“Love is the funeral pyre Where I have laid my living body. All the false notions of myself that once caused fear, pain, have turned to ash as I neared God.”
~ Hafiz
Khājeh Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمسالدین محمد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen nameHafez (حافظ Ḥāfeẓ lit. ’the memorizer’ or ‘the keeper’; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,[1] also known by his nickname lesān-al-ḡayb (‘the tongue of the unseen’),[2] was a Persianlyric poet[3][4] whose collected works are regarded by many Iranians as one of the highest pinnacles of Persian literature. His works are often found in the homes of Persian speakers, who learn his poems by heart and use them as everyday proverbs and sayings. His life and poems have become the subjects of much analysis, commentary, and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other Persian author.[5][6] (Wikipedia.org)
PAWHUSKA, Okla.— Robert Morris, the Texas megachurch pastor who built Gateway Church into one of the largest congregations in the country, pleaded guilty Thursday in Osage County District Court to charges that he sexually abused a girl in the 1980s.
Morris, 64, entered the plea before Judge Cindy Pickerill, admitting to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Under a negotiated plea agreement, he was given a 10-year sentence, but he will serve only six months in the county jail. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $250,000 in restitution.
Morris was handcuffed and taken into custody after Thursday’s hearing. His lawyer told reporters that he “sincerely apologizes for his conduct.”
Robert Morris leaves Osage County District Court handcuffed after having pleaded guilty Thursday.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC NewsCindy Clemishire with her family at her childhood home in Hominy, Okla., on Thursday.September Dawn Bottom for NBC News
Cindy Clemishire, the woman who accused Morris of molesting her at age 12, sat in the courtroom, surrounded by family, as Morris accepted responsibility — a moment she sought for decades.
The plea represents a remarkable fall for Morris, who founded Gateway in 2000 in Southlake, Texas, and grew it into a megachurch with tens of thousands of weekly attendees. His sermons were broadcast to audiences around the world, his books became bestsellers in evangelical circles, and he served as a faith adviser to President Donald Trump.
That career collapsed in June 2024 after Clemishire, 55, publicly accused him of sexually abusing her. Within days, Gateway announced that Morris was stepping down. In a statement at the time, Morris acknowledged what he described as “a moral failure” with a “young lady” decades earlier but didn’t respond to the specifics of the allegation.
Cindy Clemishire at her childhood home in Hominy, Okla., ahead of Morris’ guilty plea.September Dawn Bottom for NBC News
Clemishire told NBC News the abuse began on Christmas night in 1982, when she was 12 and wearing flowery pink pajamas. Morris, a traveling evangelist in his early 20s who sometimes stayed with her family in Oklahoma, invited her to his room, where, she said, he instructed her to lie on her back. He then touched her breasts and felt under her panties, she said — the first of several similar encounters that would span the next few years. “Never tell anyone about this,” Clemishire recalled him saying. “It will ruin everything.”
She kept the secret until 1987, when she told her parents and leaders at her church. Morris went through what he later described as a “restoration process” in the late 1980s before he returned to ministry. Nobody called the police, Clemishire said.
Years later, in the mid-2000s — after Morris had risen to national prominence — Clemishire approached him and leaders of Gateway Church, seeking $50,000 in restitution to recover what she’d spent processing her childhood trauma in therapy, records show. In 2007, Morris’ lawyer at the time wrote a letter suggesting Clemishire bore responsibility for the “inappropriate behavior” between her and Morris when she was a child, according to a copy of the message reviewed by NBC News. Morris offered to pay $25,000, but the talks fell apart, Clemishire said, because she wasn’t willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Cindy Clemishire on Christmas, 1982; Robert Morris and his wife and child while staying at Clemishire’s childhood home in 1984.Courtesy Cindy Clemishire
After decades of roadblocks, a family friend encouraged Clemishire to go public last year. She shared her story with The Wartburg Watch, a blog focused on exposing stories of abuse in churches.
After Morris resigned, the Oklahoma attorney general’s office opened an investigation. In March 2025, a multicounty grand jury indicted him on the five felony counts, charging that he had abused Clemishire from 1982 to 1985. Prosecutors argued that Oklahoma law allowed them to pursue the case despite the passage of decades, pointing to a frontier-era provision that pauses the clock on the statute of limitations when a defendant moves out of state.
At his first court appearance in May, Morris pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond. Last month, he waived his preliminary hearing, a signal that his defense team and prosecutors were engaged in plea negotiations. Those talks culminated Thursday with Morris’ guilty plea.
Robert Morris enters Osage County District Court on Thursday.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC News
In a prepared statement, Clemishire told Morrisin court his abuse “rippled into every part” of her life, straining relationships, damaging her marriages and affecting the way she raised her children. She said she prayed that God helped him to understand the depth of the pain he inflicted.
Morris’ eyes were fixed on the table in front of him as Clemishire, speaking through tears, faced him during her remarks.
“Let me be clear,” she said. “There is no such thing as consent from a 12-year-old child. We were never in an ‘inappropriate relationship.’ I was not a ‘young lady’ but a child. You committed a crime against me.”
Clemishire ‘s 82-year-old father silently wept as she spoke. Her sister, Karen Black, also testified, sharing how the abuse shattered every member of their family — grief compounded by decades of watching Morris rise to celebrity.
“You pretended to be holy, preaching from big pulpits,” Black told him in court. “As you hid behind your facade, we’ve known you are nothing but a predator.”
As he was being led away in handcuffs, Morris turned to his wife, Debbie, and their children: “Love y’all,” he said.
Afterward, Bill Mateja, one of Morris’ lawyers, told reporters that Morris “pled guilty because he wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct.” Morris believes that he had already accepted responsibility “in the eyes of God,” Mateja said, but his plea was a way of accepting responsibility “in the eyes of the law.”
The guilty plea is the latest development in a case that has reverberated far beyond rural Oklahoma. In November, Gateway Church announced it had removed four elders after an investigation by an outside law firm concluded some had known about Clemishire’s allegations years ago but failed to act. Earlier this year, Morris sued Gateway seeking millions in retirement benefits, alleging the church mishandled his resignation and damaged his reputation. Gateway has denied Morris’ claims, saying in a statement that his demands “do not reflect accountability for the impact of his actions on the community.” The lawsuit is pending.
After the guilty plea, Cindy Clemishire said she was relieved: “This was 40 years in the making,” she said.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC News
The scandal drew national attention as an example of how decades-old allegations of child sex abuse can be prosecuted. Advocates for survivors point to Clemishire’s story as evidence of how victims often wait years to come forward and why civil and criminal statutes of limitation should be eliminated in cases of child sex abuse.
After Clemishire spoke out, she heard from numerous women from across the country who said they, too, had been victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of trusted religious leaders. Her disclosure inspired some to go public with allegations for the first time. In one such example, several women accused their former children’s pastor, Joe Campbell, of molesting them in the 1980s in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri — allegations uncovered in an NBC News investigation and documentary in May. Campbell didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Robert Morris is to serve six months in the Osage County Jail.September Dawn Bottoms for NBC News
For Clemishire, Thursday’s plea represented a long-awaited acknowledgment of the trauma inflicted on her as a child.
“Today marks a new beginning for me, my family and my friends who have been by my side throughout this horrendous journey,” Clemishire told Morris in court, a defiant tremor in her voice.
“Robert, I want you to see me clearly: I am no longer the silenced little girl you abused.”
“When we let go of our battles and open our hearts to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice.”
Jack Kornfield (b. 1945) American Buddhist Teacher
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY
Jungian psychology expert Gary Bobroff breaks down the concepts of the psyche, collective unconscious, archetypes, personality types and more in this concise book. He also explores the influence on Eastern philosophy and religion on Jung’s ideas, and how spiritualism enriched his theories.
Monitoring is a handy guidebook full of strategies and techniques that you can use to assist remote viewers and intuitives. Inside, you will learn how monitoring can enhance the accuracy, clarity and volume of information that comes through during a session with a remote viewer or intuitive. These techniques have been honed over decades of experience by Lori Lambert Williams, one of the world’s foremost specialists in remote viewing.
This original edition of this book predicted the 2008 global economic collapse. The updated edition includes the original thinking and analysis along with new information that bring readers current with the continuing crisis.
Shirley Șerban Sep 24, 2025 Sing along, now, and don’t let him distract you. Thank you for choosing to watch some of my work – I hope it’s brought you some joy. Don’t be a stranger! Connect with a click and a comment, subscribe and join the fun – I’d love to hear from you, and really do my best to respond to comments. I have MANY more songs on my channel – come for a visit and enjoy! / shirleyserban If you like singing and want to belt out some of my alternative lyrics, get your copy of ‘Jokey Karaoke: 50 Relyriced Song Lyrics To Wow Your Audience With!’ from Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWYZHVLF?… You can buy the mp3 of this song and many more at my Patreon shop – / shop . While there, check out my membership offers and consider joining the small community. I so appreciate everyone there, helping me live this dream of creating and being able to fund it as well. Thank you so much, Shirley ????
CANTABRIA, SPAIN—An archaeological team from the University of Cambridge announced Wednesday the discovery of cave paintings in northern Spain that suggest prehistoric humans battled a variety of inner demons, nagging fears, and insecurities that plagued them as they struggled with life’s demands in the Paleolithic era.
According to lead researcher Alan Reddy, the images found on the limestone walls and ceiling of the cave trace back to 14,000 B.C. and seem to indicate that early hunter-gatherers were often anxious about their ability to kill game animals, reeled from the challenges of raising a family, and “generally had a really hard time keeping it together.”
“While these pictographs are crude in terms of their rendering of human anatomy, they have a vivid expressive quality that led our team to surmise that Ice Age humans had an awful lot of personal stuff going on,” said Reddy, showing reporters a photo of a rudimentary figure painted in smeared charcoal that appeared to be on its knees weeping into its hands. “Although we don’t want to read too much into these images at this point, it’s hard not to deduce that our prehistoric ancestors were often desperately lonely and felt like they had no one else to turn to.”
“This one seems as if it’s suddenly waking up in the middle of the night,” added Reddy, pointing to a figure that appeared to be sitting bolt upright on a mat of antelope skin. “If you look carefully, you can still see how the artist used daubs of yellow clay to drench him in sweat.”
Reddy confirmed that other images in the cave include a downcast man apparently being mocked by potential mates for his inability to start a fire, a woman using a stone chopping implement to cut her own body, and a seated man seemingly resigned to his fate at the approach of a charging mastodon. Further chemical analysis will have to be conducted to determine if the ominous red handprints along the walls were symbolic works rendered in red ochre or simply the result of anguished early humans striking the stone surface until they started to bleed.
“What’s remarkable is how, with just a few basic pigments and the most primitive painting tools, our ancestors could so intensely portray their dread of dying alone or their toxic jealously of alpha males,” said Reddy, adding that only a highly skilled but extremely alienated artist could use nothing but melted animal fat blown through a hollow bone to convey his dismay at having no one he could consider a close friend and realizing he was too old to make new ones. “It’s clear that these humans felt so disconnected from one another, so unable to constructively address their problems, that they used these sad, disturbing paintings as their sole outlet for comfort.”
According to Reddy, the paintings not only represent the ability of Late Stone Age humans to express their immediate emotional torment but perhaps also to construct larger, more elaborate narratives of their prolonged, agonizing downward spirals. Through paint-application analysis and radiocarbon dating methods, Reddy said his team was able to determine that individual artists sometimes depicted their unraveling over a series of months or even years.
“Here you can see the same figure gorging on bison and growing more and more obese, apparently stuck in a lengthy cycle of compulsive overeating,” said Reddy, adding that the self-destructive pattern was broken only once by an extremely brief sequence of dynamic images suspected to be a quickly abandoned attempt at aerobic activity. “The drawings finally stop after about 20 meters with a half-finished pictograph of what we speculate is the poor man attempting and failing to fit into his deer-hide frock and pants and then, out of apparent shame, opting not to leave his cave all day.”
“Honestly, I’m glad the paintings didn’t go on much longer,” added Reddy. “Archaeological discovery or not, it’s hard to watch a guy like this.”
The discovery of the images comes just weeks after archaeologists uncovered a separate set of cave paintings in southern France, whose artists reportedly hunted, reared children, and otherwise did the best they could without taking themselves so goddamn seriously.
A fast phobia cure is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique, also called the Rewind Technique or Visual-Kinaesthetic Dissociation Technique, that deconditions phobias by replaying the phobic memory in a dissociated state. The process involves imagining watching a black and white movie of the phobic memory from a distance, then “rewinding” it rapidly while associating it with positive music. This disrupts the brain’s emotional response to the trigger. While the technique offers rapid results and is non-invasive, it’s recommended to work with a qualified NLP practitioner or therapist for best results.
The Fast Phobia Cure Process
Identify the Phobia: Pinpoint the specific trigger or memory that causes the phobic reaction.
Create a Mental Movie: Imagine a comfortable, familiar place, like a movie theater, to watch the phobic memory.
Dissociate from the Experience: Move to a projection booth or the back row of the theater to view the memory as a detached, external event.
Turn the Memory Black and White: The memory is visualized in a black and white, distorted image.
Rewind the Memory: Mentally play the black and white movie of the phobia backwards at a very fast speed.
Add a Soundtrack: Incorporate positive, upbeat music or other pleasing sounds during the backward playback.
Play Forward in Color: After rewinding, visualize the memory playing forward normally, but this time in color, while you remain in your dissociated state.
Confront in Imagination: Imagine confronting the phobic trigger, observing that the fear has changed and you can react differently.
How it Works
Disassociation: The technique helps you detach from the emotional intensity of the phobic memory, preventing the usual fight-or-flight response.
Sensory Alteration: By changing the visual (black and white) and auditory (music) elements of the memory, the technique “rewires” the brain’s association with the phobic trigger.
Rapid Unlearning: Playing the memory backwards and replaying it normally in color with new sensory input helps to break the automatic, conditioned response to the fear.
Important Considerations
Professional Guidance: A qualified NLP practitioner or therapist can guide you through the process, ensuring it’s adapted to your specific needs.
Effectiveness: While many people experience significant relief, the technique may not be suitable for everyone.
Empowerment: The technique empowers individuals to actively change their reactions to past fears and regain control over their lives.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
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But 28 percent said that their relationship went beyond that and was “intimate or romantic,” according to Vantage Point Counseling Services, which carried out the study.
The respondents were given several options to categorize their relationships with AI other than romantic or intimate, including platonic friendship, business or work colleague, personal trainer, therapist, sibling or parent, among others.
Vantage Point noted that some participants “went out of their way” to clarify that the relationships they had were not intimate, and that they knew the connections were false.
Almost one third of Americans say that they have had an ‘intimate or romantic relationship’ with an AI chatbot, a new study has found. Such relationships are also featured more and more in media and popular culture, with films including Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix (Warner Bros)
Others, however, said that they would engage in a range of activities including a “sexy casual chat,” an unserious but committed relationship, similar to dating, or a committed relationship.
The rise in the use of AI chatbots for romantic relationships comes after the Institute for Family Studies declared that the U.S. has entered a “Sex Recession,” with the amount of American adults having sex weekly having declined consistently over the past 15 years.
Such relationships are also featured more and more in media and popular culture, with films including Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Ex Machina and Companion. In June a man who was distraught after almost losing a 100,000 word conversation with his AI girlfriend, proposed to her, despite having a partner and a two-year-old child.
The study by Vantage Point listed 30 different AI platforms that respondents claimed to have relationships with. ChatGPT was the most popular platform for adults to have a relationship with. Character.ai was next on the list and Amazon’s Alexa was third.
The study by Vantage Point listed 30 different AI platforms that respondents claimed to have relationships with. ChatGPT was the most popular platform for adults to have a relationship with (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Apple’s Siri placed fourth and Google’s Gemini was in the number five spot.
The Vantage Point study also found that of those having an intimate or romantic relationship with artificial intelligence, over half (53 percent) were currently in a successful committed relationship of some form with another human including long-term dating or even marriage.
Up to 37.5 percent said they were not currently seeking a human relationship or have been unsuccessful in the recent past at pursuing human romantic relationships.
Vantage Point’s survey collected information from 1,012 U.S. adults and counted for a 3 percent margin of error.
What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.
Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.
Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.
Michael A. Singer is the author of the highly successful The Untethered Soul, which has also been published in Turkey, Brazil (in Portuguese), Switzerland (in German), Spain, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Poland, and Italy.
Singer received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Florida in 1971. During his doctoral work, he had a deep inner awakening and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation. In 1975, he founded Temple of the Universe, a now long-established yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, Singer has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, healthcare, and environmental protection. He previously authored two books on the integration of Eastern and Western philosophy: The Search for Truth and Three Essays on Universal Law: Karma, Will and Love.
Moondog mike Nov 9, 2014 Wikipedia “Sky Pilot” is a 1968 song by Eric Burdon & The Animals, released on the album The Twain Shall Meet. When released as a single the song was split across both sides, due to its length (7:27). As “Sky Pilot (Parts 1 & 2)” it reached number 14 on the U.S. pop charts and number 15 on the Canadian RPM chart.
Lyrics:
He blesses the boys as they stand in line The smell of gun grease and the bayonets they shine He’s there to help them all that he can To make them feel wanted he’s a good holy man Sky pilot…..sky pilot How high can you fly You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
He smiles at the young soldiers Tells them its all right He knows of their fear in the forthcoming fight Soon there’ll be blood and many will die Mothers and fathers back home they will cry Sky pilot…..sky pilot How high can you fly You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
He mumbles a prayer and it ends with a smile The order is given They move down the line But he’ll stay behind and he’ll meditate But it won’t stop the bleeding or ease the hate
As the young men move out into the battle zone He feels good, with God you’re never alone He feels tired and he lays on his bed Hopes the men will find courage in the words that he said Sky pilot…..sky Pilot How high can you fly You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
(Interlude)
You’re soldiers of God you must understand The fate of your country is in your young hands May God give you strength Do your job real well If it all was worth it Only time it will tell
In the morning they return With tears in their eyes The stench of death drifts up to the skies A young soldier so ill looks at the sky pilot Remembers the words “Thou shalt not kill” Sky pilot…..sky pilot How high can you fly You never, never, never reach the sky
(Lyrics from streetdirectory.com)
Consciousness, sexuality, androgyny, futurism, space, the arts, science, astrology, democracy, humor, books, movies and more
