Tag Archives: Life

Halloween: Why celebrate it?

31 Oct

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to One and All–Living and Dead! 

Through much anticipation and revival of my spiritual bonds recently, I am so thrilled to be writing this post. It is certainly a treat to see so many people reading my posts and actually liking me on Facebook. It shows me that people do care about themselves and the world around them the same as I do! It is however a TRICK to see people not be so enthused about Halloween or Samhain as Wiccans and Pagans would call it. I say both terms. 

The history of Halloween can be deciphered in various ways and traditions through time so watching The Halloween Tree on YouTube will be a great start for children to get the gist of this spooky holiday, but if you are not too keen on cartoons and animated films then try The History Channel’s Haunted History of Halloween. Remember I am not hear to bore you with details, but provide you with amazing resources. 

So basically, Halloween is not an original Christian holiday, but of course when you watch Haunted History of Halloween, you will soon discover that ancient Celtic farmers used this to mark the end of the harvest and that Christian influence was used to instigate the old practices of Samhain, summer’s end. So there is a conflict, any minimal research shows this obvious friction between witchcraft/folk magic and Christianity. Halloween than is omitted in Christianity  and replaced with All Saint’s Day.

So those pilgrims came over and the United States of America was born through a revolution and there was no Halloween until the Irish potato famine in the 19th century? What about those witches that died in Salem isn’t that evidence of Halloween? Salem at the time was under English Law that prohibited witchcraft so it was against the law to practice any form of witchery because it would be looked upon as acting along with the devil. The Salem Witch Trials were based on accusations made against villagers who did not attend church all the time or just was a town outcast so to speak. So no Halloween in Salem, but today there is a HUGE following of witchcraft there. 

Irish immigrants being affected by the Great Famine brought over their traditions of gourd carvings and that produced the modern day value of Jack-O-Laterns. And then from there trick or treating progressed and Commercial Halloween was alive. It is noted on Wikipedia, I know many do not trust this source, but in the reference section it shows articles written in the 1940s and 50s reporting on this popular idea of Halloween transforming and children are going to strangers homes and asking for treats. Which in the History Channel’s film it reveals that poor people would go around and pray for deceased loved ones’ souls in exchange of treats. The 1950s was certainly a time for rebellion in the youth’s eyes, rise of color television, and the last drops of  modernism lingered. 

Today, with the power of film, advertising, and the factor of money, Halloween has greatly transformed to being more about commercial tidings as oppose to the spiritual redemption of honoring the dead. With all the horror films and dramatization of witchcraft no wonder why some people lose sight of real Halloween. They are too busy working, cleaning, and just now in a post-modern society are living rather unaware and ignorant. Halloween in the eyes and minds of many grown-ups has been deemed a child’s holiday. So why celebrate Halloween? 

Celebrating Halloween is not just for kids like commercial advertising has manipulated it to become. Yes for children it is fun to pretend by dressing up (not quite for the same intent as the Druids did back in the day), but for an adult knowing about the traditional ancient ways of Halloween will enable to you to better connect to the natural cycle of the seasons. Something children cannot quite comprehend yet so Halloween is masked with fun and games for association. YOU can enjoy the games too, but honoring the roots of Halloween will help you communicate to future generations of why we do the things we do. Always a favorite question of youth, WHY. Parents often yell at their kids for asking why which teaches the child that knowing why isn’t really cared for, so as the child grows up he or she learns to not use their higher level thinking caps and ask questions about the world around them. But asking why is still considered the most important question that as adults we still need to ask. Why is the government cutting taxes, why are schools getting rid of art and music, and why are we not paying attention to our ancestral traditions.

When it comes to Halloween, many understand it is a time for trick or treat. But, if you sit down and take the time to understand that your ancestors and past lives are revived on this day then you will expand your consciousness even further. Life (treat) and death (trick) are natural cycles and it is about understanding the balance of this cycle on Halloween.  Since we are humans, forgetfulness is certainly part of our lives and so this holiday has been celebrated so that we can remember about the life and death cycle as the seasonal world transitions from living vibrantly to becoming hollow and ghostly. This time is often described as the veil between life and death in being the thinnest. As souls cross over, we should be ready to listen to them.

Halloween is a holiday that has been established not just for candy, costumes, and parties but a day for us to rejoice and realign ourselves with the past, present, and future. 

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  - George Santayana 

Dead people had lives too and it is our job as the living to ask what can we learn from the dead in the past and apply it to our present so we can better our future. All part of Hallowe’en, the greatest reminder of the year.

American dreams become lost if $4 billion suit succeeds

19 Oct

As a current alumnus of Milton Hershey School, I feel compelled to blog about the current $4 billion dollar lawsuit against my alma mater and home away from home.

I recently received an email from the President’s office at MHS indicating that a lawsuit was filed by a former student, but the letter was not addressing the student it was directing its focus on a man by the name of Fred Fouad, founder of Protect the Hersheys’ Children, INC also called PHC.

PHC mission is

…ending childcare incompetence at the MHS Board and Administrative levels, assuring use of all Hershey Trust land and cash resources strictly for MHS children, removing MHS Board conflicts of interest, and creation of an MHS Board that is dedicated to the Hersheys’ child-saving mission.

The mission is taken from the PHC website under its mission section and when I read the last portion dealing with removing MHS Board conflicts of interest and creation of an MHS Board my mind just wants to hit the computer screen. I am well aware that conflict of interests should be removed, but the total removal of the board seems far fetched when the point of MHS is to save children from poverty. How can an organization operate without a board that knows its task that the children come first? Futhermore, how can someone abolish the creation of a board when that board is made up of graduates from MHS?

President Colistra continues in his letter to Alumi with

Fred Fouad, a disgruntled alumnus who has spent the past decade seeking to undermine the School’s strong record of serving children in need. In published comments, Fouad has sought to distance himself from this legal action, suggesting he did not know what was in the complaint. That’s despite the fact that he drafted this action and threatened the School with it two years ago.

Now, it is obvious that the President wants to get across that Fouad is angry against the school, but I am interested in why. Well, there is no indication in the letter what MHS  may have done to Fouad personally, but it does say he was a former student and during that time kids left the school. I remember while attending MHS that kids left the school periodically. Mostly, kids that enrolled within the first couple of months or the first year left because the pressure of homesickness drew them away. This homesickness came from the parents and from the students.

One student specifically, came during my sophomore year and only stayed a few months. He was popular, loved the classes, and had a great time in his student home. My last memory of spending time with him was celebrating a birthday and having a small cake fight outside of the student home. A couple days after that I did not see him so I had asked our mutual friends where he’d gone. Turns out that he left the school because his mother missed him immensely. So, it wasn’t because the systematic institution in place at MHS that slashed the dreams of this child, but the sure distance that homesickness creates between people who love each other.

After reading the letter from President Colistra, I began to research online of any articles indicating the lawsuit. Of course, four billion dollars would not go unnoticed by the press. According to PennLive.com, the lawsuit filed against MHS is from a former honor -roll student Cosme Cesar Escudero-Aviles and his mother Sylvia Aviles-Escudero. They are seeking actually $3 million and wants $4 billion for a foundation benefiting current and future MHS students, my intuition says is is for PHC since the article does indicate that the family has been “linked” to PHC.

In this article, the family is basing their claims on that

…officials made jokes about his ethnicity and did not assist him when he was harassed by other students. They further claim Cesar was removed from the school without due process and that his treatment was indicative of systemic problems at the residency school for at-risk youths.

Certainly, I was not there to witness these allegations, but I never encountered school faculty or administration on any level really targeting a student because of their ethnicity. I do know that when students are harassed like myself immense conditions were upheld. I remember being taunted at within the first two weeks of arriving to MHS. Students made claims against my homosexuality. They would ask me if I was gay and just did the same harassing routine that I experienced in public school. The point of my going to MHS was to get away from that bullying. Well, I was proactive and went to my houseparents and told them I was being picked on and bullied. They immediately took care of the situation. They called HomeLife and the main boy who was instigating the harassment was confronted. He later came up to me an apologized. Funny how karma works, a year later the left the school. So, I know that if harassment was apart of Cesar’s life at MHS, he should have told his houseparents his concerns. They all are trained in these areas so they know exactly what to do. I really felt safe after my harassment was eliminated.

I am not exactly sure if Cesar had due process in being kicked out of MHS since I was not there, but I am aware that the school administration takes action to review cases of prior history into account. They look at your behavior and academic success and place that against whatever violation you may have committed. This process is shown in the MHS documentary: Living the Legacy: The Untold Story of Milton Hershey School which you can watch the whole thing by going to my post: The sweet tales and tears of Milton Hershey School. A group of officials do sit down and discuss the pros and cons of the student and whether or not they are threatening to the MHS community.

Knowing the exact facts of the story is crucial and neither does the letter from the president or the article written on PennLive gives too much information of what exactly took place in regards to Cesar. But, what is shown in the article is that four billion dollars is half of the endowment that fuels Milton Hershey School. This greatly affects many students who do succeed at MHS because the school does give their students upon graduation, college scholarships. I know, personally, that if I could not receive my MHS continuing edcaution scholarship I would not be in Pittsburgh attending college. I would not be able to honor my family. Without MHS period, I would not be able to have the gumption to a pursue the dream of becoming America’s Future Talk Show Host.

For all those students who could not make it through MHS because of behavior or just pure homesickness know this; you can still talk to those who did graduate from MHS. You are never forgotten. You are still a person who experienced MHS. All alumni and participants of MHS know internally that the school has been founded upon pure love and that love still is in motion so if you have been cast back into the waters of poverty, choose to love yourself and people around you because soon the universe will hear your cries. Just like it heard the chocolate philanthropist nearly 100 years ago when he failed he started again. You can still flourish at great heights, it is just that you need to take the first step to change. And not be selfish in asking for billions of dollars like Cesar and his mother because that brings about pure negativity and won’t help others who need MHS to battle poverty.

There are many students at MHS that deserve to find themselves and their dreams, and be able to not worry financially about furthering their education. If this lawsuit against MHS succeeds and the school loses a good portion of money that keeps the house warm and cozy then many lives and spirits will be torn and the home created by Milton and Catherine Hershey will no longer be a playground for students to find the essence of the American dream.

For more information:

Milton Hershey School- is a cost-free, private, coeducational home and school for children from families of low income, limited resources, and social need. The School is funded by a trust established by Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine. Milton Hershey School offers a positive, structured home life year-round and an excellent pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education. Our vision focuses on building character and providing children with the skills necessary to be successful in all aspects of life.  www.mhs-pa.org

Protect the Hershey’s Children- is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the well-being of Milton Hershey School (MHS) students; i.e., the children and sole lawful heirs of Milton & Catherine Hershey. www.protecthersheychildren.org 

Other posts:

The sweet tales and tears of Milton Hershey School 

Tangled Slinky: The lies in higher education and beyond

11 Oct

A post like this one has gone on by for too long.

My so called University (if you do extensive research, you will figure it out, but that is NOT the point), has the audacity to lie to me about my financial aid. Ok, so apparently, I was quote on quote “missing” a document. A verification worksheet document. I find out today that this document, this flimsy sheet of paper, is to verify my government standing based on my status as a student and how much money I actually make.

A week ago, my mom told me that I was missing a part of my financial aid packet and it was this Verification Worksheet. Well, I go to the office and the counselor ( I actually forget her name) informed me that “Oh, Bernard. I am sorry but looks like we lost this sheet when you filled it out before.”

Well, the Bernard who expects everything to be in order at all times courageously speaks up and asks for his file. The file comes and no verification form was present in there for this school year. Ok, maybe there was another office mess up. Of course. Every year there has to be something wrong with financial aid. Does anyone else have these problems? Leave a comment!

After I get a copy of this document, which mind you is on a piece of cardstock, I just had various flashbacks to the summer. My mom is into scrapbooking so feeling the weight of this paper immediately transported me back to when I was home in the scrapbooking room. My summer had some rumblings of family affairs, that honestly are out of my control and I am giving it all back to Mother Earth to deal with, because I choose not to.

So with the frustration of having to fill this sheet out to verify my life and to tell my mom that I needed her signature and then realizing afterwards we are not rich just hit me all at once. Yes sometimes, I wander outside of myself and believe that my family is secretly hoarding millions of dollars. Nope, not at all! My mother doesn’t have a fax machine and doesn’t work, so I am glad this school believes in a high-class lifestyle. I simply forget that it is a private school, and rich kids go here. Silly of me to have amnesia when it comes to class warfare. Well, I called my mom to tell her what happened and to get a signature nonetheless. We poor folks rely on the U.S. Postal Service, which in itself is a joke because they will shred your headphones if you mail them. So don’t mail your headphones!

Literally, my boyfriend (yes I am gay) received his headphones in the mail cut apart. Logically thinking would tell me that squishing would have flattened the buds, not slice wires into two pieces. Nope, the wires have been sliced! And I sure as hell did not do it. If I was angry or upset with him ( my Self-Observation skills are impeccable see Chakra Awakening to understand) he and everyone else will clearly feel the wrath of this fiery Aries more in-depth and it does not require destroying headphones to make my point clear. Yes, so I am not sure who exactly chopped up my boyfriend’s headphones, all I know and sense is that corporations, government, and ignorant (in its truest form) people are not reliable and we need alternative humanistic metaphysical practices to transform these times.

Coming back, from a small tangent, well in the course of a week. I learned much more about this paper and this school. I learned that the school will lie to its students in order to get a paper completed. I also learned today that this paper was to be  filled out not only because it was lost or misplaced, but because I was “randomly” chosen to verify my standing in money. I don’t know how accurate random means in this regard, because I am aware that governments, corporations, and mean people will do anything sneaky and clandestine without proper communication. 

All I know is that lies are being told instead of the truth, and this situation just proves to me that if you fall into the category of being “uneducated” then ignorant people, government, and corporations will assume you are stupid and just a number. So my advice is you need good self-observation skills and strong communication skills because anyone ignorant will abuse you and surround you with negativity so that it consumes your life and they will make sure you are in living in a fearful and oppressed state. 

If you ever had similar experiences, please do share, because you are not alone! 

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