I believe that *what you believe* changes who you are. What I’ve become or what you’ve become is just the result of what we have chosen to believe. And we can choose differently.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that the only real power we have is belief.

There are themes that run through my life (lives?) and experiences that appear to be ongoing lessons. Rebellion, independence and martyrdom. both in the sense of self-sacrifice and self-destructiveness, seem to be some of them. So does dealing with dsability and isolation. For that matter, so does leadership whether I want it or not. Either these sorts of things are a path I have chosen, or things that I keep messing up and so, have to keep working on. They’re still here, in any event, and I’m still learning lessons about the up and the downside of all of them.

It’s not about predestination, it’s about choosing your own life and making it happen. I think I latched onto this philosophy gradually as an antidote to my own depression – it makes it easier to fight off the demons if you understand that the global “They” are doing it to you, you’re somehow doing it to yourself. If you can’t blame, then you can either choose to live in hell or find some way that might lead you out in time.

Needless to say, despite a strict Catholic upbringing, I’m not satisfied with conforming to anyone’s revealed wisdom. All I can say is, this works for me. Nothing else did, and trust me, I’ve tried everything from “Born Again” to Scientology.

And yes, I do claim to have some memories of prior lives. No, I wasn’t Cleopatra, or anyone of any historic note. I lived, I died, and I learned lessons along the way. And I figure I’ll continue to do so until I chance to finally “get it right”.

Philosophy 101, according to The Bardd.

Myself, I believe in a loving God, who did send His son for me. I do not judge others for their beliefs or lack of, however…there have been too many miracles in my own life to deny my faith in God or His son. And I’m talking life and death miracles.

I hope one day you’ll know and feel in your heart that God doesn’t hate you. I never truly understood His love for me until I had my own child. My child screws up and I discipline him to teach him, but I never ever stop deeply loving him. It’s like that with God too.

Good luck on your journey…feel free to stop by my page anytime. Although today I ranted and vented some on my blog, for the most part it’s designed to be uplifting.