A Personal Statement Of Belief

God exists.

God had no beginning.

God has no end.

God is infinite, and is the only Infinity.

God was, is, and will be - eternally, and without cessation.

God is the Source and Creator of all that exists, including time and space itself, and all things that exist in time and space.

Humans are finite, since God created us, and God is the only Infinity.

All of creation is finite, since God created it, and God is the only Infinity.

God exists beyond time and space, since God created time and space.

We are God’s creatures; therefore, we exist within the limits of time and space.

All of creation exists within the limits of time and space, since God created it.

God exists always in the present moment.

With God, there exists only the eternal reality of the “now;” God is ever-present in this “now” moment.

The “past” and the “future” do not exist, since God is ever-present.

The “past” and the “future” are merely products of the human mind’s attempt to understand and define the passage of time; therefore, they are subjective concepts, and their definitions continually change, according to the perceptions of the individuals who imagine them.

The “now” moment is not subjective and never changes, since God exists ever and always in the “now.”

The “now” moment transcends all human understanding and perception, since God exists beyond time and space, and is ever-present in the “now” moment.

Never was there ever a time or place where nothing existed, since God always was, is and will be.

God is omnipresent, and is the all-encompassing Source of all that exists.

God is perfect, and is singular, unique, and distinct in His perfection.

Humans are imperfect, since they are creatures of God, who is the very essence of Perfection Itself.

Though we will never be perfect like God, nonetheless, God desires that we become perfected like Him, since our ultimate destiny is to dwell with God in the absolute and perfect reality of His ineffable creation forever and ever.

God is omniscient; He is the ultimate Perfection of Wisdom, Truth, and Understanding.

God is Perfect Truth.

God is Perfect Wisdom.

God is Perfect Light.

God is Perfect Love.

God is Perfect Mercy.

God is Enlightenment Itself.

The essence of God is Perfect Truth, Perfect Wisdom, Perfect Light, Perfect Love, and Perfect Mercy, since God is the ultimate and ineffable Perfection Itself.

God had no need to create anything, since He is Perfection and a complete and Perfect Entity unto Itself.

God had no need to create another Divinity or Perfection like Himself, though he was eminently capable of doing so, since He is the ultimate Perfection and Source of all Divinity.

God desired that there be creatures to love and to serve Him; therefore, He created us to love and to serve Him, and to glorify and worship Him as The One who is the Source of all our being.

God created all of us, His children, as unique and distinct human persons, and He gave each of us our own unique minds, bodies, personalities, sexual orientations, languages, cultures, and human souls with which to love, serve, and glorify Him, in our own unique and human ways.

If we love unselfishly, therefore, and give of ourselves freely to one another out of love and mutual respect for one another, then God will bless us and give us His Grace, whether we give that love to a man, or to a woman.

Every human soul, every creature, and everything that exists, has been created by God, and He loves everything that He has created infinitely and eternally, precisely because everything He has created is unique, and therefore is beautiful and special in the Thoughts of the Divine Mind.

All of Creation is infused with God’s Perfect Love, imbued with God’s Perfect Light, blessed with His Perfect Mercy, and has its origin in the Perfection of God’s Perfect and Ineffable Wisdom and Truth.

God did not mandate, nor did He desire, that we obey and worship Him blindly and without question as slaves to His Perfect Will, although He had the Power to do so, since His Power, Might and Majesty are unlimited and eternal.

God desires and intends for us as His creatures to dwell with Him in His Perfect Love and Mercy, forever and ever.

We are all brothers and sisters to one another; each of us is but one part of the Great Family of God, and all of us are equally loved by God as His children, without limit and without any equivocation or reservation, forever and ever.

It is our duty as God’s creatures to show love and mercy to one another, since God’s Love and Mercy is infinite, and God desires that we share His Perfect Love and Mercy with every human being on this planet, since we are all brothers and sisters to one another.

It is our duty as God’s creatures to respect all living things, whether they be plant or animal, since God created them for our use and mutual enjoyment, and are the gifts that He gave us because He loves us.

It is our duty as God’s creatures to tend and to care for our planet – the water we drink, the air we breathe, and everything in and on the Earth, since God created these things for our use and mutual enjoyment, and these are the gifts that He gave us because He loves us.

God is forever tender, kind, patient, and forgiving, since He is Perfect Mercy, and since His Love transcends all human understanding, and is unbounded and infinite.

God gave us the gift of freedom of will; to freely choose to love and to serve Him, because He loves us, and desires that we choose to love and to serve Him of our own free will and accord, never demanding our servitude or our obedience to Him, since He is Perfect Love and Mercy.

Like a diamond with many facets, God has manifested and revealed His Presence to us throughout the course of human history.

Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, and Jesus Christ are but a few of the incarnations and manifestations of the One True God; and these incarnations are as unlimited and perfect as God is unlimited and perfect.

God chose to reveal Himself to us in these many and diverse ways, because we all perceive God in our own unique ways, and all of these individual perceptions of God spring forth, and have their inception, in an authentic desire to know, to love, and to serve God according to our own individual and unique perceptions of Him.

God did not desire, nor did he mandate, that all of His creatures worship and serve only one incarnation or manifestation of Him, since He has given us the gift of freedom of will, and since we all understand God in our own unique and distinct ways.

There are many paths that ultimately lead to the One True God, some rocky, others smooth, some crooked and winding, others straight and narrow, some well traveled, and others that have never been traveled upon.

No one path that leads to the One True God is the best, the straightest, and the truest path to God, since we all follow our own individual paths to God, and we are not perfect; therefore, no path to God is perfect.

All religions and belief systems that authentically seek to love and to serve God, and have as their ultimate goal and mission an authentic desire to love and to serve all of God’s creatures, human, animal, and plant, and to respect, tend, and to care for this planet, and all of God’s creation, are inspired by God, and uniquely gifted and blessed by Him, and therefore, must be respected and understood in the light of this Divine Grace.

Since all religions and belief systems are created by humans, they are all inherently flawed in one or many ways, since we do not understand all things as God does, and we therefore cannot claim that our worship of Him is perfect, or ultimately the only and best way to worship our Creator.

God did not desire, nor did He ever demand, that any prophet or messenger sent by Him should die for our sins: to suffer, to shed his blood, and to die for our salvation, because God loves us, and we are always free and able to reconcile with our Creator directly, without the need for any intermediary, intercessor, or personal savior.

We all have the gift of freedom of will, which is the purest manifestation of God’s infinite Grace, and God allows us to choose to love and to serve Him, or to choose not to love and to serve Him, and God permits us to make this choice, because He is forever loving and merciful toward all of His children.

By giving us all such a great gift of freedom of choice, this does not limit or confine the Power and Majesty of God in any way, since He freely gives us this gift as a product of His Divine Grace and Mercy, and out of the Perfect Love in which He made us.

Since God is omnipresent, and is everything and everywhere at all times and in all places, therefore, there is nowhere that is not filled with God’s Perfect Truth, Perfect Wisdom, Perfect Light, Perfect Love, and Perfect Mercy.

Where there is this Truth, Wisdom, Light, Love, and Mercy, there exists also Heaven, which is God Himself, and which is ultimately a state of being in which we experience true Enlightenment, immersed in the Joy and Bliss of being one with the One True God, forever and ever.
Since everywhere and everything is God, and since God is Heaven, and Heaven is God and is of God, therefore, everywhere and everything is Heaven.

If we choose to love and to serve God, and to love and serve our brothers and sisters as children of the One True God, then we will dwell in Heaven, for we will dwell with God, who is Heaven, and we will perpetually experience His Love, Joy, and Mercy, without end, for all eternity.

We as humans do not have to wait to “get to Heaven,” since God is everywhere and everything, in all times and all places, and God is synonymous with Heaven, therefore, if we choose to love and to serve God, and to love and serve our brothers and sisters as children of the One True God, then we will live in a state of eternal Love and Joy, here and now, forever and ever.

Since there is nowhere and nothing that is not filled with the Presence of God, “Hell” does not exist, for there cannot exist anything or anywhere that is not God, and that is not imbued with His Light and His Love.

God does not punish or condemn us for being imperfect, for He knows that we will make mistakes; that is part and parcel of our human condition, and God does not expect us to comprehend all things and be perfect, for only God understands all things, and is the True Perfection of all things.

God is ever ready and ever willing to counsel us, grant us the gift of His infinite Wisdom, and lovingly teach us, His children, His Ways, which are ultimately the Ways of Truth, Light, and Love.

Change, loss, and death, are necessary evils in life, and God uses these painful and unpleasant moments in our lives to challenge us to grow, for otherwise, we would remain as “spiritual infants,” having neither the maturity nor the wisdom that comes with age, and with the experience of pain that is caused by change, loss and death.

God’s Love is so absolute and so infinite, that He will allow us to choose not to love and to serve Him, if we so desire, because He has given us the gift of freedom of will, and God will always give us this gift of freedom of will, unconditionally and without any equivocation whatsoever.

If we choose to love and to serve God, and we choose to love and to serve our brothers and sisters, and not cause them pain or suffering in any way, and we do not abuse the things that were created by God for our enjoyment, then we are doing God’s will, and will ultimately be rewarded by God with true happiness, and we will experience His Love, His Mercy, and His Grace, without end, forever and ever.

If we choose not to love and to serve God, then we will exist in a state of being utterly devoid of His Love, Mercy, and Grace, and we will have created our own “hell,” which is in reality a state of being in which we do not feel the Presence, the Light, and the Love, of our Creator.
Since God is everything and everywhere, therefore, there is no “satan,” or “devil” that is somehow equal to God, yet opposite to God in substance and in character.

Any creature of God, whether it be an angel or a human, that has deliberately and freely chosen not to love and to serve God, is a fallen creature, and exists in its own state of being that is utterly devoid of God’s Light and Love; this is its own self-created “hell.”

We can never demand of God that He forgive us for making a deliberate choice not to love and to serve Him, for that would be presumptuous, and we must ask God humbly and sincerely to be forgiven, and God will forgive us, if we only ask.

There will be consequences for our choosing to do good, and consequences for our choosing to do evil as well, for God is just and fair. Good choices will be rewarded with pleasant consequences, and bad choices will be rewarded with bad consequences. God will exact fair and appropriate recompense from us for all the pain and suffering that we have caused to our fellow human beings, should we selfishly choose to take advantage of them, and mistreat and abuse them.

As the Mother and Womb of all creation, the Goddess will forever be reaching out to Her creatures, ever willing, and ever ready to forgive us of all of our sins, throughout all eternity, for She loves us infinitely and eternally.

Therefore, the meaning of life, our ultimate destiny, our very purpose for existence, is to love and to serve our Creator, to dwell with the Divine source forever, and to seek True Enlightenment, which is the Divine Source itself – Who is ever forgiving, ever merciful, ever truthful, ever faithful, and ever loving, beyond time and space, for all eternity, without end, forever and ever.

And he says that he loves Jesus?

I found this rather hateful and prejudiced web site concerning "world religions and cults," as they are called on this web site. Here's the link:

http://religion-cults.com/

I wrote an e-mail to Dr. Dominguez, who is the author of this web site, and a medical doctor as well. Clearly, he is taking a singularistic and dominant position, namely, that only Western Christianity, and particularly Roman Catholicism, are the only authentic means to salvation. I most definitely take issue with this point! The text of the e-mail that I wrote to Dr. Dominguez follows, below. I have yet to hear from this man. I would welcome any commentary on what I have written to him, as well as opinions concerning Dr. Dominguez' web site. Here is the e-mail that I wrote to Dr. Dominguez:

Dr. Dominguez,

I have just expended the better part of the last hour this evening reading with great dismay and consternation several pages from your web site expounding on your own personal prejudices and hostilities concerning alternate belief systems. Your singularistic and rigid opinions are quite disturbing to me. It is quite evident in your writings that you are of the singular conviction that Roman Catholicism and Christianity are the only authentic means to attain eternal salvation with God. Your "research," as you have termed it, is in reality nothing more than a vehicle for your own rigid and cynical viewpoints, devoid of any true compassion or empathy for others who do not agree with them. If you truly loved Jesus as you claim, then you would also love and respect everyone else who shares this planet with you, their belief systems, and most especially, their fundamental freedom of choice.

To begin with, I pose to you a basic question: why would a God of Love, who has created billions upon billions of people, most of whom perceive and believe in their Creator differently (other than atheists), mandate that all of us in toto must unilaterally profess faith in but one redeemer and saviour, and that this profession of faith will be the only determining factor for whether or not we will be allowed to live with God in Heaven for all eternity? God is not a static or finite reality that we can contain in our own convenient "box." Nay, God is a dynamic and fluid Being of pre-eminent and infinite creative power and majesty. God is the Father of Love, and the Mother/Womb of all existence. God is ever-creating, ever-changing, and ever-forgiving. God sent to humanity many messengers and prophets to proclaim to the world the Good News of His Love, Mercy, and Grace. In essence, all organized religions and belief systems are primarily mankind's imperfect, albeit largely sincere and holy, desire to comprehend, glorify, worship, and ultimately love, our Creator in ways that are inherently unique to each soul.

The writers of the Christian gospels give us an account that Jesus (Yeshua Benjamin), who was but a simple itinerant rabbi in ancient Judea, told his disciples that "they will know that you believe (in God) by your love." Yeshua also said that "ye shall know them by their fruits," and "a good vine always bears good fruit, but a bad vine can never produce anything by thorns." Thus, if the fruits of our works are love and respect for others, then we truly believe in God, and will be rewarded with unending joy in Heaven. However, "if I have not love, I am but sounding brass or clashing cymbal" (all noise, and no substance).

Christianity, though popular on a global scale, is not the majority denomination of the world, though your charts and graphs would so indicate. Christianity is also a theological infant when compared with the much more ancient philosophies of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Thus, Christianity is still relatively immature from a spiritual standpoint, and it must be amenable to change, and to the correction of its normal and natural defects by trusted prophets and teachers who uphold universal love and respect for all peoples and beliefs as their highest ideals. There are several world religions that do not acknowledge Jesus as divine (vis a "messiah), yet they understand that Christianity is but one path of many that leads to God. Notable among these belief systems are Hinduism and Buddhism, which are both genuinely monotheistic in nature. In Buddhism, there is but one Supreme Being (Buddha or Buddha-Gi), but that Being has many faces and many personalities, all originating equally from the Divine Source. In Hinduism, there is also only one supreme God (Brahman, Vishnu, or Shiva, depending on the particular sect of Hinduism practiced), but this one God has had many incarnations that have been made manifest on this earth (most notably Krishna). In fact, Hinduism teaches that there is a Trinity of the supreme Being - Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva, yet these three Beings are all but one supreme God.

I also find it quite illogical and irrational to presume that hell is a physical, geographical locus of darkness, condemnation, and misery, utterly devoid of the presence of God. If God is truly omnipresent, then He exists in everything, everywhere, at all times and in all places. Therefore, if everything and everywhere is imbued with the Light and Presence of God, then concomitantly, everything and everywhere is Nirvana/Heaven, because God is Heaven, and Heaven is God. While it is true that our omnipotent Creator could impose His Will and Power upon us, subduing us by force, and enslaving us as blind obedient servants of Him, God loves us so very much that He has given us the gift of freedom of will. This does not limit the Power of God, it simply means that He has given us the gift of grace, and the gift of the capacity to choose to serve and love Him the best that we know how to do so. If we do not choose to love and to serve God, then that is our choice, and God will permit us to live in this state of "hell," devoid of his redemptive grace and love, which warms and illumines the core of our being. God's mercy and forgiveness, however, will eternally be absolute and unrelenting, forever calling to us to ask for forgiveness, and become one in Light and Love with the Divine Source.

The God of Love that I personally believe in is One who is perfectly willing and able to forgive the most sinful and evil of human souls, even murderers, if they would only ask God to forgive them. However, such forgiveness must be humbly requested, and not demanded, of God, because it is a gift freely given by the Love of our Creator. Additionally, our karma (or works), both good and bad, will have consistent and parallel consequences; rewards for goodness, and proper justice and undesirable outcomes for evil.

The Judaeo-Christian/Western concept of a satan, or devil, that is somehow an anti-god, equal in nature to God, yet diametrically opposed to Him, is inherently a flawed one, because God is only equal to Himself, and nothing else. God is the only uncreated, infinite, and Divine Being, thus, all other things and creatures are finite, mortal, and unequal to God. Lucifer, and all the fallen angels, chose not to love and to serve God, and chose instead to live in a state of "hell," apart from God's Love. Once again, however, even these fallen creatures can be forgiven, if they only ask for that gift of God's mercy. God, for His part, will forever be reaching out to us, holding His gift of forgiveness and mercy close to His Sacred Heart, ever waiting, ever patient, ever loving, ever merciful, beyond time, beyond space, beyond all that exists. Love is the supernal and ultimate reality. Love is the very essence of our Creator.

I was raised a Protestant Episcopalian, and have been a convert to Roman Catholicism for over 15 years now. However, I have recently had a fundamental shift in my theological and philosophical outlook. While it is true that I am uncertain as to the path that God chosen for me to follow, it does appear at this point that I am intended to follow a more Eastern approach to my belief in God, or perhaps even a Hinduist faith. I readily admit to my limited and imperfect understanding of Divinity, yet I do most sincerely hope that God will show me the True Path to Enlightenment, so that one day we will be one. We are all but atoms or cells within the One Divine Body; we are all each but one tiny neuron among the countless trillions and trillions of neurons that comprise the Divine Mind. Thus, despite the inescapable fact that we will never be God or be Divine as He is, nonetheless, we will share in His Divinity, and the selfishness of our ego and individuality will be coalesced and unified with the One Source of all that exists, namely God.

I must reiterate again that I am firmly convinced that Love is the very essence of God, and any belief system or religion, whether professed by one person, or proclaimed by one massive organized religious structure, must have at its core belief in this Divine Love, and belief in the fundamental right of every human soul to be loved, respected, and forgiven by all of us, because that is what God will always give to us - love, respect, and forgiveness. How much more then, can we give to others and to God, out of gratitude and love for that Being which made us, loves us, and only desires for us to all dwell with It for all eternity? Thus, if we love ourselves selflessly (because God loves us), if we love others (because it is morally right for us to do so), and we love our Creator, then we will always be growing, learning, and forever experiencing more and more of the Love and Joy of the Divine Being that made all of creation. That is our ultimate and highest attainable goal: to exist in Love with God forever.

I must also take issue with your cynical and disparaging commentary concerning Freemasonry. Freemasonry is neither evil, satanic, nor a religion unto itself. We Freemasons believe in a Supreme Being, but how a man believes in that Being is left to his own inviolate freedom of conscience and will. While it is perhaps true that, historically, individual Freemasons have used our Fraternity for nefarious purposes, political motivations, or destructive and violent activities, Freemasonry as a whole maintains a policy of categorically condemning such acts as inherently morally disordered and evil. Freemasonry is not a "tool of the devil," a vehicle for "antichrist to establish the New World Order," or anything but simply a charitable, philanthropic, and largely beneficial community organization that has at its core a fundamental respect for all creeds, ethnicities, and variations of the human person. We Freemasons are pluralistic, universal, and eminently monotheistic devotees of the one Great Architect of the Universe. In fact, I believe the whole world would be a much better place if it were to unilaterally adopt some of the key principles of Masonic harmony, brotherly love, and charity. As I have stated previously, if we exercise our gift of freedom of will, and choose to love and serve our Creator by loving and serving others, then we can achieve Nirvana/Heaven right here, right now, on this very planet we live on, because God is Heaven itself. We do not have to wait to "get to Heaven. Wherever God is, there is Heaven. Therefore, since God is omnipresent in all things at all times, we do not have to wait to "be saved," and we do not need a messiah to "redeem us from our sins." All that we need do is to ask God for His forgiveness, and we will truly be saved, and dwell with God in a perpetual state of Bliss, Love, and Grace.

Dr. Dominguez, I would encourage you to reconsider and reexamine your overtly pedantic and dogmatic position on belief systems that you do not personally ascribe faith in. It would be far more constructive, healthy, and beneficial to your spiritual growth, as well as to the well-being and spiritual health of others, to assume a more liberal and pluralistic stance in regard to alternate non-Christian denominations. If you do authentically believe in Yeshua the Rabbi (Jesus), then you must also authentically believe in his gospel of love. The Christ of your faith came not to condemn the world, but to embrace it. As Muslims believe, Allah (God) would not allow His holy prophet to be executed and to die in order to atone for our sins. I do not personally believe that God sent any of His messengers, whether they be Yeshua (Jesus), or any other prophets, to be crucified, tortured, and put to death for no other purpose than to redeem us from the "original sin" of our forefathers. God does not punish us for making bad choices and mistakes. Yes, there will be rather unpleasant consequences for our choice to do wrong that we will have to face, because God is a Deity of Justice and infinite fairness, and the souls of those we have hurt by our deliberate intent to do wrong must receive adequate and appropriate recompense for the harm that we have done them. However, yet again, God will always be willing to forgive us, so long as we make the choice to love and to serve Him, ask for Him to forgive us, and ask Him to be ever-present in our existence for all eternity.

I will pray for you, that you will receive God's ineffable, inestimable, and eternal Grace and Love, and the He will illumine the darkness and bitterness of your heart. I will not attempt to convert you to my way of thinking, because I respect and understand that all belief systems are valid, and you are not entirely incorrect or flawed in your apparently well-intentioned struggle to understand the Divine as you personally perceive Him. Tolerance and acceptance is the first step to loving and respecting other people, and you would do well to apply these principles to your daily life. I also pray that Lord Krishna will bless you with a long and happy life, and that one day you will attain true Enlightenment. I wish you only good fortune as you pursue our ultimate Good: the Love which made us, and the Love which will love us for all of eternity, without end, forever and ever.

The tragedy at Virginia Tech

The mass shooting at Virginia Tech this Monday was indeed shocking and deeply disturbing. As a college student, I grieve for all the students who died, their survivors, familiies, friends, and everyone who has been affected by this horrific tragedy.

In my opinion, NBC’s recent airing of mass murderer Cho Seung-hui’s video manifesto was inappropriate and insensitive to the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy, their families, their friends, and everyone who has in any way been affected by this tragedy. This video clearly demonstrates just how sick, delusional, and paranoid this young man was. Airing this video on the media only serves to idolize and deify him, and glorify the egregious and horrific acts of violence that he perpetrated on 32 innocent lives.

There will most assuredly be another equally deranged and psychotic individual who will at least threaten, and perhaps attempt, a similar mass-murder after viewing this video. NBC should never have aired this video on its network, regardless of how altruistic its motivations, or its apparent need to "report the news." Cho's manifesto, his pictures, and particularly this video, are all evidence in a criminal investigation that has only begun, and will most likely take years to complete. Forensic investigators who are charged with gathering and analyzing the evidence of this crime will only be impeded in their investigation by the negative public sentiment and distorted perspective of the killer that the public viewing of this video has thus created.

Airing this video only gives credence to Cho's deluded fantasies, and elevates him to iconic status. Hero worship of a mass-murderer is not anything that an ordered and ethical society should emulate or engage in. It is indeed a sad commentary that we are not all collectively deeply shocked and saddened by the incoherent ramblings and images of this deranged madman. Airing this video in the mass media and on the Web only further wounds and victimizes the already grief-stricken families and friends of those who were killed and injured in this tragedy. We should never, ever, forget what happened this week, because by so doing, we create the possibility of such an unthinkable and despicable crime happening yet again in the future.

There is clearly a lot of blame that could be assigned for what has happened - the doctors and psychiatrists for not taking swift and immediate action after seeing the warning signs, college officials for not expelling Cho after his flagrant threats and his expressly evident hatred of students, particularly female students, that he expounded in his writings, or perhaps even his parents and family for not intervening before this tragedy happened. However, blame is not going to serve any useful purpose. Blame is never going to bring those 32 beautiful souls back to life again. Blame would only serve to impede and obfuscate a healthier and more appropriate response to this tragedy.

Knowledge is power, and we have the power to learn from this horrible tragedy, and take steps to prevent it from happening ever again. We can be pro-active, and learn all we can about mental illness, and how violent acts such as Cho's massacre often have deep roots in psychosis and delusionality. We can take seriously any threats that anyone makes toward another person, and immediately react to such threats by protecting and granting safety to those who are threatened. Cho obviously needed long-term psychiatric treatment; something he never received As a result, his chronic rage and paranoia reached a critical level, and now 32 innocent students and faculty, and the murderer himself, are dead.

As a computer systems engineering major at my local community college, I am at once deeply disturbed by this tragedy, and I feel that my personal security has been threatened and is compromised by the very real possibility of a copycat killer perpetrating a similar incident on my campus. I believe it is of paramount importance to prevent these tragedies before they occur, rather than reacting to them after the fact. I pray that we will all mourn for the innocent dead, console each other in our grief, and work toward healing one another with prayer and with hope. The 32 students that were killed this week were the real heroes in my book. They were the sort of people we ought to emulate in our own lives. They were all students like me, simply trying to make a better future for themselves by getting a better education.

Watching a mass-murderer on live TV and the Internet only glorifies the criminal, and victimizes both the dead and the living. We should all be watching videos about the lives of those who died instead. That would be a much more appropriate response to what has happened. I would much rather learn more about the victims, than the psychotic who killed them. NBC should be ashamed for airing Cho's video. NBC owes the victims, their families, their friends, and the general public a sincere and immediate apology. I don't usually watch NBC, and to be sure, I will not watch it now or any time in the future. I will spend my time studying, praying for the living and the dead, and praying that a tragedy like this never happens again. Perhaps in some small way, then, I can do something positive and meaningful for the victims of this tragedy and their survivors. Perhaps prayer is a more fitting memorial to those who died this week. I hope that all of our prayers will help heal the grief and sadness that is felt by all those who have survived this tragedy this week.

Reflections On Mary

I am pleased to announce the release of my new CD of Marian devotional music, "Reflections On Mary." The image you see here is a picture of Our Lady Of Medjugorje, which is on the front cover of the CD. This was an entirely digital production, from the recording phase to the final mix down and burning of the Master CD. The whole project took about one month to complete.

I have employed the services of "Do-A-Disc" in San Marino California for the production and duplicating of the CD. I highly recommend this company, which can be found on their web site at www.doadisc.com. Not only do they do the CD duplication, but they print text directly on the CD, print the entire artwork for the jewel case, and even individually shrink wrap each CD. I paid $2.54 per CD, plus an additional $35.00 for the proof CD. I have found them to be a highly professional and efficient company. I am very pleased with the quality of the CD that they have produced for me.

As for the hardware setup, I recorded the entire project using my Technics SX-P30 Digital Piano in my home studio. I used an Alesis io2 as my primary recording device. This is an amazing little device. It uses a USB connection for its primary power source, and to connect to your computer. This Alesis device features two 1/4" inputs and two XLR-type low-impedance microphone inputs. It has two 1/4" main stereo outputs. I used two right-angle 1/4" male to RCA female adapters, which I then connected to a Y-adapter with two RCA males on one end, and a 1/8" mini female on the other end. I connected this to the 1/8" male end of my speaker cable. (I use the Altec-Lansing ATP-3 computer speakers, with a sub-woofer). The Alesis io2 also has an S/PDIF input and output that employs a special 20-ohm RCA cable for its use. (Standard RCA cables do not have the proper impedance specification, and will cause problems with audio input and output if used.) I used my Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop computer as the master controller; a Pentium 4 running at 2.4 GHz with 1 GB of onboard RAM.

As for the software, I used Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 as the OS. I did the multi-track recording with Steinberg Cubase LE. I exported the raw recordings from Cubase as WAV files. I then imported the WAV files into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9, and did the audio and effects editing in Cakewalk. Finally, I mixed down the audio in Cakewalk, and converted everything into MP3 files. I used Musicmatch Jukebox 10 to establish a final playlist, then burned the Master CD using Jukebox, which I submitted to Do-A-Disc for duplication and packaging.

Admittedly, this was a great learning experience for me. The setups I used in the past were very hap-hazard at best. It was so satisfying to finally have a hardware and software combination that produced a finished product that could meet my rigorous standards of quality and excellence. Even then, it took at least 10-20 takes for eack track on the CD to get everything flawless. I think the biggest challenge I faced was getting the recording levels right. There is a volume level on the digital piano itself, there are gain levels on the Alesis, Cubase has its own onboard software mixer that had to be balanced just right, and Cakewalk had its own audio levels as well. Every time I added an acoustic effect like reverb, this increased the amplitude of the wave form, and I ran the risk of getting distortion or clipping. It was a delicate balance to mix all the levels right. The final result was audio tracks that were properly balanced; not too soft or too loud, perfect for burning a CD.

Another interesting thing about my hardware setup was getting true stereo input from my digital piano. After a few calls to technical support, I discovered that I had to use two 1/4" cables, one for the left channel, and one for the right channel, and use both 1/4" inputs on my Alesis device. This was infinitely much better than the days when I used my soundcard on my old desktop PC for input, something that made true stereo input an impossibility. I always ended up using a mini-disc recorder to record with, and then importing the file into my PC via a special USB cable. That setup was "gerry-rigged," to say the least. I now have a professional studio setup, without the costs of going to a professional studio (which, I am sure, would cost thousands of dollars).

I must also commend Matt Adams at sweetwater.com for his excellent sales advice. I was originally planning to use a rather complicated and expensive setup of cables and such to do my recording. Having sold my old desktop PC, I no longer had any MIDI or audio inputs to speak of (my laptop simply doesn't have those kind of inputs). He recommended the Alesis io2 to use as my primary input and recording device, particularly because it had both MIDI and audio inputs. I paid $150 for what originally sold at $300. In addition, I got a sweet deal from Alesis - they shipped out a free recording kit, with an XLR mike and cable, a pair of headphones, a hard case for the mike, and a large padded Alesis bag for all the gear. It was valued at $120. All I had to do was submit my invoice and my serial number. All in all, I think I made out very well on the whole deal.

If you are interested in purchasing my "Reflections On Mary CD" for yourself or as a gift for a special someone, it is available direct from me for $15.00, plus $4.00 shipping and handling. Just drop me an e-mail at nettech9276@charter.net, give me your e-mail address, and I will e-mail you an order form. While this CD is distinctly Catholic in flavor, I am confident that this music has a truly universal appeal, and that most anyone would enjoy listening to it, or using it for meditation or prayer. It was a labor of love, and I am truly thankful to God for giving me the skill and talent required to produce it.

Excellent "Build It Yourself" Guide For Novice PC Users...

This is an excellent starter E-Book (comes in electronic format to run on your PC). For novice PC users who want to know all about how to build their own computer. Designed for the beginner in mind with simple and easy-to-understand language. Comes with lots of photos and instructional videos and audio clips that are updated regularly. Full technical support included as well. Much better than those "For Dummies" books! Check it out!