Longest Continuous Relay Swim from Baja to help Wounded Warriors

by patgarcia | June 25, 2009 at 08:07 pm

Longest Continuous Relay Swim from Baja to help Wounded Warriors

Another great international event in my city La Paz Mexico. William 'Spanky' Gibson, Vito Bialla, Gordon Clute, Matthew Davie, Dave Holscher, John Mathews, JC Sheppard, Scott Stiteler and Emily Young the Night Train Swimmers.will cross the Sea of Cortez from Peaceful La Paz to a port close to the city of Culiacan in mainland Mexico supporting the Wounded Warrior Project.

After last year's successful English Channel crossing on behalf of Lifehouse Agency, the San Francisco-based Night Train Swimmers will attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous relay swim by crossing the Sea of Cortez (Mar de Cortés) in Mexico from La Paz to the Mexican mainland - a distance of 252K (157 miles).

On June 27, the Night Train Swimmers will depart from La Paz on a 157-mile trek across the Sea of C ortez in an attempt to break the world record for longest continuous relay swim. The Night Train Swimmers are raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Source: 10kswimmer.com

A little bit about ight Train's safety officer for this crossing. If you want to read about the rest of the participants you can go to the link below.

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William "Spanky" Gibson is Night Train's Chief Safety Officer for the Sea of Cortez crossing in June 2009. A decorated US Marine, Spanky was shot by a sniper in May 2006 while on foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq. When the firefight was over, his left leg was gone. Just two months after he was shot, Spanky was back at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, preparing to go back to Iraq with his new prosthetic leg.

Over the past few years, Spanky has completed multiple triathlons and ultra-endurance events. He currently serves as a Marine Legislative Fellow at the Committee on Veterans' Affairs in Washington, DC, where his duties include drafting legislation, serving as a liaison to constituents, planning international conferences and much more.

Source: nighttrainswimmers.com

Crossroads Panorama

by ~gacek

Jeremiah 6:16

Christian Backgrounds Wallpaper - Jeremiah 6:16, originally uploaded by crossmap backgrounds.

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV)

Everything around me is taking me to the fundamental aspects of my faith , to the beginning of spiritual growth, to the day I looked up to the heavens for the first time. A life full of hope and gratitude even in the mist of storms when knowing something as marvelous and amazing as a rainbow can enhance the beauty of our lives.

It is important to stop and look, to follow the ancient paths not meaning paths of old-fashioned outdated forms of thinking but rather meaning the foundation of our faith, the ancient ways to walk given by God to his people. The fundamental eternal truths that are non-changing will make us strong and full of peace to face an ever changing world.

Believing in the God who believes in you assures you with a steady step forward, it secures you and provides the certainty of walking in the right direction towards your destiny, your pilgrimage, your mission in life as and exaltation of his glory in you.

As you walk following the eternal truth of God, peace will come to you and those around you, as you keep walking you advance through a period of maturity and change, your spiritual perception advances forward in this process reaching a point of increasing revelation and wisdom.

It is at that point when you can experiment constant gratitude, continuous praise and worship to your creator. It is at this time of maturity when asking and obtaining is not so important anymore. It is a slow, steady walk to destiny and accomplishment when you can live and feel each moment and sensation, experimenting life at its maximum level.

Time of triumphs when adversity can't beat you, it can knock you down, but it can't beat you once you have embraced the kingdom of God with all your heart and might.

Pat Garcia

I will extol thee, my God O, King

This verse reveals Aleph once again grammatically expressing the idea of I Will placed before a verb. ארוממך ‎ (aromimkah, I will extol), formed from the root רום ‎ (ruwm, extol/elevate/uplift) prefixed with Aleph (א ‎).

This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it"

Jeremiah 6:16 ( NIV )

There are times when it is necessary to stop and look for the old ways, the good ancient paths which will give us rest for our soul, at times when we feel lost and confused by so many new things happening at once and so many circumstances pushing us to forget the source of our strength and peace, it is then when our soul must stop and observe, ask and meditate on the path to follow.The path to walk in.

Personally I have chosen to follow a path of humbleness, praise and exaltation to our God I have learned that through hard times of trial and experimenting triumph as well. Through sadness anger and temptation. I have always come back to praising Him.

Personally I have come to a point where I know it is God who guides my life to the destiny and purpose he has ordained for me. It is when I respond to that calling that I feel at peace and plenty of joy. It is then when I have hope. It is then when I can experiment an increase of faith and health.

To walk in the ancient paths of God-ordained way of worship, based in His Word, His eternal goodness is like St. Augustine said in his autobiography: “Lord, you have made us for yourself and our hearts find no rest until they rest in you!”

I extol your name my God
I thank you deeply for your work in me
for your many blessings I have no words to express
so much gratitude, so much praise
I simply humbly just exult your name up high.
Forever and ever
Eternamente y para siempre
Pat Garcia

Psalm 145:1

Psalm 145_1, originally uploaded by ldc012000.

Psalm 145 is a very special Psalm.

I have learned it contains an acrostic, where each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning with Aleph of course. It is also called a praise psalm or halleluyah psalm and also a Wisdom Frame Psalm,
It's the beginning of a fervent crescendo of praise that continues up to Psalm 150 as a final conclusions showing us that continual praise is the way to live . Praise in us and out of us to our Heavenly God. Some days we might struggle to glorify God in everything we say and do; we might find our lives do not fully achieve fullness in praise and worship. Reading the Psalms we can see sequence and growth in David's communion with God.
David's life was not easy, it had it's ups and downs, he knew what it meant to live in fear of death, he had enemies and he was betrayed, he also lost loved ones.
Despite all that David praised God for his greatness, goodness and love.
I hope you find this knowledge as fascinating as I do. Remembering the times of trial with a pituitary tumor, I had certain psalms that expressed my soul's groaning perfectly, they provided me with strength and security to take life a step at a time.
Now with the tumor gone as I faced many other health issues, I put my guard down thinking Cushing's and Hashimoto's was not as bad as a pituitary adenoma, then came the other things, the epilepsy and the slight cortical atrophy I realized chronic illnesses can be tiring and progressively devastating.
I have like never before increased my times of personal devotion and communion with the Lord, praying, meditating, reading the scriptures with renewed passion learning to praise God with a humble heart reaching out to touch His in awe and praise at his majesty.
My health is getting better and better.

Pat Garcia

The key to Psalm 145 is to see it in context with the rest of the Psalms.

Psalm 145 : David's Psalm of praise.

This psalm, like the 25th, 34th, 111th, 112th, and 119th, is composed in an alphabetical form. It, and the five which follow, consist of pure praises to God, without so much as one complaint or petition. Here, (1.) David engageth himself, and encourageth others to praise God, ver. 1-7, 10, 21. (2.) He represents the grounds of praise, viz the greatness and glory, sovereign power, and eternity of God, and the greatness and glory of his works, ver. 3-7, 11-13; his unbounded goodness, mercy, and compassion, ver. 7-9; manifested in pitying the afflicted, providing what is necessary for all creatures; and in his readiness to hear and answer his people's prayers, preserve them from evil, and destroy their enemies, ver. 14-20.

In such high praises of God, may all my prayers issue at last. And the nearer I approach to mine end, let my heart and lips be the more filled with his praise, and honour all the day. While I live on earth, let me publish the heart-engaging wonders of the nature and works of my God.

Read full Psalm 145 below.
I will extol you my God, O King, I will bless you name forever and ever
New King James version

Matahon of life:The first commandment begins with aleph

Wisdom in Hebrew Alphabet

As I continue my quest for knowledge regarding all the fascinating wisdom enclosed within the Hebrew alphabet, I haven't stopped being marveled at all the richness enclosed in it. My health has been better since i started praying and meditating daily. I have not had any more sleeping episodes. I have been told I look better and full of energy, (not quite yet but I'm getting there)

I'm still learning all I can about Aleph, the sovereignty of God, his creative power and the number one place he must have in our hearts. If one knows God, there is a step beyond to take along our journey, to exalt his name forever and ever, to praise like David did. Today is a good day to start.

Chalom Aleph

Watercolor and Colored Pencil on Paper
by Adam Rhine

The letter "aleph" is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and is composed of two letter "yud's" connected by the letter "vav". The lower yud touches the earth below, and the upper yud reaches heavenward towards Hashem, our God. Each of us can complete our purpose here in this life by joining heaven and earth, staying grounded in this world by obeying the Mitzvot (commandments) and always yearning to be close to The Holy One, Blessed is He.

"Chalom" in Hebrew means "Dreams," like that of Yakkov Aveinu (Jacob our Father) who dreamt of angels traveling up and down a ladder between heaven and earth. The gestural qualities of these paintings explores the dreamlike spiritual qualities of the Hebrew letters.

א "I will exalt You, my G-d, the King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever." (Psalm 145:1)

ארוממך

Aleph, expresses the idea of I Will when it is prefixed to a verb. In this verse I will extol), formed from the root רום ‎ (ruwm, extol/elevate/uplift) prefixed with Aleph (א ‎).

Marathon of life: First Commandment and letter Aleph

Aleph A key word

Echad -

One, Unity

Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.

Deuteronomy 6:4

Deuteronomy 6 4-6, originally uploaded by Inter David Photo.

The First Letter, Aleph represents First Things,God Himself, – Elohim, אלהים – divine name revealed in the the first verse of the Bible.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."Genesis 1:1

(Genesis 1:1):

Genesis 1:1, Painting with Light* Art, originally uploaded by MarkLawrenceGallery.com.

Marathon of life: First Commandment and the letter Aleph

Brain, Mathematics, Spirituality, hebrew letters.

"Many ideas of modern mathematics are based on the work of the same functional modules of a human brain, which served in the last history of mankind and form now a basis for the creation of religious feelings." To substantiate his claim, he adds that "both spiritual experiences and experiences of a more ordinary material nature are made real to the mind in the very same way - through the processing powers of the brain and the cognitive function of the mind." (from Andrew Newberg and others, "Why God Won't Go Away"

In the Jewish religious tradition of Kabbalah, the letter "aleph" designates "the infinite nature and exclusiveness of existence of the God". Cantor had purposely chosen a symbol "aleph" for the designation of actual infinity: his attempts to understand the absolute infinity actually represented his attempt to approach the essence of the God.

Now we shall return to a problem of the brain hemispheric asymmetry. We shall recollect, that religious experiences are connected to the activity of the right hemisphere, and that that mental disease, depression, which suffered Cantor is connected to same activity. Was George Cantor's mental disease really connected to subjects of his scientific researches? It cannot be proved with certainty, but such an assumption is rather probable. And yet, strangely enough, the other great mathematician who successfully continued and developed the ideas of George Cantor--Kurt Goedel-also concluded his life in a condition of heavy mental illness.

But in fact it is far from being true that all great scientists showed attributes of mental illnesses. For example, Isaac Newton was a deep and sincere believing Christian, and his faith did not prevented him to become one of the greatest scientists of mankind. Apparently, the point is in the harmonious interaction of Reason and Belief.

The Knowledge and the Belief are localized separately: Knowledge in the left hemisphere; Belief, in the right one.

Aleph

Meaning of Aleph

Aleph. drawn as shown above. The literal meaning of aleph is ox or bull. The symbolic meaning of this letter is: God, strength, strong leader. It shows God's mastery and oneness.

In the ancient Hebrew, it was drawn like the head of an ox which is part of the original meaning of the letter. The literal meaning is "strong leader, strength, master, 1 or 1000.

This is the example of ancient wisdom in the scriptures that read: "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"2nd Cor. 6:14

A young, inexperienced oxen would be yoked with a full grown ox accustomed to ploughing, and the younger would learn from the older because of the latter's size and great strength, he would literally drag the young ox around in the proper direction as commanded by the ploughman.

Alef is formed by two yuds, one to the upper right and the other to the lower left, joined by a diagonal vav. These represent the higher and lower waters and the firmament between them, as taught by the Ari z"l ("Rabbi Isaac Luria of blessed memory," who received and revealed new insights into the ancient wisdom of Kabbalah)

Water is first mentioned in the Torah in the account of the first day of Creation: "And the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water." At this time the higher and the lower waters were indistinguishable; their state is referred to as "water in water." On the second day of Creation God separated the two waters by "stretching" the firmament between them.

Vav

In the beginning of Creation, when Infinite Light filled all reality, G d contracted His Light to create hollow empty space, as it were, the "place" necessary for the existence of finite worlds. Into this vacuum God drew down, figuratively speaking, a single line of light, from the Infinite Source. This ray of light is the secret of the letter vav. Though the line is singular in appearance, it nonetheless possesses two dimensions, an external as well as an internal force, both of which take part in the process of Creation and the continuous interaction between the creative power and created reality.

Numerical Value of Hebrew letters

The numerical value of the letters is interesting when one understands the meaning of numbers. For example, Aleph the first letter stands for unity, for origin, for power, stability. Its shape reflects this. The shape of the letter Aleph is made of two Yods divided by a slash what actually is the fifth letter Vau . As we mentioned in the above, Yod is the primal vibration, the point of light out of which everything came. Emanation arose when the Divine Light, as Yod, reflected upon itself, that is, mirrored itself into the lower world, hence the two Yods divided by a slash.

In Gematria, the system of where every word us analyzed numerological according the numeric value of each letter, the numerical value of Aleph is 1 + 30 + 80 = 111. We can interpret the number 111 is different ways.

There are three one's reflecting the Trinity.

111 = 1 + 10 + 100: In Gematria, the unities in numbers relate to the divine world, the tens relates to the spiritual world, and the hundreds relate to the physical world. Thus 111 contains unity in each of the three worlds.

Fibonacci spiral and Hebrew letters

The Fibonacci spiral is the apparent basis for the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the Greek, Arabic, and Sanskrit alphabets, making it the root of the universal language used at the Tower of Babel. It all started when he discovered a pattern in the original Hebrew letters of the first sentence of Genesis - a pattern that appeared when he counted the letters in base three. He then placed these letters into geometric shapes based on that pattern. When placed in a square shape, with like letters placed next to each other in concentric square rings, the result was what looks like a “bird’s eye view” of a seven-stepped ziggurat like the Tower of Babel. When this was then placed upon a torus or “doughnut”-shaped surface, and the excess space stripped away, what Stan Tenen had was a three-dimensional representation of the Fibonacci spiral, a shape that can be found in numerous occurrences of nature, including the shape of a developing fetus, and the horns of a ram. This somewhat snakish, flame-like shape Tenen then placed inside of a crystal tetrahedron - a four-sided prism or pyramid. When light was shined through the object in a shadow-box, Tenen found that he could form every single letter of the Hebrew alphabet - in order - just by changing the position of the shape relative to the crystal. With a slightly different orientation, he was able to produce the letters of other alphabets as well. Appropriately, Tenen named the shape the “flame letter.”
Fibonacci spiral is the apparent basis for the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the Greek, Arabic, and Sanskrit alphabets, making it the root of the universal language used at the Tower of Babel. It all started when he discovered a pattern in the original Hebrew letters of the first sentence of Genesis - a pattern that appeared when he counted the letters in base three. He then placed these letters into geometric shapes based on that pattern. When placed in a square shape, with like letters placed next to each other in concentric square rings, the result was what looks like a “bird’s eye view” of a seven-stepped ziggurat like the Tower of Babel. When this was then placed upon a torus or “doughnut”-shaped surface, and the excess space stripped away, what Stan Tenen had was a three-dimensional representation of the Fibonacci spiral, a shape that can be found in numerous occurrences of nature, including the shape of a developing fetus, and the horns of a ram. This somewhat snakish, flame-like shape Tenen then placed inside of a crystal tetrahedron - a four-sided prism or pyramid. When light was shined through the object in a shadow-box, Tenen found that he could form every single letter of the Hebrew alphabet - in order - just by changing the position of the shape relative to the crystal. With a slightly different orientation, he was able to produce the letters of other alphabets as well. Appropriately, Tenen named the shape the “flame letter.”