them to sew the cover together, instead of just using glue.  My conclusion is that they cut this corner, knowing that mo...

 There is a common misconception about the tradition of Holy Fools in the Orthodox Church.  The term fool in this context is meant to convey the meaning of somebody who acts in an irrational manner.  In other words, they act like an insane person would act.  They are in fact considered insane by many.  This is true.  Where people's understanding goes wrong is when they think that the person is actually insane, and happens to chance upon holiness somehow - perhaps by virtue of his mental illness.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  In actual fact, when a person takes on the podvig of foolishness-for-Christ, they  are doing it voluntarily.  They could, if they so wished, revert to acting like a normal person in full possession of their reasoning faculty.  The reason they act foolishly is because they want to hide their holiness and also invite upon themselves ridicule in order to further acquire more holiness through the humili...

I am that bread of life...if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever...From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.  - John 6:48-66 These were the Jews who turned back from following Jesus, not just because they didn't understand how it was possible for Him to give them his flesh to eat, but because it sounded like cannibalism to them.  Truly a hard saying.  It is a mystery.  Like, literally a mystery (as in sacrament ).  And of all the substances that God chose to use for the implementation of this mystery, it was two things: bread and wine.  Specifically bread made from wheat and wine made from grapes.  But where does this leave celiacs? I had the fortune of learning about celiac disease from one of the foremost authorities on this subject, the person who is writing the textbook that will be used to teach medical professionals about celiac disease.  That person is Nadine Grzeskowiak, the Gluten Free RN ....

 When I came to Christ I had some bad habits that needed changing.  The bad habits that were fairly easy to change were the outward actions that were obviously contrary to the Gospel.  If it were the case that I used to steal, I stopped stealing.  Simple enough.  Does this mean that I am now holy, because I have stopped sinning through outward actions?  Probably not.  There are levels to the spiritual life and ceasing from sinful outer actions is one of the easier levels. In Orthodoxy there is a technical term from the Greek language for evil thoughts, and that word is Logismoi.  Controlling our outward actions is of course not that difficult, but to control our thoughts is a struggle.  Well, it is for me at least.  You, my beloved reader, are completely holy and pure and would never allow Logismoi to occupy your mind.  Of course!  In the Philokalia the Fathers relate that in order to defend ourselves from Logismoi we must be w...

"because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."  2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 Yesterday Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges by a jury of his peers.  What is so surprising to us is that this just outcome came as a shock to boomer America.  For those of us who watched the trial and were familiar with the video evidence of the case it was clear that the boy was acting in self defense.  The purported crimes were so well documented that it is difficult to understand how anybody could have come to a different conclusion than that which was reached by the jury.  The boy should never have been charged in the first place.  The prosecuting attorney Thomas Binger (who some speculate to be homosexual) and his assistant James Kraus (who some allege to be ob...

I'm getting over covid and it is marvelous.  I feel bulletproof.  You could cough all over me and I wouldn't even care. I'm not too shy about expressing my views on covid.  People see me flaunt the mask mandates, which makes it pretty obvious where I stand.  I don't try to push my views on anyone who I think wouldn't be receptive to hearing them, but people who know me know my take.  I'm sure someone out there is wagging their head at me and thinking, "See, if you had just worn a mask and/or got the vaccine you wouldn't have been sick."  Didn't you read my post about the virus being unimpressive?  Obviously not.  I've had flu worse than covid; I suffered very little.  On top of it all I now have natural immunity.  I'm glad I had the virus.  You, on the other hand, are still hiding in fear behind that silly mask - after taking the vaccine!  Because the vaccine doesn't work!  Ha!

It was my sophomore year in college and I had been invited by a group of guys that I knew from the freshman dorm experience to go in on renting a house.  We found a large house in West Eugene with five bedrooms.  Well, four bedrooms to be exact but the laundry room was large enough for a desk and a bed so I took it in exchange for a discount on rent.  On move in day we met Josh.  As we were going in and out with furniture and boxes through the front door he let himself in, barefoot, sat down and started talking.  He had longish blond hair and piercing blue eyes.  Because of the unusual way in which he had just walked in and become friendly he struck me as child-like.  Once we had put our boxes away and settled down a bit he said he had some weed and asked us if we wanted to smoke.  A number of us partook.  That was actually the only time I ever remember him having any weed of his own, but for the rest of that year he always seemed to be aroun...

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Democrat and the other a Republican. The Democrat stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, unjust, white nationalists, racists, or even as this Republican. I social distance, I wear two masks, and I take as many vaccines as they will allow me to. And the Republican, standing afar off, could not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven because he had covid and he was sick.  And he smote upon his breast, saying, God give me natural immunity! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased.  And he that humbleth himself will be based, and exalted.  

I'm mostly recovered from my bout with covid.  I had an easier time with it than many by all accounts, thanks in part to early treatment with ivermectin and massive doses of vitamin C, but I want to back up a little bit from my previous post on this subject because I fell into a trap.  People take covid so seriously that one feels compelled to counterbalance that seriousness by making light of it.  I suppose I shouldn't make light of illness, suffering and death.   Yes, the death counts are greatly exaggerated.   No, mask mandates have not been shown to reduce the spread of the virus.   Yes, the folks at Davos have seized upon this crisis as a pretense for ushering in the New World Order.   No, the vaccines are not safe or effective.   I don't deny any of these statements.  But still, when you get covid there is some suffering involved.  The worst of it for me was one night I spent repeatedly waking up, gasping ...

I have a friend who got sick and got tested for covid and the test came up positive.  Then about a day later I got sick as well.  Since I was around him the previous week I am assuming I have covid and quite frankly I am not impressed.  I basically feel like I have a cold.  It might have been worse for me if I didn't know how to use ascorbic acid , which early vitamin C researcher Irwin Stone dubbed "the healing factor."  But since I do know how to use it I was able to minimize the illness.  Yes, I am guilty of minimizing this illness.  I have brushed off the seriousness of the pandemic many times, refusing to wear a mask or wearing it improperly.  I have not made much of an effort to social distance.  I have not been fearful.  Perhaps I have offended some people who have  taken the pandemic seriously, and for that I am sorry - but not sorry enough to change my attitude.  I'm sorry you are a hypochondriac.  I'm sorry you h...

Here it comes.  Down the pike.  Fast ball down the middle; never watch a third pitch strike.  There were times when Christians prayed for times like these.             "...that they which are approved may be made manifest." (1 Corinthians 11:19).   I wont try to sugar coat it for you.  Things aren't looking good out there in the world these days.  Just this week President Biden went in front of the cameras to beg employers to mandate vaccination, being emboldened to do this by the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine.  My own employer, who just last week sent out an email stating that vaccine mandates are illegal, is planning on ignoring this small technicality of the law and going ahead with compulsory vaccination.  This means I will be out of a job and I'm not sure I will ever be employed again.  Most of the researchers and medical professionals who are vocal in a public way about questioning the...

One year ago we were in the midst of what the mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkan said could have been the "summer of love."  This "summer of love," was in reality a summer of true anarchy in which mostly peaceful protests erupted into riots all across the world.  What was peculiar about these riots was that the majority of people shared the sentiment that these rioters were entirely justified in their actions.  Where did this permissive view of riots come from?  Certainly everybody didn't come to this conclusion on their own, because that would be giving people too much credit.  This is because people don't think for themselves (sad, but true).  Where did this interpretation of events come from, then?  It came from the media, of course. I normally don't watch television.  I don't even have a television in my house.  But last year I had a unique vantage point when I was observing the events of the "summer of love" 2020.  At that point in time ...