Manns Medium

We have been taught for many years that hell is “a place of evil and suffering where the wicked are punished after death” but what if that was only partially true.  What if the real hell was here on earth and all of the planets and the wicked are those of us who chooses not to follow the path of Jesus at every junction of our earthly lives when we must make a choice between doing what is right and doing what is wrong.  When we choose to do what we believe is right in the eyes of God we live believing in Jesus but when we choose to do what is wrong we become the wicked. Wouldn’t it make sense since so much pain and suffering is endured here on earth and as soon as we make the decision to do what is wrong we are immediately consumed by the fires of hatred, anger, hypocrisy, jealousy, greed, regret and so many other sins. Let’s take for example, the taking of another human life.  The mind has always had a problem with reconciling unnatural acts and there is none greater...

Since Donald J. Trump made the decision to run in the Republican primary, I have been struggling to understand why it is still difficult for me to totally accept this man as the 45 th president of the United States.  My better angels are telling me that one can only control that which one can and therefore must accept those things that they cannot but for the life of me, I cannot understand why being reasonable in this situation is harder for me than any other I have ever encountered.  That was until just a few minutes ago. It was after hearing those voices in Kentucky who benefited  from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare hearing Trump say that his main focus will be to repeal and replace it, would still vote for him.  It all became clear to me when I heard this one voice say that the only reason she voted for him is because she detested and did not like Obama.  So because you don’t like a person, you stand against all that they say or do even if ...

Common wisdom has us believing that emotions are controllable and that they can be dealt properly with just an expression of them.  I disagree with this common wisdom and the evidence of why is all around us. Common wisdom says that if someone makes you angry, all you need to do to deal with it properly is to find a non-combative way to let them know.  While this does ease the immediate sting of that action, it does not completely erase the emotion of anger.  There are still parts of that situation which plays over and over again within the confines of our mind and may again raise its head at a later time.  We often then attribute it to something else but for some reason do not completely accept that reasoning and often cannot figure out why.  Simply put, it is because assignment of another reason for that anger is wrong and deep within the very essences of which we are we know this that is why it does not sit right from the beginning.  So what do we d...

We understand that some of you wish nothing more than to help and reduce the burden this disorder has on those that they occupy but before you can help, you must first understand just what is happening to that person you love so much and would give anything to help but can’t.  First you must realize that it is not all about you and stop thinking that you are failing because you can’t help.  It is and always will be about the person suffering but when you switch it and make it all about you, the help that you could have given is no longer welcomed by the one who is doing the suffering.  If you wish to help, I mean truly want to help then listen closely as I tell you what you can do. First get over yourself and realize that only those who want help will take it and not everyone who asks for help really want it.  The best you can do in this situation is to listen without judging and without conversation.  Just listen as they talk because the more they talk the...

Growing up, in this male-dominated society, a little boy dreams of the day that he becomes a man.  Back in the day, a man was measured by two things.  The first was refusing to cry and the second was after his first sexual experience.  No one told that little boy that one would have such a determining effect on the other or that these two things would never make a boy into a man.  As the years passed, the measurement of a man changed a bit and while the first two things were still being taught or considered part of the measurement of a man, a third was added which is still true today.  The third was whether the male remained to raise his children and the lessons he taught them.  What was still not known or just not taught was that in order to be able to perform the third you truly needed to master the first one.  Only recently have it become known that refusing to cry is not a true mark of a man because any male who call themselves a man should never ...

Often time’s things happen in life that forces us to ask the question “What was that about” and when that happens there are but two clear choices.  The first is you deserve the fire for what you did but choose not to remember or it is what is referred to as “displaced anger”.  In order to know which one, take a step back and search your very soul to find out if it was truly something you did.  If it was then simply apologizing will correct the situation but if it wasn’t then take heart in knowing that the anger you just witness is an indication of something much deeper and if that person is truly a friend.  It is a sign that maybe you need to offer your help in solving. Many times anger directed toward us is really not about us and more about a deeper unsettling of the person expressing that anger.  Suppose you have finally gotten your fill of someone seemingly to be taking advantage of you.  You feel less like telling them where to go and drawing them...

For years now I have been fighting this invisible enemy and just recently come to realize who and what this enemy is.  This enemy used to get the best of me in the beginning but until recently I truly thought I had it under control.  Those nightmares and wondering minds as well as those hype-reactions took its toil but I made a fight of it.  I was just sitting here a few minutes ago and thinking that I had endured enough.  I couldn’t seem to stop the voices but as my day was getting darker, it finally occurred to me why. The enemy is PTSD and whether those in the medical community wish to acknowledge it or not, I know that it exists.  It’s invisible to many but ever present for many more.  People wish you to believe that it is only exclusive to a certain segment of society but I know that it is not.  People want you to think that they understand what it is and how to treat it but they have no clue.  People want you to believe that only those ...

This is the question that people have been asking for quite some time.  To many it seems never too important unless it deals with them directly.  We are often conditioned to think that as long as something does not directly affect you, then it is no big deal but then isn’t that the trick that Satan plays upon us every day?  Getting us to ignore things going on around us so that he and his demons can continue to rap society at will and with no recourse?  Perhaps understanding better why we get so angry may just help us curtail the primary driving force in many of our thoughts, ideas and actions. Try this on for size.  An article, from the Associated Press out of Washington, about a 911 dispatcher and the call from a 13 year old girl about an accident that both parents were involved in may just shine some light on the subject.  It reports that “a 911 dispatcher twice told an emotional 13-year-old girl to "stop whining" as her father lay dying after a hit...

To say that the fighting between parents do not affect the children is to deny that there are bones within our bodies.  It does affect them and in a way that only those who grew up in a busted home where one or both of the parents were absent knows this.  But even with that knowledge, we still cannot help ourselves when that selfish moment hits and we fail to see the damage that we do to our own kids for the sake of getting back at the other.  I am as guilty of such an ignorant thing as anybody which is why I feel as though I am more than knowledgeable enough about this to scream and yell at others. The ultimate proof of how stupid we can be when it comes to trying to get revenge on the other parent is when we attempt to hurt the ones we love more than a total stranger ever could is in this article.  It is titled “ Schiller Park woman accused of trying to murder her children with poisoned apple juice ” written by Tom Negovan and Judy Wang.  In this article ...

With the recent shooting of an unarmed black male in Ferguson, Missouri all over the news these past few days.  The question is not about the events which lead to this shooting but more about the tactics being employed by the Ferguson County Sheriff and local law enforcement officers there.  Many in the media wants to know why they feel the need to use military type equipment in an urban environment and why they appear to ignore the rule of law, honor the rights of their fellow citizens and even trample all over the constitution.  Well in order to understand their mindset, one need only to take a few steps back and look at the growth pattern of this surprising occurrence.  Begin with the seed in order to understand how that very large tree got there and then you will understand just how to remove that enormous scene-stealing tree. To do that let’s do this.  Think about the overwhelming sense of unfairness when a town, a city, a community is governed by a gr...

Please don’t get it confused, I do not protest to be the sharpest tool in the shed but even I can see why bad things happen to good people.  This has always been one of the most important questions asked but never answered.  The other was why this world is going to hell in a hand basket.  I think I can answer both those now. As it is my nature, I am going to answer both these questions in the most simplest of terms I can as well as with one point.  That point is, bad things happen to good people and this world is going to hell in a hand basket because good people are sitting too long on their brains and not standing up for what they know is right fast enough. Imagine that police officer who wrote letters to his superiors in Fenton Missouri where that young man, Michael Brown was just shot and killed.  He waited several months before even doing that because he feared losing his job or being retaliated against.  At what point does fear of retaliation...

Just another thank you that this nation owes our veterans.  Think back, there was not so much focus on post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) until it became a front page issue regarding the trials and tribulations of our returning veterans.  Those acting unbecoming on the battle field as well as committing murders and suicide when they came back home.  Since that time, America became aware of something that has probably been the driving force behind crimes being committed but never addressed.  Thanks to our veterans, now we know even more about PTSD than we ever had before and now maybe we can get to addressing this disorder and finally really taking a bite out of crime. It was believed, at first, that PTSD only extended to combat veterans but since the staff at Mayo Clinic redefined this disorder to “a mental condition which occurs and brought on by a terrifying event”, we now know and can clearly see that the key to reducing crime could be as simple as educat...

ROCKFORD – 23-year-old Lorenzo Kent Jr. was found guilty of first degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Donmarquis Jackson in Jackson’s driveway of his home in the 1400 block of Nelson Boulevard last May.  Along with some witnesses saying that they overheard Kent threatening to kill Jackson, it was also reported that a major part of the evidence used to convict Kent was a Facebook posting which read something like “My way or the highway, killed in the driveway” posted on Kent’s page after the shooting.  Kent now faces 20 years to life for the choice that he made when he decided to take the actions that he did and because he choose to put it all out on Facebook. Now, for those who still think that Facebook is the best place to air your dirty laundry and make a name for yourself, proof of how much nonsense that makes should be overwhelming clear.  Using Facebook as your personal paparazzi and fan base not only can subject you to those who wish to do you harm knowin...

With so much going on in our lives, the number one cause of medical and health problems is stress.   Many of us may not have any idea where our next meal will come from nor do we know where we will be living from day to day.   We see our kids wishing something that we are not able to provide and it drives many of us insane to think that we can stop this pain that they are filling but we seem powerless to do so.   That’s the stress that keeps us up at night and make us strike out at those we care for the most.   Dealing with this stress may prove to be just one way we can make life just a little better for those around us. I came upon this idea when I was speaking to my fiancée about events that were taking place in her world.   She can be categorized as “high strung” but her heart is always in the right place.   She sometimes allows problems to stack up until she finds herself sick and that is not good for our children to see as well as endure along side h...