I AM

There was a recent impeachment trial. It failed. It failed because it fell outside of legal precedent. There was no law in place to address the action that had been carried out.

It's really hard for people to conceive of things that have never happened, but might. Impossible, in fact. There would be no end to theorizing fantasies. No one has the time or will to do that.

People deal with reality as it unfolds. New insights and new experiences elicit new resolve. People who care about society find new wisdom from reflecting on their past.

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• I am I AM your God.

The experience of experiencing I AM. Beyond thought. Disregarding of notions. I and Thou. It begins and ends there. Everything else falls away. Impoverished by words themselves. Poorer still in concepts. A sacred thankful openness. It knows, securely, obscurely, inexplicably, and with certitude. An open stance to a call without words. Only an echo. Pure relationship. If it does not start and end here, then everything else proves false and a betrayal.

• You shall carve/cast no image of me.

Not only too deep for words. Too deep for images. Perhaps suggested by symbols. But anything that is affirmed it knows must immediately be taken back. The thing is less than the Thou. Take off your shoes. Do not trespass on this ground. You come only by invitation, which is always there and eternal.

• You shall make no directive by invoking my name.

I AM alone speaks for I AM. Nobody has any right to impose anything on others in the name of I AM.

• Be mindful of the seventh day as a day of rest.

The first repudiation that human activity supersedes the Thou relationship with I AM. Be still and know that I AM.

• Revere your parents.

The second repudiation. No human creates oneself. We all owe everything to some Other. Rabbinic teaching says it takes three to bear a child.

• Do not engage in any destructive activity.

Encompassing far more than killing, it describes a broad range of destructive activity that has to do with dashing things into pieces. It is an abomination to so take the judgment and execution of civil society into one's own hands.

• Do not have sexual intercourse with another married person.

The confounding of trust only ever serves to objectify others as well as the people with whom they have relations. There is never any I-Thou-ness in intercourse with someone already so supposedly committed.

• Do not take what is not yours.

More specifically, this word refers to stealing people in Hebrew. Again, objectifying others. If including objectifying objects, this indicates a denigration of the one so objectifying.

• Do not tell falsehoods about others.

As with all the others, this is not about morality. Not a prescription for social happiness. But a reflection of the integrity of any Other and a reflection of our relationship with I AM to allow Others to tell their own stories truthfully as a Thou.

• Do not secretly desire that which is not under your own care.

It's a waste of our selves to want to be someone else. Make peace with I AM. You will want nothing more. ~ ~ ~ It's really hard for people to conceive of things that have never happened, but might. Impossible, in fact. People deal with reality as it unfolds. These insights reflect the simple facts of having experienced I AM. This filters down through the layers of daily life along with their implications. The only resolve necessary is to wait patiently for I AM with an attitude of openness. It's why the Ten Words begin with the first Word. I AM. And all people are invited.