Remember the Victims, Not the Violators

Yesterday, the world witnessed yet another senseless act of violence in the mass shooting carried out at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  I first began to see the news on the event while I was working at the public middle school where I am employed, and when I came home later yesterday evening, I found myself unable to watch the details unfold on the nightly news.  It wasn't only that I didn't want my own young son to hear the words "children dead" or "teachers killed" spoken repeatedly on the broadcast—although that was certainly a factor—I just could watch the video clips being shown over and over with both moving and still images of children running away from their school, crying and terrified, or parents being tearfully reunited with surviving children or being comforted upon discovery that their children had not been spared.  It is terrible.  It is heartbreaking.  It is horrific.  And I cannot begin to imagine the devastation of that community.

Unfortunately, these types of incidents continue.  I don't know what the solution is.  Is it more gun control?  More investment in identifying and treating mentally unstable people?  Arming school faculties?  More security at schools?  More religion?  Less press coverage?  All of these have been bandied about on the news after each terrible act of violence carried out against innocent people over the last several decades.  But to tell the truth, I don't know, and I don't profess to have the answers.  I don't think that I can find a perfect solution for senselessness.

And The Winners Are.....

Barack Obama & Joe Biden!

As the numbers come in, it it becoming evident that the Obama/Biden ticket has won both the popular vote and enough states to secure the electoral vote as well.  The last numbers I saw had them with a 303 electoral votes to Romney/Ryan's 206, and a 2½ million vote advantage in the popular vote.  Of course, there are ballots yet to be counted, but I don't see any way Romney/Ryan could win this now.

4 More Years:

Yes We Did!

Update Sunday, 11/11/12: As of yesterday afternoon, Florida has been officially called for Obama as well, putting him at 332 electoral votes.  He won the popular vote in Florida with 50% of the vote to Romney's 49.1%, a margin of roughly 74,000 votes.

Hometown Happiness: Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show

On November 12, 2011, Dad and I took Kaleb to the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show at Naval Air Station Pensacola.  I had seen the Blues in the air practicing plenty of times, having grown up here in Pensacola, but it was only the second time I had attended an official performance.

At last year's show Kaleb managed to take a 45-minute nap on the ground (see photo, left)—surrounded by thousands of strangers, 50 feet from a crazy-loud speaker tower, in the bright sunlight, with the roar of various aircraft directly overhead.  It was amazing, and baffling, to discover that anyone could sleep in such a noisy, chaotic environment.  We all had fun, though, and Kaleb still remembered last year's show vividly when I began talking about attending the show again this year.  In fact, he spent plenty of time over the past two weeks talking about the Blue Angels to anyone who would listen.  It was clear he has been excited.

This year, I was afraid there would be no nap happening at the show, and I hoped that Kaleb would stay interested.  We had thought ahead and had remembered to bring along a blanket to sit on this time, and the weather was much warmer than last year.  After a bit of walking and looking a some of the static aircraft displays, we picked out a patch of grass, spread out our blanket and sat down to watch the early acts.

It was a very sunny day, and I was glad that we had all sunblocked before leaving the house.  I had brought along Kaleb's hat, but hadn't considered how I would handle the bright sunlight myself.  As someone who neither owns nor wears sunglasses and hats, this just isn't something that often comes to mind for me.  During the course of the show, we ended up having to buy a hat for me, just so that I could keep my eyes open long enough to see the show!

Women Who Want Equality But Won't Live It

To my fellow American women:  If you're going to keep demanding equality, it's time you start living it!

Let's face facts:  It's simply not fair for us, as modern American women, to demand chivalry and equality.  The two are almost entirely contradictory.  You cannot expect a man to think of you as strong when you cry out for help every time you are faced with a task that requires a tiny bit of grit.  You cannot expect a man to think of you as independent if you get visibly offended when he doesn't open the door for you.  You cannot expect a man to respect your employment income when you constantly assume it is his responsibility to pay for everything, on every date, regardless of how long you have been together.

If you want to be treated as equal to a man, then act as if you are equal.  If you play the part of the "weaker sex," you deserve to be treated as a weaker person.

Most often, I think about this when I hear about incidents of domestic violence.  I am not talking about those sad occasions when one person in a relationship is abusive toward the other, unprovoked.  That's wrong, regardless of who is the abuser.  Rather, I'm talking about those times when a woman hits, punches, or abuses her male partner and then has him arrested for assault & battery when he fights back.  Really?  How is that at all fair?

Ladies, it is no longer acceptable—really, never has been, in my opinion—for you to think that you can be physically violent toward a man and then expect to hide behind your femininity as protection from retaliation.  If you are tough enough to hit a man, then you better make sure you are also tough enough to take the hit-back.

In the end, I think that most of the focus of "Womens' Liberation" has been focused in the wrong direction.  We have come a long way toward equality, and we should continue to press onward toward full equality with men.  Along the way, however, I think we ought to be kind enough to liberate men from the unfair double standards of an outdated system of chivalry and "kept" women.

Mike Rowe Testifies about the Need for Skilled Labor

Plenty of people know who Mike Rowe is.  For those who don't, Mike Rowe is the host of a television show on the Discovery Channel called Dirty Jobs, on which Rowe travels around the country highlighting and testing out different "dirty" professions.  Episodes have included him trying his hand at plumbing, farming, construction, fishing, and many other jobs.

In May of 2011, Rowe testified before the U.S. Senate.  I only just now learned of this and read an article on his testimony.  He had some good things to say, and I want to share a bulk of it here.

==============================

Testimony of Mike Rowe
Creator, Executive Producer and Host, Dirty Jobs

Mike Rowe's Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
May 11, 2011

"Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Hutchison and members of this committee, my name is Mike Rowe, and I want to thank you all very much for the opportunity to testify before you today.

Jazzing Up Presidential Debates

Did you think the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates were just boring?  Lots of folks do.  Well, here are some videos created by a couple of guys who wanted to add some musical style to the debates.  Check them out, and let me know what you think in the comments section!

First Presidential Debate


Vice-Presidential Debate

Lots of fun!  Can't wait to see what these guys come up with for the next Presidential debate next week!

The Wisdom of the Heart

Throughout my teen years and on into my early adulthood, I was on an on-again/off-again search for something that would show itself to be spiritual truth.  Every step I took in researching various religions of the world too me farther and farther from the narcissistic, dictatorial, puppet master God of the Bible and closer to the ancient spiritualities of Europe and Asia.

While my studies of Buddhism were merely a stop-off on my journey, I find that many of the teachings of Buddhist leaders still hold, for me, some very perfect bits of wisdom.  Among my more favorite selections of Buddhist teachings is "The Wisdom of the Heart," by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

"The Wisdom

of the Heart"
 from the

14th Dalai Lama*

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1989)

1.  Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

2.  Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

3.  Sleep is the best meditation.

4.  Spend some time alone every day.

5.  We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

6.  Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

7.  We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.

8.  Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

9.  If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.

10.  The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.

*The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and exiled leader of the Tibetan people. Born in northeastern Tibet, he was recognized at the age of 2 as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. After the suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in 1959, His Holiness escaped to India where he was given political asylum. Dalai Lama is a Mongolian title, which means "Ocean of Wisdom". "Dalai" means "ocean" in Mongolian, and "Lama" (bla ma) is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru", and is commonly translated to mean "spiritual teacher".

Why I'll be Voting for the Guy Who "Lost" the First Debate

People who know me know that I'm a committed liberal in nearly every way.  I dutifully tuned in to the first of the Presidential debates, which took place this past Wednesday.

I didn't expect that either candidate would say anything embarrassing or outright stupid.  I was right.  I didn't expect either candidate to say anything explosively wonderful.  Again, I was right.  In fact, while I didn't hear everything I expected to hear, I also didn't hear anything unexpected either.

I had already made up my mind to cast my vote for Obama in November 2012 just as I did in November of 2008.  That hasn't changed, and is unlikely to change.

Leading up to the 2008 election, I was heavily pregnant and excited at the prospect of bringing my baby into an Obama-led United States.  I cast my vote proudly at my local precinct, with one hand on my swollen stomach the way I imagined some good church ladies might lay their hands on their Bibles as they cast their votes for their chosen candidate.  That night, I stayed up later than usual to watch the election results roll in to the news networks, and I had tears in my eyes as I watched Obama officially acknowledge his victory.  I breathed a sigh of relief and watched as the monstrous Sarah Palin faded from all but the most radically conservative news headlines.

Less than 2 weeks after my son was born, Obama was inaugurated, and I watched the event live on CNN while Kaleb peacefully slept in my arms.  Again, I had tears in my eyes, though by this time I had decided that it was because pregnancy had forever ruined my hormones, leaving me vulnerable to crying over nearly anything at nearly any time.

September 11th: Fallen Heroes & Innocent Victims

What I am publishing here today is neither original nor unique.  We all know that there were nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11th, 2001.  It will be another one of those dates in history that people look back and can all very specifically say "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when....."

In several places today, I have seen people posting lists of people killed on that day.  There were firefighters, police officers, paramedics, Port Authority, airline passengers, civilians on the street, military personnel at the Pentagon, and thousands of businessmen and women and children all going about their normal workdays.  I would say that most every person in the nation was affected personally in less than the standard "six degrees of separation."

The sheer numbers of people are shocking and tragic. Here I have combined all the (reliable) lists I can find.   The list below contains 953 names, representing roughly one-third of the 9-11 related deaths.  As you scroll down the list, allow yourself to take in how very long the list actually is.  Let us not forget that, while this attack changed our country forever, many people were affected on a much deeper level because of the loss of someone they loved.

Remembering Bob

At some point, some person will become a part of your life for a short time, but will leave a very lasting impression on your heart.  This is an experience that most everyone will have, and it can be a unique experience, to be so affected by someone you've barely gotten to know.

This is the story of the brief time that Bob* was a part of my life.

From October 2006 to October 2007, I worked in the administration and monitoring positions at a residential facility here in Pensacola where newly-released inmates were court ordered to attend drug and alcohol abuse treatment.  Up to 60 of these clients at a time lived in our facility, taking part in individual and group counseling and working to get back into the job force.  Each week, some clients would rotate out and others would rotate in.  Though I spent 50+ hours a week working among them, I never truly got to know the majority of the clients as there was a need to maintain a clear separation between profession and personal life.

But, try as I might, I did still get to know occasional clients very well—nothing remotely inappropriate, but some of these people.....you just couldn't help but like them.  Yes, I knew many of the more troubling and disturbing details of their individual pasts, but I also knew that many of these people were struggling with addictions that had taken away their self-control along with their self-respect.  The majority of the clients were good people who had made very bad choices and ended up in very bad situations.  Then they had landed in our facility.

A Beautiful Dream

For the past couple of weeks, I've been having the same recurring dream every night.  It has even popped up the couple of times I've gotten the chance at a daytime nap.  I've never really been someone who spent much time analyzing my dreams, preferring instead to enjoy them in whatever manner they present themselves.  On the few occasions I've had recurring dreams in the past, they would come once or twice and then retreat into memories.  Most of them I cannot even remember now.  This time, however, the dream is visiting me night after night, and I awaken with it fresh in my mind every morning.

Nearly 3 weeks into this repetitive dream cycle now, the dream remains so much in the forefront of my mind that I relive it even in my waking dreams (daydreams) in snippets throughout the day.

Although I typically don't read deep meanings into my dreams, I do believe that they are one of the tools our minds use to heal themselves.  In your dreaming world, you can do things that you can not—or would not—do in your real life.  You can have new experiences, attempt difficult tasks, and get closure for past relationships.

In my dream, I'm in a hospital waiting room.  I do not know why I'm there, or if I'm a patient or visitor.  So far, that seems to be irrelevant in my dream.  I'm usually sad, but not overwhelmingly.  As I sit in this room, people keep coming to meet up with me, to sit with me for a while.  So far, each of these people has been someone from my past with whom I do not still have a positive relationship (or, in some cases, any relationship at all).  In each case, the visitor and I talk about our happy memories and our past hurts.  Each of these conversations ends with us in tears, ready to let go of the pain of the past and part on good terms.

P52, Somewhat: Week 15, "Tradition"

I grew up in a family with traditions.  We knew, more or less, what to expect at every major holiday, and it was nice to know what was coming.  Now that I'm a parent myself, I want Kaleb to benefit from these same types of traditions.  But the pressures of wanting him to have the perfect Rockwellian holidays, as I remember having in my own childhood.

What I have discovered is this: I probably actually never had a holiday that went perfectly according to my parents' plans.  My family holidays with Kaleb will probably never go perfectly either.  And that's ok.  Just as I never had any sense of things going wrong as a kid, Kaleb probably won't either.  In fact, the most important tradition is to simply spend time with Kaleb and do things to make his holidays special and memorable, just as my parents did for my brother and me when we were kids.

This year, for the first time, Kaleb and I dyed eggs.  Assuming I already had all the supplies we'd need, I didn't bother to read the directions of the egg dying kid my dad had given us.  I bought some eggs, and hard boiled 20 of them.  18 of them survived the boiling without cracking, and they were set aside to be colored.  On the day we were to dye the eggs, however, I realized we had no vinegar to add to the dye water to help the color adhere to the egg shells.  A quick glance around Google hinted that I might be able to use lemon juice instead, and I decided it would just have to work.  Kaleb and I spent some time dying the eggs, six at a time in three rounds.  They came out with plenty of imperfections, not at all what I had hoped for my first attempt at sharing this activity with Kaleb.  But you know what?  He didn't notice those imperfections at all!  He was overjoyed to be able to help, to get to participate in something new and fun.  When it was all finished, I couldn't pry Kaleb out of the kitchen.  He actually wanted to stand atop his stool and watch the eggs drying on the counter.

Recapturing a Piece of My Childhood

One of the best things about becoming a parent is that you have a valid excuse for having toys around the house.  I mean, sure, some of us have held onto some childhood toys even though we were not yet parents, but it might still have been a nit awkward to have a friend pop by for a visit and find us having a teddy bear tea party in our adult dining rooms while we were yet single or childless.

Now that I'm a parent, I get the added bonus of having a legitimate reason to play like a kid: it's good for my son!  Yes, that's right....not only do I get to have fun with his toys, but it also benefits his development for me to get down on the floor and play toys with him.  What an amazingly wonderful concept!

When I was a child, two of my favorite activities were coloring with my crayons and building with Legos.  And these are still activities I'll readily admit that I enjoy as an adult.  At this age, Kaleb has the larger Duplo-style Legos, and I am so excited for the time when he gets old enough to have bucketfuls of the standard-sized Lego bricks.  Right now, our favorite activity to do together is to color.  I have a large set of Crayola crayons, and Kaleb has a box of larger preschool-sized Crayolas of his very own.  We each also have our own coloring books—his Mickey Mouse & friends, mine Strawberry Shortcake—so that we can lie side-by-side on the floor and color together.  He may not have the motor skills for fine art yet, but he's improving at the same time he is learning by watching me.

Being a parent may have its ups and downs, but getting to play with an adorable little boy whenever I want is definitely one of the ups!

Fad Activism

A few days ago, a friend posted an observation online about the sudden disappearance of all the "Kony" videos and other posts.  They have vanished from common conversation as quickly as they appeared.  The Kony hysteria was a wave that passed over us all, then dissipated without effect.

So, that must mean that this Kony guy has been stopped from continuing to commit further atrocities, right?  Well, no.  It just means that the media hype and activism fad have ended.

In our world these days, billions of people around the modernized world are interconnected through social environments on the internet.  Facebook, of course, is now the largest of these, but they are certainly not the only game in town.  A quick glance at the data listen on this Wikipedia page will give you an idea of just how much a part of our lives these online social environments have become.

In many ways, these digital connections have helped to bring about improved quality of life.  Families and friends who are separated by geography have a simple way to stay in contact.  Scientists and medical professionals can quickly and easily share data with one another across the globe.  People who, because of handicap or illness, have a hard time getting out of the house have a way to connect to the outside world from within the safe confines of their own homes.  Students at all levels of education can access information that they might not otherwise be able to access, and some of them are even taught remotely by teachers who are hundreds or thousands of miles away, interacting through a digital campus.  News travels quickly these days, both the good and the bad, and emergency aid can be dispatched with life-saving speed when a disaster occurs somewhere in the world.

Unfortunately, living our lives at the speed of digital means that we misperceive the seriousness of some situations.  People also misunderstand what is needed to help some situations.  It is very common for people to share videos and news articles among their online social circles, and many of these videos and articles focus on issues that are controversial or need to experience change.  So we read these articles and watch the videos posted by our friends, family, and colleagues.  We get fired up about the issues represented in each, and we decide we want to "do" something to help.  So we repost the link to the video or article, thus sharing it with everyone in our own online social circles.

And all of that is wonderful, except....

Why I'm Not A Christian

Several weeks ago, I wrote and published on this blog a post entitled "A Darn Good Christian," wherein I mentioned that a co-worker had told me I'd make a "darn good" Christian....if I only believed in God.  I went on to explain that I didn't need the Bible or church or any other religious trappings to see a need in the world and try to do my part to fill that need for the benefit of my fellow earth-dwelling creatures.  Christians do not have a monopoly on good works.  Within that post, I did not get into the reasons behind my non-belief, stating that they were fodder for another post.  This is that post.

Before I get into my specific reasons, there are a few things I feel I must state first if I have any hope of my words being understood in the manner intended.

1. I probably know more Christians than non-Christians.  Most of these people are my friends and are good people, and I respect their choice to believe as they wish, not because I think they are right, but because they are my friends and I care about them.  Those who are my friends and already know about my lack of Christian faith may not agree with the choices I make in this regard, but they all acknowledge my rights to believe as I choose, and they care about me regardless of our differing opinions.
2. I do not believe that Christianity itself is bad.  You'll understand more of what I mean by this as you read through the post.
3. As with all my blog posts, the comment section is open for your feedback.  However, remember to be civil with your comments.  Hate-filled comments will be deleted.  Strongly emotional comments, those aimed at "converting" me, or those filled with scripture are probably not comments to which I will post reply....unless you actually come up with a compelling argument.  One more thing: If you feel the need to post harsh criticism, at least have the courage to attach your name to it....I've grown weary of people hiding behind the "anonymous" label when spewing negativity.

With that out of the way, I'll put forth the primary 9 among the many reasons that Christianity has found no place in my life.

The Evolution of Red!'s Name

In life, things change over time.  They grow, they mature, and they evolve.  This blog has been no different.  Over the years since I first began writing here, the tone and nature of my posts have changed.  The site has grown to accommodate more and newer features.  The site "grew up" and adopted a domain name of its very own.  The site has grown and changed in conjunction with the growth and changes that have taken place in my own life.

Something I have learned while developing this blog has been how to use my blog's statistics to help direct posts and features toward my audience, to help raise my visibility in search engines, and to help attract new visitors to my site.  While looking over the search terms which have brought people to my site within the past 30 days, I noticed that some people are still searching for my blog using various incarnations of past names from this site.

I've decided to use this post to share a brief history of the evolution of Red!'s name and page banner, like a quick stroll down memory lane.

The first post was published here in November of 2008.  At the time, I hadn't done anything to personalize or customize the look and feel of the blog's pages.  Back then, the title would have been whatever Blogger's software had used as a default.  My first attempt at a custom title/header came along with the May 2009 post:

Sure, it wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a good first start—something other than the bland blue & white default settings.  I had a silly notion that this font was "edgy."  What was I thinking?

It's Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day, Friends & Readers!

Today, March 14th, is Pi Day....also known as π Day.  Why?  Because pi is an enormously long number, so is shortened to "3.14" for more practical use in teaching the concept to students.  3.14.  March 14.  Yep.

At school today, we are doing lots of fun Pi-related activities to reinforce this concept with our students: eating pi-e (apple and cherry) in homeroom, handing out pencils stamped with the first 60 digits of π, and watching videos schoolwide at the start of each class period—each with a song, poem, story, or historical fact about π.  Since these activities will be filling most of my day, I fear I won't have much time left for blogging.  So, today, I'm going to share with my readers some of the same information we'll be sharing with our students at school today.

A Brief History of Pi (π).

[Quoted from Exploratorium.com]

Pi has been known for almost 4000 years—but even if we calculated the number of seconds in those 4000 years and calculated pi to that number of places, we would still only be approximating its actual value. Here’s a brief history of finding pi:

The ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a value of 3.125 for pi, which is a closer approximation.

Rhind Papyrus (ca.1650 BC), there is evidence that the Egyptians calculated the area of a circle by a formula that gave the approximate value of 3.1605 for pi.

P52, Somewhat: Week 11, "Nostalgia"

This week's P52 post topic was "Nostalgia."  I could think of plenty of things to write about, but they were all either quite mundane or were memories I like to keep to myself.  Then I was looking through some storage boxes, came across one very small item, and was stricken with a bout of nostalgia.  So I snapped a photo of that memory-inducing item, and here it is:

"Tiny Memories" photo by Sarah Getz for P52 Photo-A-Week Challenge, 3-12-2012

Just three short years ago, Kaleb's little feet were shorter than my fingers.  While I can't honestly say that I miss having a newborn baby, I can't help but look back fondly at where we've been.

P52, Somewhat: Week 7, "Love"

It's hardly surprising that the P52 topic this week was "love," being that this is the week of Valentine's Day.  I have plenty of things I love: my little boy, family, friends, pets, books, shoes, chocolate....the list goes on and on.  I could think of plenty of things to photograph for this week, from the mundane to the extraordinary and from cliché to unique.  But I couldn't narrow down my options and decide what sort of photo I wanted to take!

To: Minha ruiva! [My redhead!]
Love: Seu devoto! [Your devoted!]
(Brazilian Portuguese [English])

But today, my sweet Jack solved the question for me, sending me a gift with a story.

Most people who read my blog have heard of Jack.  He's my....well, I don't know exactly what to call our type of "us-ness"....but there's definitely something here.  He's my friend; he's the person who knows every single one of my secrets; he's the first person I want to talk to when I've had a bad day, or a good day, or a day that's notable for any reason at all.  I could spend all night extolling the virtues of Jack, but that is not the purpose of this post.

♫♪ Let's start at the very beginning....♫♪

In December of 2002, I was married to a guy in the Marine Corps and we were living in Ramona, CA just north of MCAS Miramar where my then-husband was stationed.  Several of the other kid-free military wives in our apartment complex had begun volunteering at a V.A.-run recovery center in downtown San Diego where a number of recently-wounded Marines were living while undergoing extensive physical therapies for a range of injuries.  The other wives invited me to come along with them, and it sounded like a worthwhile cause, so I went.

Major & Minor World Religions: Correcting Some Common Misconceptions

I assume that anyone who knows me much at all (or who has read the bumper stickers on my car) already knows that I long ago walked away from the Christian faith I was raised with, and have since "tried on" a variety of other religious belief-sets.  During my travels through the world of religions, I encountered any number of misconceptions people have about "other" relgions, and many of them are things I continue to hear on at least a semi-regular basis.  I'm sure that the majority of people do not openly disparage other faiths intending to be mean, but rather because they have been so routinely misinformed.  So, hoping to correct some fallacies, I've listed here a collection of the mistaken beliefs I've heard most frequently.

► Members of alternative religious groups haven't studied the Bible or heard about Jesus.

The implication of this myth is that if these people really knew about Christianity, they would become Christians. It is the fundamental basis for most of the missionary work - and crusades - in Christian history. It is not, however, the case for the vast majority of those worshiping in smaller religions today. Practically all of these members have a background in Christianity and chose to leave it for their current path. They are as well-versed in the Christian faith as most Christians.

► Those smaller groups aren't 'real' religions.

The American Heritage dictionary defines a religion as "A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader". This definition does not specifically mention which leader - or which teachings - these beliefs must be based upon. Therefore, any group, no matter how small their numbers or how unusual their beliefs, which bases their practices in spirituality is a religion.