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Healing energy needed after shooting in Aurora, Colo.
ClayTheScribe
Veteran
I imagine many of you have heard of the shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. I live not but a 10-15 minute drive from there. I was planning on going to a midnight showing last night, but not necessarily there, but who knows. Fate intervened and my car keys were stolen while working out last night, leaving me stranded at home.
Anyway, I just wanted to ask all of you if you could take time out in your schedule in the next day or two to pray for the victims, survivors and the assailant of the tragedy who are all suffering, perform tonglen and/or do metta meditation for them for at least 5-10 minutes. If you do reiki and can do distance healing, please send those to those suffering. They/we could use all the healing energy you can send our way.
For more information on the tragedy visit www.thedenverpost.com or www.9news.com.
Thank you.
Anyway, I just wanted to ask all of you if you could take time out in your schedule in the next day or two to pray for the victims, survivors and the assailant of the tragedy who are all suffering, perform tonglen and/or do metta meditation for them for at least 5-10 minutes. If you do reiki and can do distance healing, please send those to those suffering. They/we could use all the healing energy you can send our way.
For more information on the tragedy visit www.thedenverpost.com or www.9news.com.
Thank you.
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Comments
My impression has been that Aurora is a pretty decent community.
Be completely cleared away.
May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed...
May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed.
--Buddhist prayer by Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden
Sending Love, Light, Blessings and Metta.
Right now my family is finally sleeping after being up a lot last night. We don't have any of herthings besides her phone (wallet and so on are in the theater). We are still calling and fielding calls to make sure everyone we know is okay. The people I thought might have gone are okay. I went to work and at least the kids didn't know about it or talk about it, but several of my staff found out my daughter was there working at the time. I can't tell you how many people were like Clay and planned on going but for some reason didn't.
So to refocus, I appreciate all the care shown here and for the fires we have had. It is greatly appreciated by me and my family. My daughter is doing okay, she will meet with her coworkers tomorrow and of course cannot discuss anything. However the community , as @clay knows, is dealing with finding out who is affected and who is safe, as well as the evacuations necessary near the apartment.
May all benefit from the prayers within them.
Just as the soft rains fill the streams,
pour into the rivers and join together in the oceans,
so may the power of every moment of your goodness
flow forth to awaken and heal all beings,
Those here now, those gone before, those yet to come.
By the power of every moment of your goodness
May your heart's wishes be soon fulfilled
as completely shining as the bright full moon,
as magically as by a wish-fulfilling gem.
By the power of every moment of your goodness
May all dangers be averted and all disease be gone.
May no obstacle come across your way.
May you enjoy fulfillment and long life.
For all in whose heart dwells respect,
who follow the wisdom and compassion, of the Way,
May your life prosper in the four blessings
of old age, beauty, happiness and strength.
Apparently I can win something besides shame when I overreact...
So today I am considering that I am telling my supervisors that i will carry my phone (on vibrate) at all times. I don't feel like being disconnected from my kids
A few times I mentioned guns to these people and a number of them had either personally been involved in some conflict involving a gun (one couple had had their house robbed at gun point) or knew people who'd been shot (not killed though).
This shocked me no end! I don't know anyone in Australia who has ever really seen a gun (apart from farm kids maybe).
I love the USA and I think Americans are beautiful people. As a foreigner I just think it's really sad that this gun culture pervades your society. What other purpose than to kill or maim are the guns this guy used in the theatre? Why is a person able to buy them?
I'm not pro-guns or pro-NRA and have never been, even before I was a Buddhist. But I think even if we got rid of all the guns in this society, we'd still have the societal, emotional and mental problems we do that probably led this young man to do this. Even with all guns gone, he probably would've made bombs and done even more damage, who knows. I don't care whether or not we get rid of guns, but there is a need for more love and care for each other in the world, not just here, but especially in the U.S., and so the less fear we have of and inside of each other, the fewer reasons we have to have a rabid gun culture or for people to feel the need to carry them or keep them in their house. I just wonder how much we are being protected by people having guns, per your anecdotes, Bunks.
I mean it's all about the Second Amendment which was instituted at a time in our history when there was a real threat of Britain coming back and trying to regain the country, so organized militias were important. But even that, I found out, was just something that came out of Pennsylvania for the militia there they thought would be good for the whole country. Even if we did have a tyrannical government (that could be debated right now), our citizens cannot go against the immense firepower of the United States military, not to mention the weapons they have we don't know about. So I think it's really a moot point people use to excuse their right to have a weapon to defend themselves against some enemy (aka their fellow human being) out of fear to give them the illusion of safety.
As I've learned in my life, there is no such thing as absolute safety. And it doesn't exist in the wild. The best we can hope for is to work toward a new foundation of love and peace in this world so you at least no longer fear one another or yourself. I didn't want this to get turned into a political discussion, but I might as well say it now and that's all I will say until I feel more comfortable when I know a lot more information.
Really for now to have disagreements about this is pointless because it's only been six days since it happened and we hardly know anything about Holmes, his intentions or how he got the guns and how it is part of a larger problem and what to do about it. Everything I just said is based on conjecture and everyone who is screaming at each other or Jesse Jackson coming to Aurora to the shooter's apartment to make a political point and be an opportunist could be wrong. The only thing we can do is ask questions, pray, meditate and send out healing energy to those who are suffering.
But gun control is pretty well dead in this country, and that's a shame.
Guns are a huge part of the culture of the area I live in. It's a very big hunting community. But people don't shoot each other. Lots of guns in the area, I could probably safely bet that 90% of households here have guns in them. We have them in our house. But they most certainly aren't accessible. Most of them were passed down through the family and belonged to my grandpa. I have never purchased a gun, nor most certainly would I ever purchase a gun thinking it made me feel safer. Having a barking dog is a better deterant.
I also think the media and parents must take some blame for this. We (and the media) have such a massive influence over our young people. Guns are glorified in movies, TV shows and video games. We need to be more aware of what our kids are being exposed to on a daily basis, especially in their very early years.
I have an older brother who has a 6 year old son and 2 year old daughter and I noticed recently he had the two year old propped up in a high chair in front of a violent reality show where a woman was assaulting a couple at a train station!
Sorry for ranting but this is something I am passionate about. We need to develop loving kindness and compassion in our kids and exposing them to violence at such a young age isn't going to help.
I guess I am preaching to the converted on this site though :-)
I was very careful to monitor what my kids watched and their dad wasn't. As soon as we separated he showed them things I was not comfortable with at all. He never agreed with me before but I could at least stop it. I even tried asking my lawyer about making that part of the custody decision but anything short of neglect or abuse that you could call social services on was ok, including grandpa getting him a gun at 7. I asked so many people and there was nothing i could do unless the guns were accessible to my children.
It only takes a little influence and when the overall society is doign one thing I hate to say but it is really difficult. I hope my influence has done something for my kids an all the ones I work with.
Having lived overseas and witnessed and experienced certain things, I can assure you, we are not a police state.
Also, keep in mind that all people in every country live in a bubble. For example, most Thais believe that one of the very most influential government leaders in the world is their King. There are books written about. I'm not questioning whether there King is impressive, but a person of the world would hardly put King Bhumipohl at the top rung of the ladder in terms of world influence.
I enjoy reading your posts! Often thought provoking!
In the case of Holmes, yes, I think he could have done worse damage. He knew plenty about chemicals, he knew how to make rudimentary bombs and grenades, if guns were unavailable to him at all (and it seems he started the shooting with a hunting rifle which are incredibly easy to get) I don't think it would have prevented the act or the casualities. I think people such as him so set on destruction will just find other ways to destroy. The information is out there, very easily accessible if a person does just a little reading into how to do it.