The psychological needs of other people - by Aramal Malik

The 20th century psychologist Abraham Maslow outlines in his famous, 'A Theory of Human Motivation', a defined hierarchy of survival needs that every single human being must have in order to grow and develop throughout life. This Hierarchy of Needs, as it is called, ranges from basic physiological needs such as 'food, water, shelter and warmth' and progresses into higher self-actualization needs like 'pursuit of inner creativity and fulfillment'. Overall, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs supplies us with a generalized list of necessities that are both motivational and meta-motivational to our survival,whether we are talking about just physical or spiritual by design.

My point in mentioning this is to provide a psychological directive that I personally feel must be established and provided to the people that we come in contact with, regardless if they are considered clients, volunteers, friends or family. It is a proper understanding of the emotional and psychological needs of other people that make our individual and combined efforts for helping others, effective and satisfactory.

For instance, it is easy for us to supply the first of anyone's basic needs, namely through feeding people, providing tents and blankets and functional clothing. However, we should look past the idea of 'food, water, shelter, and warmth' and look into a metaphorical and perhaps metaphysical approach to these simple concepts. For instance, while we may prepare and serve nutritious meals that provide the necessary compliments of vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals; we should also look into the need to 'feed' people with education and information. Another example is the idea that we provide 'warmth' with blankets and clothing, but then again we should be aware that the greatest form of 'warmth' that a person can give is in Love. The simplicity of harmonious and caring interaction between people is a deep psychological need that is also part of survival.

Many of societies 'demons' such as alcoholism and drug abuse are only persistent in our world because of a lack of proper application of compassion and love. I know that many of the individual people whom we work with day-to-day, are people who suffer from the burden of depression and addiction. Yet, through some of our individual efforts I have seen depression become replaced with hope and addiction has been killed with a desire to achieve fulfillment. So the most effective method we hold as individuals, is our individual and ultimately combined effort to bestow Love and Compassion as a form of necessities with and within everything we are concerned with.

Massive Christmas Dinner and Celebration - The Sanctuary Organization, Inc.

Massive Christmas Dinner and Celebration - The Sanctuary Organization, Inc.

The Sanctuary Organization, Inc.

Moral Mentality

Since I am a teacher and a constant student of Philosophy, I feel it is necessary to share with you my personal observations and thoughts about our current project involving feeding the homeless and the impoverished in St. Augustine, Florida...


My observation is simple enough to see for anyone. Many of the men and women who come to the Plaza de la Constitution are people who come to receive food, clothing, simple medical needs and hygiene products. However, time and time again I find that the main reason many of these individuals come to Sanctuary's Wednesday and Saturday 'feedings' is to talk to many of the servers. The real core essence of what makes Sanctuary different from many (if not all) other groups feeding in the Plaza, is the concept that "Sharing a loving moment, talking, joking, laughing or hugging is truly Feeding the spirits of those considered impoverished."


Spending five minutes with anyone down at the 'feedings' is truly a lifetime experience and has the capability of changing both our personal interpretation of life and the focus of how we all choose to live our lives. Yet it is not the gift of food and products that are part of the true 'feedings' at the Plaza. It is our ability to treat everyone there as 'Family' that becomes the real food that all men and women are starved of.


Eva Peron, the first lady of Argentina once said, "Almsgiving tends to only perpetuate poverty; aid does away with it once and for all."


The subtle truth behind her quote is true in our modern society. We are faced with an amazing choice: Should we give alms and charity or should we realistically give hope and opportunity?


Our ability as individuals to really distinguish between what really is aid and what is just 'bandaging' the problem is given light through our general understanding of what matters to us as individuals. We should question our intentions to find a better sense of integrity and morality behind them. We should do for anyone and everyone simply because they need it and deserve it as people. We should not do for others because Religious scripture tells us that we need to become holy or 'saved'. We should not do for others because it gives us better publicity or face value in the publics eye. We should not do for others to prove the oppressors wrong. We should not do for others because we pity others. And we should not do for others because it makes us feel good about ourselves.


WE SHOULD DO FOR OTHERS BECAUSE "HUMAN" IS REALLY A PLURAL TERM.

NEW 'What is Inversehalo?' video

Lifestyles of the Dark and Dangerous - by Aramal Malik

Lifestyles of the Dark and Dangerous, is a philosophical exploration into the darkest side of spiritualism: Demonology. Included is a breakdown of the history of demonology, demonic hierarchies, symbolic metaphors, rituals for exorcisms, and first hand personal accounts from people who have battled against malicious spirits.

Order here:

The Guy on the Corner - by Richard Croix

I know you have all seen the Guy on the Corner holding a sign, or just asking for change. Well this weekend I was the Guy on the Corner. As car after car passed by very few even acknowledged my existence. Most of you who did could of cared less about "the Guy on the Corner." Instead of thinking of helping or look of compassion most just gave judgmental looks, shakes of the head in disgust, some even pointed, and laughed.

Talking about hurt, the lack of compassion in my fellow men and women actually brought me to tears. We are so quick to send food, help, money, clothes, and other things thousands of miles away yet we do nothing in our own country. Many of you see us everyday walking around, nothing to do, nowhere to go, but instead of helping - you just turn your heads and walk away. "Why?", I ask myself, have we become blinded by self righteousness to see that we exist as human beings.

Our society has gotten to the point that who you are doesn't matter, but what you drive, wear, eat, and how much you make, is what defines you as a human being. If you don't have a car, or lots of money your life doesn't matter. At least not as much as the guy with the Benz and a wallet full of plastic. It said that, "all men are created equal" and that "no man shall judge another lest he be judged." So, if we believe or trust in God like we say we do then why is there so many just like me hurt and with the feelings of inferiority.

Our own government says "One nation under God," but is that believed or practiced? I say not! No it is not, because we sit and lie to ourselves daily by ignoring the problem in front of us. We cover it up by sending stuff to Haiti, Iraq, Kuwait, and anywhere else. Not that theses people don't deserve our help (and I'm glad to be able to help them). But eventually, at some point if we don't fix the walls of our own home our own house will fall.

So many are in our very own streets holdings signs, begging, starving, and homeless. Yes, some may have done this to themselves but that is for God to judge, not anyone else. In this time, with the economy the way it is, anyone could be the next "Guy on the Corner". Seeing all the hurting and grieving people makes my heart bleed. Especially when I hear that billions of dollars have been set aside to put a nuclear sub at Mayport, Jacksonville.

Can you imagine it was either billions or trillions of dollars that they have ready to spend on this project. Wow! I mean obviously this nuke sub has a place already. Then why waste money that could potentially save lots of lives? Instead we will spend money to make Mayport a high priority place to attack during a time of war. I wonder how many people you could get off the streets with just a billion dollars?

The really sad thought is that we all pride ourselves on being a nation that stands on the fact that we trust in God. That to me is a joke! If it where true and so many supposed 'Christians', or just believers of any religion, stood for their supposed beliefs I wouldn't have walked away with tears in my eyes. With the feeling like I was judged to be beneath those I was asking for help.

It says in the Bible, "..the least you do to my children, you also do to me." So in writing this, I ask you the next time you see the "Guy on the Corner", look deep inside yourself and ask yourself, "Am I any different? Am I anymore of a human being in life because of my material status?" I promise you this much, that no matter what your answer is or your status, one day we will all stand in the same line.

The Magus Coronas: volume 1

The Magus Coronas volume 1
An introductory guide on Esoteric & Philosophic concepts in Occultism
By Aramal Malik

An introductory educational guide book for learning some of the more complex concepts in occultism and hermeticism. Comes complete with diagrams and charts for many topics such as the Music of the Spheres and color magic.


Publication Date:
Jan 06 2010
ISBN/EAN13:
1450516033 / 9781450516037
Page Count:
114
Binding Type:
US Trade Paper
Trim Size:
8" x 10"
Language:
English
Color:
Full Color
Related Categories:
Religion / Mysticism

click here to order now!

Patrick Henry Hughes

He was hit by a car?!

Terrence Joseph Kelly is his name. He also went by T.J. and Officer Kelly. On Thursday night he was hit by a car as he was crossing the road in front of the Winn-Dixie where he lives.

He is an Irish man, and a former Vietnam vet who was drafted at a very young age. Once he got back from the war he attempted a job as a cop for a time. However, he was very sick from what had happened in the war and ended up homeless in his thirties; he's been living in the woods ever since. He told me he felt more comfortable that way.

December 15 was his birthday, he just turned 59 years old, though he looks a lot older. He has a bunch of scars, especially on his bald, heavy bearded head. When i first met him he was being bandaged up at his camp because he had passed out while standing and his smacked his skull. Luckily, he is too hard headed for it to do any real damage and too tough to complain..... lol

About a week or so ago he had fallen in a similar incident and hurt his hip pretty badly. Again, he never complained, and he still limped himself through the woods the long distance it took to get to the little store where he bought cigarettes, food, and beer. The last time i saw him he was settling in to watch his friends play spades.

I don't know why he had gotten out into the street that night, it was in the exact opposite direction from where he lived. From what i've heard he was hit by a van going about 70 down that road. He was rushed to Shands, though i don't know how long he was lying there before they got him, the driver was arrested and driving drunk over three times the legal limit. The driver is being held with no bond, and the sentence will be given once the status of T.J.s' well being is established. T.J. has multiple fractures, a crushed leg, a broken skull, and a pelvis that is currently split upwards, exposing organs susceptible to infections.

He is more than likely going to die, though there is still a small chance he will pull through. His nurse told me to tell the guys at the camp that they can go ahead and distribute his stuff, he maybe has a couple of weeks before the infection eats him alive.


If there was a place for him to go, this would not have happened. He couldn't go the the St Francis House, the Hospital, or the Vets, or the Mental Health place, or anywhere else. He lived in the only place where he received everything he needed to survive and was still treated like a respectable human being. The bunch of us have an opportunity to do something, we Have to take it before more people die

A Poem of Survival by James Youngs

We are uprooted from our place of slumber
And we live from day to day
Just using what we have
But we survive

No food or money of our own
No place to call a home
We have only our friends
But we survive

Times are hard and cruel
People look away as they pass
Many only guess why we are here
But we survive

We survive against it all
Because we all know
That tomorrow will come
And that is why we survive

Richard Wolf - Salute!

RICHARD WOLF (May 3, 1953 - December 1, 2009)

No Room at the Inn: The Truth abouth the St. Francis House by Angel

You’d think after a couple decades of dealing with homelessness in St. Johns County, the St. Francis House, the only shelter in the whole county, would have it down. You’d be wrong.

You hit town, dirty, tired, friendless and hungry and get sent to St. Francis House for help. It’s the only game in town with 20 beds for men and 8 beds for women. OK, what do you have to do to get some food, shelter, clean clothes and sleep?

Seems first (or last) thing you do is lose your dignity. There are times and rules for everything you could possibly need. You have to sign in by 6PM for a bed that night, every night, and you have to show up by 9PM to be allowed in. So, from 6PM to 9PM, you’re pretty much stuck hanging close to the shelter, no matter the weather, to get that bed and shower.

You can do your laundry. If you “live” there, your hours are from 6PM to 9 or 10PM. If you don’t, your hours are 130PM to 5 or 6PM. So if you’re lucky enough to be working or need to be out looking for work, you’re out of luck in the afternoons. There are two washers and one dryer so the scheduling of your day just got more complicated.

If you “live” there, there are two showers for men, who sleep upstairs. Women sleep downstairs with their own facility. If you don’t, you can sign up for a shower outside from 130 to about 5-6PM.

Breakfast is served everyday around 430AM, depending on the cook. With donations from churches and agencies drying up, the cook tries to make a hot meal but it’s often donuts, juice and coffee. Some cooks allow non residents to eat; others restrict food to the sheltered people. You have to be out by 6AM anyway. Same thing with lunch, which, depending on the cook, could be as good as spaghetti and meatballs or as simple as a sandwich, or rice and beans. Dinner is seven nights a week but if it’s known there is a serving somewhere else in town, some cooks will not even bother.

Wednesday is ID day where, if you “live” there, a social worker will drive you to the county offices and help you acquire a state ID, IF you have a birth certificate and proof of residence. These things take time and in the meantime, there are numerous chores you do at St. Francis House, like the dishes, cleaning up after meal times, patrolling the block for trash or taking out the garbage.

Early in 2009, residents noticed donations coming to St. Francis House were being taken home by employees, the stuff often being loaded into employee cars by St. Francis House residents themselves. A van full of practically new clothes showed up one day but never seemed to get distributed. Now that it’s getting cold, it falls on the night manager to call a “cold night”, where a call out goes out for extra mats on the floor of St. Francis House and some churches open their doors to shelter the extra homeless for the night. Again in early 2009, one pastor drove into town to open up on a particularly bitter night only to be “called off” by the night manager at St. Francis House. He along with everyone else who lives here, knew there were people outside that night and that tiny St. Francis House could not possibly shelter everyone but they made that call. So he went home.

There are lots of rules and they are for the safety of everyone. Police get called for fights and evictions. Before the current director, there were lots of drugs. So far this year, at least 25 to 30 people have been kicked out, often for alcohol on their breath, but sometimes this seems hit or miss, depending on the night manager on duty.

But the main thing is the way most of the employees treat the homeless. Being down, tired, scared and dirty is bad enough. To be talked to in an insulting way or treated as less than human adds insult to injury. Most of the homeless have stories to tell of just this kind of treatment. Funny thing is, all the official talk is about money money money and building a bigger and better shelter. What good would that do if a homeless person still gets treated like dirt? Treating people with kindness and respect gets you a lot more than just throwing money at a problem and it really doesn’t cost a dime.

Personal note: (THIS STORY WAS REFUSED BY THE FOLIO WEEKLY, because the author of it is a homeless man living in the St. Augustine area)

A thought about Human responsibility

I'm under the impression that the majority of the common people will always have a sense of empathy and compassion for children, especially if they are victims of heinous crimes. Yet, with everybodys sense of 'humanity' I begin to wonder weather or not the idea of 'prevention' and 'protection' has really hit the conscious level of the public...

We live in a modern world filled with turmoil and dissolution; and every second of our lives is filled with a story of abuse and victimization. It seems to me that to procure the matter at hand with the world would be through honest actions and preparation. If we truly value our loved ones and the loved ones of other people then our actions must reflect that. Our responsibility towards saving others is a responsibility to our species. Our goal every day should be to save 'a life' and to perpetuate 'life' in general.

Humanity is trapped by the constance of ignorance and self-satisfaction. The result of which can be found in the lack of regard for our children. If you watch most people, they go about their day and when they pass a child on the street, just walking, the thought never crosses their minds about weather that child is safe or not! No one takes in consideration the other human beings around them and weather they are in need of help or comfort. Because of this, the world continues to suffer and the innocent continue to be victimized.

Every second of our lives should be filled with the expectation of looking for others to help or assist. Every piece of our essence should be powerful enough to overcome selfish thoughts. Everyones main concern should be about the value of ALL life instead of their own...

Until mankind learns to see what is the nessessity of life, then life will always be in decline.

Missing child (Orange Park, Florida)

Somer Renee Thompson, age 7, of Orange Park, Florida is missing and assumed kidnapped in Florida. If you have any information about Somer Thompson's disappearance,
please contact Sgt. Dan Hahla of the Clay County Sheriff's office, ph: 1-877-227-6911
or call 1-866-845-TIPS,
or email: cart@claysheriff.com.
Local residents with information may also call 911, a CCSO non-emergency line at 904-264-6512.

A 're'cycling NEWS article....(get it)

An article from the St. Augustine Record, dated October 31, 2008

"A total of 1,238 homeless people live in St. Johns County. Of that number 251 are children. 210 are veterans. The only shelter, the St. Francis House, provides 28 beds. In August 2008, a group of teens brutally beat three homeless men under the 312 bridge.

A recent city law has made it illegal for homeless people to sleep anywhere at any time out in the open forcing them to camp miles away from employment opportunities. Threats of violence and death are a daily occurrence. The time has come to push these crises out of the darkness and into the forefront of public consideration.

The first St. Augustine "March of the Impoverished" will begin at 5 p.m. Nov. 10 at the visitor information center on Spanish Street. It will end at the Plaza de la Constitucion with a free feast and general festivities. The objective of this event is increased visibility of the hidden problems rampant in St. Augustine and growing nationwide, such as the inequality of wages, severe lack of assistance programs, and socio-political marginaization of impoverished people.

Volunteers from local advocacy group Food Not Bombs are organizing and providing support for the march, in conjunction with People United to Stop Homelessness (PUSH), the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), local churches and faith-based organizations, small businesses, and the community at large.

The keynote speakers of the assembly will be the impoverished citizens themselves, voicing their own concerns for their own circumstances. Anyone in the community who wishes to participate is welcome. Information on making donations or volunteering can be obtained at MarchoftheImpoverished@yahoo.com.

Illegal substances, weapons and classism are strictly prohibited.

Children and pets are velcome."

... that should be fun

How United Way is Telling you to Handle Homeless....Things

If we were lying to ourselves, this is who we would be:

Home > Plans & Initiatives > STOP Panhandling
Stop Panhandling Atlanta
Panhandling is not the answer.

You lose because panhandlers often use your money to support their addictions to alcohol and drugs. They lose by continuing these destructive behaviors rather than seeking help. The more you give your change to panhandlers, the more their lives don’t change.

Food is readily available for those in need, as well as shelter and other support services. Supporting local organizations that provide these services is the best way to help. A donation of $100 can provide one week of transitional housing with intensive professional services for someone in need.

Invest in long-term solutions by giving your financial support and volunteering your time to help local organizations and service providers. To learn more about alternatives to handouts, please call the Ambassador Force of Downtown Atlanta at (404) 215-9600.
Responding to Panhandlers

* Asking for money is illegal anytime in Downtown Atlanta, and after dark throughout the City.
* If you would like to report an illegal panhandler, please call the Ambassador Force of Downtown Atlanta at (404) 215-9600. Of course, if you feel threatened or if the panhandler shows aggressive behavior, immediately call 911 for police assistance.
* If you encounter a panhandler, always walk away with certainty and confidence.
* Make eye contact and acknowledge the person with a nod. Choose to respond politely, and simply say “no” or “sorry”.
* If you want to offer panhandlers something, consider bottled water or food gift certificates rather than money

* * * * * *

This is a perfect example of who we are NOT, and how NOT to see the homeless people around you.

Inversehalo's prime directive to helping those who are homeless is to provide them with hope, friendship, and charity, not to look down on them as failures who are only going to squander any mercy thrown their way. The homeless are not sub-human things who are to be ignored and despised.
When we lose our ability to see ourselves in the meekest of our kind, then we are losing sight of who we really are.

People United to Stop Homelessness(P.U.S.H.) & Inversehalo & R.C.O.V.

On Tuesday the 8th, Ms. Croix and myself attended a city council meeting in St. Augustine beach. Certain individuals including an angry R.C.O.V. member and members from P.U.S.H. were there discussing how to properly take care of the homeless people in the St. John's county area. Overall, they spoke about how improper censuses were done by the city and UNF; that only reported half of the total population of homeless in the county. According to Ms. Lawrence, the total count of men, vets, women, and CHILDREN was somewhere around 1600.

That's amazing to me.

I personally solicited Inversehalo's assistance to help with the task of compiling a complete and accurate count of people in the St. John's county area (we can accomplish this while handing out R.C.O.V. packs). Also, we were told of two different accounts in the Hastings area where homeless people were being used as slaves and being transported from a farm here to a farm in North Carolina.....

Previous Inversehalo members should find this familiar, this was something to do with our Human Trafficking project....

If anyone would like to help with the census in St. John's county there will be a training class done by P.U.S.H.
If anyone would like to help with the slave farms please contact Mr. Malik or Ms. Croix.

Selamat,
Aramal Malik

Below is the Video Presentation that was presented for P.U.S.H.

INVERSEHALO: R.C.O.V. - Survival Packs

This is a perpetual project found in our R.C.O.V. department; which is specialized as an outreach and advocacy group for the homeless. These bags contain materials necessary for people to 'survive' in our urban areas. Each 1gallon Ziploc bag includes (but is not limited too):

-Hand Sanitizer
-2 different size bandages
-High protein snack foods
-Vitamin supplements
-A bottle of water
-Deodorant
-A piece of paper and pencil
-An Inversehalo:R.C.O.V. pamphlet on urban survival

These bags are individually $5.00 to create and are worth every penny. If you would like to donate funds or materials please see our main web page for details.

Congressman Ron Paul on 'Swine Flu'