Äpplet

Redan i antikens Grekland användes äpplen vid frierier och uppvaktning och än i dag kastar man äpplen i stället för ris på de nygifta och bröllopsmåltider avslutades med att brudparet delar ett äpple och äter var sin halva. Dessa fruktbarhetsbringande kärleksriter baserar sig på forntidens mytologi. Så gör även det gamla talesättet att: "Kärlek börjar med ett kast". Att kasta äpplen för att uttrycka kärlek eller att fria är en mycket gammal sedvänja liksom seden att tvätta sig med säven från äppelträd vilken ansågs befrämja fruktsamhet.

Produktionsgrupp: Karin Hjelmér - Eva Lindén - Ricky Wrentner - Maria Nyman-Nilsson för Fredriksdal museer och trädgårdar

Kärlek, ingen konst?

Konstnärsgruppen love and devotion bjöds in när två psykosavdelningar på Ulleråkers sjukhus skulle renoveras 2002. De möttes av en miserabel miljö där de mest grundläggande förutsättningarna för trevnad saknades.
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Konstnärerna valde att lägga anslaget (knappt 200 000 - 1 procent av ombyggnadskostnaden) på rent praktiska förbättringar...
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... handlar det ändå inte om gammal hederlig medmänsklighet? love and devotion sätter konstnärsrollen på spel när de struntar i Konsten för att jobba som barmhärtiga samariter.

Camilla Hammarström, Aftonbladet, om konstboken: 1% LOVE AND DEVOTION PÅ ULLERÅKERS SJUKHUS. love and devotion & Helena Mattsson (red)Glänta Produktion

Alla hjärtans dag - St Valentines Day-massakern

Valentinsdagsmassakern blev slutet för Bugs Morans makt över den norra sidan. Hans gäng upplöstes och Capone fick möjligheten att ta över.
Ironiskt nog var detta början till slutet även för Capone.
Det uppmärksammade blodbadet fick myndigheterna att fokusera på Capones kriminella verksamhet och ledde till det fängslande för skattebrott som blev slutet för Chicagos brottskung 1931.

Harald Åberg: 07-02-07

Helene

Helene får uppleva kärlek och vänskap och hennes egna ord: "Jag har ägt en juvel – en hänförelse…med den kan jag sitta vid vägkanten och tigga, lycklig" ger läsaren en bild av hennes egen syn på ett liv som trots bristande förutsättningar ändå kunnat levas i relativ lycka.

Liehu ger också en inte alltför behaglig bild av unga kvinnliga konstnärer som förhäver sig då de målar för stora dukar, som ger upp målarkonsten och blir hustrur eller som väljer konstnärslivet och därmed får avstå från det äktenskapliga livet. För vilken man skulle göra som Poes hustru? säger Helene Schjerfbeck i romanen: sova i en källare med makens rock som täcke, laga hans mat, tvätta hans kläder och finnas till för honom?

Ur en recension i Bulldozer, av Carin Thärnström, 05-04-01, av boken: "Helene - En roman om konstnären Helene Schjerfbeck" skriven av Rakel Liehu

Spinderellas Nettverk

Tegning av Sonja Bunes 1999

The logic of the problem of evil

We can restate the problem of evil in more formal terms. The claim that the world was created by a God that is both all-powerful and perfectly good (that is, desirous of precisely what most of us consider goodness to be: heath, safety, fulfillment, personal integrity, love, peace, and happiness) would seem to be refuted by the existence of evil. Consider the following:

1. a perfectly good God, by definition, would want to create a perfectly good world

2. an all-powerful God, by definition, would be able to create a perfectly good world

3. and thus if a perfectly good, all-powerful God exists, we would exist in a perfectly good world, a world with no evil (think of the idea of Heaven)

4. and yet evil exists in our world in tremendous quantity, and includes both physical evil (the suffering caused by the blind catastrophes of nature: disease, flood, drought, etc.) and moral evil (the suffering caused by the intentions of wicked people: murder, adultery, rape, deception, theft, etc.)

Thus it seems we must conclude the following: Either (v) God exists, but is not perfectly good, and/or (vi) God exists, but is not all-powerful, or (vii) God does not exist.

It should be noted, however, that the problem of evil only arises for those who claim that God is both all-powerful and perfectly good. Those who believe either that God is very powerful but not all-powerful, or that God is very good but not perfectly good, can avoid the problem of evil by saying that evil is either out of God’s control or is somehow part of God’s plan. But if one wishes to maintain that God is both all-powerful and perfectly good, the problem exists.

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But there have been attempts to formulate a theory which justifies the perfect goodness and absolute power of God in the face of evil. Such attempts are called ‘theodicies’, and they have traditionally taken three general forms:

- the most common theodicy is the ‘free-will defense’, which answers the problem by claiming that evil is not caused by God, but rather by humans abusing their free will. God, it is argued, wished to create a world containing moral goodness, but could not do so without creating people possessing genuine free will, for only if the good is freely chosen can it be a case of genuine moral goodness. The unfortunate corollary of this, however, is that our possession of free will gives us the capacity to choose evil – and choose it we have, to our great detriment. In this scenario, evil is an unfortunate side-effect of God’s justified desire to create free beings capable of genuine moral goodness; and all evil existing in the world is said to be caused by those free beings (we humans), and not by God.

(See Alvin Plantinga, God, Freedom, and Evil, New York: Harper & Row, 1974, pt.1a)

By Mark Piper /The Royal Institute of Philosophy, 01/06/2003

Wisdom in Love: Kierkegaard and the Ancient Quest for Emotional Integrity

The title of Rick Anthony Furtak’s book is programmatic: Wisdom shall
not be seen as the rational alternative to the emotion of love; rather, philosophy, the love of wisdom, shall discover wisdom in love and acknowledge the rationality of emotions. The subtitle refers to the methodological approach: After beginning with a critical consideration of ancient Stoicism and its disdain for the emotions, the study draws upon Søren Kierkegaard’s writings in order to develop a conceptual account of emotional integrity. As the author announces in the preface, the outcome ‘of this guide for the emotionally perplexed is a conception of
what it would mean to trust oneself to be rational in being passionate’

Claudia Welz, ‘Review of Wisdom in Love: Kierkegaard and the Ancient Quest for Emotional Integrity,’ Ars Disputandi [http://www.ArsDisputandi.org] 6 (2006), paragraph no 1

Emotional Integrity

When we are in our integrity, our mind does not have to tell us what we are doing is right. The heart and will know and the mind follows without a doubt. Real emotional integrity doesn't come with a sense of being right. It comes with a feeling of love.

When we are acting from our Integrity, what we could call our authentic self, we don’t try. We don’t’ have a need to try. We just take action. We don’t concern ourselves with whether what we are doing is the right thing. We also don’t have a need to justify or defend what we are doing to anybody. This includes ourselves. The action comes from the heart and is with love, that is how we know it is true. It also comes with humility because we are acting on behalf of love and not for ourselves or a sense of righteousness. Words don't corrupt this authenticity with chatter in the mind.

There are not many men or women of integrity. Most people second guess themselves. When a person with emotional integrity makes a mistake, or fails in their endeavor, they don't judge themselves. They know they did their best and the mind does not create an internal conflict with self judgment. This mental conflict is a break from wholeness and love for one's self.

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It is the intent of the spiritual warrior to let go of their false beliefs in order to eliminate the conflicts in the mind. She surrenders to death what is not the truth. She let's go of her attachments to mental concepts that trap her in a mind of conflict. After a person lets go of their old beliefs, they can recover their Emotional Integrity. When we recover our emotional integrity we create a new relationship with our heart, emotions, and our physical body. It is based completely in love. In this process we discover that we are not really what we believe we are.

Gary van Warmerdam

The Law of Love

The extraordinary revelation of true love is overwhelming in its depth. When the floodgates open, it unhinges the lover temporarily from all points of reference. In that expanse there's only love, and in that only perfect goodness.

The power of this kind of revelation is usually like an earthquake that shakes to pieces all previously held assumptions about the nature of reality and the meaning of existence. In its wake is left a heart that has been opened so painfully wide that it has eclipsed all fear and doubt.

Excerpted from Andrew Cohen's book "What is the Relationship Between Love and Truth?"

The Awakening

A time comes in your life when you finally get it... when in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out: ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is your awakening.

You realize that its time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world there aren't always fairy-tale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate, or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the importance of loving and championing yourself and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval. You stop bitching and blaming other people for the things they did to you (or didn't do for you,) and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, that not everyone will always be there for you, and that it's not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance. You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties and in the process a sense of peace & contentment is born of forgiveness.

You realize that much of the way you view yourself and the world around you, is as a result of all the messages and opinions that have been ingrained into your psyche. You begin to sift through all the crap you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look, how much you should weigh, what you should wear, where you should shop, what you should drive, how and where you should live, what you should do for a living, who you should sleep with, who you should marry, what you should expect of a marriage, the importance of having and raising children, or what you owe your parents.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with and in the process you learn to go with your instincts. You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive. And that there is power and glory in creating and contributing. You stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.

Your learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a by gone era but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn that you don't know everything, that it's not your job to save the world and that you can't teach a pig to sing. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and you learn the importance of setting boundaries and of learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love: Romantic love and familiar love. You learn how to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving and when to walk away. You learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more loveable or important because of the man or woman on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You stop trying to control people situations and outcomes. You learn that just as people grow and change so it is with love.

And you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your terms. And, you learn that alone does not mean lonely. And you look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up." You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and you learn that it is your right to want things and to ask for the things that you want and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.

You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect and you decide you won't settle for less. And you allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you to glorify you with his or her touch... and in the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect. And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more time to exercise. You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear. So you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that for the most part, in life, you get what you believe you deserve..and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen. More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone and that it's OK to risk asking for help.

You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time: FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears, because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes "bad" things happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal state: the ego.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to building bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise never to betray yourself and never, ever to settle for less than your heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind. And you make a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart, you take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

Author Unknown

Love vs. Guilt

“That grief, called godly sorrow, will move us not to punish ourselves or anyone else but to take care of the one being hurt. This is the essence of a love-based morality, instead of a fear-and-punishment based morality prescribed by the law.”

Author: John Mullen. Copyright © Prague Christian Fellowship

Love and guilt

Then he said, turning to me, "There's only one thing worse than not finding love. That is to find it and lose it. For it marks you for life. After that everything else seems a compromise, and a poor one at that. I should know. I made it once."

Author: Vikram Kapur, © Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu

Guilt : Destroying Love And Relationships

Guilt can break the mind down to the point of no return. Guilt is more than a mistake made; rather it is a violation against rights, humanity, belief, tradition, standards, and love.

Author: John Foley, 16th June 2006

Vennskap eller romantikk?

Hvor går skillet mellom vennskapelig kjærlighet og romantisk kjærlighet, og har man alltid vært like opptatt av et slikt skille? Ingunn Eriksen har skrevet hovedoppgave om vennskap mellom menn.

Hun har med et bredt grunnlag i kjønns- og seksualitetshistorie, utforsket hvordan samfunnets oppfatning av maskulinitet og seksualitet kunne påvirke måten menn var intime på.

Hvor går grensene for hva en mann til en gitt tid kan gjøre – med en annen mann? Hvor går skillet mellom vennskapelig kjærlighet og romantisk kjærlighet?

- I viktorianske romantiske vennskap fantes det ikke noe klart skille, sier Eriksen.

- På 1800-tallet i Amerika var mannlig kjærlighet et viktig aspekt av maskulinitet.

21.feb 2006, av: Mikael Dahl Mack

Kjærlighet og intellekt

Forskjellen mellom kjærlighet og intellekt er noe slikt som mellom natt og dag: de eksisterer i forhold til hverandre, og allikevel er de to forskjellige ting. Kjærlighet er ekte intelligens i stand til å realisere sannheten; intellektet er best skikket til å vite alt om dualitet, som er født av uvitenhet og er fullstendig uvitenhet. Når solen står opp, blir natten forvandlet til dag. Likeledes: når kjærligheten manifesterer seg, blir ikke-kunnskap (uvitenhet) forvandlet til bevisst-kunnskap (viten).

På tross av forskjellen mellom en person med et skarpt intellekt og en meget uintelligent person er begge like mye i stand til å erfare kjærlighet. Den egenskapen som bestemmer ens evne til kjærlighet er ikke ens forstand eller klokhet, men ens beredskap til å oppgi livet selv for den elskede og allikevel holde seg levende. Man må, for å si det slik, skalle av kropp, energi, sinn og alt annet og bli til støv under den elskedes føtter. Dette støvet, denne elskeren, som ikke kan holde seg i live uten Gud - akkurat slik en vanlig mann ikke kan holde seg i live uten pust - blir så forvandlet til den elskede. Slik blir mennesket Gud.

2003 © Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India, Norske oversettelser ved Mona Brodin

Elsker du meg eller er du trofast?

Tenk deg det følgende: Du er lykkelig gift. En morgen sier din ektefelle til deg: Elsker du meg eller er du trofast? Du får rynker i pannen og blir sittende å gruble over det underlige spørsmålet. Er min kjærlighet til min ektefelle et alternativ til å være trofast? Må jeg enten elske eller være trofast? Hvis du er våken, edru, har normalt blodsukker og ellers er i noenlunde akseptabel mental tilstand, kommer du sannsynligvis til den konklusjon, at spørsmålet er helt sprøtt. Du ser på din ektefelle som du elsker så høyt, og sier: Du har stilt meg et helt galt spørsmål som det ikke går an å svare rett på. Du ber meg velge mellom to ting som aldri har vært atskilt. Jeg kan ikke være med på det ene uten samtidig å være med på det andre. Min kjærlighet til deg er faktisk ikke en kontrast eller motpol til mitt ønske og mitt valg om å være trofast mot deg. Jeg er trofast fordi jeg elsker deg og jeg elsker deg så høyt at jeg aldri vil tenke på å være utro.

av John Berglund

Kjærligheten, lydighetens kilde

"Har dere kjærlighet til hverandre, da skal alle kunne se at dere er mine disipler." (13,35)

Den kjærligheten som Jesus her taler om er ikke en ukvalifisert og sentimental holdning eller fromme ønsker. Akkurat som Jesu kjærlighet til Faderen vises gjennom hans lydighet mot Faderens vilje, lever disiplenes kjærlighet i lydighet mot Jesu ord og bud. "Dersom dere elsker meg, holder dere mine bud... Den som elsker meg, vil holde fast på mitt ord, og min Far skal elske ham, og vi skal komme til ham og ta bolig hos ham." (14,15.23) Kjærligheten er lydighetens kilde - lydigheten er kjærlighetens demonstrasjon. Kjærligheten utleves gjennom kjærlighetshandlinger. Men Johannes (og NT for øvrig for den del) tegner ikke kjærligheten "på frihånd". Kjærligheten kvalifiseres gjennom uttrykk som "bli i hans ord, holde hans bud, gjøre hans gjerninger, elske slik som ham". "Å elske Gud er å holde hans bud, og hans bud er ikke tunge." (1 Joh 5,3) Kjærlighet i bibelsk forstand har ikke først og fremst menneskers overveielser som referanseramme, men Faderen, Sønnen og Ånden.

Norsk Kristelig Studieråd

Å elske

Å elske er å beundre med hjertet. Å beundre er å elske med hjernen.

Théophile Gautier