The Virginia Tech Tragedy

[Realspiritik]

Jesus here, on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the day after the unmitigated horror of the massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. I know that several long-term posters on this site dislike it intensely when Jen channels for me. However, there are readers who may wish to hear what I have to say at a time such as this.

 

I do not intend to comfort you. The words I spoke 2,000 years ago about love and forgiveness are no different today than they were then. If you cannot accept that your great spiritual challenge at this time is to understand more than ever what I meant about love and forgiveness, then nothing I can say today will bring you comfort, or assuage your grief. If you seek permission to be vengeful, if you seek permission to take "an eye for an eye," if you seek permission to blame this horror on the devil, then read no further.

 

There is no going backward. There is no getting into a time machine to take you back in time so you can help prevent this tragedy. As an angel-in-human-form, you must move forward. You must find the kernels of healing, love, and forgiveness that lie within this tragedy, and you must plant them.

 

As an angel on the Other Side, I feel intense grief today. I feel grief for the angel who forgot his angelic nature and became a psychopathic killer. He is here with us now, in the angelic healing centre, where he'll be resting for a long time as he recovers and forgives himself for the terrible crimes he committed against the hearts and souls of so many other beings.

 

Also here with us now are the souls of the angels-in-human-form who perished yesterday. They, too, are in the angelic healing centre, and they have already forgiven their angelic brother for his crimes. The pain of his actions will take a toll on them, most assuredly, and they will always remember the pain and fear of their last moments. But even now, they turn that pain into the wonder of divine forgiveness. The pain, though real, will not stop them, will not hold them back from continuing to be the most amazing, most wondrous, most loving beings you can imagine. Such is the courage and the grace of all angelic beings.

 

Also here with us are God the Mother and God the Father. God the Mother and God the Father weep for the pain of their children. Yet they trust their angelic children. (Please remember at this time that you too, my dear human friend, are also one of their beloved children.) Our Mother and Father trust our unending compassion, our capacity to forgive. They trust that we, as angels, will help each other through this painful time. They trust us to take the pain and turn it into love.

 

You, as a human being, do not have to wait till your physical body dies and you return Home to the Other Side in order to begin the miraculous journey of healing and redemption. You may begin now.

 

The angels who are always by your side would weep for joy should you make the choice today to take your first steps forward on the path of forgiveness. Your angelic guides will not help you -- in fact, they'll throw obstacles in your way -- if you pray to God for vengeance. Or if you pray to God to protect you from the devil. Or if you pray to God to "save" your soul from hellfire (or to "save" anyone else's soul, for that matter). Your loving, angelic guides will only help you if you ask in prayer for the right thing: for help in becoming the best, most angelic human being you're capable of being.

 

God does not accept excuses. God does not accept the lies you tell yourself. God only accepts your genuine willingness to humbly learn from your mistakes, to humbly correct the mistakes you've made (where possible), to humbly remember that although you are loved, you're not loved any more than any other being. God the Mother and God the Father love everyone equally, and although you are special to them, you are not "Chosen." If you take the step to love me, and to accept me as your mentor (not your saviour, but your mentor), then you've taken only the first step towards redemption, not the final step. You will not be "Chosen" if you accept me as your mentor. You will simply be . . . yourself. The real you, the loving you, who is an angel in temporary human form, who must practice loving kindness towards others each day, who must master the divine and sacred miracle of forgiveness.

 

Be not the one who watches the news reports and wrings her hands and says, "Dear me, what a terrible shame, but I suppose nothing can be done about the world as it is today." Be not the one who says, "There, you see? It's proof that evil forces are battling God's angels and making us do terrible things to each other." Be instead the one who is willing to work side by side with God on a daily basis to change your own life, and, in time, the lives of others.

 

Walk with God. Hold their hands with all your might. You need the love of your Mother and Father right now. And they need yours. We're all in this together.

 

Amen and great thanks to our blessed Mother and Father, and special thanks to the loving angels who, through their acts of tragedy, have opened wide the doors of healing and grace for their brothers and sisters. We know you love us so very much.

 

Love Jesus

April 17, 2007

[earl]

It is an unfathomable tragedy and our prayers are with all. Nice to see you back. earl

[Quaker Way]

Given the easy access to weapons, the gneral dysfunction in this society, and the portrayal of violence as both entertainment and as a way of settling grievences, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

[fatherman]

Listening to NPR's coverage of the event this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how we might have failed this young man. How many people do we work with or study with who we sense a struggle and a dispair and yet we never say anything? Could a loving word or gesture have made a difference? How many thousands of people sitting in the next cubicle, next seat in the classroom, next seat on the subway are on the edge of horrific violence and are inwardly pleading for someone to notice and show them love?

 

The truth is, we may never learn what a difference we've made or not made. Your kindness may be the only thing stopping such a person from lashing out.

 

Listen to your heart in this matter, friends. Do something about it today.

 

O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace! Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, harmony. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sorrow, joy.

[fatherman]

Listening to NPR's coverage of the event this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how we might have failed this young man. How many people do we work with or study with who we sense a struggle and a dispair and yet we never say anything? Could a loving word or gesture have made a difference? How many thousands of people sitting in the next cubicle, next seat in the classroom, next seat on the subway are on the edge of horrific violence and are inwardly pleading for someone to notice and show them love?

 

The truth is, we may never learn what a difference we've made or not made. Your kindness may be the only thing stopping such a person from lashing out.

 

Listen to your heart in this matter, friends. Do something about it today.

 

 

This did not post correctly...trying again

[The Jaded Fool]

Listening to NPR's coverage of the event this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how we might have failed this young man. How many people do we work with or study with who we sense a struggle and a dispair and yet we never say anything? Could a loving word or gesture have made a difference? How many thousands of people sitting in the next cubicle, next seat in the classroom, next seat on the subway are on the edge of horrific violence and are inwardly pleading for someone to notice and show them love?

 

The truth is, we may never learn what a difference we've made or not made. Your kindness may be the only thing stopping such a person from lashing out.

 

Listen to your heart in this matter, friends. Do something about it today.

 

Well said fatherman...

 

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy...

 

It is always easier to look the other way when we see hurting people... but not looking away could make all the difference in the world for that person...

 

Peace & Love to all!

[flowperson]

Jen...I'm so happy that you came back to "channel" The Man as in the days of yore. I agree with what has been said. It is an American tragedy, but not all that surprising considering the environments that our children are raised in. And, this guy really seemed to resent wealthy people. Class warfare ? Not very healthy in so many ways. Yes, things neeed to be done, but how... by who...when...with what money ? Sigh !

 

flow....

[McKenna]

It's such a tragedy. My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends. The one thing I've found comforting is the way people have reacted to it, with such empathy and love (for the victims, I mean, though sometimes for the shooter as well) - I don't know what it's like elsewhere in the country but here in northern Virginia there is orange and maroon (if not specifically VT stuff) everywhere, on people's clothing and flags on their cars and houses. Every time I see it it saddens and comforts me at the same time.

[BrotherRog]

Something I wrote for my personal blog the day after:

----------

 

Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people yesterday.

 

Nobody knew who the shooter was (or anything about him) until today - but that didn't stop thousands of people from shooting their mouths off yesterday chiming in with their 2 cents worth of opinion based upon almost nothing. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, the media circus was in full frenzy seeking interviews from anyone and everyone.

 

Sadly, I suppose this sort of anxious response is to be expected. All told, we're a pretty anxious society and we even seem to thrive on the orgies of occassional national disasters and traumas. It seems we're merely capable of reacting to things as they happen instead of having a degree of mature distance and persepctive.

 

Well, the talking-heads talked - and boy did they ever! The radio waves, airwaves, and blogospheres were rife with people who couldn't even wait 24 hours, not even until certain facts became known, to start spewing their thoughts to the masses.

 

Predictably, this intial flury of voices degenerated into debates about gun control - whether we need more of it or if such violence might be prevented if more of our population were walking around packing heat as we live our lives.

 

The situation is complex - and we Americans tend not to like complexity. The recipie which led to yesterday's tragedy was part:

 

* too much tolerance, condoning, and glorification of violence, revenge, and retribution in our society (e.g. national policies re: foreign affairs, video games, movies, music lyrics, etc.).

 

* too much easy access to lethal weapons

 

* too little education to help citizens be empowered with healthy conflict managment life-skills

 

* too little mental health coverage in our nation and too much perceived stigma against persons with such issues

 

and, perhaps worst of all:

 

* too little sense of community and love for our neighbors such that persons can be utterly unknown to others - even on the relative island of a college campus.

 

But this tragedy is a bit more personal to me than just another object lesson in which to wax philosophical or political.

 

Several generations of the males in my family went to VPI and I've long been a fan of the Hokie football team. I've seen football games in that stadium in Blacksburg, VA and have fallen in love with the school's colors of maroon and orange.

 

What I'm getting at is that some of my loved ones could have been involved in such a thing - either as victims or as the shooter.

 

You see, something like one in every four Americans will experience mental illness during the course of their lives (some 25%)! So in reality, all of us, and all of our loved ones could potentially be involved in such events.

 

Now, we need to keep some reasoned perspective about this. We're far more likely to become harmed or to die in bicycle or auto accidents, or even by accidents in our own homes (especially in our bathrooms) than we are to become victims of violent crime.

 

The idea that more of our citizenry should be armed is one that concerns me. It sounds fine and well that people who don't have criminal records or a history of mental health problems should be allowed to own firearms - but the fact is that some 25% of us will experience mental health problems and if all of us were armed at all times, it would clearly increase the number of us who become criminals via our using guns in the heat of the moment during arguments or in road rage incidents, etc. As Einstein put it, "Problems are rarely solved by the same thinking that went into creating them."

 

But again, gun control isn't what yesterday's tragedy was primarily about. It's about a society that tolerates people becoming so insulated and coccooned from one another that we don't even notice the presence or absence of one another any more. We don't notice the "invisible" people - not because they're shy or reserved, but because the rest of us don't want to.

 

Instead of noticing, being present to, or reaching out to connect to those around us, more and more, we tune others out by burying our faces into our laptops, talking or texting on our cellphones, or wearing our I-pod earbuds when we're out and about. We simply don't create space for connecting to others.

 

Indeed, many of our homes have attached garages with automatic door openers and we drive home, push the button, enter the garage, shut the door, and retreat to our homes without connecting to our neighbors.

 

Some people are even pretending to be on cell phone calls when the get into elevators - or even walk down the sidewalk, etc., in order to avoid connecting with others around them!

 

Shame on us.

 

If nothing else, may this moment serve to wake us up from our self-absorbed navel gazing and inspire us to reach out and connect to those around us. It's hard for us to harm those who know our names, who care about us, who respect us, and who actually notice if we're at work or in class or living next to them.

 

hoping beyond hope,

 

Roger

 

p.s. the people of Colorado - who are still reeling in the wake of the Columbine shootings, send our love and prayers out to the people of Virginia.

[October's Autumn]

My husband has been feeding me various information that is coming out about the young man who killed so many people. It is clear that he was crying out for help for some time. The whole situation breaks my heart.