You can choose for love

I learned that the world can only be endured if you decide to love it (Mevlüde Genç)

My God, may I ask You. I read this quote from a Turkish woman who experienced how two daughters and two granddaughters were killed in an arson by racists.  And yet she has been an example of tolerance and love throughout her (further) life.

Would You like to comment on this?  

This is then indeed a Christmas message, my son, while Mevlüde Genç is a Muslim. She has learned what love is and in a terrible situation still has chosen for love, and not for hate. I say chosen, because she herself says she can only tolerate the world if you decide to love it.

And this is the Christmas message for all people of good will.

If you start to realize that you choose all day, all day long, why not choose the good? Is life that simple? Just choosing the good?

Yes and no.  

No, because it is so understandable if a person becomes unhappy due to a bad upbringing, severe accident or a lot of bad luck and starts to hate life. 

Yes, because you don't have to. Time and time again you start your life. You choose again and again. Again and again you can ask yourself what is best for yourself and for the other person.

And then is choosing for happiness more convenient than choosing for unhappiness. Then is choosing for love easier than choosing for hate. And then is realizing that you always choose is more drastic than feeling like a mere victim and blaming the world.

And such a world also becomes unbearable then. 

Mevlüde Genç is blessed.  

My blessings to you all

No 544

Frenkie visits a mosque (part 2, because of the length of the blog it has been released in two parts)

"I could be a Muslim". 

I felt so strongly that all this would be enough to come to God, to experience God, to be helped to live a devout life, without fuss, without superstition, without distractions. Purely and simply the devotion to God, the worship of God, a life of purity and simplicity.

The Imam also read some sentences in Dutch:

"Do not let a person who is convinced of the existence of Allah and the afterlife, bother his neighbours! 

Let a person who is convinced of the existence of Allah and the afterlife, treat his guests well.  Let a person, who is convinced of Allah and the afterlife, speak something useful or silence. “

Of course, one can only agree with that.

At some point all the men stood, women were sitting separately somewhere in the gallery of the building, in a row and then the impact was so strong, along with the singing, that I felt that everyone was one, only God counted, and all were children of the same God indiscriminately. And it reminded me strongly, actually my feelings did, of communion in a Catholic church and the application of a Bindi on the forehead in a Hindu temple. 

Moving, heart-warming, powerful, devotional, radiating unity.

We stayed behind for a while, because we wanted to speak with the Imam, but it was very pleasant, so afterwards enjoying everything. We also lost a bit a sense of time, did it took half an hour, an hour, two hours, we didn't know.  

For days everything kept vividly and I like that the Imam said that we were always very welcome. He gave us a few booklets that we really weren't allowed to pay for. He actually said "no, no, we're not talking about money here".   

Will You comment on this, please?

You could be a Muslim, it occurred to you. 

My son, you are a Muslim, because you are "a man who surrenders". Haven't you been doing that all your life? 

But you mean in religion to be a Muslim, so leave the Catholic Church and join the Islam. 

Thank you for your openness, for your receptivity and your honesty. That's quite a lot, as a "writer of these ecumenical blogs". But hadn't you asked my son in advance for the spirit of humility and the spirit of Islamic devotion?

And they touched you, obviously. And that's how it should be, because you wanted to listen, experience, understand. And with such openness, I, your God, your YHWH, your Allah, can hear to the maximum.

You described how special you thought it was when everyone stood in a line, all in the same way their hands receptively directed at Allah, the imam sang a Surah and you literally felt as if this was what the Catholics experience during the distribution of communion, and the Hindus when they get the bindi from the Pandit.

It is not the same, even not from a spiritual perspective.

But I deliberately let rest here what the similarities or differences are. Because they are not important in this context.

Importantly, you have experienced a culmination in the mosque, of the prayer of the faithful in their unity. And the Imam was pleasantly surprised that you told him that you were very touched by this and that this seemed to be the highlight of the meeting here.

Of course it is the best that you did not make the comparison with the Catholics and the Hindus because this Orthodox imam could not have confirmed that. However, you could safely express that it was a highlight of the devotion and reverence for Allah and that on that moment all were equal without distinction of person and thus all children of Allah. The imam could only confirm this.

Much more has happened and seen and experienced by you what you now let  rest here because of the length of the blog. That's good, but one thing I want to emphasize.

The gate with Oriental tiles that symbolically refers to Mecca, like all mosques in the world and the imam's explanation of this when you spoke to him afterwards.

This gate contributes enormously to the power and energetic effect of the mosque on the faithful. It has a big impact, because of the imagination and the symbolism, but also literally because the gate says: you are not alone here in this mosque. There are many of you. You are connected to all other Muslims around the world. And in that sense it resembles to the Catholics who are united in one world church under the Pope. One religion all over the world. And the impact of that is big. 

In addition, the imam emphasized that one is focused on Mecca and the Black stone not as superstition but that both refer to Allah alone. And that's how it should be. 

Your niece and you are blessed. 

My blessings to you all

No 536

Frenkie visits a mosque (part 1, because of the length of the blog it has been published in two parts)

A niece of mine has good contacts because of her work on a school with the Imam of the mosque on the Wagenstraat in The Hague. We were welcome for a prayer service.

The mosque is located in a former synagogue, which was used by the Jewish community in The Hague. Until 1975 it was still used as a synagogue, but because the community had been decimated by the war, it had to be closed. In 1981 it was used as a mosque by the Turkish community.

Upon arrival we are immediately welcomed by believers who did not know that we would come, the Imam is not there yet. They offer us tea or water. Everybody is so friendly and welcoming, we feel welcome and are greeted by everyone even though we are clearly two strangers in their midst. The Imam also welcomes us nicely and my niece can sit next to me in the mosque, although the stay for women is upstairs. So you can see everything, said the imam. That was a  nice gesture for her.

We enter and I am immediately touched by the incredible silence and power that prevails there. I know that's because people have been praying there since 1842. The silence, the peace, the refined energy of devotion, literally I feel that here is a gateway to heaven. From the blogs I know that here too there is a temple of energy and a transformation house of energy at the service of many people. It is very nice to be there, and even though we know nothing about the rituals of the Muslims, we sit quietly on a bench in the back and let everything come up as it goes. It's a grace to sit there.

The service starts with a number of Surahs from Ali-Imran, one of the chapters of the Qur'an, we later understand from the Imam, who answers our questions after the "service".  Furthermore, the imam also reads some verses and I found them later on in my Dutch Qur'an, and it reads: "Only in Your hand is the good. And Thou hast power over all things. " (End of verse 27).

I personally find the singing of the Surahs in that typical Arabic timbre overwhelming. It feels so primal, ancient, eternal almost, so magical, so relaxing and what I experienced the most was an all-intoxicating energy that came to me and said: "There is only one God and that is Allah. Only one God, nothing else, the rest is superstition, is secondary, does not matter. Turn only to God, there is nothing else to wish for, to feel, to experience."

I was completely captivated by it. Especially because it was a beautiful male voice and the beautiful atmosphere in this centuries-old house of prayer, the devotion, the silence of the people present, all this made me think at a certain moment:

"I could be a Muslim"   ,

Now the first part of my God's answer, when I asked:  will You comment on this, please?

I like to do so. Now it has come about, after the visits to Protestant services and a Hindu temple. 

You felt welcome, even though you were clearly strange. You have experienced the hospitality of the "eastern" world, in this case the Turkish one, and it is true, sincere and fully expressed. This is what one wants and this is what one can do. Wonderful feature of these peoples. And know that one could never, never, never forget the inner civilization not to act on this.

This House of Prayer has indeed been in function as a place of devotion for longer than the mosque when it was still a synagogue. And the spiritual temple has only grown since then, because the devotion, the love for YHWH/God, the humility, the setting aside of the ego, the prayer, the willingness to let go of everything and to focus on God/YHWH/Allah have continued. From synagogue to mosque. Is that ecumenical or what? After all, God does not practice religion. This is what you have felt and experienced, my son, and it is still truthfully a house of God and a gateway to heaven. How could one not feel this if one is receptive? One is automatically taken into the spiritual energy of heaven.

Singing the Surahs touched you and so you have experienced an energy of centuries and a power and impact of 1500 years of devotion and surrender within Islam. Of course, you were immediately and completely touched by it. Do this more often my son because the power of the sung Surah's and the healing effect of this on your body and mind are available.

But also for the mosques applies, empty mosques and full shopping streets. What a waste of the grace of God and the spiritual world available to the people and ignored by the people except those who come.

And know that these energies also reach out beyond the mosque itself. The neighbourhood around it, the city of The Hague, even an entire region benefit from the spread of this mercy of Allah/God for the people.  

My blessings to you all

No 535

Mary, the Mother Goddess

Would you like to comment on the name and the position of Mary in spiritual sense?


The (male) monastery Maria Resort is a tribute to Mary. On the façade is mentioned

Per Mariam ad Jesum, or through Mary to Jesus.
Who is Mary and what is her significance?

You mortals think differently about her. Mary is assumed to be:

• The Mother of God, for Christ is the Son of God
• The comforter of the afflicted, the unfortunate, the sinners
• The eternal virgin, of Immaculate Conception
• The crowned Queen of Heaven (Catholics)
• The mother of the prophet Jesus, a remarkable and ordinary woman, for God can not have a mother (the Muslims)
• A mother who saw her son tortured and murdered, symbol of the mother and her earthly suffering (humanists)
• The Goddess, the better half of God (New Age)
• The equal of Tara of Compassion (Hindus) and Kuan Yin (she, who is hearing the cries of distress on earth, the Chinese female Buddha)
• Symbol of the pure and feminine on earth (esoteric).

My son, I'll tell you this truth: in the spiritual world it does not really matter what you mortals are all believing thinking and interpreting and differently.
We are equally taking care for all religions and tendencies.
As long as you are not boxing each other ears.

What We would like you to do is:

• being inspired by your own image of Mary
• being motivated to the spiritual life
• getting hope when you say the name of Mary
• in all worries of everyday life are getting tempted to the choice of the inner, the spiritual
• love what Mary is symbolizing: purity, devotion, love for God
• considering her as comforter of the afflicted and unfortunate
• honorering her as the one who is hearing the cries of distress on earth
• are feeling supported by her presence in your life
• considering her as the feminine aspect of God, the world is needing this aspect badly.

On the facade of the monastery stands:

"By Mariam ad Jesum, through Mary to Jesus"

The spiritual world is considering this as:

• Through love reaching God
• Through the experienced feelings to the believing mind
• With a pure heart to surrender to the Inner
• With humility of man to God's Will
• With sincere prayer to the touch by God
• With the experience of life to the insight of being
• With suffered grief to higher understanding of life
• Through childhood becoming son and daughter of God
• Through the feminine considering the male
• By love to the Christ consciousness
• Through caring charity to the Kingdom of God on earth.

The monks of Mary Refuge are blessed.

My blessings to you all

Nr. 133

What does God look like?

Can I ask You what you look like and who You are?

When I would tell you the truth, your brain would explode. To you My answer is too big, too much, too immense.

I think I understand.
Would You give it a try anyway?

In earlier days man saw God in a tree, a glittering crystal, a rock or a mountain, and then in the moon, the sun and virtues like strength and courage. He invented Gods, like Mother Earth. And later he made one God progressing to a Personal God. Initially an old man with a beard, but then enlightened souls said: God is not to be grasped, God is Inconceivable, it is An Impersonal Person.

However, as long as you live with the personality and the ego, you will always personalize God in a certain way. The personality needs to personalize all things and no matters Whom one is dealing with.

But you will have to learn that everything is impersonal. You are heading in the right direction, that is what God wants, it has to be.
You can only grow towards the truth, never away from it, that is a law of God.

Still I would like to mention the last millennia various religions have attempted to comprehend God. The Jews are quite close with their Inconceivable God. The Muslims too, who are ascribing God thousands of names and qualities but emphasizing Allah is only One.

Very true and very beautiful.

So My son let it go, do not want to know, let God Be and be content with the mystery.

But You do say very personal things to me and You talk to me as a person?

No, My son, I have no form and you hearing My words doesn't make them personal. Everything I am telling you is utterly impersonal; it is for everybody and everything. Isn't whom you call a great personality, someone with a great deal of impersonality? Someone with a big heart, open and loving, accepting everyone without discrimination or judgement?

That is how you should see God. But if I would make myself visible to you, I would make the appearance somewhat personal, such as a magnificent androgyn angel, without wings, how about that?

Well, that would be great, but I have the feeling that such an appearance is not going to happen, is it?

I didn't intend to let it happen.

My blessings to you all

Nr. 13