The Tasmanian Government is finding out the hard way that Lao Tzu's warning, "The wise leader does not interfere with the lives of the people" has to be taken very seriously.

Tasmanian State leaders have made sex between consenting adults of the same sex, even though in the privacy of their own homes, a criminal offence. How can an act of love between gays possibly cause harm to the people or the State? If you believe it is an offence against 'God', leave it to God. Do not judge! As long as a person does not deliberately violate another physically or psychologically, St Augustine's injunction, "Love, and do as you will" applies.

Those who condemn or debase the love between homosexuals will have to learn the Spiritual Law "Love your neighbours as YOURSELF" is not a teaching about morality but of reality. Therefore, Judge not. For you are judging another aspect of your own totality in God. If you pour your condemnation and disgust out on these, our brothers and sisters, you will, indeed, find yourself in another life on the receiving end of your own venom. You are never punished for your judgements but by them, for you do it to YOURSELF.

When you realise that all Beings are inseparable from what mankind calls 'God', you will choose to spend another life as one of those you hate and curse in this current experience; whether they be 'gays,' slant-eyes', 'wogs' or what-have-you; until you learn to love them. As you will experience being one of them, it should not be too difficult. In spite of the venom. The lessons have to be learned thoroughly. Not through intellectual understanding, but through direct, personal experience. There is no other way. Hopefully, you will learn that homosexuality is only a sexual preference and is NOT WHAT YOU ARE. It is a mere facet of your multi-dimensional Self. To build your life-style around your sexuality is to adopt a pitifully limiting self-image. The same applies to the heterosexual 'ocker' or 'redneck' who feels he has to be macho at all times.

Unfortunately, the gay community is not always kind to itself. The Mardi-gras is at times a debasement of love. What a person does in private is personal, in public it is everyone's business. Gays do not enjoy being ridiculed, yet they do not hesitate to ridicule nuns in their public 'drag'. Whilst many feel an empathy for any individual or group which is abused and persecuted by the majority, it is hard to sustain when the minority show so little respect for themselves.

Let us have the Spiritual wisdom to accept all Beings as sacred and worthy of respect. Above all, learn to respect yourselves. Meanwhile, you do not have to love everyone, but you can always be kind.