A Chalice of Miracles
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An angel is manifest in persons who adopt a child. An angel is manifest with every expression of charity. Angels in their benevolence, guide us without want for thanks or recompense. The saying goes, “Today I saw the face of God, it came to me in the form of a desperate man seeking alms; in filling his stomach, I filled my soul.” We meet God every day, and more often than not, we ignore an opportunity to bless God within us by blessing others. Quoting Khalil Gibran, “Long ago there lived a Man who was crucified for being too loving and too lovable. And strange to relate I met him thrice yesterday. The first time He was asking a policeman not to take a prostitute to prison; the second time He was drinking wine with an outcast; and the third time he was having a fist-fight with a promoter inside a church.” Thrice they met, once in forgiveness, once in empathy, and once with indignation toward a huckster (Priest, Imam?). The entirety of the experience of life itself is a blessing. Yin cannot exist without yang. Polarities define extremes of existence and all that lies in between. Polarities which may or may not determine the extent of good or bad, right or wrong, functional or dysfunctional, but in any case, define and measure differences themselves. Not to embrace one is to disregard the other. Creator is responsible for all of existence, and as such, man would be well served to learn to accept all circumstances as sources for self-improvement. Buffeting from a strong wind causes a tree to sends roots deeper into soil. So too are winds of adversity that develop character. Character is a heritage developed as a result of conscience expressed in words and deeds on a palette of dimension buffeted by winds of morality and ethics. Strength of character is a legacy of karmic consequence that is essence of who we are and what we take with us beyond the grave in our perpetual life experience.
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About the Book
An excerpt, "Miraculous power emanates when wisdom and moral strength and moral discipline determine words and actions that resonate with harmony of eternal morals as opposed to immediate temptations of egoic desire. Miraculous power emanates when we comfort or care for someone in need. Miraculous power of forgiveness can transform a life. Miraculous power of hope can generate a million possibilities. Miraculous power of honesty can cleanse guilt. Miraculous power of atonement can eliminate karmic debt. While miraculous power of faith can move mountains, we possess the miraculous inability to understand that faith is not “one size fits all.” There are many paths to the one Truth. Whether Christianity or Islam, religious faith can cause violence and strife among us. Miraculous power of reason can acknowledge that felicity and adversity are the keys of the same piano from which the harmony of life is comprised, and one Composer wrote the symphony. A miracle of empathy can bestow freedom on those who need understanding and knowledge upon those who endeavor to understand. A miracle of affectionate love can transform lover and loved. A physical expression of love can fashion a portal (conception) through which an infinite soul may once again choose to incarnate in order to experience the awe and mystery of life on this small planet amidst the backwaters of the universe. All these powers to be sure, rest within the Chalice of Miracles, the Holy Grail of our bodies that cradles conscience and nurtures within us a creative impulse that impels us toward Divinity."
About the Author
John Casperson is a Viet Nam era veteran who lives in Southern California and enjoys a wonderful marriage with his wife Carol. Over a 35-year span he has traveled over 2 million miles to 47 countries familiarizing himself with many divergent lifestyles and cultures. A Chalice Of Miracles is a work that attempts to define a path toward full and unfettered freedom of body and soul. Quoting from A Chalice Of Miracles, "We are infinite souls bound within four dimensions, and five senses; sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. What a daunting exercise it is to exist under those constraints. Yet – we adorn the universe with every expression of empathy and understanding. Clouds of a summer day are so beautiful as they pass by, but that cloud cannot caress and comfort a child. A mountain is majestic in scope only because the majesty resides within us, not the mountain. In our universe, free intent is the truest palette with which mankind may express artistry. There is beauty in the color, aroma, and symmetry of a rose. The beauty exists not in the rose itself, but in our souls which embrace it. The philosophical question has been posed. “If a tree fell in an unattended forest, would it cause sound”? Further, if there were no one to observe a sunset, would there be beauty? Could love be fully expressed without someone to hug? It does not take an artist to recognize beauty. Beauty is readily apparent to anyone who is in touch with Artist who dwells within all of us. Truly, when we forgive ourselves, and those who trespass against us, we fly higher than any eagle. Our arms are approximately 28 inches in length but we have used our divinity to extend that reach to the moon and beyond.