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Teaching
16 May 2012 - 11:25am
Yin And Yang
Tao Te Ching
thebigview.com
In Chinese philosophy, the rhythm of life, which pulsates through the universe, is the
action of complementary principles Yin and Yang. The T’ai-chi T’u diagram (above)
illustrates this principle. The symmetrical disposition of the dark Yin and the light Yang
suggests cyclical changes.
Yin is the quiet, female, intuitive, receiving force that is associated with earth. The earth is
the source of life; it provides us with what we need to survive. Yang is the strong, male,
creative, giving force that is associated with heaven. The heaven above us is always in
motion and brings about change.
When Yin reaches its climax, it recedes in favour of Yang, then after Yang reaches its
climax it recedes in favour of Yin. This is the eternal cycle. The dots inside the white and
black halves indicate that within each is the seed of the other. Yin cannot exist without
Yang and vice versa.
The ideal state of things in the physical universe, as well as in the world of humans, is a
state of harmony represented by the balance of Yin and Yang in body and mind.
I have been visited for some time now by both Lao Tzu's chief disciple Chuang Tzu. Both posts today, simple they may be are what I am asked to post and share. I am honoured to be working with two very wise men.
Blessings,
Acaana
Blog entry
16 May 2012 - 12:41am
Blessings and beautiful words of wisdom from Buddha...
One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the Messiah?"
"No," answered Buddha.
"Then are you a healer?"
"No," Buddha replied.
"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.
"No, I am not a teacher."
"Then what are you?" asked the student exasperated.
"I am awake," Buddha replied.
Buddha~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddha was speaking in a village square one day, when one of the inhabitants started to abuse him. Buddha paused and said to the man,
"If you offer me a piece of paper and I refuse to accept it, what happens to the paper?"
"Why, it stays with me, of course," the villager replied.
Buddha smiled gently, "And that is exactly what I am doing with your abuse," he said.
"I am not accepting it, therefore it stays with you."
Buddha~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
Buddha~
Teaching
15 May 2012 - 10:24am
On the Omnipresence of God
By John Wesley
Sermon 111
(text from the 1872 edition - Thomas Jackson, editor)
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?" saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23:24
1. How strongly and beautifully do these words express the omnipresence of God! And can there be in the whole compass of nature a more sublime subject? Can there be any more worthy the consideration of every rational creature? Is there any more necessary to be considered, and to be understood, so far as our poor faculties will admit? How many excellent purposes may it answer! What deep instruction may it convey to all the children of men! And more directly to the children of God.
2. How is it then that so little has been wrote on so sublime and useful a subject? It is true that some of our most eminent writers have occasionally touched upon it, and have several strong and beautiful reflections which were naturally suggested by it. But which of them has published a regular treatise, or so much as a sermon, upon the head? Perhaps many were conscious of their inability to do justice to so vast a subject. It is possible, there may some such lie hid in the voluminous writings of the last century. But if they are hid even in their own country, if they are already buried in oblivion, it is the same, for any use they are of, as if they had never been wrote.
3. What seems to be wanting still, for general use, is a plain discourse on the omnipresence or ubiquity of God.
I. First, in some manner explaining and proving that glorious truth, "God is in this, and every place;"
II. And Then, applying it to the consciences of all thinking men;
III. A few practical inferences.
I.
1. Accordingly, I will endeavour, by the assistance of his Spirit, first a little to explain the omnipresence of God; to show how we are to understand this glorious truth, "God is in this, and every place." The Psalmist, you may remember, speaks strongly and beautifully upon it in the hundred and thirty-ninth Psalm; observing in the most exact order, First, "God is in this place;" and Then, "God is in every place." He observes, First, "Thou art about my bed, and about my path, and spiest out all my ways." (Ps. 139:3) "Thou hast fashioned me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." (Ps. 139:5) Although the manner thereof he could not explain; how it was he could not tell. "Such knowledge," says he, "is too wonderful for me: I cannot attain unto it." (Ps. 139:6) He next observes, in the most lively and affecting manner, that God is in every place. "Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit, or whither shall I go from thy presence? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there; if I go down to hell, thou art there also.' (Ps. 139:7, 8) If I could ascend, speaking after the manner of men, to the highest part of the universe, or could I descend to the lowest point, thou art alike present both in one and the other. "If I should take the wings of the morning, and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there thy hand would lead me," -- thy power and thy presence would be before me, -- "and thy right hand would hold me," seeing thou art equally in the length and breadth, and in the height and depth of the universe. Indeed thy presence and knowledge not only reach the utmost bounds of creation; but
Thine omnipresent sight,
Even to the pathless realms extends
Of uncreated night.
In a word, there is no point of space, whether within or without the bounds of creation, where God is not.
2. Indeed, this subject is far too vast to be comprehended by the narrow limits of human understanding. We can only say, The great God, the eternal, the almighty Spirit, is as unbounded in his presence as in his duration and power. In condescension, indeed, to our weak understanding, he is said to dwell in heaven: but, strictly speaking, the heaven of heavens cannot contain him; but he is in every part of his dominion. The universal God dwelleth in universal space; so that we may say,
Hail, Father! whose creating call
Unnumber'd worlds attend!
Jehovah, comprehending all,
Whom none can comprehend!
3. If we may dare attempt the illustrating this a little farther, what is the space occupied by a grain of sand, compared to that space which is occupied by the starry heavens? It is as a cipher; it is nothing; it vanishes away in the comparison. What is it, then, to the whole expanse of space, to which the whole creation is infinitely less than a grain of sand? And yet this space, to which the whole creation bears no proportion at all, is infinitely less in comparison of the great God than a grain of sand, yea, a millionth part of it, bears to that whole space.
II.
1. This seems to be the plain meaning of those solemn words which God speaks of himself: "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" And these sufficiently prove his omnipresence; which may be farther proved from this consideration: God acts everywhere, and, therefore, is everywhere; for it is an utter impossibility that any being, created or uncreated, should work where it is not. God acts in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, throughout the whole compass of his creation; by sustaining all things, without which everything would in an instant sink into its primitive nothing; by governing all, every moment superintending everything that he has made; strongly and sweetly influencing all, and yet without destroying the liberty of his rational creatures. The very Heathens acknowledged that the great God governs the large and conspicuous parts of the universe; that he regulates the motions of the heavenly bodies, of the sun, moon, and stars; that he is
Totam Mens agitans molem,
et magno se corpore miscens:
The all-informing soul,
That fills, pervades and actuates the whole.
But they had no conception of his having a regard to the least things as well as the greatest; of his presiding over all that he has made, and governing atoms as well as worlds. This we could not have known unless it had pleased God to reveal it unto us himself. Had he not himself told us so, we should not have dared to think that "not a sparrow falleth to the ground, without the will of our Father which is in heaven;" and much less affirm, that "even the very hairs of our head are all numbered!"
2. This comfortable truth, that "God filleth heaven and earth," we learn also from the Psalm above recited: "If I climb up into heaven, thou art there; if I go down to hell, thou art there also. If I take the wings of the morning, and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there thy hand shall lead me." The plain meaning is, If I remove to any distance whatever, thou art there; thou still besettest me, and layest thine hand upon me. Let me flee to any conceivable or inconceivable distance; above, beneath, or on any side;, it makes no difference; thou art still equally there: In thee I still "live, and move, and have my being."
3. And where no creature is, still God is there. The presence or absence of any or all creatures makes no difference with regard to him. He is equally in all, or without all. Many have been the disputes among philosophers whether there be any such thing as empty space in the universe; and it is now generally supposed that all space is full. Perhaps it cannot be proved that all space is filled with matter. But the Heathen himself will bear us witness, Jovis omnia plena: "All things are full of God." Yea, and space exists beyond the bounds of creation (for creation must have bounds, seeing nothing is boundless, nothing can be, but the great Creator), even that space cannot exclude Him who fills the heaven and the earth.
4. Just equivalent to this is the expression of the Apostle: (Eph. 1:23, not, as some have strangely supposed, concerning the Church, but concerning the Head of it) "The fullness of him that filleth all in all;" ta panta en pasin, literally translated, "all things in all things;" -- the strongest expression of universality which can possibly be conceived. It necessarily includes the last and the greatest of all things that exist. So that if any expression could be stronger, it would be stronger than even that -- the "filling heaven and earth."
5. Indeed this very expression, "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" (the question being equal to the strongest affirmation), implies the clearest assertion of God's being present everywhere and filling all space; for it is well known, the Hebrew phrase "heaven and earth," includes the whole universe; the whole extent of space, created or uncreated, and all that is therein.
6. Nay, and we cannot believe the omnipotence of God, unless we believe his omnipresence; for, seeing, as was observed before, nothing can act where it is not, -- if there were any space where God was not present, he would not be able to do anything there. Therefore, to deny the omnipresence of God implies, likewise, the denial of his omnipotence. To set bounds to the one is undoubtedly to set bounds to the other also.
7. Indeed, wherever we suppose him not to be, there we suppose all his attributes to be in vain. He cannot exercise there either his justice or mercy, either his power or wisdom. In extra-mundane space, (so to speak) where we suppose God not to be present, we must, of course, suppose him to have no duration; but as it is supposed to be beyond the bounds of the creation, so it is beyond the bounds of the Creator's power. Such is the blasphemous absurdity which is implied in this supposition.
8. But to all that is or can be said of the omnipresence of God, the world has one grand objection: They cannot see him. And this is really at the root of all their other objections. This our blessed Lord observed long ago: "Whom the world cannot receive, because they see him not." But is it not easy to reply, "Can you see the wind?" You cannot. But do you therefore deny its existence, or its presence? You say, "No; for I can perceive it by my other senses." But by which of your senses do you perceive your soul? Surely you do not deny either the existence or the presence of this! And yet it is not the object of your sight, or of any of your other senses. Suffice it then to consider that God is a Spirit, as is our soul also. Consequently, "him no man hath seen, or can see," with eyes of flesh and blood.
III.
1. But allowing that God is here, as in every place, that he is "about our bed, and about our path;" that he "besets us behind and before, and lays his hand upon us;" what inference should we draw from hence? What use should we make of this awful consideration? Is it not meet and right to humble ourselves before the eyes of his Majesty? Should we not labour continually to acknowledge his presence, "with reverence and godly fear?" not indeed with the fear of devils, that believe and tremble, but with fear of angels, with something similar to that which is felt by the inhabitants of heaven, when
Dark with excessive bright his skirts appear,
Yet dazzles heaven, that brightest seraphim
Approach not, but with both wings veil their eyes.
2. Secondly. If you believe that God is about your bed, and about your path, and spieth out all your ways, then take care not to do the least thing, not to speak the least word, not to indulge the least thought, which you have reason to think would offend him. Suppose that a messenger of God, an angel, be now standing at your right hand, and fixing his eyes upon you, would you not take care to abstain from every word or action that you knew would offend him? Yea, suppose one of your mortal fellow-servants, suppose only a holy man stood by you, would not you be extremely cautious how you conducted yourself, both in word and action? How much more cautious ought you to be when you know that not a holy man, not an angel of God, but God himself, the Holy One "that inhabiteth eternity," is inspecting your heart, your tongue, your hand, every moment; and that he himself will surely bring you into judgment for all you think, and speak, and act under the sun!
3. In particular: If there is not a word in your tongue, not a syllable you speak, but he "knoweth it altogether;" how exact should you be in "setting a watch before your mouth, and in keeping the door of your lips!" How wary does it behove you to be in all your conversation; being forewarned by your Judge, that "by your words you shall be justified, or by your words you shall be condemned!" How cautious, lest "any corrupt communication," any uncharitable, yea, or unprofitable discourse, should "proceed out of your mouth;" instead of "that which is good to the use of edifying, and meet to minister grace to the hearers!"
4. Yea, if God sees our hearts as well as our hands, and in all places; if he understandeth our thoughts long before they are clothed with words, how earnestly should we urge that petition, "Search me, O Lord, and prove me; try out my reins and my heart; look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" Yea, how needful is it to work together with him, in "keeping our hearts with all diligence," till he hath "cast down imaginations," evil reasonings, "and everything that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brought into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!"
5. On the other hand, if you are already listed under the great Captain of your salvation, seeing you are continually under the eye of your Captain, how zealous and active should you be to "fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life;" "to endure hardship, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ;" to use all diligence, to "war a good warfare," and to do whatever is acceptable in his sight! How studious should you be to approve all your ways to his all-seeing eyes; that he may say to your hearts, what he will proclaim aloud in the great assembly of men and angels, "Well done, good and faithful servants!"
6. In order to attain these glorious ends, spare no pains to preserve always a deep, a continual, a lively, and a joyful sense of his gracious presence. Never forget his comprehensive word to the great father of the faithful: "I am the Almighty" (rather, the All-sufficient) "God; walk before me, and be thou perfect!" Cheerfully expect that He, before whom you stand, will ever guide you with his eye, will support you by his guardian hand, will keep you from all evil, and "when you have suffered a while, [he] will make you perfect, will stablish, strengthen, and settle you;" and then "preserve you unblameable, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
Portsmouth, August 12, 1788
.
The Sermons of John Wesley
John Wesley (1703-1791) founded Methodism. A prolific writer, he printed several volumes of his sermons during his lifetime. The published sermons either were rewritten from ones that he had preached or were written specifically for print.
The Creator directs all the teachiing posts I include here and in other places that I am member to. This is a good article even if it is a bit out-dated. I am very much aware of His omnipresence, plus it helps when I can actually see him. The Creator I know is neither male or female. I have always seen him as a man. I native Ojibwe friends who think of God as female.
We have many wonderful conversations usually in the early morning like this or later at night when all is quiet. I give thanks to the little things he provides for me throughout the day, no matter how tiny. I try to encourage my children also and they do sometimes.
Blessed Be,
Blog entry
10 May 2012 - 2:13pm
Dharma and Karma
http://fredericklenzfoundation.org
Dharma is the truth.
Dharma is the truth throughout the ages. There are two types of dharma, universal dharma and individual dharma. To understand one, it's really necessary to understand the other. They can't be separated, although human beings try to.
Universal dharma is existence. We begin with the assumption that there's a primal cause for all things, there is an omnipresent reality or being that we call God, the self, nirvana, eternity. This omnipresent force or reality is existence. All of the worlds, realities, beings, experiences and times that we call existence come forth from and are directed by this reality.
Human beings like to think of God as a big person. We identify through the medium of ourselves, so we explore and come to know, to some extent, our own tonal ranges. We know that human beings think a certain way, feel a certain way, see life in a certain way. And so we assume that eternity or God must do that, and we are, in fact, correct, to an extent, since God exists in all things, at all times and all places and at the same time is beyond all times and places and things. God exists as human beings. The aspect of God that is each of us does see and feel existence in a certain way¾the way we see and feel existence.
But God is not limited or bound by the human mode of perception. God may be a tree: growing, experiencing wind, heat, the passage of time in a very different way. God is in a stone that experiences a different type of awareness. You may look at a stone and say, "Well, there's no life there." But a physicist will correct you. A physicist will point out that there is as much life in a stone as there is in a human being. While the stone may not be, or appear to be, animate to you¾it doesn't get up and walk around and move and talk and dance and perform¾the molecular structure of the stone is in a constant state of motion. The atoms, the electrons, the protons, neutrons, sub-atomic particles, the worlds within worlds that exist within a fraction of an ounce of a stone, are galaxies; they're fathomless. And who is to say that those atoms and those electrons don't have consciousness, don't have awareness, simply because we are not aware of their awareness? Yet are we not made up of the same thing? Are we not made up of galaxies of universes, of sub-atomic particles that whirl and whirl together to form a certain aggregate which we call a human being?
Everything has awareness. Simply because a person does not see that does not mean that awareness does not exist. It was only a hundred or two hundred years ago that human beings were unaware of bacteria and viruses and their effects. The plague would roll into town and devastate 90 percent of the population, and people would have no idea how or why. That which was invisible was the causative agent, the bacteria or the virus. Today, through the marvels of the microscope, we know about the existence of these things. So simply because we don't see something, we're not currently aware of it, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. In spiritual practice and in all learning, we have to constantly be open to vision and revision. We need to be able to see beyond the known, to expose ourselves to that which we are not familiar with.
At the same time, as new information and knowledge and data, new ways of seeing life enter our being, we must be able to push aside outmoded ideas, ways of thinking, ways of examining existence which we find are incomplete. Young children, of course, find this very easy to do because they don't have a lot of concepts and ideas. A child learns one, two or three languages very quickly. The child can accept technology because the child is not wrestling with conditioning. The child hasn't been programmed.
In spiritual practice we all become children again. We erase the tapes that were made before and we create new tapes. Any information that was valid we retain. But as we meditate, we explore the unseen. Meditation is the microscope, it's the telescope, it's the ultimate research tool. And we see that, just as there is a physical universe, so there are nonphysical universes, countless universes. Most human beings can't see them with their eyes. Well, most human beings couldn't detect the bacteria or the virus, which didn't suggest that these things didn't exist. Of course they did. These things had a tremendous effect on all human beings. Simply because one isn't aware of something does not mean that one is not affected by it.
So meditation enables us to see in new ways. When we're able to calm our minds and still our thoughts, we discover that we have other parts of our being, which enable us to perceive in alternate modalities. We have a facility to see into what we call the subtle physical universes. The subtle physical or astral universes, as they're popularly known, are like the sub-atomic worlds - unseen but active. These are the other dimensions which you enter into, of course, in dreaming.
In meditation we consciously experience the subtle physical worlds. We see that some subtle physical worlds are high and beautiful; their vibratory rate is much finer. Then there are lower subtle physical worlds, with a very slow vibratory rate. The physical world as we know it is somewhere in the middle. It's an access point, a joining of all vibratory fields. It's not the center of the universe, it's not the most important of the planes; it's another world in a succession of worlds, another dream in a succession of dreams.
Meditation unlocks the doorway that leads to immortality. In the subtle physical world there are beings who progress through incarnations just as the people do here in the physical world. But there's something that lies beyond the subtle physical worlds and the physical world. We call this eternity, nirvana. It's the ocean from which all the waves come forth. It's the ocean through which all the fish pass. It's the ocean which is the heart of life. This is God. How and whence it came from, who knows? Existence simply is. Our mind can run around in circles trying to understand it, but whether we understand it or not, that won't alter existence. It will be as it is and has been, whether we understand it or not. In meditation we come to understand existence. But there are no words for these expressions. Because in order to understand existence you must become it, you must experience it directly, firsthand for yourself.
When you meditate, you move beyond the realm of your awareness, the realm your awareness is focused in. If you focus exclusively on the physical world, this world, in time - your body, your emotions, your feelings, career, friends - if your attention is centered on that which happens from the moment of birth to the moment of death and the time in between, your attention is in the physical plane.
If you've meditated for some time in this life or other lifetimes and developed your facilities of seeing, you can perceive the astral worlds, which are less time oriented. And while you are in this physical world with your physical being, your astral being, your occult body, as we call it, is able to explore and have experiences in countless astral worlds.
But the deepest part of your being, your third body, is the body not of ether as is the astral being, the subtle being; nor is it a body of matter; nor is it the life force that animates these bodies, which we call the kundalini energy; but rather it is that which is the ocean, which is timeless, birthless, deathless and immortal, which all things arise from and all things return to. In higher meditation, in advanced meditation, we experience that, the superconscious. In introductory meditation and intermediate meditation we experience the astral. Our knowledge of the astral colors our understanding of the physical. Our knowledge of the superconscious, which we experience in advanced meditation and samadhi, colors our knowledge of everything.
So, with this as a basic cosmology, with the recognition that there is time, place and position in the physical world; that there's an astral world or countless worlds, subtle worlds that have their own conditions, that are not physical; other dimensions, which we also exist in since we have a part of our being that is nonphysical, that is etheric; and [that there is] the absolute reality, which is eternal awareness, nirvana, the ocean, which is our real essence, with this understanding we can begin to contemplate dharma.
Dharma is the truth. And there are three types of truth. There's the truth of the physical world; there's the truth of the subtle physical world, the astral world; and there's the truth of the superconscious. Truth means everything is in place. Everything fits.
Our understanding of truth will change as we change. Truth to most people means alignment. If the sun is out and I go outside and say to my friends, "The sun is out," then I have told the truth. I have seen what is and reported it accurately and fairly. I have been a mirror of what is. If I say to my friends, "The sun is no longer out," then I have lied. I am not properly mirroring what is. My mirror is bent out of shape. So in order to reflect truth, one must be a perfect mirror.
In meditation we clean the mirror of the self. The mirror of the self has been covered up with layer after layer of dust. And almost nothing reflects. The mirror in the physical world is not as delicate as the mirror in the subtle physical world. In order to perceive that which lies beyond the physical, we must first understand the physical. Then we can move into the subtle physical. As long as the first mirror is obscured, we will never see the second mirror, let alone the third mirror, which is eternity itself, which is both the mirror and that which we see in the mirror.
Each human being has a part of themselves that is a mirror, which reflects truth. They also have a conscious awareness, which tells them if they are being honest. And no one can ask more of you than to be honest. If you can be honest, then you've done all that you need to do.
If a person's attention is centered in the physical world and they're honest about their physical experiences, about position and place, if they tell the truth and if what they see as being right or perceive of is right, if that's what they do, then that's honesty, then they are living dharma. If a person's attention is in the subtle physical worlds, or mixed between the subtle physical and the physical worlds, they will perceive a different set of rules or truths. Not only will they know the truths of the physical world, but they'll know the deeper elements, higher truths. And if they follow those truths, they are following the dharma. If a person perceives the superconscious, if they merge with that, then they've gone a step further and they've become an extension of the truth.
The superconscious is the ultimate truth. It is God. When you can no longer separate yourself from God, when you've merged with God, then you no longer need to tell the truth, to think about the truth, or even to show others the truth. You are the truth. You are the way and the light.
When a person does not follow the dharma, when they deceive themselves, then they suffer. They're out of alignment. The mirror does not properly reflect what is. All suffering comes about because a person is not a perfect mirror. Now, when I say suffering, I don't mean suffering in the sense of physical pain. Physical pain is a transitory experience, as is pleasure, which occurs to the body in time. Pain is something that cannot be avoided. However, it can be lessened, and pain doesn't really have to hurt. There is always going to be a certain amount of pain and a certain amount of pleasure that the body will experience in the physical world. But this is neither here nor there. It's only important if all your attention is focused on the body. If your little toe is in pain and you focus all of your attention on it, then that little pain will become the entire world for you and all of life will be pain. If you ignore it and put your attention elsewhere, then you won't even notice.
However, the emotional pains exact more damage to a person. They're more problematic. The emotional pains come from attachment. When we're attached to something, when an emotion surges through us and if we listen to it and follow it, we experience pain. We desire something, we want something, something didn't work out, we get frustrated - we feel pain. We love someone, we fail ourselves, we fail others - we experience pain. There's always a certain amount of pain in loving.
If you wish to go beyond pain, the way is the superconscious. The only way you can completely end pain is to be absorbed in eternal awareness. When you are absorbed in eternal awareness, there is no sense of this world, a world in which there must always be some pain. There is no sense of pleasure, there is no time, there is no space and there is no condition. In the highest stratas of meditation, all of this falls away. You have merged with the superconscious, which is birthless, deathless and timeless. If a candle is held up to the sun, we don't see the candle, the flame cannot be distinguished. So all the pains and pleasures of this world, all the transitory frustrations, in the intense light of the superconscious are not seen. They exist, but like the fish underwater, they're unseen.
Meditation, then, is a conscious entrance into the superconscious awareness, until we are so immersed in it that we are basically unaware of this world. That's samadhi. When we say that someone is absorbed in nirvana, this is what we mean. You can't find them; they're no longer there. Oh, you may see the body, their body may still be here, but their spirit has departed and has merged with the cosmic all.
Dharma is following the truth. When you follow the truth you will see that there is a way beyond pain for your frustration and suffering. When you negate the truth, you create karma, what most people call bad karma. When you follow the truth, you create what they call good karma. Karma and dharma cannot be separated.
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means action. Most people think of karma as a cause and effect process. The idea is that whatever I do produces an effect of some type. This effect is karma. Ultimately this effect works its way around to me. So if I'm a good person and I help people, good things will come back to me. If I harm others, hurt others, if I don't follow the dharma, if I don't do what's right, then I create bad karma. The only way one can distinguish good karma from bad karma is through the dharma. Dharma is the line that separates good and bad karma. What they call adharma is bad karma; dharma is good karma.
Now good and bad only exist in the relative worlds. Notions of good and bad, evil and salvation, pleasure and pain, these are all what we call pairs of opposites. To the human dualistic consciousness, meaning the way you see things because there's a personal form, a personality, there appears to be opposition or complements. To a person who lives in this world, there is, of course, light and dark, sound and silence. But if we erase the person, if the person no longer exists, then there are no pairs of opposites, there's no sound and silence. If there's no one to perceive it, it's not there. This is absorption and meditation. What's there is absorption. So karma only exists in the worlds that are worlds, which have conditions. When a person is liberated, there is no karma, meaning that they have gone beyond the pairs of opposites. They are in the sun itself, they have become the sun, the candle flame is unnoticed. Karma becomes meaningless.
Most people think of karma in physical terms. I saved someone's life; someone will save my life. In a previous incarnation I did a lot of good things and now, in this incarnation, a lot of good things are happening to me. There is certainly a subtle cause and effect in the physical plane, but it really isn't specific to a person. That is to say, if you give a lot of money out, that doesn't mean a lot of money will come back to you. Or if it does, it won't occur because you physically gave money out and there was someone keeping a record somewhere, in the sky, noting what you did and then making sure that in the express mail the next day you received back what you gave out. That's not the way karma works.
Karma has to do with fields of attention. There is basically no physical karma, or we could say that all physical karma is an outgrowth of a field of attention. It works the same way, it's just that the causative principle is somewhat different. For example, let's say that a person, perhaps yourself, is walking down the street. And you see a small child who's lost. Now, if you help the child find their parents, doing this will place you in a different state of awareness because it's the dharma. It is the dharma in the world that we help one another, that life fosters life. That's a correct reflection in the mirror. We see ourselves as we really are. Whenever you do anything that's right, or that's dharma, then what will occur is that you will go up a level in the school of consciousness. The school of consciousness has thousands and millions of levels, and your consciousness is always climbing in and out and changing levels.
Most people's consciousness follows a relatively small spectrum. Let's say there are a million floors in the building. Well, you may be in the first hundred thousand, the second hundred thousand, the third hundred thousand, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth or tenth. There are ten levels, there are a hundred thousand gradations in each one, let's say. Now, in each lifetime you will be in a particular level, and most people will never leave that level. They will experience some of the hundred thousand gradations within that level, but it is unlikely that they will climb up to a higher level or drop down to a lower level. There's so much gradation, just within the level that they're in, that it's unlikely that they'll change. So there are different levels of attention or cosmic awareness. Whenever you approach the dharma, when you do something that is the dharma, when everything lines up, then you will raise up to a higher level of attention within your overall level. Whenever you do something that is not the dharma, the reflection is not clear, it's misshapen, and you will drop several levels.
Most people will rise and fall throughout their lifetime, again, within one level, within the gradations. As a matter of fact, over a course of many births and deaths, as their soul reincarnates from lifetime to lifetime, they will only rarely move to a different level. So you may have 50 or 100 lifetimes within the same basic level, experiencing the different gradations. Gradually the soul will work its way higher, but rarely does the soul go through a full transit. Rarely will the soul jump to an entirely new floor and experience all the variabilities and new gradations within that structure. I don't mean to confuse you with all this kind of rhetoric, but it helps you get a schematic understanding.
What I'm suggesting is that spiritual evolution is a relatively slow process, or let us say that it has a grace all of its own, but it's not as quick as many people might think it is. There's no rush, essentially, since there's nothing but time.
So then, what karma does, is it determines your level of attention, your field of awareness. Karma is not simply physical, it doesn't involve just your physical actions but also the thoughts that you think and the emotions that you become affixed to. All of these things determine what your state of awareness is. If you love and you're kind and you give of yourself, if you meditate, you'll develop a very pure consciousness and you'll always follow the dharma. You'll be able to see what's right and follow it. If you only follow the dharma, you only create good karma, then your level of attention will constantly rise. Of course, if you do the opposite, if you don't listen to your inner voice, if you hurt others, if you don't follow what the dharma is, if you practice adharma, then your consciousness will descend and you'll drop down.
All effects in this world are based upon vibratory forces. That is to say, the things that happen to you in the physical world and ultimately the things that happen to you in the subtle physical world, in the universes that have some form, all of these events are predicated upon the fields of attention. Think of it in terms of freeways. I'm driving down the 405 freeway to San Diego from Los Angeles; I will be able to experience what's on the 405 freeway. If there are signs on the road, I'll see them, the cars that are there, and so on. If I take the 10 East out to Palm Springs, of course I'll be on a different freeway. Instead of moving down along the ocean and experiencing what's between Los Angeles and San Diego, I will experience what's between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. I'll go through the mountain ranges and the desert, the high desert and so on. So our experiences are determined by the freeway that we're on. Now, while I'm on the freeway, I can think whatever thoughts I want and feel whatever feelings I want, but still, on a basic physical level, what will occur to me is predicated upon the freeway that I'm on.
Well, let's say that the overall levels of attention, those ten floors I was talking about before, or however many you'd like, are freeways. OK, I'm going to mix my metaphors here, so let's see if we can make a salad. And these freeways take you someplace and they go to different places. Now, while you're on the freeway, there are many possible experiences. Hopefully you'll have a smooth trip. You might hit another car, you might be hit by a car; you might have a conversation with a friend, you may drive alone. There are many variable possibilities, but all those variable possibilities are within one construct, which is the10 freeway or the 405 freeway.
Your karma determines what freeway you're on, your level of awareness. Your level of awareness is determined by the dharma that you followed, and you will draw to you experiences according to your level of attention. Whatever happens to you in this world happens to you not randomly, but because you have drawn it. That's what karma really is. Karma is not someone keeping a record book, saying you should have this experience because you did this to someone else. That has nothing to do with karma; that's a very pedestrian understanding of the workings of the universe. It all has to do with the vibratory fields of attention. If you're in a good, open state of consciousness, then you will draw certain things towards yourself. If you were not, if you were in a frustrated, depressed consciousness, then you will draw other things towards yourself. That's karma. Your karma determines the state of awareness. The state of awareness, then, will determine what happens to you. In other words, it all takes place inwardly.
Now, you are probably only aware of the freeway that you're on, and you think that everyone else is on the same freeway. But that's not the case. What I'm trying to suggest is that there are many freeways, and they go different places. One place is not better than another, they're simply different. However, eventually you can reach a point where the freeway ends and the ocean begins or you can ride the freeways forever. Rebirth, reincarnation, is just changing freeways. For a hundred lifetimes you'll ride the San Diego freeway, then for a hundred lifetimes you'll move to the 10 freeway, and so on. You'll gradually change.
It is possible within one lifetime to totally change levels of attention. That's my business and the business of spiritual teachers. I have about 900 or 1,000 students. Now, most of my students are on a specific level of attention. They're on a certain freeway. What I do is, in their lifetimes I work with them, try and have them rise up to the higher aspect of it. Back to our mixed metaphors, if there are ten floors in the building and there are a thousand gradations within each floor, what I try to do is, when I meet a person - perhaps they're in the lower ten gradations of the floor - I try to bring them up to the top ten. And to do this, to bring a person through a full level of attention in one lifetime, is a marvelous feat. If I can do that, or if I can do that in concourse with the individual, then perhaps it would have been a hundred or a thousand lifetimes in one. Instead of them having to take a thousand lifetimes to work their way through all this different stuff, we can do it in one incarnation, which means in their next lifetime they'll move into the next level of attention. It's easier for most people to have a major transition in levels of attention with death because it's hard to break out of their conditioning.
Occasionally I meet a person, hopefully yourself, who has enough drive and patience and a good enough sense of humor, who cares enough, who can within one lifetime not just change gradations, but change freeways. It is literally impossible to take someone who has just started incarnating, who is just on the most basic of all our floors in the building, and bring them from the first floor to the tenth floor in one lifetime.
In a sense, people who have just started, if they have any inclination towards spirituality, are easy to work with, because one of the things that holds you to a specific floor is what we call the samskaras. The samskaras are the past life tendencies, conditioning. You've taken that 405 freeway from San Diego to L.A. for a hundred lifetimes now. You're so used to it that you don't really want to leave it. It's hard for you to even conceive of the fact that there's another freeway, you've built up such a pattern. So the samskaras are the ways we see existence. You're so used to believing that the world is physical, that there's life, that there's death, and so on; you're so used to seeing things in a certain way; you've done that for so many lifetimes that it's very difficult for you to have a total transit, a complete transition to another floor.
A person who's in their very early incarnations will find it easier to make that transit because they don't have all that conditioning. Someone who is in their first five or ten incarnations has almost no conditioning at all. So it's very easy, if they were to work with an advanced spiritual teacher, to move very quickly. But usually such a person is not interested in self-discovery. Their level of attention is like that of an infant. It's very, very basic. They're not drawn to the higher life. It's only usually after thousands of lifetimes that a person will begin to become interested in self-discovery.
So your progress in the process of reincarnation, or within a given lifetime or within a given moment, is dependent upon dharma. Dharma is correctly reflecting what is true, being a good mirror. When you follow dharma, this arbitrary line, then you will create good karma. Good karma means that your own consciousness will expand. And as your consciousness expands, it will bring you into a different level of attention. You'll be on a different freeway. On that different freeway, there will be different experiences. If you don't practice dharma, if you practice adharma, if you do what is untrue, if you don't do what is right, if you don't follow the will of your soul, if you don't do all that you are capable of doing, then you will drop down to another freeway, one that's not quite as nice. And you'll have a different set of experiences there.
Then there is that which is, of course, beyond the freeway - the ocean, the desert, the sky and eventually we want to get out of the car and move to another level of experience. We go back and forth, actually, we go up in the sky for a while, then we find ourself on the freeways of existence. But even when you're on the freeway of existence, if you're enlightened, you'll still be in the sky. You can sort of do both at once.
How do you finally get off the map? What is this thing that finally breaks you through? Because you see, the problem with karma is that, let's say you create nothing but good karma. The good karma will raise your level of attention. You'll go higher and higher and higher. But even then you're bound by it. You can be stuck in your own goodness, which doesn't mean that you should go off and practice untruths. How can you break out of that? Because even the best freeway is still a freeway. Even the best level is still a level. Well, that's the tricky part.
In order to even ask that question, of course, or to understand the answer, you need to be at the top level of attention. You need to have practiced self-discovery for many lifetimes, have thrown off your conditioning; you need to meditate impeccably and be pure of heart completely. When your motives are spotless, when you will not be swayed by that which is untrue, then you are ready for the final stages of the reincarnation process, to go beyond karma itself, and to no longer practice dharma but to be it.
Don't judge the purity of your heart by what you think or the emotions you feel or even, to some extent, by the actions that you perform. Sometimes certain parts of our being are still working out transitory desires. In other words, don't be too judgmental of yourself. Don't say, "Well, gosh, because I do this or don't do that, that means I'm not very evolved," and so on. The purity of your heart and the level of your soul's evolution inwardly is not necessarily in harmony with your body and your mind and your emotions. What will tell the story is not what you think or feel, but how you live.
You may wake up in the morning and meditate, and then after meditation have a lot of terrible thoughts. You may get depressed or discouraged or frustrated. You may get angry at someone. The sign of spiritual evolution is not that these things don't pass through you. The sign of spiritual evolution is that you don't follow them. That even though, suddenly, hate is surging through you, although actually you don't hate anymore after a while, but let's say some very strong emotion is passing through you, the sign is that you are not affected by it. You won't follow it. Suddenly I'm angry at my friend. But that anger will never go anyplace. I'll step out of the way. I won't get on that particular train. So don't feel because you have moods or desires that you're not necessarily an evolved being. The test, of course, is whether you follow dharma.
The dharma is, for an advanced spiritual seeker, to remain unaffected. If you were depressed for a long period of time, it won't bother you. If you're elated, it won't bother you. Because you're not looking at these things, you're not looking at the candle flame, you're looking at the sun. These are of little or no consequence. What you do physically, what you think, what you feel, is of very little consequence, if your attention is absorbed in eternity. It doesn't really matter how your toe is feeling today. It's your overall awareness. While the toe does contribute to that, if your awareness is strong enough, it really doesn't matter. This is the higher dharma.
So don't be too concerned about what you see, do or feel. Don't worry about yourself so much. As you fixate upon your body, as you fixate upon your mind and your emotions, then you lock onto them, you become attached to them, and then you're on those freeways and you're stuck. You must experience what's there. Some freeways are nicer than others but they're all freeways. You can do a lot of driving.
Or you can go beyond all such relative states and conditions. To do that you need to focus your attention only on God - God beyond the world and God within the world, God beyond people and God within people. You need to care about, in other words, nothing but light. You can be very active in this world, working, participating in society and relationships; you can do all of those things and not be bound by them. But in order to do that, you have to think and feel and care about nothing but light and the spreading of light.
In past ages there was renunciation. The way out was to leave it all behind, leave the kids, leave the wife, leave the husband and just go up in the hills and meditate. The idea was that it was easier to break your fixation with these things if you weren't around them. True, you still carried the attachments with you, yes. But sometimes it's easier to break an attachment, an addiction, when you're not around it. If you're an alcoholic, it's very hard, if you're in a bar, to not drink. If you're away from liquor, it's easier. Then eventually, if you overcome that particular inclination, then you can go to a bar and have a glass of milk and not be affected. But initially it's easier to break with separation.
So in the olden times, in other cycles, in the previous three cycles of existence, in this particular creation, there was more renunciation. However, in this cycle renunciation is not the way. In this fourth section of the creation, the final one, the way is to live in the world but to be unaffected, be unattached. It's actually been that way really in almost the last two [cycles].
That's why I say it really doesn't matter whether you have relationships, whether you're celibate or not, whether you work, whether you make a lot of money, whether you're famous, whether you're infamous - these things don't matter. Now, the only reason I can say that to you, as a spiritual teacher, as a spiritual master, is with the assumption that they don't matter because your attention is fully engrossed in the consciousness of eternity. Therefore these things have little effect. They have a tremendous effect if your consciousness is not absorbed in eternity.
I'm suggesting that there are two ways to look at it. One way, in terms of self-realization, is that everything counts a great deal. The condition of your body, the condition of your mind, the types of emotions you feel, everything counts. Another way is that these things are relatively unimportant. This is what we call tantra. The pairs of opposites are relatively unimportant. What matters is something larger, a bigger picture.
Now, to get to that bigger picture, it's kind of a catch-22. You have to work your way through the levels to some extent. It does matter what you think and feel, how your body feels. But then eventually we go beyond it all - beyond light, beyond darkness, beyond karma and dharma - to absorption. When you're fully absorbed, which is an enlightened person, it really doesn't matter what you do anymore.
This is what the Zen masters always had fun with and used to confuse the heck out of the local people. You know, the Zen master would come into town and break all the rules. But he wasn't breaking the rules. There were no rules. Once he reached the top floor and beyond, once he was absorbed in eternity, then it didn't really matter what he did in the sense that he was no longer affected by it. He wasn't even that conscious of what he was doing, his consciousness was so absorbed in eternity, he was so drunk with immortality, that what he did or said no longer created that much of an effect on his consciousness. However, for a person who has not attained that level, who is still bound by karma, karma hurts or karma liberates. But for a person who's gone beyond all of that, it doesn't matter. You're no longer affected by the gravitational pull. Someone might observe your body and say that it is, but from your point of view you don't have a body anymore. Your body is light.
Think of karma, then, not as action. Action is a result of karma, not the other way around. That is to say, what you do is determined by your awareness, and as your awareness changes, what you do will change. Your awareness is karma. Your awareness is created not by what you do but by how you are. If you meditate, if your heart is open, if you think of nothing but eternity or as much as you can, if that's your concern, then your spirit opens, it evolves. You change freeways.
It is possible, if your attention is pure, if you care for nothing but light and truth, to not just change within a level but to change full levels, to go all the way to enlightenment in a lifetime - again, not from the very beginning, but from quite a ways. If you work with an enlightened teacher and if you care for nothing but truth, you can do this. Such people are rare. I keep looking. But such people are rare. It can be done, but it's not a strain when you do it. It's a natural inclination. It's fun. That's going beyond karma and going beyond the lower dharma, which is right or wrong.
The lower dharma - there's left and right, right or wrong, good and bad, and there are these things. There are laws in countries that must be followed. But then there's something beyond all of that. We tear the picture away and we find that there was something else on the other side. And that's the higher dharma, which of course there are no words for. That's what you will become engrossed in, in the superconscious.
Blog entry
9 May 2012 - 11:24am
I was woken before 5am this morning and told I was to go into meditation to vision, I was to see something. That something was a someone.
It was this man, but he was sitting. I was brought to him. The colours around this part of my vision were orange and red. What I saw was something that he appeared to be sculpting, holding in his hands and it was a tree, a smaller one because it fit inside his hand. And he placed this tree on top of a hill. There was an urgency with this vision because my elbow was also grasped like someone does when they hold on to you for steadying or to guide you. I felt my right cheek touched an awful lot but it was so very gentle and very loving, like a father might do with a child. What I also saw was the letters Li. I saw no jewellery just colours and tunnels that led me to certain additions to the vision.
I also was in the company of Chuang Tzu. I have learned he was the chief disciple. It was his moustache and high forehead. and the pictures that I have looked at to try and find the closest match is this man. The colour surrounding this part of my vision was green.
Not a big vision but one that is most worthy. I have already looked what Li means and its plum, family name of Lao Tze. I know I have more to learn from this. I am permitted to share this. I know there will be a few here that will have something to offer that follow Lao Tze. All of what I see is a surprise, but I never expected a visit from this Dear Old Sage. Besides a few quotes, I have never felt a calling to visit what he teaches. He now has my interest.
Blessings,
Blog entry
22 Apr 2012 - 5:22pm
This Is My Future
There is a lot of talk, and worry, about 2012 and the coming changes.I've read about it, and watched videos, and done some research; there are a lot of theories. They're all terrifying. A comet will swoop near Earth, the poles will shift and there will be earthquakes and fire storms, tsunamis and floods; World War III will erupt and nuclear weapons will be dropped; 90% of the population will die.
Learning this, I've sometimes felt hopeless. Why should I continue my projects to better the world if in 7 or 8 months none of it will be here? How will I ever be spiritually good enough to be included in the 10% that survives. Or what if I am spiritually good enough, but I still don't make it?
It is paralyzing, even in those moments when I am content with all things, when the future is non-consequential. Even in moments of bliss it is terrifying, because I fear for those people I may lose; my compassion feels the pain of everyone on this planet who might have to experience such distruction. What good is it to have such stories? So the beginning light worker can be feared into working quickly, that they might survive? What good is it to have 90% of the planet die? So we can detach from our friends and family, or overcome the current power structure without actually DOING anything? Oh, the comet will take care of THEM, those evil people. Where is the love in any of these stories? How can a story of a new age be true without love?
I don't want to stop working on the current Earth systems. I don't want them to be destroyed. I don't want 90% of people to die. I want to keep shining light. I want to keep learning love. We all want love, and in my future that is what we will have. It will go something like this:
There is no comet or Planet-X heading towards Earth. If we witness such, it is a hologram. Some wish us fear. There will be no World War III, the current powers have lost too much leverage. The electro-magnetic poles of the planet WILL shift, but this will not cause global disaster - why should it? The poles are unstable now, with north and south being every which way, but there is no monster cataclysm? We will have a successful shift, and we will barely notice the changes in our day to day lives, similar to how we barely notice them now.
The wobble of the Earth WILL point towards the center of the universe, and new energies and genetic mutations will take place. Earth will evolve. The planet will continue to grow in love. Children of higher levels of evolution will continue to be born, and incarnation will be blocked to those of lower evolution.
Pollution, and PCBs, will make more of the population infertile, and this, coupled with a new, global interest in education and care for the poor, will decrease the population of the planet in a gentle and loving way. What children are born will either be born to spiritual parents, or be incredibly spiritual themselves.
Economic and political systems will continue to drain power from the current elite, and this leverage will switch to new, spiritual leaders who will not be greedy and exploitative.
New technology and spiritual abilities will allow us to protect the Earth and clean up the environment. New energy systems and healing energies will restore the planet, and further damage will stop as the old structures deteriorate from our planetary consciousness.
In this way, the transition to the age of Aquarius will be peaceful and loving, allowing even those souls of the lowest evolution to embrace love on Earth, giving them a chance, while simultaneously dealing with all the problems we now face. No one has to hurt or die. We do not need mass destruction. Pain does not have to be part of the lesson. A true light worker would make love part of the lesson.
Any story of the future that makes you feel afraid, or that shows the coming future as highly exclusive (only the spiritual will survive), I choose not to believe. I think this is a spiritual tactic employed by the current, devolved elite to keep people from helping each other, from following spirituality, from having faith or hope for the future. It encourages us to sit around and wait, or it makes us afraid and doubtful, and we make plans to survive the cataclysms instead of making plans to help the spiritually deprived in this moment. If their goal is to hold us back spiritually, stories of fear and exclusivity are the best strategy. We are not their slaves, and we know the future will be one of unconditional love! THERE IS NO FEAR!
This is the future I will experience. If I die in a flood, then the next 7 to 8 months I will have at least gotten to experience MY future of unconditional love. I will not stop working for a "doomed world". I will not stop my spiritual practice, nor will I try to race to the finish line in hopes I can make the December cut off. I will keep working, knowing that this transition will not happen in 3 days as the Earth stops spinning, but in a 100 years as the souls on this planet become more true to themselves. It is up to us, not natural or manmade disaster, to evolve.
I will not be made to fear. I will not to be made to feel excluded or isolated from Earth's loving future.
I write this not to discuss our future, but to put this concept, as best I can, into the collective consciousness. If you do not agree, please do NOT comment. Negativity will serve no one. Please just disregard what I have written. If you do agree, bless you for creating with me a future of unconditional love, rather than a future created from the perceptions of a devolved past. A past with visions, like raging comets, no longer serves us. A new era means new visions of the future. Our work will be payment enough for the "mistakes of humanity". Our love, not mass destruction, will correct our ways.
May the flower of life be upon you.
P.S. If 2012 comes and goes and nothing will happen, then it will discredit the new age community, making it only that much harder to share other lessons.
Blog entry
19 Apr 2012 - 8:05am
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
Confucius
Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.
Confucius
An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.
Confucius
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
Confucius
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience,
which is the bitterest.
Confucius
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius
Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors
depend upon heaven.
Confucius
Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.
Confucius
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucius
Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.
Confucius
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ o O o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teaching
15 Apr 2012 - 10:46am
What Do We Mean by “Body-Mind-Soul-Spirit”?
by Timothy Conway, Ph.D.
www.enlightened-spirituality.org
It is now becoming something of a cliché in various circles of modern life—from religion to psychology to holistic medicine—to use the nifty phrase “body-mind-soul” or “body-mind-spirit” when referring to our totality as a human being.
But what do we mean by this phrase? What is the “body”? What is the “mind”? What is “soul”? And what is “spirit”? If we are not careful, each of these words can be used so glibly that the wondrous reality denoted by each term is ignored and neglected.
I submit that we need a much fresher, deeper understanding of each component of our totality so as to help us awaken from the somnambulist trance of ordinary, unenlightened consciousness —lest we all fall into a limbo of mediocrity.
Let’s start with this aspect of ourselves we call “the body.” From the usual viewpoint, the body is this fleshy, bony “thing” that we awaken to each morning. We wash it and brush its teeth, we walk, drag or drive it around through the day to the various places we need to go, we (hopefully) give it adequate exercise, we shovel (hopefully) healthy food and liquids into it, we let it relieve itself of accumulated wastes. We might allow it various forms of pleasure (ranging from nature walks to ecstatic dancing to massages and other delights, depending on one’s fancies). Finally, we lay it down to rest at night in sleep. For too many doctors, the body is coldly viewed as merely a biochemical machine, needing to be fixed when it breaks down (usually by pumping drugs into it or invading it with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation—such interventions often quite helpful, even life-saving, but also far too often an inappropriate way of dealing with the roots of the problems). From a mercenary point of view, the body is just a skinbag of water (comprising two-thirds of the body), plus carbon, calcium and other materials, with an overall cash value of about $8.
But now, from a more “up close” biological viewpoint, the body is this utterly marvelous, living assemblage of exquisite organ systems, whose simultaneous, relatively-smooth functioning is a major miracle. Consider this: what is the fantastic Power that fertilized a pinpoint-sized egg cell in mama’s womb and grew it for nine months into a fetus—unfolding 10,000 generations of genetic memory, and differentiating this single little cell into various kinds of cells such as muscle cells, nerve cells, blood cells, and so forth? What is the Intelligent Power that then brought this organism from the womb into the world, since which time it has grown from infancy into childhood into its present adult form of about five or six feet tall, comprised of some 75 trillion cells for the average body (155 pounds)? Incidentally, the configuration of these approximately 75 trillion cells is rather unusual: only about 3.4 trillion cells are tissue cells, and another 31.5 trillion cells are native non-tissue cells, mainly in the form of erythrocyte red blood cells (~28.5 trillion), plus platelet cells, white blood cells, lymphocytes, macrophages, and other reticuloendothelial cells. Beyond all these native cells, our bodies contain, on average, about 40 trillion foreign cells, mostly bacteria in our colon. As scientists like Robert Krulwich have pointed out, "there are more bacteria in you than there is 'you' in you.... Aliens from outer space might conclude that humans are just one big chain of microbe hotels."
Each of our native cells is on average 1/1000th inch in diameter, ranging from tiny platelets and red blood cells to much larger neurons, some of which are huge. Each of these cells is awash in a sea of water inside and outside, with a miraculous membrane of phospholipids. Each cell is made of a number of atoms equalling approximately 10 to the 27th power--one thousand million million million million! Each cell makes some 2,000 proteins per second—and, given that each protein is comprised of a few hundred amino acids—we see that each cell is selecting 500,000 amino acids per second, organizing them, joining them, checking them, and shipping them.
And of the various kinds of cells, consider the electrically excitable nerve cells or neurons, the core components of our brains, spinal cords, and peripheral nerves. Running through the body are a million miles of nerves (each made of vast numbers of neurons), a total length 40 times the circumference of the earth. Some 200 billion neurons are found transmitting information in our central and peripheral nervous systems. The brain alone has ~100 billion neurons. Our body's neurons mostly process information either in an outgoing or incoming direction, with many neurons in the brain functioning interneuronally in both directions. Each neuron has from 1 to over 1,000 dendrite "branches" and axon protrusions culminating in synapses, across which "synaptic gap" flow a variety of neurotransmitter chemicals to the receptors of other neurons. (We have up to 500 trillion connecting synapses in our central and peripheral nervous systems.) These neurons and their neurotransmitter chemicals allow us, along with the mystery of consciousness (see below), to receive various sensations(sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile and kinesthetic sensations, sense of balance, etc.), build up perceptions out of these sensations, experienceemotions, make value judgments, think thoughts, contemplate plans, store and retrieve memories, and enact motor behaviors with the body.
On another level of the body, what is this Intelligent Power that is right now beating my heart, pumping blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels (roughly 55 million gallons pumped in a lifetime), oxygenating tissues, growing hair, digesting food (despite the “junky” food one might choose), eliminating wastes, managing the 22 internal organs, growing/renewing 600+ muscles and 206 bones, operating the lymphatic system, and so onad gloriam Dei?
Biologists, chemists and physicists know that this wondrous body is composed of, as mentioned, some 75 trillion cells, each in turn composed of various molecular substances such as DNA and RNA which, in turn, are composed of zillions of atoms (circa 10 to the 27th power) which are composed of countless subatomic “particles” which need to be more accurately designated “wavicles” because they are mysteriously bothdiscrete and also diffused in spacetime (defying all Western logic). Moreover, modern physics has shown us over this last century that the atoms which constitute our bodies are largely (99.9999999999999%) composed of empty space! On the bodily, physical level, we are a play of light, more akin to dreamlike no-things than “solid somethings.”
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Turning to that aspect of ourselves we call “the mind,” we find the psyche actually ranges from “lower mind” computational functions all the way through the “higher mind” function we might call the “soul.” The former, which can be categorized as the “normal mind,” consists in 1) perceptions which organize raw bodily sensations due to various kinds of bio-electro-magnetic vibrations into familiar entities such as recognizable colors, sounds, tactile and kinesthetic sensation, smells and tastes, movements, processes, places, objects, persons, etc.; 2) scanning for relevant, meaningful data in one’s environment or within one’s own memory banks or reservoir of knowledge; 3) value judgments and emotional reactions—the former basically dividing good-bad, appropriate-inappropriate, the latter dividing into emotional charges associated with like and dislike, attachments and aversions, and all the permutations thereof: joy, elation, euphoria, delight, fear, anger, shame, guilt, envy, jealousy, trauma, shock; 4) memories of a constructed past; 5) anticipations of an expected future; 6) abstract “philosophical” concepts about the world and the meaning of certain events; 7) linguistic mental processing structured by grammar and syntax, deployed either to speak or understand speech; 8) mathematical mental processing; 9) dreaming, daydreaming, fantasizing, modeling, planning or creative “channeling” of new ideas.
Associated with both the lower mind and higher mind (see below) are some rather wondrous, "extraordinarily ordinary" powers of consciousness that most folks simply take for granted. For instance:
• Neuroscientists (psycho-physiologists) are entirely unable to satisfactorily account for the subjective, “phenomenological” experience of seeing color, hearing sound and music, and feeling emotional states such as “love,” “happiness,” “sadness”—merely in terms of neuronal processes in the brain. Such physiological states can be correlated with these subjective experiences, but descriptions of physiological events cannot adequately account for the extremely vivid immediacy and emotional richness of these “noetic” experiences. This phenomenon—better to say “noumenon”—fascinated the eminent Canadian brain surgeon Wilder Penfield, who raised these philosophical issues back in the 1970s, issues that have never been adequately accounted for by neuroscientists, asserts a contemporary philosopher of science and consciousness, David Chalmers.
• Notice how mysterious it is that efferent impulses are initiated and enacted, such as suddenly having the mental idea, “I am going to move my left hand,” and then executing this as an actual physical movement of the hand in a feat of, literally, “mind over matter.” The late Roger Sperry and Sir John Eccles, Nobel laureates and fathers of the modern field of neuroscience, always reminded their reductionist colleagues in the field (from Francis Crick to Daniel Dennett, et al.) that we don’t have a clue how such efferent impulses are launched in the “silent area” of the neo-cortex. There is simply no satisfactory way of explaining these initiatory mental events in physiological terms. Again, there may be neuronal correlates for these mental events, but it is foolish to claim that the brain matter itself launches the efferent impulses.
• Notice the strange, wondrous ability to switch attention from one sensory or cognitive input to another. For example, you can switch your auditory focus from one sound to another sound. This is the “cocktail party phenomenon”: you can inwardly “elect” to listen to one conversation over another and then switch back and forth if you choose. Or notice how you are able to switch your kinesthetic focus from one body sensation to another, say, from sensations in your left hand to those in your right hand. Such subjective switching occurs through a mysterious inner “attuning” process whereby you suddenly isolate one input as “figure” while all the other massive sensory information instantly becomes “background.” But precisely how do you do this? No neuroscientist has the faintest clue how you initiate these changes, though scientists can observe with their PET-scan technology various parts of the brain lighting up when you do this.
• The multi-faceted phenomenon of memory continues to be quite mysterious in important aspects of both storage and retrieval, for both short-term “working” memory and long-term memory. For instance, despite recent findings that regions of the bilateral parahippocampal cortex and pre-frontal cortex are involved in encoding sensations, experiences and ideas into lasting memory, no one “knows yet what prompts the greater mental activity that seems to cement something in memory. We don’t know the source of those small differences in neural activity,” as one science journalist has observed.
• Witness the positive and negative effects that mental visualizations and intentions can have on biochemical processes in the human body, especially neuropeptides and the immune system. This anomaly has ushered in an entire field, psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI; also known as “mind-body medicine.” This is, truly, another form of “mind over matter.”
• Most recently it has become clear that our minds are synchronized, with brain cells flickering in time with a regular electrical oscillation or gamma wave, occurring among widely dispersed neuron cells throughout the brain with no apparent spatial pattern, and much too rapidly to be explained by far slower neurochemical reactions. Moreover, these gamma waves issue from each neuron's supposed "inputs," not its output areas, and there are inter-neuronal interconnections among these gamma-producing "inputs/outputs," suggesting the existence of an altogether different set of neuronal networks than our longstanding brain maps show; hence, current brain maps cannot explain consciousness. Finally, as Stuart Hameroff argues, trillions of computations per second are occurring in the extensive circuitry of the micro-tubule "scaffolding" that underpins each neuron, meaning that the brain's processing speed is likely 10 to the 28th power operations per second, fully a trillion times faster than is generally thought.
• The bottom line is that almost nothing is known about how our brains “produce” consciousness. The idea that neuroscientists are just several years away from explaining consciousness in terms of material brain processes, or anywhere close to creating “self-aware” or even just “sentient” robots through a successful Artificial Intelligence (AI) program-- is utter fantasy.
(Note: the above section on powers of consciousness is adapted and excerpted from my larger essay on Consciousness, posted at the Science & Spirituality section of this website; see that original article for more anomalies and for endnote references.)
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Now, there is a “higher-mind” or what might be called the psychic “soul” aspect to our personality or consciousness which deserves to be distinguished out from the “normal” or “lower” mind. Some of this entails simply going more deeply into aforementioned aspects of certain normal mind functions, such as delving so deeply into memories that, with or without the aid of hypnosis, one taps into full-blown past-life memories. Or else going so deeply with certain kind of creative visualization and/or creative channeling that one begins to access information from paranormalpsi sources in what has been termed ESP or extra-sensory perception. This can take the form of remote viewing (“seeing” distant places, without the use of eyeballs and normal light-refraction off visible objects), telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition (“knowing aspects of the future”), retrocognition (“knowing aspects of the past”), discernment of discarnate “subtle-plane” personalities (ancestors, ghosts, devas, spirit guides), etc.
At this higher-mind or psychic level it becomes obvious that we are each more than just a distinct, discrete “bodymind”—rather, we are soul personalities that evidently don’t ever die and can have access to states of “nonlocal consciousness” that deliver paranormal forms of information about other places on earth, other planets, other (subtler) planes or realms of being, other time-periods for these locales, and so forth. And, along with this paranormal power of knowing or information-collecting can come paranormal powers of doing such as healing and remotely influencing beings, objects, the weather, destiny—either for the better or worse. This last area, of course, is the domain of white magic or black magic.
As souls, we are capable of a much wider array of experiences than when we are identified merely with bodily and (lower) mental aspects of being. We can associate with multiple levels of manifestation, from the earth planes to the highest heavens, and all kinds of subtle realms in between—pleasant or unpleasant.
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Beyond the dynamics and manifestation of body-mind-soul is Spirit or Open Awareness. If we are to use the word carefully and strictly in a meaningful way, in line with what so much of the Perennial Wisdom “Great Traditions” would suggest, we can say that Spirit is the domain of authentic spirituality, beyond mind and magic, beyond space-time, beyond structure and parts, beyond energies, no matter how subtle, celestial or heavenly, and beyond any form of egocentricity or selfishness.
The various Perennial Wisdom Traditions would say that Spirit is none other than the God-Self, Absolute Awareness, Transpersonal Consciousness,Atman-Brahman (Self-Reality), Buddhata (Buddha-nature), Shunyata(Openness-Emptiness), Dharmakaya (Truth Body), Tao (Source/Way),Purusha (Divine Person). This is the Divine Self-Nature, the “I Am That Am,” sheer Isness-Aliveness-Awareness, what Hindu Vedanta tradition calls Absolute Being-Awareness-Bliss (Sat-Cit-Ananda), what Jewish mysticism terms the Ain Sof (Ein Soph, Boundless Divine No-thing), what Muslim Sufi mystics call al-Haqq (the Divine Truth) or Dhat (Absolute Essence).
Being truly Absolute, nondual or non-relative, there is only one Spirit or Awareness here, Infinite and Eternal. This is the One Spirit that wondrously, magnificently conjures up the cosmic play of multiple phenomena, the one Spirit that dreams this Divine Dream of a universe. This Spirit, in truth, is the One Actor playing all the “soul-roles,” the One Self displaying as all selves, the One Being manifesting in the disguise of all beings.
In sum, while there are many souls, there is only this one, nondual Self or Spirit or Divine Reality, call this whatever you wish.
That this God-Self or Buddha-Nature can emanate a world of such endless variety—from the subatomic quarks to the periodic table of chemical elements to complex molecules to living cells to large cell-clusters-in-the-form-of-organs to the bodies composed thereof (from worms to whales to humans) to the various conscious minds and souls associated with these bodies—what a wonder! What a fantastic, amazing wonder!
Let all body-mind-souls praise this single, nondual God-Self from Whom all blessings flow and from Whom all beautiful and bewildering manifestations emanate. Allelujah! Alhamdulillah! Jaya Jagadeesha Hare!
Teaching
14 Apr 2012 - 11:41am
Nondual Spirituality or Mystical Advaita
by, Timothy Conway
www.enlightened-spirituality.org
Reviewing the history of our sacred traditions, it's clear that nondual spirituality is the most authentic, deepest form of mystical religion. Nonduality holds that ultimately there is only this One Divine Reality (call this God, Brahman, Atma-Self, Buddha-Nature, Tao, Spirit, Awareness-Isness-Aliveness or whatever you like), with no fundamental, essential separation between God-and-world, God-and-soul, soul-and-world, or soul-and-soul.
There is only THIS REALITY, formless, shapeless, colorless, soundless, stateless, YET paradoxically and simultaneously PLAYING AS all forms, shapes, colors, sounds and states of the myriad worlds and gazillions of beings populating these worlds.
This Unborn, Infinite-Eternal Divine Reality is in fact YOUR REAL SELF and EVERYONE'S REAL SELF... the True Self of all selves.... Right HERE (closer than the mind, closer than the eyeballs, closer than close) and right NOW (before one can even think about THIS Self). You cannot and need not make an object, a perceptible or knowable "thing" out of THIS FORMLESS SELF, just as the fingertip need not touch itself and the eyeball need not see itself to function splendidly. You simply and non-objectively ARE the Nondual Self, no need to make an object-like "thing" out of your essential "no-thing-ness" Nature as the Source of all things, beings, processes. You are Open, Absolute Awareness.
On the relative, functional, pragmatic level, we make useful "dualistic" distinctions between you and i, him and her, helpful and harmful, justice and injustice, etc., but on the absolute level of WHAT REALLY IS, realized through the most sublimely profound Divine Intuition (our authentic Knowing-by-Being), we find no dualism, separation or alienation, only THIS ONE (NONDUAL) REALITY.
This Absolute Being or Open Awareness has no "rival reality" that can compete or interfere with or occlude This Supreme Truth... so, to repeat, this Reality is YOUR TRUE REALITY right HERE, right NOW. Even the so-called "ego-mind" cannot interfere with or diminish WHAT YOU ALWAYS ARE: the Open Awareness, Changeless Isness or Groundless Ground in which everything happens—minds, bodies, worlds.
Hence, anyone who sincerely explores the timeless self-inquiry, "Who am I?" or "What are we?"—will discover the unspeakable wonder and beauty of Who is really here and What we really are: infinite Spirit poignantly including and permeating (not trapped inside) a finite body-mind-soul or personality. Our Real Nature is Unlimited Being manifesting the "dream" of limited experience as a human being.
By Divine Grace, we find, as all true mystics worldwide have found in opening up to nondual spirituality, that Pure Awareness or Spirit, prior to the rise of the egocentric "me," is the supra-personal or transpersonal One transcending yet permeating this personality. This is to awaken from the plight of selfishness to the Reality of Self-Fullness. It is to "lose one's life" for Eternal Life, as Jesus invited. Or, as Paul said, to know that "in Him [this Divine "I Am That Am" Self] everyone lives, moves and has their being."
In short, THIS One Reality, Self or Awareness is Who we really ARE, and Who everyone really IS. In the Divine Party of One Pure Bliss, we love, cherish and celebrate this transcendent Single Self imminently within all selves.
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Humanity's most ancient wisdom text is the Brihadâranyaka Upanishad, the "Great Forest Secret Teaching." This remarkable Sanskrit oral scripture from nearly 3,000 years ago in northern India, the first of hundreds of Upanishads and other wisdom texts, was the first scripture ever to clearly reveal the great Divine Truth of nondual spirituality:
"The Âtman (Absolute Self) alone is to be meditated upon, for in It all are one… By It one knows all this…. Whoever knows thus, 'I am Brahman/Reality' becomes this all. Even the gods cannot prevent his becoming thus, for he becomes their Self…. This Divine Self is a world for all beings—gods, seers, ancestors, humans, livestock, and tinier creatures…. All the vital breaths/energies, all worlds, all gods, and all beings spring from this Âtman. Its inner meaning (upanishad) is 'the Real behind the real, or Truth of truth.'… When there is some other thing, then one can see the other, smell… taste… greet… hear… ponder… touch… perceive the other. [But in Self-realization] one becomes the single ocean, the nondual Seer. This is the Brahman Reality…. This is the highest goal, the highest treasure, the highest world, the greatest bliss…. A verse says: 'When all desires dwelling in the heart are banished, then a mortal becomes immortal; he becomes Brahman here (in this life).'… Knowing that immortal Brahman, I am immortal. Those who know the life behind breathing, the eye behind seeing, the ear behind hearing, the mind behind thinking, have realized the ancient, primordial Brahman. With the (intuitive) mind alone must one realize It. In It there's no diversity; one goes from death to death seeing diversity in It. This un-showable, constant Being can be realized as One only. The Self is taintless, beyond space, unborn, vast, and immovable. Let a wise aspirant directly realize this insight, not just reflect on tiresome words."
The eminent sage Shankara, who revived India's advaita (nondual) Vedanta movement around 650-700 C.E., shown here with his fellow itinerant disciples. The caption quotes a famous line by Shankara: "I will say in half a verse what is said in millions of scriptures: Brahman (Absolute Reality) is the Truth; / the world is unreal. / The individual soul is truly Brahman and nothing else" (Brahma satyam, jagan mithya, jivo brahmaiva na parah). Elsewhere, Shankara would sometimes repeat the ancient Chandogya Upanishad utterance (iii.14.1), "Brahman is all this (manifest worlds and beings)" (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma) and he clarified that "world as world is unreal; world as Brahman is real."
At this section on Nondual Spirituality, you can read several short and longer papers on the essence of authentic God-Self Realization by Timothy Conway (a mere figure in this Divine dream, pointing back to our Divine Source), who has been freely and effectively sharing the way of nondual spirituality since 1980. Also found at this webpage are links to high quality pages on several exemplary nondual sages like Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Dadaji, Jnanesvar, Bankei, and Douglas Harding.
Nondual spirituality reveals a truly "foundational" Absolute Reality that explodes the post-modernist claim dominating our colleges, universities and halls of academia (and castigated by Huston Smith, Robert Forman, and Ken Wilber), the claim that there is no such Reality, only "cultural conditioning," "wishful thinking," and "language games."
Here we would also briefly mention the serious limitations of the controversial "neo-advaita"or "neo-satsang" movement that has infiltrated much of the USA, Europe, Australia and India the last dozen years (now called "pseudo-advaita" by some persons formerly hailing the advent of neo-advaita). We will have more to say about this in some of the essays linked much further below.
Neo-advaita, which attempts to articulate nondual spirituality, and often does a very good job of presenting some of the traditional advaita teachings (though usually, it seems, quite ignorant of the specific ancient sources for these teachings), can be fairly summed up by its main teaching: "Call off the search, You are already the Self, no need to seek for It."
Now, traditional Advaita—as articulated by authentic sages from Yajñavalkya to Shankara to Ramana Mahârshi in Hindu Vedânta—along with real nondual spirituality in all our genuine "pure mysticism" traditions, also would have one abandon any neurotic, selfish seeking for a desirable goal-state for "me." But the obvious limitation of neo-advaita is that it tends to completely ignore the "ego-free holy aspiration" for real Divine expression that ensues for the true sages and saints once selfish seeking drops off in initial levels of awakening. Just to merely have "the Understanding" (as some have made a fetish out of it) that "only the Self is Real," or that "Consciousness is all there is" and think that there isnothing more to spirituality than this conceptual understanding and a corresponding "blanked-out" zombie demeanor is simply not sufficient for authentic awakening from the selfish "me-dream."
In an analogy given by the awesome holy woman-sage Mâtâ Amritânandamayî, who actually lives the nondual realization more fully than anyone i know at present (this is the famous "hugging mother" Amma from Kerala, India—see www.amma.org), we can say that it is certainly true on one level that the little sapling is in some "potential" sense a tree, destined to grow into one if conditions are right. But the sapling is not yet fully functioning and serving as a full-grown tree, capable of providing shade, fruit, flowers, medicinal herbs from its bark, etc. In the same way, all sentient beings truly have the Divine Atma-Self as their real Identity. But are they maturely functioning and fully serving as the Self? Are they really manifesting the Divine virtues of self-sacrificing compassion, generosity, empathy, goodness, kindness, and all-embracing love that we find in the true spiritual masters?Or are they still plagued by egotism in various subtle or not-so-subtle fashion, but rationalizing and justifying all such egocentricity as "God's will"? Recall Jesus' great criterion for genuine spirituality: "By their fruits ye shall know them."
Teaching
7 Apr 2012 - 1:45am
The holographic nature of mind is not only to be found within the individual mind, but in fact can be found within the fabric of reality itself, which is ultimately of the nature of consciousness. From this essential holographic energy-field of all of reality, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, representing different variations of individuality and so forth, each piece containing the information of all. There are many levels to this breaking down, but most of it will likely be deemed arbitrary to the terrestrial mind who has never left hir home-planet, nor has likely even seriously thought about it. It is likely impossible to give a perfectly adequate breakdown of this, but we may say the “complete” and pure hologram is, as previously mentioned, the essence of reality itself that permeates a perhaps infinite multi-verse. This then breaks down into the individual universes, the incredible amount of galaxies within a universe, the incredible amount of solar systems within the galaxies, and then to the incredible amount of planets within the solar systems. From the planetary level and downard, we can begin to speak of classifications of the way this hologram breaks down that would really register significant meaning within the human mind.
The planet in its entirety would be one scale of the hologram, in which all life on the planet shared this information. All life on Earth, then, would be representative of the same exact energy-field, or range of information. Just to make sure I am clear, this unified energy/information field of Earth would be a scaled down version of the same field that exists as the solar system, which is scaled down from the galaxy, which is scaled down from the universe, which is scaled down from the multiverse/reality-fabric. No matter what scale you look, you will find “different” representations of the same thing. Anyways, back to planetary talk. As I said, all life on the planet would be representative of the same energy-information field. This means all of the different species are simply categories in the Gain mind, but all sharing that same mind. Now we can look at the species level, and here we will of course focus on humanity. Humanity-at-large is a scaled down version of the Gaian mind. Individual humans are scaled down versions of humanity-at-large. Then each individual human mind itself is holographic in nature, each part containing the information of the whole.
Now, at the risk of sounding redundant, for the purpose of ensuring I am making myself clear, let me start at the small scale of an individual mind and work my way up. Each part of an individual human brain is a holographic reflection of the whole human brain, which is a holographic reflection of all of humanity, which reflects Earth in its entirety, which reflects the solar system, which reflects the galaxy, which reflects the universe, which reflects the multi-verse/reality-fabric. All of these scales, and all differentiation at each scale, are manifestations of the most perfect classification system possible, which classifies and then manifests or plays out every single possible variation of the unlimited possibilities conceivable by consciousness. It is entirely creative in its freedom for expression, and it is entirely logical in its perfect method of classification.
Teaching
6 Apr 2012 - 11:20am
Philosophy: Metaphysics and Philosophy of Religion
Author LESLIE ARMOUR, WILLIAM SWEET, KEVIN SULLIVAN
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com
Metaphysics chiefly addresses questions about what is ultimately real and important. Philosophy of religion explores and evaluates religious views of reality and seeks to understand religious practice.
The Two Preoccupations
Philosophers of religion and metaphysicians have faced 2 principal challenges since 1950: acceptance of the scientific method as the basic model of knowledge, and the preoccupation of philosophers with the theory of meaning. The study of reality is not the domain of any one science, and it has frequently been suggested that propositions about "reality" are too vague to be capable of scientific verification and are therefore possibly meaningless. Metaphysicians have been accused of twisting language into unintelligible shapes, and the major religions have been accused of endorsing views which cannot be substantiated by, and which at times clash with, science.
The Status of Religious Belief
Since 1950 there have been vigorous attacks on religious belief (eg, by Kai Nielsen in Scepticism, 1973 and inGod, Scepticism, and Modernity, 1989), and on issues related to the empirical claims of believers (eg, Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Paradigm, 1989). Nevertheless, many philosophers in Canada have held that there are ways in which the disputes can be resolved and through which such religious belief can be saved and made intelligible. The results may be divided into 9 groups.
Science and Religion
First, F.W. Waters in The Way In and the Way Out (1967) and Alastair McKinnon in Falsification and Belief (1970) suggest similarities between science and religion: both involve fallible and limited attempts to apply fundamental principles. But these principles are not themselves uncertain. Thus, McKinnon argues, the scientist, committed to the principle that the world has an order, and the Christian, committed to belief in God, must try to show that experience and life become intelligible through reasonable application of the principle concerned. Donald Wiebe'sReligion and Truth (1981) is a plea for taking religious knowledge seriously - indeed for creating an appropriate science out of that knowledge. He concedes that religious truth is very complex, but he believes that truth and falsity should be the most central concern of scholars in the field. He strongly deplores the tendency of scholars in religion to describe beliefs without evaluating them.
Idealism or Finding the Natural Order
Secondly, there have been attempts to revivify parts of the idealist philosophy dominant in English Canada until WWII. "Idealism" has had many meanings, but the Canadian idealists' central tenet was that all reality formed a unified, rational whole. They suggested that science and religion were not antithetical but were part of a larger rational system and that there was a natural order to human affairs. These concerns were complicated by developments in science (such as quantum physics) which suggested chance elements in reality; by a growing gap between scientists' and religious believers' characterizations of the world; and by theories that suggested that meanings (interpretations) were arbitrary.
Human Presuppositions and Idealism
In response, Lionel Rubinoff, in Collingwood and the Reform of Metaphysics (1970), argued in support of British philosopher R.G. Collingwood that our world views, scientific and otherwise, must be seen in the context of the presuppositions with which humans approach the world. Metaphysical systems and religious world views can be seen as intelligible if they are taken to be accounts of the way the human mind is able to see the world at different times. Science also reflects this historical process. In the course of history, these changing views begin to reveal a pattern, which Rubinoff called the "transcendental structure of reality," ie, a structure that appears through but ultimately leads beyond the immediacies of human experience.
Part of the science-religion-metaphysics controversy has had to do with theories of logic, meaning and truth that were tailored to scientific knowledge. In The Rational and the Real (1962), The Concept of Truth (1969) and Logic and Reality (1972), Leslie ARMOUR argued that these notions of logic, truth and meaning are specialized subforms of more embracing notions. The more embracing notions make possible many traditional metaphysical and religious ideas. Interest in Idealist metaphysics is reflected in recent historical studies, such as Ethics, Metaphysics and Religion in the Thought of F.H. Bradley (1996), edited by P. MacEwan, Bradley's Moral Psychology (1987), by Don MacNiven, Being and Idea (1994), by Leslie Armour and Divine Subjectivity (1990) by Dale Schlitt.
Finding a Home Within the World of Science
A third group, including Thomas GOUDGE and Charles DE KONINCK, has sought to build within the structure of science. Goudge's The Ascent of Life (Governor General's Award, 1961) makes few explicit claims about metaphysics or religion, but meticulously examines parts of biological theory and exposes a number of points at which conceptual possibilities remain open. De Koninck, in The Hollow Universe (1960), insists that the scientific world view is an abstract and hollow shell that must be filled by concrete experience in order to make sense. A.H. Johnson, in a series of books including Whitehead's Theory of Reality (rev ed 1962), reflects British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead's attempt to move from the scientific world picture to a more embracing structure by showing where the scientific structure needed metaphysical support. Johnson's theories, expounded chiefly in Experiential Realism (1973), continue his attempt to achieve an ultimate theory of reality through an adequate understanding of experience.
Containing Science
A fourth group, drawing inspiration from St Thomas Aquinas, searches for demarcation lines between science and theology and for a way to understand religion as rational. Louis-Marie Régis describes in Epistemology(1959) his view of the forms and limitations of science. Joseph Owens, in An Interpretation of Existence (1968), defends Aquinas's notion that being is capable of a measure of general characterization and that it is both active and intelligible. In L'Éducation à la liberté (1978; tr Education for Freedom, 1982) Jean-Louis Allard offers an account, which follows the philosophy of Jacques Maritain, of the way fundamental principles become intelligible through the ordering of one's life. Reactions against details of this philosophy include André Dagenais's Vingt-quatre défauts thomistes (1964) and Le Dieu nouveau (1974). Gregory Baum's Man Becoming (1970) andReligion and Alienation (1975) represent another kind of critique of the Thomist tradition.
A distinct development of the Thomistic tradition was carried out by Bernard Lonergan (Insight, 1952; Philosophy of God and Theology, 1973) and his successors. This work includes not only discussions of metaphysics, religion and the theory of knowledge, but the application of the results in diverse fields of endeavour. In The Intelligible Universe, a Cosmological Argument (1982), Hugo Meynell makes use of ideas drawn from Lonergan and argues that the intelligibility of the world provides the basis for God's existence. In a more recent work, Is Christianity True? (1994), however, Meynell provides a more traditional defence of religious belief.
Questioning Metaphysics
A fifth group is that of the many English-speaking philosophers who have worked within "analytic" philosophy, a tradition much influenced by the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein and the British Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, Gilbert Ryle and J.L. Austin. Kai Nielsen uses this philosophy to question the foundations of religion and metaphysics. Alistair M. Macleod developed in Paul Tillich (1973) a strong negative critique of attempts to answer what Tillich called the question of being. Macleod urges that Tillich is confused in thinking there is one central "mystery of being," but stops short of arguing that no metaphysical or religious world views can ever be justified. Jay Newman uses a similar method in analysing the relation of assent and faith in The Mental and Moral Philosophy of John Henry Newman (1986).
Despite the frequent hostility of the analytic tradition to metaphysics and religion, many Canadian analytic philosophers have sought to find room for religious expression. In his Survival and Disembodied Existence(1970), Terence Penelhum questions the meaningfulness of some religious beliefs, but his The Problem of Religious Knowledge (1971) and Reason and Religious Faith (1995) leaves possibilities for religious discourse. Donald Evans, after close association with the new analytic philosophy during which he wrote The Logic of Self-Involvement (1963), developed his defence of religious experience in Struggle and Fulfillment (1979), Faith, Authenticity and Morality (1980) and in Spirituality and Human Nature (1995). There has been little work that reflects the analytic tradition of "fideistic" views that emphasize the autonomy of faith, although one finds tendencies in this direction in Wilfred Cantwell Smith (eg, Faith and Belief, 1979). Pierre Lucier, in Empirisme logique et langage religieux (1976), assesses the strengths and impact of the analytic movement.
Frequently, analytic philosophers have used language analysis to sustain essentially "humanistic" positions against claims of "determinists" in psychology and history who have believed that free human action is unintelligible or impossible (eg. William Anglin, Free Will and Christian Faith, 1990). Charles TAYLOR argues for the importance of understanding the social nature of the human person in his Sources of the Self (1989). A branch of philosophy known as "action theory" is concerned with analysis of the language with which human actions are described. Donald Brown, in Action (1968), carefully analyses such language and suggests that we cannot easily convert talk about human action into talk about events figuring naturally in the sciences. Similarly, William DRAY argues in Laws and Explanation in History (1957) that explanations of human history cannot be reduced to the form of scientific laws.
Phenomenology in Canada
Sixth, 20th-century European philosophy has had a substantial influence in Canada. Emil FACKENHEIM shows these influences of German phenomenology and French existentialism in Metaphysics and Historicity (1961) along with those of Hegel and of 19th-century German philosophy in general. The most extensive work in this genre in French Canada is Existant et acte d'être (1977-80) by Benoit Pruche, who also draws heavily on Aquinas and Aristotle. Since 1980, many philosophers, such as Gary Madison (The Hermeneutics of Postmodernity, 1988) and Jean Grondin have come under the influence of hermeneutics, critical theory and post-modern philosophy. These authors have been largely critical of the idea of metaphysical and religious systems, and Grondin, in Sources of Hermeneutics (1995), explicitly brings Kant, Heidegger and Gadamer to bear on questions in religion.
Strongly influenced by post-modern thought, particularly that of Richard Rorty, Hendrik Hart's Search for Community in a Withering Tradition (1990) reflects a fideistic turn from a Calvinistic perspective. Essays providing a critical response to some of these issues are found in La Philosophie de la religion á la fin du vingtième siècle (1993), edited by William Sweet.
Concern with the idea of the self and the attempt to build a philosophical anthropology (ie, a theory of the nature of man) are strong in works such as those of Jacques Croteau, whose L'Homme: sujet ou objet (1981) develops ideas from European phenomenology against a background influenced by Aquinas and Maritain. In La Genèse du concept du soi (1980) René l'Ecuyer ties experimental psychology to ideas from a diverse group of philosophers, raising many of the same issues that concerned the existentialists. In The Art of Art Works (1982) Cyril Welch applies other aspects of that tradition to our understanding of art and of the ways in which that understanding transforms reality. Existentialism and phenomenology have been criticized as well, eg, by F. Temple Kingston inFrench Existentialism (1961). Thomas de Koninck's De la dignitéhumaine (1995) makes human dignity the focus for an extended study of the fundamental questions of metaphysics and religion. It won the French Academy's 1996 prize for Philosophy, Morals, and Sociology (le prix La Bruyère).
Rationalism
Seventh, there has recently been a return to the rationalist metaphysics best represented by 17th- and 18th-century philosophers such as Leibniz and Spinoza. This movement, generally using modern logical and analytic techniques, has been led by John Leslie and Helier J. Robinson. The rationalists had urged that one must start with questions about what is logically possible rather than what seems to exist. They were guided by the principles that everything has an explanation and that whatever does not exist fails to do so because it is prevented from existing by something else.
Leslie's Value and Existence (1979) argues for the reintroduction of principles of value into these discussions. InRenascent Rationalism (1975), which is also an attempt to make experience intelligible, Helier J. Robinson admits that we cannot tell whether or not a god outside the world exists, but he believes that we can tell, for instance, that a god exists in some sense within the world. In somewhat the same vein, Leslie defends an anthropic principle and a form of neo-Platonism in Universes (1989). He reassesses much of his philosophical cosmology inThe End of the World: The Science and Ethics of Human Extinction (1996), a work which looks at the probabilities for and philosophical underpinnings of theories which concern the long-range prospects for human life.
Understanding Religious Belief
There has also been a significant interest in the nature of religious practice and religious experience, where philosophy is used as a tool for understanding, but not challenging, religious belief. Examples of this approach include James Horne (who has been influenced by Tillich and Martin Buber), The Moral Mystic (1983), and Michel Despland, La Réligion en occident: Évolution des idées et du vécu (1979).
Cross-cultural Studies
Finally, philosophy of religion has taken on an increasingly cross-cultural character in response to religious pluralism. In The Philosophy of Religion and Advaita Vedanta: A Comparative Study in Religion and Reason(1995), Arvind Sharma argues for the importance of pluralistic philosophy of religion, holding that cross-cultural philosophy of religion can be normative. Peter Slater, The Dynamics of Religion: Meaning and Change in Religious Traditions (1978) and Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Religious Diversity (1976) and Towards a World Theology(1981), have pioneered work in the study of religious traditions from a social scientific perspective. Cantwell Smith's later work is interesting so far as it bears on the nature of religious belief, and shows movement towards a "unified world religion".
It is the Creator who tells me what it is I am to post here. I value his guidance, love and support. I am grateful for the ability to openly converse with him and all others at any time of any day. It is through His guidance that I bring forth amazing articles to share with my LW family. . I never post any article just on a whim. Every article has reason for Him. He is aware of every thought we make before we make it. He is aware of the words we speak before we do. He knows. It is because He is all around that makes us all want to be God-Like in every single way . It is good to see a Canadian study for a change. I appreciate the article because of this and because of the information it provides in non-complex view.
Brightest Blessings
Teaching
29 Mar 2012 - 11:23am
A Look At Spiritual Wisdom To Explore and Determine Your Immutable and Unwavering Ability To Create Your Reality
www.abundance-and-happiness.com
Through Exploring and Studying Ancient Spiritual Teachings, Writings And Profound Wisdom, The Immutable and Unwavering Process Of Manifestation Is Made Crystal Clear
Science and Religion Used To Be "Perceived" As Separate Avenues Of Understanding Drawing Different Conclusions...Not Anymore
"You ARE The Creator Of The Events, Conditions, and Circumstances
In Your Life. Most Are Just "Unconsciously" Creating."
The wisdom of some of the world's wisest spiritual masters will enable you to establish without the shadow of a doubt a heightened awareness with regard to the direct correlations between nature, the human physiology, age old spiritual wisdom which has been conveyed in spiritual circles for thousands of years, and the recent discoveries made through Quantum Physics pertaining to your creative ability to consciously and intentionally mold and shape your reality.
Grasping, embracing and applying this understanding will enable you to experience Harmony, Fulfillment, Prosperity, Joy, and Inner Peace in EVERY area of your life.
The intent is not that you view and absorb the wisdom shared as man made religious law or doctrine but rather as profound ancient spiritual wisdom and direction which has been provided and intended to awaken, enlighten and empower you to the real truth concerning your infinite and limitless capability.
By developing this understanding it is our hope that it will assist and empower you to discover, become increasingly aware, and enable you to develop a firm foundation of belief concerning YOUR individual ability to begin to consciously create and experience a life of purpose, deeper meaning, harmony and fulfillment in each and every area of your life.
A choice to discover and apply this awareness will empower you to clearly see, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that each event, condition and circumstance that you experience in life is experienced as a result of a very distinct, unwavering, predictable and perfectly unfolding process...which I refer to as "The Perfect Plan" which was put into place and has existed since the beginning of time.
Through developing this deeper understanding it will become very clear to you how each of the events, conditions, and circumstances in your life transmute from the unseen, metaphysical or spiritual realm and take physical form in the physical world based on the quality of consciousness that you choose.
as can be and has been measured, validated, and documented through scientific means, spoken of and taught by the greatest spiritual teachers in history, and can be clearly observed in nature.
Regardless of which of these means that you choose to study, and lean on to establish a deeper understanding for yourself, if you will choose to look deeply enough, with the proper intention and with an open mind, you will discover at the root of all scientific theory, spiritual wisdom left to us from our ancestors, and through simple observation of the unwavering and unfailing process of creation, at the very core, beyond all judgment, varying interpretations, and without prejudice, lies "The Life Giving Source" which contains ALL of the answers to each and every question and conceivable event that is manifest and exists in our world.
Regardless of your individual preference for discovering "Real Truth" the means in which you discover this "Source" whether through Nature, Religion, or Science, the inevitable and immutable truth is that all of these avenues if explored with the proper intent, will lead the seeker to the discovery of the "One True Source" regardless of what you may perceive this Source to be.
At the core of each of these various means of validation lies "The One True Source" which has made each possible for the purpose of further discovery and growth. It is through the discovery of this Source, acting and moving forward in total detachment from physical outcomes and applying what has been made so apparent that Fulfillment, Harmony, Inner Peace, and Limitless Prosperity in the physical world...more specifically in your life can be attained and experienced.
As the science of Quantum Physics has recently proven, every event, every condition, every circumstance, which you experience in YOUR life comes into existence based on a predictable, unwavering, and immutable process. Although Science, Religion, Inspired Spiritual Writings, or Nature are NOT the cause they do exist as effects and each serves as a physical means to validate that there exists only one "TRUE Cause", or "The Source" of each of these conceivable as well as inconceivable processes of manifestation.
The intent and purpose of this section of the site is designed to show and reveal to you that based on the intended teachings passed down for thousands of years of history, through the numerous teachings of many of the most insightful teachers and leading most forward thinkers in the history of mankind, that there was at some point in the past a very simple, and specific process put into place by this Source (whatever you perceive that to be) which has been made available to you, regardless of what you may currently perceive as truth regarding yourself and your individual abilities, that will enable you to experience a life uncommon to many once you fully understand and digest the unchanging, immutable and perfectly planned process provided for doing so.
Whatever you may perceive this Source to be, whether God, Gaia, Mother Earth, Universal Intelligence, Energy, etc. there is no denying that one exists.
It is not the intent of Abundance-and-Happiness.com to attempt to convince or in any way challenge what you may currently perceive as truth but only to introduce and provide resources which have been made available to you which will assist you in gaining the fundamental understanding and level of awareness of what we have come to understand as "real truth" concerning the limitless power that you have been provided and possess to create for yourself a life by design rather than by default.
At the conclusion of this article it is our hope that you will have developed a much deeper understanding as to how modern day science, spirituality, and Universal Law (Laws of Nature) are all intricately and perfectly tied together and provide the means for you to clearly see, understand, harmonize, with, and consciously utilize this predetermined plan, this Source, to begin consciously and purposefully shaping and building your life experience enabling you to begin experiencing a life of Abundance, Happiness, Fulfillment, Harmony and Inner Peace.
While it's true that the majority in our world believe that life is merely a series of capricious circumstances, a series of unanswered prayer and not within their personal control, we have, through many years of intense seeking and personal experience come to believe that quite the opposite is in fact true. This fact has been scientifically validated as well as openly shared in spiritual circles for thousands of years.
It is our hope that through the information provided within this life enhancement portal, that you will become enabled to begin understanding and developing the necessary awareness and belief that is essential to and will enable and empower you to begin experiencing the quality of life that is and ALWAYS has been available to ALL who choose to accept, allow and embrace it.
Regardless of what you may currently believe with regard to the unfolding of your life circumstances, the fact exists as has been proven and validated through modern day science as well as through the numerous spiritual references below that YOUR thoughts, beliefs, and emotions inevitably determine your outcomes. You and you alone are responsible for those outcomes. You have been provided the "Free Will" to choose how you think and feel. Based on those choices you will receive outcomes which are in alignment or vibrational resonance with the actions that you choose to take. If you choose to think thoughts of fear you will reap outcomes based on those seeds. If you choose to allow emotions of fear you will reap outcomes based on those emotions. By the same token once you have achieved the level of self awareness necessary to enable you to detach from what "appears to be" in the physical world and analyze it from a perspective of "Unconditional Love" absent judgment, you will have become a master of your destiny.
These spiritual references are in no way intended to offend any doctrine or belief that you may currently hold but are intended only to assist in validating and providing additional clarity to the facts uncovered through modern day science as can be observed in the continual and perfectly created physical process of nature. Although my personal journey led me to study these biblical records in depth, and has greatly assisted me in developing a sense of "Inner Knowing" and Harmony in my own life, I encourage you to develop and come to your own "Truth" in whatever way that you feel is best for you.
As you soon will discover, whichever path that you choose to follow based on your individual preference, each will inevitably lead you to the Alpha, Omega, Beginning, the End. The Source Of All that is or ever will be regardless of what label you may choose to refer to this Source.
It is our sincere and heartfelt hope for you that you discover that Source in the quickest, least painful, and most rewarding way possible as well as discover your ability to "consciously create" a life that is pleasing and filled with ALL that you desire to experience.
References From
The Judeo Christian Bible, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Lao Tzu Concerning Your Creative Ability
* Both teaching posts that I added today are very lengthy. All teachings that post are directed and chosen by the Creator. I converse with prior to every post and he guides me to what He wishes to be taught. Both articles are big but both are written in an understandable language that is not too complex.
Brightest Blessings and much love to all that stop by
Acaana
Teaching
24 Mar 2012 - 12:12pm
Divine Sovereignty vs. Human Responsibility
Ken Boa
Excerts from my book, God, I Don't Understand
http://bible.org
I. Introduction
Mysteries are forced upon us by the facts of God’s Word; we are not inventing them ourselves. Since His written revelation teaches concepts that appear to be mutually exclusive, we must realize that with God both truths are friends, not enemies. In God’s higher rationality, things that we think must be either-or can in reality be both-and.
Thus, when the biblical facts warrant them, we can embrace incomprehensibles in the Bible and relate them to the omniscience and omnipotence of God. There is no need to abandon rationality for nonsense as the White Queen does in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass:
“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.
“Can’t you?” the Queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”
Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said, “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”1
Neither do we need to adopt Tertullian’s position: “I believe it because it is absurd.” Christians should say instead: “I believe it because God says it in the Bible.”
II. The General Problem
God has revealed to us in the Bible that He not only created all things but He also preplanned everything that would happen in His creation. He both knows everything that has happened and everything that is yet future. He actively decreed every detail of this reality, and He is sovereign over all. But here is where the mystery comes in: even though God is sovereign, man still has real responsibility and freedom in the choices he makes. These choices are his; he cannot blame God for them. And they will genuinely affect and modify the rest of his life.
Because this mystery more intimately affects us than most of the others, it is one of the most difficult to accept. When people face it, they tend to overemphasize one truth (God’s sovereignty) or the other (human responsibility). This produces a lack of balance.
This mystery manifests itself in different ways. For instance, it relates to the issue of election and faith in the doctrine of salvation, as we will see later in this chapter. It also relates to the problem of evil, that is, how evil could enter the creation without God being responsible for it. We will examine this age-old problem in chapter 5.
But first we need to demonstrate from the Word of God the truth of the two basic propositions in this mystery. Do the Scriptures really say that man is completely responsible for what he does even though God planned everything that would come to pass?
III. Divine Sovereignty
God is able to do anything He desires. “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2 NET Bible). “He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths” (Ps. 135:6). The Lord carries out everything exactly as planned.
“Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass” (2 Kings 19:25). “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not establish it?” (Num. 23:19). All that God has preplanned is as good as done. Nothing can change it, for there is no authority above God. As He says through Isaiah, “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?" (40:25).
Because of His complete uniqueness and sovereignty, God is able to declare, “Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, 'My plan will be realized; I will accomplish what I desire ….'’’ (Isa. 46:9-10; see also Isa. 14:24; 43:13).
God directs the history of the universe along the course of His foreordained plan. This involves His ability to choose individuals and groups for special purposes in the outworking of this plan. For instance, Jeremiah and Paul were chosen by God to have special missions even before they were formed in their mother’s wombs (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15).
God also elects individuals for salvation. Christ speaks of those elected for salvation (Matt. 24:22, 24, 31; Luke 18:7), and Paul clearly endorses this concept (Rom. 8:29-33; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:1; see also 1 Peter 1:1-2; John 1).
Ephesians 1:4-5, 11 is particularly striking. God’s election of those who would be saved is pretemporal, “before the foundation of the world,” according to verse 4. This choice involved love and it was based on God’s kindness. He predestined us "to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will” (v. 5).
God’s sovereignty is self-determined, and this fact is emphasized three times (v. 5, 9, 11). In God’s loving purpose, all things have been designed to lead “to the praise of the glory of his grace” (v. 6, 12, 14). It is best that God works in all things, for only in this way will all things ultimately glorify God. This glorification is consistent with God’s love and kindness because He alone is worthy of ultimate glorification.
(Nevertheless, God will also glorify all believers at the resurrection when He finally conforms us to the image of His Son. But even God’s act of glorifying others will bring greater glory to Himself).
God’s sovereign purpose extends to all things in His creation and is not limited by space or time. This plan is so complete that Scripture declares, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:33). Consider the implications of a statement like this! Ultimately there is no chance in this universe because even the workings of probability and statistics are controlled by God. There are no real accidents and God is surprised by nothing.
We have seen that God’s eternal plan is all-inclusive, extending even to His election of those who will be saved.2
But what about those not elected for salvation? Most theologians would naturally prefer to limit the bounds of God’s sovereign plan at this point. The word preterition is often used here, meaning that God “passes by” the nonelect.
However, several passages in Scripture seem to support a more active role on God’s part. If this is so, reprobation may be a more appropriate word than preterition.
Romans 9:10-24 is one passage that should be carefully studied. God has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires--both verbs are active (v. 18). God’s choice is not based on human merit, but on His mercy and inscrutable purposes. But if God hardens some, how can human responsibility be real? How can He blame the non-elect for not doing His will (v. 19)? God answers that the question is out of order (v. 20). We know that there is no injustice with God (v. 14), and therefore, as vessels we must trust the Potter. For man this issue is a mystery.
Another passage along this line is 1 Peter 2:8. Speaking of those who reject Jesus Christ, Peter says that “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” Scripture also says, “The Lord works everything for its own ends--even the wicked for the day of disaster” (Prov. 16:4; also compare Ps. 92:6-7). Other verses also reveal how God hardens hearts (Is. 6:10; 44:18; John 12:40; Rom. 11:7-8, 25).
IV. Human Responsibility
Just as biblical a doctrine as divine sovereignty is human responsibility. For instance, Romans 9 (God’s sovereignty) is not complete without Romans 10 (human responsibility): “For the scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:11-13).
King Saul furnishes a good example of the reality of human responsibility. His disobedience cost him a kingdom that would have been everlasting: “the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever” (1 Sam. 13:13). God later said of Saul, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I said” (1 Sam. 15:11).
The Bible makes it clear that we are not pawns in the hands of a deterministic and fatalistic universe. Every command in the Old and New Testaments is proof of the reality of human responsibility from God’s perspective.
A number of passages neatly juxtapose the truths of God’s complete sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Consider, for instance, the Crucifixion of the Son of God. Men were responsible for putting Jesus to death even though He was “handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Those who were gathered together against Jesus simply did what God’s hand and God’s purpose predestined to occur, according to Acts 4:27-28. This mystery also relates directly to Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of Christ: “For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed” (Luke 22:22)!
God is the divine Potter who has “right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use” according to His own purpose (Rom. 9:21). Yet this “clay” has a will and is responsible for the choices it freely makes. (Read Jer. 18:1-12 to see how the prophet subtly intertwines both of these concepts).
God is omniscient. Even when He “changes His mind” (as in Jer. 18:8, 10), it is because He had planned to do so from eternity. In His omniscience He also knew the Jews would not turn back from their sins (indeed, He had even hardened their hearts; Isa. 63:17). Yet His appeal to Judah was no sham (Jer. 18:11); it was a valid offer. Another Old Testament passage that combines the two themes of God’s control and man’s responsibility is Isaiah 63:15-64:12 with 65:1-2.
Philippians 2:12-13 is a very practical passage in which we may observe a perfect balance of these two truths. Paul is talking about the outworking of the Christian life. He emphasizes the aspect of human responsibility in this process (v. 12), and he also emphasizes God’s sovereign control (v. 13). God is controlling and man is responsible. Neither of these two verses should be quoted without the other because the Bible keeps both truths in perfect balance.
V. Synthesis of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
God is the supreme Ruler over this universe He created. His plan affects every detail of this creation. This plan is eternal, and there never was another plan. Thus, terms like purpose, foreknowledge, predestination, and election are logically related, and they are equally timeless.
God’s complete control over His creation is based on His omniscience and omnipotence. Since God has knowledge of all things actual and possible, His eternal plan is not based upon blind choice. Instead, God has wisely chosen a plan in which all details will finally work together to bring about the greatest good (the glorification of God). Since God is the absolute of truth, goodness, and love, His plan is a reflection of His own being and nature.
Not only has God chosen the best possible plan; He also has the power and authority to bring it about (omnipotence). When God promises to do something, there is no question that it will be done. This is why every biblical prophecy will be perfectly fulfilled.
Nevertheless, God carries out his all-inclusive plan by a variety of means. God may directly intervene or He may achieve His purpose by an indirect agency (e.g., the laws of nature). He may even fulfill His plan by taking His hands off in a given situation (the phrase “God gave them over” appears three times in Rom. 1:24-28). But God is in control regardless of what means He chooses to use.
The Bible makes it clear that God’s work in predestination and election is loving (Eph. 1:4-5; 1 John 4:7), wise (Rom. 11:33; 16:27), and just (Gen. 18:25; Rom. 3:4-6). “The Lord is just in all his actions, and exhibits love in all he does” (Ps. 145:17).
In some inexplicable way God has seen fit to incorporate human freedom and responsibility into His all-inclusive plan. Even though the Lord is in sovereign control of the details in His creation, He never forces any man to do anything against his will. The fact that He judges sin means that He is not responsible for the commission of the sins He judges. When a person sins it is because he has freely chosen to do so. Similarly, when someone is confronted with the terms of the gospel, he can freely choose to accept or reject Christ’s offer of forgiveness of sins. Because it is free choice, he will be held responsible for the decision he makes (see John 12:48).
In my view, personal and moral responsibility require free will. While I disagree with those who say that our wills are in total bondage, I am not implying in my use of the terms “freedom” and “free will” that humans are autonomous. We do not control the fundamental realities of our lives (e.g., our time on earth and our abilities), and yet our choices are ours.
In biblical terms this whole mystery can be summed up by saying that God is both King and Judge. “Scripture teaches that, as King, He orders and controls all things, human action among them, in accordance with his own eternal purpose. Scripture also teaches that, as Judge, He holds every man responsible for the choices he makes and the courses of action he pursues.”3
Finally, God’s plan is not always the same as His desires. Although His plan controls what men will be, the product often is not what He desires. This is partly because God has chosen to allow human will to operate. For instance, God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4; see also 2 Peter 3:9). Yet He has not elected all men: "… The elect obtained it. The rest were hardened” Rom. 11:7).
Thus, God’s plan and desires are two different aspects of His will. He has revealed His desire (what men ought to do), but His plan for what specific men will do has for the most part been hidden. This is almost a mystery within a mystery, because there is no way we can conceive of how these two aspects of God’s will relate together in His mind.
VI. Illustrations
J. I. Packer captures the essence of this mystery when he writes, “Man is a responsible moral agent, though he is also divinely controlled; man is divinely controlled, though he is also a responsible moral agent.”4 Many have attempted to illustrate the interrelation of these two truths, but because this is a mystery, their attempts have proved inadequate.
All too often, people try to apply illustrations of foreknowledge to predestination and election. For instance, they may compare God with a man standing on top of a mountain, looking down at a road that curves around the base of the mountain. The man can see into the future because he knows which cars will pass by one another before they become visible to each other. But God’s plan involves more than foreknowledge. Foreknowledge is passive, but divine control is active.
Another illustration involves a person engineering a situation in such a way that it creates a desire in another person to make a certain decision. Courtship is an example. When a man wants a woman to become his wife, he designs his courtship in such a way that she will respond with a willing "yes" when he proposes. He plans the situation and perhaps knows she will accept his proposal; yet she has a free choice to accept or reject. But even this illustration breaks down. It implies that when we sin, God seduced us in this direction. But that simply is not so.
VII. The Alternatives and the Extremes
As with other biblical mysteries, three alternatives are possible. One can accept the mystery, reject it as untrue, or rationalize it. To rationalize it, one must overemphasize one truth and minimize the other, and this leads to the two extremes.
The correct approach is to learn to live with the mystery by accepting both truths involved and holding them in tension because of the authority of God’s Word. This means that the principles should be regarded as apparent contradictions and not ultimate contradictions. God’s revelation in the Bible is always self-consistent. The only problem is that human understanding is sometimes deficient. If we could raise our thoughts to the level of God’s thoughts, there would be no mysteries.
But because so many people refuse to let God be wiser than men, they insist on rationalizing the principles of the divine sovereignty/human responsibility mystery. Some are exclusively concerned with the former, others with the latter. Either error can lead to very practical problems. Those hung up on human responsibility may overemphasize methods and develop guilt feelings about not witnessing to everyone they meet. Their counterparts may minimize missions and evangelism, saying, “Why bother? The elect are going to get saved anyway.”
Prayer also depends on balancing both principles. If God is not sovereign, there is no point in praying because He is unable to answer most prayers. And if men have no responsibility, there is no point in praying because nothing we ask or do will affect God’s plan in the least.
From a practical standpoint, it seems more objectionable for a Christian to overemphasize the divine sovereignty and minimize human responsibility than vice versa. Since human responsibility relates to our role, we need to attend to it. God will take care of His own sovereignty! Yet, either error is harmful, and neither error needs to be embraced.
Some confuse divine sovereignty with fatalism. Christianity is not fatalistic, however, because it teaches that human responsibility is just as real as divine sovereignty. Furthermore, what is behind fatalism (fate) is not what is behind divine sovereignty (a living, wise, sinless God).
Another objection that keeps people from accepting this mystery is the problem of evil. Many feel that it is an insult to our intelligence to assert that all things occur for the best as the result of a human providence. If God is sovereign, is He not the author of the evil all about us? This objection is important, and we will deal with it in the next chapter.
It comes as no surprise that this mystery has precipitated heated controversies and extreme viewpoints throughout the course of church history. One notable example was Augustine’s controversy with the Pelagians. Pelagianism emphasized human freedom to the exclusion of divine sovereignty, and this led to a concept of self-salvation without the need of divine grace.
In recent centuries, the two extreme viewpoints have been ultra-Calvinism (divine sovereignty carried to pure determinism) and certain extreme forms of Arminianism (human responsibility overemphasized).
As mentioned, people often have more problems with this mystery than with others because it is close to where we live. But we should remember that it is really no more mysterious than the God-man or the Trinity mysteries, which Christians are more likely to accept.
VIII. Emphases of Historic Arminianism and Calvinism
IX. The Specific Problem of Salvation
The general divine sovereignty/human responsibility mystery can be applied in a specific way to the nature of salvation. From the standpoint of God’s sovereignty, a person is saved because he is elected by God (chosen for salvation). But from the standpoint of our responsible freedom, a person is elected because he receives Christ.
The first truth finds support in a number of biblical passages. For instance, the apostle Paul writes of the power of God “… who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began …” (2 Tim. 1:9).
Paul also wrote, “… because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rom 8:29-30).5
It is clear that in His sovereign grace, God took the initiative.
We are not to think of Jesus Christ as a Third Party wrestling salvation for us from a God unwilling to save. No. The initiative was with God Himself. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” Precisely how He can have been in Christ while He made Christ to be sin for us, I cannot explain, but the same apostle states both truths in the same paragraph. And we must accept this paradox along with the equally baffling paradox that Jesus of Nazareth was both God and Man, and yet One Person. If there was a paradox in His person, it is not surprising that we find one in His work as well.6
Because God is sovereign in salvation, none of us can say that we saved ourselves; this is God’s work (see Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
Nevertheless, the second truth still holds; we are elected because we receive Christ (remember that we are speaking of election as an eternal or timeless event). No one can be saved without willingly trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
‘“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved …'” (Acts 16:30-31).
“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
The words believe and faith are active, not passive terms in the Bible. Believing in Christ is equivalent to receiving Him: “But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children …” (John 1:12).7
The two truths of this mystery (one believes because he is elect and he is elect because he believes) are sometimes side by side in the same passage. John 6 is an example. Divine sovereignty is emphasized in verses 37, 44, and 65: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him …” (v. 44). Human responsibility is emphasized in verses 29, 35, 40, and 47: “For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life …” (v. 40).
Thus the biblical doctrine of salvation perfectly combines divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God must call and men must respond willingly. This is a unique picture, for only in Christianity is God declared to be the initiator and author of salvation. The only thing we can do is respond by receiving Christ’s free offer.
A person standing outside the “gate of heaven” sees the inscription “Whosoever will may come!” Passing through and looking back he sees written on the other side, “Chosen before the foundation of the world!”
Because of the sovereignty of God in salvation, everyone who has trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sins can have assurance of salvation. This certainty comes from the fact that salvation is neither obtained nor maintained by human effort. Since no one deserves it or earns it, eternal life must come by grace through faith. Nevertheless, God will never force anyone to believe in His Son. Free will is still a reality, and all of us are responsible for accepting or rejecting the revelation we have received. As wonderful as the gift of salvation is, if God forced it upon everyone, He would eliminate human freedom.
X. The Special Case of History
History itself is completely bound up in the divine sovereignty/human responsibility mystery. Because of it the Christian view of history is unique, since it allows for both determinism and free will. “Both apply, but always in such a way that the evil of history is man’s work and the good of history, God’s.”8 History itself is both a divine and a human product.
From the divine perspective, “History is not just what happens, but what the living God does”9 God’s relation to history is more than a sequence of interventions; He is always active in usual and unusual ways. God is active in the affairs of all nations and men to bring about His sovereign purpose (see Ps. 33:10-11; Isa. 10:5-15; Dan. 2:21; 4:17; Hab. 1:6).
History, therefore, has a clear goal, and it is moving toward a definite consummation in the Second Coming and glorious reign of Jesus Christ. Yet at the same time, God has seen fit to give us genuine freedom of choice.
The biblical picture of history offers two crucial elements: the goal of the historical process and the reality of free will. No historian who works from an unbiblical base can logically arrive at either of these elements. Without a revelation from the God who created history, no one could uncover the goal of history. We are all minute parts of the process, and it would be presumptuous for any part to think he could step out of the process and objectively comprehend the whole.
Neither can the secular historian avoid the problem of determinism. Apart from a personal God, man is left with a deterministic universe driven by forces and laws beyond his control. Only the Bible offers a genuine purpose for history without sacrificing human freedom.
XI. Some Practical Implications of This Mystery
The divine sovereignty/human responsibility mystery has implications for almost every aspect of the Christian life.
A. Evangelism
The fact that God sovereignly elects those who will be saved in no way eliminates the Christian’s responsibility to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ. God has told us to pray for and witness to non-Christians. It is not our business to guess who are elected, and they are not walking around with special signs.
A realization that God is on the throne can give us a confidence in evangelism and should make us bold, patient, and prayerful. Our job is simply to build friendships with unbelievers, share the gospel with them, and pray for them. The results must be entrusted into God’s sovereign hands.
B. Prayer
If God controls all things, why pray? The answer, of course, is that God commands us to pray, and we are responsible to be obedient to this command. We are also responsible to meet the conditions for answered prayer (some of these conditions are found in John 15:7; 16:23-24; 1 Peter 3:7, 12; 1 John 5:14). Otherwise, our prayers will be hindered.
Though God is sovereign, the prayers of His children contribute significantly to the outworking of His program. This does not mean that we are pushing buttons or forcing God to answer, for He does not grant all requests. Prayer should instead remind a believer of his complete dependence upon God for all things. When great things happen, God is the One who should be glorified, not the person who prayed. So at the same time that God is in control of all things, our prayers can and do profoundly shape reality.
C. The Will of God
God has a plan for every life, but the details of this plan are carried out by the free choices of each person involved. As we said before, however, God’s plan is not always the same as His desires. The degree to which God’s desires are carried out in His plan for our lives is our responsibility. God, for instance, desires that we come to love Him for who He is and what He has done for us. But we are not robots programmed to say, “Praise you! Praise you!” No one can truly love God (or anyone else) without the power to choose.
The diagram pictured next shows a portion of an individual’s life. As time moves in the direction indicated, he makes many choices (represented by the dots) that affect other choices. At any given decision point (point C), there is a varying number of options or contingencies. The range of options is always limited as indicated by the two lines of x’s in the figure. For example, a person who does not wish to be seen has no option to become suddenly invisible or walk through a wall. These possibilities would only be open to someone in a resurrection body (chap. 6).
Our person has just come to point C. He can freely choose among five genuine options. Here is where the wonder comes in: the five contingencies are real, and yet whatever is done is God’s plan. This is true for all of us. Because the contingencies are real, we remain responsible for the choices we make.
God sees the whole line at once because He is not limited as we are to the temporal sequence of events (chap. 7). Since we cannot see our lines of life as God sees them, no one can live his life as though there were a blueprint in front of him. A Christian should instead place his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the decisions of each day. One can be quite sure about what lies in that past (in the diagram, whether a day or twenty years), but there is a reasonable doubt about what lies ahead.
In general, a non-Christian has fewer options at each decision point because without the indwelling Holy Spirit he is not free to choose those things that would be consistent with God’s desires for his life (see Rom. 8:8). Until he allows Christ to liberate him, he is a slave to sin (Rom. 6:17-22; 2 Peter 2:19).
D. The Christian Life
The Christian’s walk with God is a divine-human process. God is always at work in the believer to produce the fruit of righteousness and Christlikeness, but the believer is also responsible for acting. It is not a matter of “let go and let God” on the one hand, or of living in the power of the flesh on the other hand.
Paul communicates this balance clearly, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20; also compare Phil. 2:12-13). God is at work in us, but we are also to act in obedience.
E. Security and Comfort
God is on the throne. He is in complete control of all creation. Even though all things are in constant flux, nothing escapes God’s constant notice. “Even all the hairs on your head are numbered” (Matt.10:30). Every time a hair falls out, every time you comb your hair, the Lord takes it into account! Here is Christ’s application of this truth: “So do not be afraid …” (Matt. 10:31). The fact that God knows you through and through should be a source of great security and comfort. Here is where human responsibility comes in - we respond with trust.
When inexplicable things happen - the untimely death of a loved one, a serious accident - a Christian can find great peace and comfort in the knowledge that a loving God is sovereign in all things.
Next time you are in an airplane try an experiment. Look down at a city and watch all the tiny cars and houses below. Then meditate on the fact that God intimately knows and cares for all of those people. He is concerned and active in the complex web of their decisions, hopes, and trials.
Each of us is significant because the living God places us in high esteem. “By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him” (1 John 4:9).
E. "Fate" and "Luck"
"The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). In view of the overwhelming scriptural evidence for divine sovereignty, terms like fate and luck lose their significance. In an ultimate sense, nothing happens by pure chance.
Nevertheless, the biblical doctrine of human responsibility is just as clear, and the lives of all people bear this out. No one can live as though he were a machine programmed by the forces of fate. He must make choices.
F. The Avoidance of Responsibility
We have an ability to contemplate the future and a desire to affect it. The problem is that we want to exercise free will, but we do not want the responsibility that goes with it. People try to avoid responsibility in a number of ways.
One effort has been to set up a random universe in which the casual agents are time and chance. Atheistic evolutionism is an attempt to kick out the Owner of the universe. If we don’t have to answer to a personal Creator, there is no need to worry about responsibility for our sinful actions and thoughts.
Another effort in some psychiatric schools of thought is the idea that determinism plays an important role. For instance, “Freudian psychoanalysis turns out to be an archeological expedition back into the past in which a search is made for others on whom to pin the blame for the patients’ behavior. The fundamental idea is to find out how others have wronged him.”10 A person’s behavior is determined by factors beyond his control (God, religion, parents). But the Bible makes it clear that regardless of the past, no one can blame another for his own bad behavior.
The fatalism of astrology is another deterministic escape hatch. Enthusiasts of astrology desire the power to control their destiny in spite of the fatalism of the system. In a practical sense the fatalism is useful to the extent that it offers an escape from moral responsibility.
XII. Conclusion
In this last section we have considered only a few of the implications of the divine sovereignty/human responsibility mystery. The biblical truths involved in God’s sovereign purpose and control of His universe should lead us to a greater appreciation of God Himself. The more we meditate on these things, the more we can picture His loving concern, wisdom, holiness, and greatness.
Make me understand your ways, O Lord!
Teach me your paths!
Guide me into your truth and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
Remember your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.
(Ps. 25:4-6).
"My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. The Father and I are one" (John 10:27-30).
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39).
Endnotes
1Lewis Carroll, The Annotated Alice (New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1960), p. 251.
2Here are some other passages that support divine election and sovereignty: Exodus 14:17; Deuteronomy 29:4; 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:25; 9:15-10:9; 2 Samuel 12:11; 1 Kings 22:23; 1 Chronicles 10:14; Job 14:5; 38:1-42:3; Psalms 33:10-11; 47:7-8; 75:6-8; 102:18; 104:1-35; 139:16; Isaiah 14:24; 40:12-26; 53:10; 55:11; Jeremiah 10:23; 15:2; Daniel 2:21; 4:17; Amos 4:7; Matthew 10:29-30; Luke 10:21; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:9; Revelation 17:17.
3J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1967), p. 22. Compare James 4:12.
4Ibid., p. 23 (italics his).
5Also compare Matthew 24:31; 25:34; John 6:44, 65; Acts 13:48 (“and all who were appointed for eternal life believed”); 16:14; Ephesians 1:4-5, 11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Revelation 17:8.
6John R. W. Scott, Basic Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1958), p. 94
7Some other passages that emphasize the human responsibility to respond to the offer of salvation include Acts 13:38-39; Romans 1:16; 3:22, 26, 28; 4:5; 10:9-10; Galatians 3:22; Revelation 3:20.
8John Warwick Montgomery, Where is History Going? (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1969), p. 160.
9Kenneth G. Howskins, The Challenge of Religious Studies (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1972), p. 24.
10Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1970), p. 6.
Blog entry
23 Mar 2012 - 1:45pm
I have been pondering myself and how I can keep myself on a humble and right path I have come across with one important aspect. It is my emotions and differences on high emotions. For me it seems to be so that what ever I do and come across what is my emotional response is the key for me to success. If I can keep myself on a emotion that is positive, non-judging, loving and humble I am doing very well. When I am dropping into judgment, negativity I hit my head on a wall – sometimes literally.
The most difficult emotion for me to manage is when I am uplifted and I am happy but I select a path where I am happy but I start to have thoughts of what is the truth. I step in my mind to a truth speaking section where I am not judging but I am overlooking others opinions from my truth perspective. This state of mind is tricky one I need to take close look at also when I am feeling powered up to the skies.
I realized that for me it is best not to try to be a teacher with an information I have learned. For me it is best to be a observer of my own inner world that I know and report that. The difference here is that what is my own and what is at some level “copied” patterns.
Comments are welcome
Love
T
Teaching
20 Mar 2012 - 10:57am
Consciousness
http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com
Consciousness Is The All Pervasive Underlying Force That Sustains Life On A Universal Scale and Determines EVERY Event, Condition, Circumstance Experienced In Your Life
Consciousness is the driving force, the seed of all creation, the All which
pervades and permeates the entire Cosmos.
"To see things in the seed, that is genius" - Lao-Tzu
All Of Creation, Individually and Collectively, Both Seen And Unseen...From The Microscopic To The Macroscopic And Beyond, When Traced To Its Origin Is The Result Of Consciousness.
The quality of yours determines the quality of your results and YOU are the One who chooses that for yourself.
Choose Consciously...Live Consciously...Create Consciously and you'll experience a quality of life that you may have previously "perceived" as being unattainable which is the one and only thing that makes it just that.
Consciousness and The Aspects of Mind That Makes Consciousness Real and Tangible
Should you mention consciousness and ask the average person what it means, most will reply that it refers to an "awake state."
That's actually far more "true" than most comprehend. But being "awake" and being conscious go beyond walking around with our eyes open as we engage in the many physical activities that we perform each and every day.
In fact most engage in their day to day activities quite "unconsciously" and as a result "perceive" that life just delivers what it will. In the vast majority of cases, due to this "asleep with eyes wide open state", what life delivers is in more cases than not far less than desired and precisely why so many believe that getting what they want is hopeful or wishful thinking at best.
But it's not. Many are just "unknowingly and unconsciously" choosing that for themselves.
That's why it's so vital to become conscious of how you utilize your consciousness which clearly reveals how and why you experience whatever it is that you experience in your life.
Once you understand that consciousness...more specifically the quality of your consciousness is what determines every aspect of your life and you choose to direct and harmonize yours with what you want...you'll get it.
And it NEVER fails. In fact it CAN'T fail. Never has and never will.
So let's explore consciousness and how you can become "awake" to the power that you, I and everyone already has to begin creating and experiencing a kind and quality of life that you may have previously "perceived" as being unattainable for you.
The consciousness we'll be exploring in the upcoming paragraphs has much more to do with the creation of life...more specifically your life and the events, conditions and circumstances experienced in your life than being "awake" in the physical sense of the word.
It's literally the seed level from where life flows from.
It's my hope that the following will assist you in "truly awakening" to a much "Higher Truth" than most choose and through that understanding that you might begin experiencing the transformation in your own life that's made available and possible through "consciously choosing" to do so.
Let's begin by exploring "consciousness" at a deeper level...
Consciousness is the seed of all of creation. According to modern day scientists as well as the mystics, sages and masters since antiquity, consciousness is the omniscient, omnipresent, all pervasive substance...the essence if you will behind ALL existence both the seen and the unseen...the source of EVERY event, condition and circumstance experienced in your life individually as well as on a global scale.
To discover how to begin to ingeniously create your reality consciously, intentionally and purposefully is as simple and complex as choosing to awaken, enhance your awareness, and begin consciously utilizing your inalienable right...your power to choose in such a way that that harmonizes with what you want rather than what you don't.
It's thorough awakening and becoming "conscious" that you'll reclaim your power to do so.
The awakening I'm referring to is achieved through choosing to enhance and expand your awareness regarding life and the unfailing, never wavering process...what I often refer to as The Perfect Plan that determines how each and every aspect of life unfolds.
Depending on how you arrived at this page, and your current depth of understanding regarding your individual creative ability to be, do and have whatever you choose for yourself, it may prove beneficial to explore and develop an understanding of Universal Laws, also referred to as Laws of Nature or Spiritual Laws as well as Quantum Physics to provide you with a solid foundational understanding as to how and why consciousness plays such a major role in creating each and every event, condition and circumstance in both your individual life as well as the ever unfolding process of creation determining how ALL things in the world around you come to be.
All of creation, those things which can be seen and experienced in the physical world as well as the unseen or meta-physical aspects of creation, when traced to their origin exist as the result of Consciousness.
In order to grasp and fully comprehend the crucial nature of consciousness as it relates to the physical, financial, relational, emotional and spiritual aspects of your life and to establish the level of self-awareness necessary to become a purposeful, intentional and conscious creator of the events, conditions and circumstances which make up the moment by moment experiences in your life, an understanding of this all pervasive creative force...this essence that we all engage in every second of every minute of every day, is absolutely essential for those who choose to master their game.
In fact it's the seed that will both enable and empower you to begin consciously creating your reality in a far more desirable and predictable manner than the vast majority "perceive" as being possible.
The articles and sub-sections contained within this Consciousness section will explain in detail, yet provide a simple to grasp concept regarding the importance of becoming and remaining consciously aware of your individual consciousness (your thoughts) which serves as the often times overlooked and misunderstood source or cause of the events, conditions, and circumstances which make up EVERY area of your life as well as the little understood aspects of consciousness which serve as the driving force behind all of creation.
Through discovering these "seemingly" individual and separate aspects of consciousness, it will become quite evident that all that exists, from the macroscopic to the microscopic and beyond all inevitably lead to and are the result of "One True Source" referred to as the Super-Conscious Mind.
This Super Conscious Mind has been provided many labels. God, Source Energy, Higher Power, Brahman, etc. etc. etc.
It's my hope that you won't allow man made labels and self-limiting indoctrination to limit what Source has made available to you, me and everyone else who consciously chooses it for themselves.
It's also my hope and wish for you that you'll choose to explore, discover and become consciously aware of the "true power" you hold to be, do and have anything that you choose to experience.
The first and most vital part of becoming conscious and utilizing the quality of your consciousness intentionally, purposefully and consistently begins by making the choice to keep an open mind and become aware that what you may "perceive" as being "true" may be the very "truth" that is keeping you from creating and experiencing the kind and quality of life that you so desire for yourself.
Here's what has been learned based on many years of research and experience...
Absorb it, learn it and apply it and you'll hold the key to creating a kind and quality of life for yourself that so few in today's world understand is their birthright.
The Conscious Mind
The conscious or objective aspect of mind which is finite in nature is the aspect of mind connected to the physical or finite world. The conscious aspect of mind is what determines your normal or day to day level of awareness.
The conscious is limited to the physical and finite although plays a vital and necessary role in every aspect of your life. In addition to planning, reason and logical thinking processes etc. it's the conscious aspect of mind that enables us to be conscious of the fact that we are conscious at all first of all.
It enables us to fully appreciate life and the things...events, conditions and circumstances we encounter and experience in life.
But it's role is very limited in creating the REALLY BIG desires we hold.
The Subconscious Mind
The subconscious aspect of mind, which is "infinite" in nature is the subjective or right brained aspect of mind who's primary purpose is for the storage of data, the preservation and restoration of health and serves as the communication device or the "connecting link" with the Super-Conscious mind also referred to as God, Universal Intelligence, "The Infinite Field Of Potential" or as science has labeled he/she/it "The Unified Field."
The Collective Consciousness
The Collective Consciousness is made up of the "perceived" individual conscious-nesses of the planets population which serve collectively to form a "Matrix" or appearance of reality from a physical perspective.
The Collective Consciousness is also referred to as the Gaia Mind that attempts to keep you limited and in check. Those who choose to remain asleep and "unconscious" of this aspect of mind are kept in just that state. In check and limited as the vast majority is.
The Super-Conscious Mind
The Super consciousness or Super-Conscious mind is the One Mind, The All which makes up the whole of each individualized consciousness, each of which exists as an integral part of this "One True Mind" differentiated only by individual ego and free will.
The Super-Conscious mind is the omniscient, omnipresent, all knowing and ever present Source which serves as and determines how EVERY event, condition and circumstance, both the physical as well as the meta-physical into infinity unfolds.
Blog entry
16 Mar 2012 - 11:09pm
Mother Earth is a soul, at one point in time she could have been very similar to a human in form but always a soul, a consciousness. This consciousness chose to incarnate as the beautiful green Earth because this 'soul' knew it would be exactly the experience it required in order to grow as a being, that is part of the universe.
The 'ego' aspect defines itself as a human being, the 'soul' aspect says “I'm being human because I am aware of the great potential for growth and opportunity to expand my consciousness- to expand this divine expression and perfect reflection of that which I have drawn my existence from, that which both surrounds and permeates by entire being-ness, that which is my being-ness.”
Mother Earth, as we humans affectionately know her, also came to a juncture of thought, emotion, and pure inspired realization, not so different from your own soul's choice to incarnate. By being planetary, the consciousness that is Mother Earth is able to expand it-self in it's own unique and divine expression.
Just as a tree that digs it's roots deep into Mother Earth, our souls delve deep into the universe- all that is. A tree is an extension of Mother Earth. It may be it's own kind of tree with unique foliage and branches suited for it's environment but the tree is a part of the entirety of Mother Earth. A tree on one side of the world has as much of an impact on the opposite side of the world as the Sun does to the balance of light and dark in the sky. Why? Because it is all connected, not physically of course, but energeticlly. The tree is the intimate expression of Mother Earth, a reflection of her own consciousness expanding and becoming more. So it does not matter that the tree is set in one spot where it's roots have dug deep. The tree is still spirit at heart and spirit is one.
The Human being, the inhabitants of this beautiful and compassionate Mother Earth, are like the trees. Our roots stretch deep into the universe within ourselves. Our branches reach up to the higher dimensions and pull light into our bodies. And as the tree is a part of Mother Earth yet still It's own being, so to is our soul a singular piece out of countless pieces that fit perfectly into a cosmic puzzle.
Without the Earth to dig it's roots into, the tree would not be, without the universe our soul would have no existence. You affect every 'thing', from big to small to far to near. Even the 'things' you are unaware of, you affect, and they affect you as well.
So a tree is aware of it's source of light, the Sun, and all that the Earth shares without expecting anything in return. It knows it's existence is secure and it is allowed to be. What if even one of these factors were unaccounted for? Then the tree-soul might become more like a human-soul and be-come frantic or get easily worked up over not knowing that certain variables aren't in place. (Now in reality a tree would not react this way, it is aware in a different kind of way than that of a human's perception, but humor me here.) Then maybe the tree may feel the need to secure what it believes it needs by some other means besides simply receiving it from the Earth. Perhaps it steals or murders to gain what it desires for 'survival'.
Would the Earth then punish the tree? Would it take more away from the tree and possibly lock it away from all of it's loved ones? Never. Mother Earth would not, because it is her nature to be compassionate, to give from her heart and then give some more. The Source is like this as well, maybe Mother Earth's own unconditional love is a personal reflection of this quality. She is such a wise teacher!
Like I said before, it is all connected. Human beings are Source. Source is what we are! And as a human we are an expression of the Source. So why then do we treat those of us who have felt like they did not have what they needed to survive (like the tree in the scenario before) so harshly when they chose to acquire those necessities by another means, such as stealing? I speak about the prison system, the entire system in general, and the way the government chooses to handle the affairs of one human to another. At this point I feel the topic veering off course in a way but at the same time I was somehow leading into this. If we are truly expressions of this 'god' then why do we allow a government system to dictate our lives? Why do we believe we are free when each law that is passed only restricts us even more!?
We should take a page out of Source's book – Oh wait, we are the pages of that book! haha just a sprinkling of humor – or a page out of Mother Earth's book, and treat those deemed 'criminals' by our control systems with compassion. Not just criminals but all fellow human beings. I mean “Tree is to Earth as Human is to God”! So would you ever harm your 'god'? (or goddess, which I realize I have only been using the masculine this whole time, but anywhere I said 'God' could also be interpreted as 'Goddess', I could have edited it but who wants to do all that lol) Would a tree harm the Earth Mother?
Be as the Universe, after all it is what you are!
Teaching
15 Mar 2012 - 6:08pm
Do you FEEL a strong pull on your heart-strings to begin a Mission Now?
Learn More about Project: Eagle Triad here:
http://ashtarstrinity.sanandaseagles.com/index.html
Commit to 15-20 minutes per day to Project: Eagle Triad
write to janisel (@) sanandaseagles.com
...first you will fly, then you will soar...
Time to Get Serious
http://ashtarstrinity.sanandaseagles.com/channelings/time_to_get_serious.html
ASHTAR
Channeled Through Janisel
My Dearest Friends.... I come to assure you that things are as they should be. There are great amounts of energy bombarding your Earth at this time and everything is being greatly accelerated. NOW is the time for 'focus'. You who are the bridges between Heaven and Earth are the 'hands and feet' of the Command, so to speak. It is through you that much of our work is done. As I said, much has been accelerated and, although we wish you to remain in a state of joy and lightheartedness, it is now time to put your 'work' in its proper perspective and concentrate on the mission at hand. We are working very diligently to gather the Lightworkers together in order to prepare the general population for what is to come.
This means that each and every one of you are needed at this time to make a commitment in your own heart as to what role you will play in this. In other words, it is time to get serious. We are not asking you to give your lives over to the Ashtar Command exclusively, for you each have many missions and sub-missions that you are here to accomplish. What we are asking, however, is that for those of you who feel your connection to us to band together, so to speak, in order to establish and implement certain 'activities' towards the goals which have been set before us. You have shown that you can do this numerous times, such as in the planting of the crystals and the activation of the grid. This was an excellent example of the Unity we wish for you to achieve, and our heartfelt thanks go to all of you who have participated in this project. Rest assured there will be other projects we will ask you to work on. For the time being, we are asking you to continue in this Unity, and stay focused on the tasks at hand.
Do not let yourselves become 'bogged down' in the mundane affairs of your day-to-day activities. We wish for those of you who are aligned with the Command and its work to use this wonderful email forum to interact with each other in manifesting this bond of Unity. You are held within the gentle hand of All That Is and encircled with the energy of Unconditional Love of such depths that your present consciousness can not truly comprehend its magnitude. We of the Command and the Spiritual Hierarchy are working most diligently to help you and all mankind reach their full potential. As a 'return energy exchange', we ask each of you to now search your hearts and decide what it is that you are capable and willing to do in partnership with us. For you see, we are truly in a partnership in which each and every one must play their part. NOW is the time to begin. NOW is the time to decide your focus.
NOW is the time to dedicate yourselves to the work at hand. We need your hands, we need your feet, we need your voice, we ask your commitment. To paraphrase the words of The Most Radiant One, spoken so long ago, "it is time to be about the Father's business". There is no longer the luxury of time to be spent in petty pursuits, bickering, judgment, or anger. Your time, which we have worked towards for eons, is at hand. Know that, even though you may not see us in your skies, we are most definitely close to you, and send you our deepest blessings and love.
Your Friend and Brother,
Ashtar
=== --- === --- === --- === ---
All we first ask is that you commit 15-20 minutes
per day in a meditation with our Project: Eagle Triad
write to janisel (@) sanandaseagles.com
Here are more free links for your IMMEDIATELY NEEDED Lightworker Learning:
ASHTAR and The Ashtar Command
http://ashtarstrinity.sanandaseagles.com/pages/ashtar_command.html
MEDITATIONS
http://ashtarstrinity.sanandaseagles.com/meditations/meditations.html
SPACECRAFT in Art Throughout History
http://sanandaseagles.com/pages/spacecraft_in_art.html
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles. Isaiah 40:31
Teaching
14 Mar 2012 - 11:26am
The Seven Principles of Maat - Universal Principles
http://www.assatashakur.org
I. The Principle of Psychokinesis
"MIND is, thought; the universe is a mental creation. This first great Principle embodies the idea that "All is Mind." It explains that (which is the substantial essence underlying all the outward manifestations and appearances which you know under the terms of "the material universe," "the phenomena of life," "matter," "energy," "space-time," "distance," "speed," "relativity," and, in short, all that is apparent to your material senses) is SPIRIT. This SPIRIT may be considered and thought of as A UNIVERSAL, INFINITE, LIVING MIND.
This living MIND performs gastrulation, which is a turning of itself inside out, manifesting its esoteric NATURE outwardly. Therefore, all the phenomenal worlds and universes are simply a mental creation of (MIND), subject to the laws of created things, and the universes, as a whole and in their parts or units, have their existence in the Mind. It is in this Mind that we "live and move and have our being." This SUBJECTIVE OBSERVATION of CREATION is the Principle which establishes the mental nature of the universes and easily explains all of the varied mental and psychic phenomena. Without such explanation these phenomena are not understandable and defy scientific inspection. An understanding of this first great Principle of Psychokinesis empowers the individual to comprehend the laws of the mental universe, and to apply the same to his or her well being and RHYTHMED advancement. The serious student is empowered to apply intelligently the great mental laws, instead of using them in a haphazard manner. With the Master Key in his or her possession, the student may unlock the many doors of the mental and psychic sanctuaries of knowledge and enter the same freely and intelligently. This Principle explains the NATURE of matter, energy, space-time, and why and how all these are subordinate to the mastery of mind. Those who understand the knowledge of the mental nature of the universe are well advanced on the path to mastery. Without this master key, mastery is impossible, and the student knocks in vain at the many doors of Creation.
The lack of knowledge of this principle is why modern man thinks that the Pyramids were built by aliens. This knowledge can't be acquired or developed by going to church or reading old desert based religious books full of religiosity and denominational benightedness.
II. The Principle of Correspondence
"As above, so below; as below, so above." This Principle embodies the idea that there is always a correspondence or correlation between the laws and phenomena of the various levels of being and life. This aphorism, "As above, so below; as below, so above," gives one the means of solving many a mysterious paradox and hidden secrets of nature. There are levels beyond your knowing, but when you apply the Principle of Correspondence to them you are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to you. This Principle exists at the various levels of the material, mental, and spiritual universes and is of universal application. This Principle has been considered to be one of the most important mental instruments by which humankind is able to set aside the obstacles which hide the unknown from view. Its use can even remove the "Veil of Isis" (death) so that one can catch a glimpse of the other side. Just as a knowledge of the principles of geometry empowers the astronomer to measure distant suns and their movements while seated in an observatory, a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence empowers you to reason intelligently from the known to the unknown. All the Principles have an interrelationship with Correspondence. Correspondence draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION. Studying the monad, one is studying the universe.
III. The Principle of Vibration
"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates." This Principle embodies the idea that everything is in motion; everything vibrates; nothing is at rest; facts which science endorses and which each new scientific discovery tends to verify. Yet this Principle was enunciated thousands of years ago by masters of old. This Principle explains that the differences between various manifestations of matter, energy, space-time, mind, and even spirit result largely from varying rates of vibration. From CREATION'S copulation which is pure spirit, down to the grossest form of matter, all is in vibration. From the "in and out of bond infinite times in a finite moment" (CREATION'S copulation), to the expansion and collapse of a universe, the rate of vibration is observed as states of "proper" time. The higher the vibration, the higher the position in the scale. The vibration of spirit is at such an infinite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is seemingly at rest -- just as a rapidly turning wheel seems to be motionless. At the other end of the scale, there are gross forms of matter whose vibrations are so low as to seem at rest. Between these two opposing points, there are billions upon billions of varying degrees of vibration. From quark, squark, lepton, slepton, electron, atom, and molecule, to planets and universes, everything is in vibratory motion. This is also true in the fields of energy and force (which are but varying degrees of vibration); and also at the mental levels (whose states depend upon vibrations); and even at the spiritual levels. All the Principles have an interrelationship with Vibration. Vibration draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION. An understanding of the Principle, with the appropriate application, empowers the student to control their own mental vibrations as well as those of others. The masters also apply this Principle to the conquering of natural phenomena in various ways. "Those who understand the Principle of Vibration have taken hold of the scepter of power."
IV. The Principle of Opposition
"Everything is dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes bond; all truths are but partial truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."
This Principle embodies the idea that everything is dual; everything has two opposing sides; everything has its pair of opposites, of which all are ancient aphorisms. It explains the paradoxes that have perplexed so many and have been stated as follows: "Thesis and antithesis are identical in nature, but different in degree"; "opposites are the same, differing only in degree"; "the pairs of opposites may be reconciled"; "in and out of bond NOTHING and POSSIBILITY meet"; "extremes bond"; "everything is and is not at the same time"; "every truth is partially false"; "all truths are a paradox"; "there are at least two sides to every story," etc. It explains that in everything there are two opposing points or opposite aspects (complementarity), and that opposites are really only the two extremes of the same event, with many varying degrees between them. To illustrate, "hot and cold," although opposites, are really the same phenomenon, the differences consisting merely of degrees of the same "event." Look at your thermometer and see if you can discover where hot terminates and cold begins! In actuality, there is no such thing as absolute hot or absolute cold -- the two terms "hot" and "cold" simply indicate varying degrees of the same event, and that same event which manifests as hot and cold is merely a form, variety, and rate of vibration. So "hot" and "cold" are simply the two opposing points of that which you call "temperature" -- and the phenomena attendant thereupon are manifestations of the Principle of Opposition. The same Principle is involved in the case of "light and darkness," which are the same event, the difference consisting of varying degrees between the two opposing points of the phenomenon. Where does darkness leave off and light begin? What is the difference between "large and small," "hard and soft," "black and white," "sharp and dull," "noise and quiet," "high and low," "positive and negative?" The Principle of Opposition explains these paradoxes.
The same Principle operates on the spiritual and mental levels. Take an example from the mental level -- that of "love and hate" -- two mental states apparently totally different. Yet there are degrees of hate and degrees of love, and a middle point in which you use the terms "like or dislike," which shade into each other so gradually that sometimes you are at a loss to know whether you like or dislike or neither. All are simply degrees of the same event as you will find if you will but feel it for a moment. More than this (and considered of more importance by the students), it is possible to change the vibrations of hate to the vibrations of love in one's own mind and in the minds of others. Many of you who read these lines have had personal experiences of the involuntary rapid transition from love to hate, and the reverse, in your own case and that of others. You will therefore realize the possibility of this being accomplished by the use of the Will, by means of knowing the Will. "Good and evil" are but opposing points of the same event, and the student understands the art of altering evil into good by means of an application of the Principle of Opposition.
In short, the Art of Immersion becomes a phase of Psychokinesis known and practiced by the ancient and modern masters. All the Principles have an interrelationship with Opposition. Opposition draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION -- the Big Bang if you will. An understanding of the Principles will empower one to change their own vibration as well as that of others, if they will devote the time and study necessary to master the art.
V. The Principle of Rhythm
"Everything flows out and in; everything has its season; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing expresses itself in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates." -- 16 This Principle embodies the idea that in everything there exists a measured motion to and fro; an outflow and inflow; a swing backward and forward; a pendulum like movement; a tide like ebb and flow; a high tide and a low tide. All things "come in and out of bond" between the two opposing points which exist in accordance with the Principle of Opposition described previously. There is always an action and a reaction; an advance and a retreat; a rising and a sinking. This is in the affairs of the universe, suns, worlds, humankind, animals, mind, energy, and matter. This law is established in the creation and destruction of worlds; in the rise and fall of nations; and finally in the mental states of humans. The students that realize this Principle find its universal application and discover the means to overcome its effect upon themselves. They apply the mental Law of Neutralization. They cannot annul the Principle or cause it to cease its operation. They do not escape the effect the Principle will have on them at one level, but they have learned how to escape its effects upon themselves to a certain degree. They have learned how to USE it, instead of being USED BY it. In this and similar methods consist the art of the masters. The masters immerse themselves at the point at which they desire to rest, and then neutralize the rhythmic swing of the pendulum which wants to carry them to the opposite point. All individuals who have attained any degree of self mastery do this naturally, more or less unconsciously, but the masters do this consciously by the use of their Will. They attain a degree of poise and mental firmness beyond belief of the masses who are swung backward and forward on the pendulum of Opposition. All the Principles have an interrelationship with Rhythm. Rhythm draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION. This principle and that of Opposition have been closely studied by the masters, and the method of counteracting, neutralizing, and USING them forms an important part of Psychokinesis
VI. The Principle of Cause and Effect
"Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is just a name for Law not recognized; there are many fields of causation, but nothing escapes the Law of Destiny
This principle embodies the idea that there is a cause for every effect; and an effect from every cause. It explains that "everything happens according to law"; that nothing ever "merely happens"; that there is no such thing as chance; that while there are various fields of cause and effect, the higher dominating the lower fields, still nothing ever entirely escapes the Law (destiny). The masters understand the art and method of rising above the ordinary field of cause and effect, and by mentally rising to a higher field they become causers instead of effects. The masses of people are carried along obedient to environment, the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves, heredity, suggestion, and other outward causes moving them about like pawns on the chessboard of life. But the masters, rising to the field above, dominate their moods, character, qualities, and powers as well as the environment surrounding them, and become movers instead of pawns. They help to PLAY THE GAME OF LIFE, instead of being played and moved about by the environment. They USE the Principles instead of being used. The masters obey the causation of the higher fields, but they help to RULE on their own level.
All the Principles have an interrelationship with Cause and Effect. Cause "comes in and out of bond" with Effect; all EVENTS are between the cause and effect. Cause and Effect draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION. In this statement there is condensed a wealth of knowledge.
VII. The Principle of Gender
"Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all levels." This Principle embodies the idea that there is GENDER expressed in everything -- the masculine and feminine principles ever at work. The NATURE of the copulation of CREATION displays in this principle. This is a fact not only of the physical level, but of the mental and even the spiritual levels. On the physical levels the Principle presents itself as SEX; on the higher levels it takes higher forms, but the Principle is ever the same. No creation, physical, mental, or spiritual, is possible without this Principle. An understanding of its laws will throw light on many a subject that has perplexed the minds of humans.
The Principle of Gender works ever in the direction of generation, re- generation, and creation. Everything and every person contains the two elements or aspects of this great Principle within it, him, or her. Every male thing has the female element as well; every female contains also the male principle. If you are to understand the philosophy of mental and spiritual creation, generation, and re-generation, you must understand and study this Principle. All the Principles have an inter- relationship with Gender. As the NOTHING "comes in" and the POSSIBILITY "out of bond," Gender is created. Gender draws its NATURE from the copulation of CREATION. It contains the solution to many mysteries of life.
Ma'at, goddess of truth & justice, kneels before the great mother goddess Isis, and spreads out her wings to protect the cartouche containing the name of Queen Nefertari, favorite wife of Ramesses II
* The above seven principles are also considered her seven virtues. There is a list of her 42 Laws or Principles which came 2000 years before the Ten Commandments came about. If you like to learn of the 42 you can find them here: www.sacredtempleofra.net.
This is the only post I will be putting out today. I am still filled with pain, just not as much as I was Sunday and Monday. I will not be bring forth any messages until the pain from my mouth and head are quiet enough for me to focus on any other energy or thought.
thank you once again to Mindushka for asking through a blog (her first one) for healing and thank you to the ones that have stopped by that blog to help.
Brightest Blessings,
Blog entry
13 Mar 2012 - 3:53pm
March 11, 2012, Sunday: Day 1
Wrote and intention for manifestation. Meditated on that intention with incense that included: hyssop, frankincese, myrrh, and sage. Crystals: rose quartz, angelite, jasper, sun stone and a clear quartz wand.
Intention:
I ask the Divine Creator, my guides and all the angels assist me in the connecting with my true and inner self on a consistent basis everyday. I call for strengthening of my inner peace and a sense of peace in the midst of negative, chaotic situations or circumstances. I ask for the spiritual tools I need and strengthening of the spiritual tools I currently have. I ask for a life of peace, happiness, propserity, health and success. I ask the Divine Creator, my guides and angels to show me frequent, tangible, obvious signs of my spiritual progress. And So It Is! <3
Blog entry
13 Mar 2012 - 3:45pm
March 12, 2012, Monday: Day 2
Daily Affirmation: Today will be filled with a sense of peace and happiness. Many achievements will come with today.
Meditation:
Release: I willingly and intentionally release any type of negativity that is knowingly or unknowingly attached to me. I move forward with grace, peace and contentment having released burdens that do not serve my greater good. I forgive myself for any role I had with any of the negativity that is no longer attached to me. I fully accept my bright and positive future. I move forward with all of the blessings of the Divine Creator. And So It Is!
Activities:
* Signed up for a 5 day meditation course and completed Day 1.
* Registered for a retreat from March 30- April 1 at Peace Village.
* Prayed.
* 30 minutes of Hatha Yoga.
* Burned incense to open, cleanse and activate the sacral chakra.
Blog entry
13 Mar 2012 - 3:39pm
I had been contemplating for quite a few weeks and finally put into effect, my idea of experimenting with the Law of Manifestation. I was inspired by a book that a frien of mine wrote, "The Treasure" by Suzanne Brunnette. I will keep daily logs that will detail what I have done spiritually for the day, including personal affirmations and meditations. I will also take note of events that occur coinciding with my spiritual path. I would love feedback, comments! I intend to have great fun with this experiment and will be posting my first several days of the experiment shortly!! Namaste!!
Teaching
10 Mar 2012 - 12:25pm
Rumi: Faith, Knowledge, Reason, and Love
By, Donald Casey
www.fountainmagazine.com
During a trip to Turkey in the summer of 2009, I had an opportunity to visit the tomb of the 13th century Sufi mystic and prolific author, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, known more commonly as Rumi (1207-1273). He was a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a well-known Christian theologian and mystic. The "pilgrimage" to Rumi's tomb turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me.
Prompted by that visit, it seemed useful to explore what Rumi had written about the subject of faith and reason because of the importance of the topic in the Catholic religious tradition which has always recognized a potential for tension about the role of reason in one's faith. This tension has usually been resolved in the insight that the expression of faith in God cannot diminish the importance of human reason in providing a conceptual framework by which that faith can be expressed and shared with others. However, the more one delves into Rumi's life and his mystical poetry it becomes clear that for him, the issue of faith and reason is incomplete unless one includes the central theme of love.
Rumi's poetry and parables are not a product of academic theological reflection but emerge from a deeply felt experience of God's presence and God's love in his life. I was curious to know what role human reason might play in Rumi's thought and writings and whether he thought purely rational reflection and discourse about God is valuable. I propose to show in this essay that for Rumi, human reason is valuable in the search for God. Reason cannot be ignored, but it has only an instrumental value in one's faith and relationship with God. The starting point for my argument is Rumi's view of human knowledge.
Knowledge in general: two perspectives
A. The need for knowledge:
According to Rumi, the human person cannot reach the final goal of human existence, which is union with God, without adequate knowledge. Perfect union with God however will be fully achieved only in the afterlife when knowledge will recede in importance. According to the biographer Cihan Okuyucu, for Rumi, the mind is like a torch and knowledge is its light. But he adds that for Rumi there is an even stronger light for the mind and that is love. (Okuyucu, 2007, p. 79)
B. Autonomy:
Regarding the use of one's mind, Rumi has great respect for the autonomy of the individual's mind. Rumi urges each of us to pursue our own insights and not to depend simply on what others have said. He explains by using this metaphor: Does a mountain produce any sound on its own? The answer is no. Whatever sounds we hear in the mountains are echoes of voices made by others. So too the person who does not set out to learn and understand on his own is simply an echo chamber. But "…if your words begin to flow from a source within, only then you will fly with your own wings" (Masnawi 6: 175 quoted in Okuyucu 2007, p. 84).
Knowledge ultimately is only an instrumental value. It is one of the necessary means for attaining full human "maturity," not the sole necessary means.
Further, not all knowledge is equally valuable. It depends in great part on the character of the person who claims to have knowledge. Rumi illustrates this by recounting the story of an arrogant scholar and an uneducated sailor on board a ship. The scholar berated the sailor for what he had done with his life, for essentially wasting it because the sailor was unlettered. Later a fierce storm arose and the ship began to founder. The sailor asked the anxious scholar if he knew how to swim. The latter replied no. "Too bad" commented the sailor, "it looks like you may lose your life despite all your knowledge" (Masnawi 1:112 quoted in Okuyucu 2007, p. 79). The story illustrates that knowledge must be tempered with humility if one is to reach full maturity. This is profound advice for anyone who studies philosophy or theology or any academic discipline for that matter. Knowledge therefore can be a mixed blessing, but it can also be a fine instrument in assisting the individual to become what God wants that person to be. With this understanding of the role of knowledge in general, the next focus is the role of reason in gaining knowledge.
An important practical role for reason
Reason has an important practical or regulatory role for Rumi. One of its primary functions is to serve as master of "carnal" desires. It is disputed, but I believe that Rumi offers a dualistic vision of the human person which is not unlike that of Plato's body and soul. According to Rumi, the rational side of human nature must conquer and control the carnal. Rumi says that there is an opposition between body and spirit, a kind of warfare in which the body prevails in most people. But in Prophets and saints, reason triumphs. He urges his followers to let reason gain the upper hand. (Chittick, 1983, p. 34) The following lines express the struggle between reason and the carnal self:
The (carnal) nature desires to take revenge on its adversary: reason is an iron chain upon the flesh.
It comes and prevents it (the flesh) and restrains it: reason is like a police-inspector controlling its good and evil (actions).
Reason that is allied to Faith is like a just police-inspector; it is the guardian and magistrate of the city of the heart. (Masnawi: 2181 quoted in Can, 2005, p. 182)
Rumi's vision is that a person who uses reason wisely, that is in its regulatory role, will discover the true path to human fulfillment in God. (Can, 2005 p. 182) The words of the poem The Sunrise Ruby, illustrate this theme:
The Sunrise Ruby
In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of water.
She asks, "Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth."
He says, "There's nothing left of me.
I'm like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight."
This is how Hallaj said, I am God,
and told the truth!
The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.
Completely become hearing and ear,
and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don't think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there.
(Rumi, The Essential Rumi Coleman Barks retrieved from http://www.khamush.com/sufism/hallaj.html)
The limits of reason and the existence of God
Rumi is sometimes puzzling in his views on the value of reason in grappling with the existence of God. He seems satisfied that human reason can know God's existence (yet reason cannot reveal the nature of God) but he doesn't engage in any rigorous defense of that position. (Okuyucu, 2007, pp. 93-94). Instead, he proposes parables as guides for his readers' own reflection, creating a convergence of probabilities, to use the happy phrase of John Henry Newman. In one such parable, he recounts the story of an atheistic philosopher (the choice of a philosopher as atheist is revealing) and a doctor. The philosopher was feeling ill and so consulted a doctor for help. The doctor asked what the philosopher wanted and the latter replied that he sought health. To that the doctor replied: "Tell me what it is and I'll get it for you." The philosopher was perplexed and admitted that he could not tell the doctor what health was (Okuyucu, 2007, p. 93).
Rumi is saying that like the philosopher, we can know that health exists, but we struggle to understand what it is. So too with God's existence. We can know that God exists, but we will never understand the nature of God. Moreover, knowing that God exists through rational proof will not sustain a lasting faith or faithful union. Reason can bring a person only so far and then that person has to move beyond the limits of reason and simply abandon themselves to God. Rumi uses the example of going to a tailor shop for new clothes. Your mind can get you to the threshold of the shop, but once there, you need to let the tailor do his work (Furuzanfar 168, quoted in Okuyucu, 2007, p. 94). There comes a time when reason is of no further use, even though it helps control the carnal self, raises us above the animals to the level of humanity, and provides a path to faith.
Rejection of reason
Having lauded reason's role in achieving human enrichment and fulfillment, Rumi startles the reader by advising us to abandon reason as a mischief maker. "Sell reason and mind and buy excitement," he says. What you call reason and intellect are a guess and an illusion but excitement is insight. Sacrifice reason in the presence of Mustafa (the Prophet of Islam) and say "God is enough for me" (Masnawi 1408 quoted in Can, 2005, pp.184-185).
In a wonderfully descriptive phrase reminiscent of how Nietzsche can startle his reader, Rumi writes in the Divan: "I grabbed reason by its ear and said: ‘O reason! Get out. Today I am saved from you. O reason, take your hand off me. Today I attained insanity, and held on to it" (Divan-i Kabir no. 1185 quoted in Can, 2005, p. 186). Ultimately, the ability to reason which we have been discussing shows itself to be only a faculty of a material mind. Rumi had indeed praised this material mind, which provides us with many benefits, and distinguishes us from the animals. But to finally attain God, we have to follow another path, the path of love. The poem Secret Places illustrates this point:
Secret Places
Lovers find secret places
inside this violent world
where they make transactions
with beauty.
Reason says, Nonsense.
I have walked and measured the walls here.
There are no places like that.
Love says, There are.
Reason sets up a market
and begins doing business.
Love has more hidden work.
Hallaj steps away from the pulpit
And climbs the stairs of the gallows.
Lovers fell a truth inside themselves
That rational people keep denying.
It is reasonable to say, Surrender
Is just an idea that keeps people
From leading their lives.
Love responds, No. This thinking
Is what is dangerous.
Using language obscures
What Shams came to give.
Every day the sun rises
Out of low word-clouds
Into burning silence.
(Rumi, 2007, p. 48)
The right path
There is another path, not the one illuminated by reason, which we must follow in order to attain union with God, who is the purpose of human existence. There is a "spiritual reason" superior to "material reason" (Ibid., p. 187). In fact, calling this faculty reason is really only a metaphor for a mystical love and understanding of God. There is an even stronger light for the mind than material reason and that is love (Okuyucu op. cit., p. 79). Elsewhere Rumi says, "May the people with reason be far from the lovers of God… If someone with reason comes to our assembly, do not let him in, but if a lover of God comes, welcome him and say, ‘Welcome'… Love shies away from the light of reason. It is a very bad thing to become old at a young age" (Divan-i Kabir 172 quoted in Can, op. cit., p. 186).
What does Rumi mean by Love?
Since my religious tradition maintains that we are truth seekers by nature, it behooved me to ask what Rumi means by "love". There are several ways to understand the term. It is something that has to be experienced to be understood (Chittick op. cit., p. 194). The experience to which Rumi refers however is that of a Sufi mystic in ecstasy, and thus love ultimately is ineffable, it proves to be beyond words. Despite this caution, we can try to frame some meaning for the term.
First, God is love but that does not exhaust who God is. God is the source of all love, just as He is the source of everything. Second, love is the divine creative force which permeates the universe (rather like the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology). Rumi says:
Love is an infinite ocean whose skies are a bubble of foam.
Know that it is the waves of Love which make the wheel of the
Heavens turn; without Love the world would be inanimate.
How is an inorganic thing transformed into a plant?
How are the plants sacrificed to become gifted with spirit?
How is the spirit sacrificed for the Breath, of which only a
Whiff was enough to impregnate Mary?
Each atom is intoxicated with this Perfection and hastens
Toward it … Their haste says implicitly: "Glory be to God."
(Masnawi, V 3843 quoted in de Vitray-Meyerovitch, 1987, p. 102)
Third, love also is understood as that force which is strong enough to forge the union of two individuals, whether that "one" is the union of God and a creature or the union of two human creatures. The unitive power of love between friends is illustrated in the following verse:
Your soul is so close to mine
That what you dream, I know. …
I know everything you think of: your heart is so close to mine!
(Divan–i Kabir quoted in de Vitray-Meyerovitch, 1987, p. 106)
The ultimate goal of the union of friends is to achieve union or oneness with the ultimate being, God. "Love is that flame which when it rises, burns everything, only God remains" (de Vitray-Meyerovitch 1987, p. 101). "Love is the attribute of God, who has no need of anyone. To be in love with other than Him is metaphorical love" (Can 2005, p. 150). Thus we come to understand that the love of friendship is transient and must open the way to the unitive love with God that is eternal. Union with the ultimate beloved, God, is every person's goal, their "maturity." We all share the same "spark of the divine."
In the 11th century, St. Anselm's coined the phrase fides quaerens intellectum, (faith seeking understanding) which means that it is natural for a person of faith to continue to seek understanding of that faith through reason. If we were to use a similar Latin phrase about Rumi, it would be amor donans intellectum (Love providing understanding). By that we mean that in the last analysis, only love can create and give the faithful one true understanding. For Rumi, the simple faithful love of God trumps all efforts of reason to understand God or to articulate the elements of one's faith. The final path to God is not through the mind but through the heart. It is a very challenging lesson for anyone of faith to contemplate.
Donald Casey is an associate professor at the departments of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Felician College
References
Can, Sefik. 2005. Fundamentals of Rumi's Thought, New Jersey: The Light.
Chittick, William C. 2005. The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi, Bloomington: World Wisdom.
Chittick, William C. 1983. The Sufi Path of Love, Albany: State University of New York Press.
de Vitray-Meyerovitch, Eva. 1987. Rumi and Sufism, Sausalito: The Post Apollo Press.
Gülen, M. Fethullah. 2006. Love and Tolerance, New Jersey: The Light.
Okuyucu, Cihan. 2007. Rumi, Biography and Message, New Jersey: The Light.
Rumi. 2007. Bridge to the Soul, trans. Coleman Barks, New York: Harper One.
Rumi, The Essential Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks. Retrieved from http://www.khamush.com/sufism/hallaj.html
Rumi. The Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî, Rhymed Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning of Jalaluddin Rumi. trans. Ibrahim Gamard. Retrieved from http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/n-I-0109.html
Rumi. 2002. The Soul of Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks, New York: Harper One.
Schimmel, Annemarie. 1992. Islam: An Introduction, Albany: State University of New York Press.
* I love this article
Teaching
6 Mar 2012 - 11:49am
Tikkun Olam: The Spiritual Purpose of Life
http://www.innerfrontier.org
Isaac Luria, the renowned sixteenth century Kabbalist, used the phrase “tikkun olam,” usually translated as repairing the world, to encapsulate the true role of humanity in the ongoing evolution and spiritualization of the cosmos. Luria taught that God created the world by forming vessels of light to hold the Divine Light. But as God poured the Light into the vessels, they catastrophically shattered, tumbling down toward the realm of matter. Thus, our world consists of countless shards of the original vessels entrapping sparks of the Divine Light. Humanity’s great task involves helping God by freeing and reuniting the scattered Light, raising the sparks back to Divinity and restoring the broken world.
We meet similar concepts in other religions. Christ promised to return with the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and exhorted people to prepare through love, wakefulness, and charity. In Buddhism, the Bodhisattva vows to forgo final liberation until all beings have been freed from suffering. The Gnostics held that a spark of Divinity resides entrapped within the soul of humans.
Tikkun olam encompasses both the outer and the inner, both service to society by helping those in need and service to the Divine by liberating the spark within. As we are, the Divine spark lies hidden beneath our layers of egoistic self-centeredness. That spark is our conscience, through which the promptings of the Divine Will flow toward us. By pursuing spiritual inner work to strengthen our soul and purify our heart, we grow more able to bear that spark without shattering, more willing to act on what we know to be right, less willing to act in harmful or grasping ways, and more able to notice the quiet presence of conscience beneath the din of our chattering minds and reactive emotions. The work of transformation, of building a soul creates a proper vessel for the Divine spark, for our unique share of the Divine Will, returning that spark to the service of the One Who made it. By working to perfect ourselves, perfect our soul, and serve society, we each contribute in our own unique way to the perfecting of the world. This is our duty and our calling as human beings.
To contemplate and enter the process of tikkun olam, repairing or perfecting the world, we need to understand the concept of world. All the major religious traditions present a hierarchy of worlds or levels of being, from the one we ordinarily inhabit to the ultimate world of Divinity.
In Kabbalah, for example, the worlds include Asiyah or Action, Yetzirah or Formation, Beriyah or Creation, and Atzilut or Emanation. Beyond and permeating all these is the Ein Sof, the One God, the Boundless and Unconditioned. Each of the worlds corresponds to a progressively higher level of spiritual energy and will, and the related level of soul. The world of Action utilizes the sensitive energy, from which the nefesh soul forms. The world of Formation is built on the conscious energy, the basis of awareness, from which the ruach forms. The world of Creation and Light works with the creative energy, from which the neshama forms. The world of Emanation and Divine Presence brings the high energy of love, from which the chaya forms. And corresponding to the ultimate Ein Sof, touching the yechida soul, we have the transcendent energy.
The basic principle of Kabbalah is that the seeker pursues spiritual practice to transform his or her being and rise through the levels of worlds, to bring his or her own will back to the Divine will, while opening a way for the higher energies to flow down to this world, and thereby advancing the great process of tikkun olam. For millennia Kabbalists have sought to serve this process, for example by meditating on and opening to the higher energy, the Divine Light, the Light of the Shechina above their head. They allow the Light to spread through them as if sitting in its midst and draw the Light down for the Earth, for life, for their own soul. The possibility of opening to the Divine Light stands within reach of us all, if we are prepared to do the necessary inner work.
For those who can, yet another possibility presents itself, one discussed by Luria’s chief disciple Chaim Vital. With a pure heart and a quiet mind, the person enters contact with the Divine Light and raises the Light up to the Ein Sof, offering the Light to the One God in a sacred act of service wholly hidden in the higher worlds. Only then does the person open the channel for the Light to flow down through his or her soul into our world.
Tikkun olam places our spiritual practice at the heart of the epic, unfolding history of the universe: the evolution and spiritualization of the whole of creation. With each small act of kindness, with each moment of presence and practice, with each effort to see, cleanse, and integrate our inner life, with each heartfelt prayer opening to the higher energies and the higher will, we build the new world and serve the Divine Architect of meaning. Rather than view tikkun olam as a return to the perfection that existed before God created the universe, we consider the spiritualizing action as reaching toward a new and greater perfection than existed before, toward perfecting this flawed world by imbuing the whole of it with the Divine Spirit.
Because of the freedom God necessarily placed into the world, we can infer that the outcome of the whole process truly remains uncertain, that our free choice to serve the Divine and our planet through fulfilling our highest destiny really matters, that despite our insignificant size with respect to the universe our personal inner work makes a difference. If we can raise ourselves to the station where the Divine can see and act through us, then we complete the momentous work of restoring at least one part to the Whole. And so, with the great Kabbalist, we discover a vision of unbounded meaning: perfecting ourselves, perfecting the world, and helping God.
Some information came from:
Rabbi Chaim Vital, Gates of Holiness, quoted in Kaplan, Aryeh, Meditation and the Bible
Painting Created by Dale Kreiter, he explained that it’s a symbol of the Tree of Life with the Ten Emanations of God connecting 22 Letters of Foundation, showing the Serpent of Light entwined through its passageways and an intricate border detailing the 32 Paths of Wisdom.
* I resonate with much of what this article speaks about. I found it very interesting and I am very appreciative that the Creator guided me to find this and share it with so many dear people.
Teaching
4 Mar 2012 - 4:41am
I have integrated the 8-Circuit Model Of Consciousness, originally developed by Timothy Leary, into my thinking a great deal. I have, therefore, began referencing it in various writings of mine. A couple individuals have asked that I explain this model. This seemed to be a good idea. In this post I will give a basic overview of the system, and then break down the four "larval" or "hive" circuits, which are the circuits that are typical among Modern-day humans. I don't give a detailed analysis of the Post-Hive/Post-Terrestrial Circuits in this post. This is mostly because the thread was already quite long. Plus, each Post-Larval Circuit itself is a lot to take in, as each circuit from here on out represents an evolution as significant as the evolution from cellular life to amphibians, or monkeys to humans. I will explain these Circuits later, though.
Humans are adjusted to larval existence, based on survival needs of the lower four circuits. These circuits bring about rigid newtonian structures and models of thought. These four circuits are designed for the survival of the species in terrestrial-space, on the womb-planet. These four circuits are generally standard in the Modern-Human. There are four Post-Larval, Post-Hive, or Post-Terrestrial Circuits that represent future development in the species. Each of the eight circuits has three essential stages. These stages are passive-receptivity, active integration/understanding, and communication/linkage. This can be compared with the three anatomical and functional divisions of the neuron, which is the basic unit of biological contelligence. The dentrite system receives signals; the cell-body stores, integrates, and interprets incoming signals; the axon transmits the message. This demonstrates perfectly how the exo-psychological system is mirrored perfectly in the neural system. Each neuron, each circuit, and the nervous system in its totality is divided into these three functions.
There are certain key points in the development of the individual that are crucial. These points are when a new circuit of consciousness is being activated, and it puts the Nervous System into a state of hyper-sensitivity. Examples of these times include when you are a newborn, as well as when you begin to develop sexuality. In this period of hyper-sensitivity, you become ultra sensitive to your surroundings. Whatever coincidental, accidental environment you find yourself in at this time imprints your nervous system, and that determines who you are, and what reality you inhabit, for the rest of your life. This barring the event of some other event occurring later in your life that also puts your Nervous System into this state of hyper-sensitivity, that also allows for re-imprinting. I speak here of things such as a near-death experience, or something shocking, of that nature. Now this is a neuro-chemical response in the body, that puts one into this hyper-sensitive state in which one is open to imprinting. One can chemically induce this state through the use of psychedelics, and weed to a lesser degree. If you learn how to intelligently use these substances, you can consciously imprint your Nervous System in any way you would like, and make your Self into anything you would like. These substances also activate the higher, Post-Terrestrial Circuits of Consciousness.
1st Circuit – This is the bio-survival circuit. In the evolution of the species, this circuit first appears along in cellular life, and then develops into fish life, and then culminates in amphibian life. In the individual, this circuit is activated in the new-born. Its culmination is found when the child begins crawling. This circuit is all about physical safety and survival. One’s basic sense of trust-distrust with the world and its inhabitants is imprinted into this circuit. The mother is the standard object of first circuit imprinting.
2nd Circuit – This is the motion-emotion circuit. In the evolution of the species, this circuit appears in various land-animals, and culminates with the appearance of the primate. In the individual this circuit develops as the child learns how to walk and run, as well as when he learns emotional games, and understands the concepts of winning vs. losing, getting what you want vs. being submissive to another. One’s basic emotional disposition and level of confidence, or feelings of submission/dominance, are imprinted into this circuit.
3rd circuit – This is the circuit of symbol/artifact manipulation, and conceptual thinking. In the species, this circuit is first activated in the paleolithic era, with early humans beginning to use the most basic tools. It reaches its culmination when humans group together to create a division of labor. In the individual, this circuit is activated approximately from the ages of 3-5, when the child begins speaking, and beginning to think, and be curious, conceptually. This circuit basically represents the intellect, or the thinking mind. One’s basic level and type of intelligence are imprinted into this circuit. I find it fascinating that one’s basic level and type of intelligence are wide-open in the potential of the human brain, and yet is basically entirely determined by the age of 5.
4th circuit – This is the socio-sexual circuit. One’s sexual role and place in the context of society is imprinted into this circuit. In the species, this circuit first appears in the governing of the kings, or the aristocracy. It develops into democracy, and reaches its culmination in insectoid-socialism. In the individual, this circuit begins its activation with puberty, and progresses into family-domestication. Notice that THIS IS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, as a society. We are at the very end of larval-existence.
Note also that all previous evolution was based on collectives. Not so with post-larval circuits. These are individual in nature. I prefer to call post-larval circuits post-hive circuits, and this term emphasizes the individual nature of these circuits. This is why it is our job, as individuals, to begin working on understanding, activating, and integrating these higher circuits of consciousness. Detach from larval collectives, and do everything you can to evolve your Self. The species will thank you, as what you do will fabricate future developments in the species.
Blog entry
24 Feb 2012 - 10:24am
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SECRET THE CABAL AND THE ILLUMINATI HAVE BEEN DECEIVING US WITH FOR EONS
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE POWER OF THE DIVINE FEMININE - NO LONGER A MYSTERY.
The ancient Babylonian Goddess of love Ishtar was pronounced similar to the word Easter or even better, "East Star" (Venus). Ishtar's symbol is the eight pointed star (watch below vid to see how this all correlates).
Easter History : Christian and Pagan Traditions Interwoven.
Easter is a day that is honoured by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham", decorated eggs and stories about rabbits (symbol of fertility). Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter. Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the resurrection of a Saviour?
The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions. The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."
"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.
The history of Easter reveals rich associations between the Christian faith and the seemingly unrelated practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddess Ishtar to Easter eggs and the Easter bunny. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In many cultures and civilisations (particularly Asian) the rabbit, symbolises fertility.
Easter, perhaps the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates the Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday. . . a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us.
Ishtar, Goddess of Love, and the First Resurrection (also known as Inanna)
Ishtar, goddess of romance, procreation, and war in ancient Babylon, was also worshipped as the Sumerian goddess Inanna. One of the great goddesses, or "mother goddesses", the stories of her descent to the Underworld and the resurrection that follows are contained in the oldest writings that have ever been discovered. . . the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish and the story of Gilgamesh. Scholars believed that they were based on the oral mythology of the region and were recorded about 2,100 B.C.E. (Before Egypt)
The most famous of the myths of Ishtar tell of her descent into the realm of the dead to rescue her young lover, Tammuz, a Vegetation god forced to live half the year in the Underworld. Ishtar approached the gates of the Underworld, which was ruled by her twin sister Eresh-kigel, the goddess of death and infertility. She was refused admission.
Similar to the Greek myths of Demeter and Persephone that came later, during Ishtar's absence the earth grew barren since all acts of procreation ceased while she was away. Ishtar screamed and ranted that she would break down the gates and release all of the dead to overwhelm the world and compete with the living for the remaining food unless she was allowed to enter and plead her case with her twin.
Needless to say, she won admission. But the guard, following standard protocol, refused to let her pass through the first gate unless she removed her crown. At the next gate, she had to remove her earrings, then her necklace at the next, removing her garments and proud finery until she stood humbled and naked after passing through the seventh (and last) gate.
In one version, she was held captive and died but was brought back to life when her servant sprinkled her with the "water of life". In the more widely known version of the myth, Ishtar's request was granted and she regained all of her attire and possessions as she slowly re-emerged through the gates of darkness.
Upon her return, Tammuz and the earth returned to life. Annual celebrations of this "Day of Joy", were held each year around the time of the vernal equinox. These celebrations became the forerunners of the Ostara festivals that welcomed Oestre and the arrival of spring.
A section on the Goddess Inanna (the Sumerian version of the Goddess Ishtar), her myths and symbols, is included with the myths of the goddesses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven.
Much love to you all - HAPPY ISHTAR (EASTER)
Ishtar )O(
Blog entry
21 Feb 2012 - 1:01am
Politics, as well as all emotions, stem from our monkey-brains. In the evolutionary timeline, there are certain points of time that mark a significant evolutionary leap, as it coincides with a widespread activation of a new circuit of consciousness. The second circuit of consciousness coincides with, in terms of the evolution of the species, primates. I call this the "monkey-brain." This circuit represents muscular-locomotive power, and with this development comes dominance and submission. In the human-species today, the remnants of our monkey-brain can be found perhaps most blatantly in politics. This is why politics has such emphasis on territorial and ideological dominance. This is where the appeal to patriotism comes from, as well as our never-ending wars, and our legislation of hive-morality, as in the case of, for instance, the drug-war. This same circuit is responsible for all emotions. This is why politicians constantly appeal to our emotions. In the evolutionary timeline, politicians are primitive-children, and they appeal to your childlike primitive ways of thinking. I say it's about time we grow up as a species, and stop letting primitive-children run our lives.
Teaching
16 Feb 2012 - 11:52am
Talent is not Enough
By Kwabena A-Manager
There’s one thing you may believe or ,at least, give some credence to as you read this post, and it’s that some people are born with unusual aptitude, supernatural skill, God-given dexterity, superb giftedness, rare talentand many more ways we describe it. Tiger Woods has a talent for golf, Beyonce has IT for music and dance, Lebron James was born to play basket ball, Angelina Jolie is a talented actress, the Argentine Lionel Messi has a God-given propensity for scoring goals, Chris Rock has a unique flair to usher the crowd into a state of awe, TD Jades has to gift to make to audience cry, and the list goes on.
I don’t want to be an absolutist on this talent argument, but when any of the folks above is comprehensively examined, the talent argument does not pass the beyond reasonable doubt court room scenario. Ascribing it all to talent is not only an intellectually fraud exercise, it subjects a particular field to circus status reserved for individuals lucky enough to be born with this God-given potential.
Talent is not Enough
Whether talent really exists or not, which is a subject beyond this post, it cannot explain why some people are genius, awesome, amazing, and some are just okay. When you look at any of the ‘amazing’ artists, athletes, managers, and so forth, the talent explanation may make sense while they are on stage, but try to dig deeper into their life, go a little deeper into their childhood life and other family circumstances and the talent explanation begins to break down, it starts to lose steam.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods was born to Earl Woods, a teacher and a former military man, who spent almost half of his life in the U.S. military. Before joining the army he was a coach for the little leagues team. He became an expert golfer in his early forties when Tiger was born. According to Earl, he introduced Tiger to golf before Tiger’s first birthday. Before the age of two, Tiger and Earl were at the golf course practicing and playing golf rigorously. Note that we’re talking about a former teacher, youth coach and an army man playing golf with a two year old boy on an unforgiving military schedule.
Kobe Bryant
If Kobe Bryant has any ‘talents’ that you don’t have, it’s probably the fact that he’s 6 feet 6 inches and weighs 205 lb (93 kg).
Kobe’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant was a former player of the Philadelphia 76ers Basketball team and a former coach of Los Angeles Sparks. Bryant started playing basketball when he was 3 years old. When Bryant was six, his family moved to Italy but his grandfather would continue to mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would watch and study. Pause and think about this. At six years, they made Kobe sit, watch and study videos of the Los Angeles Lakers, which was his favorite team and the team he has currently won five national championships.
Focus or Talent
In a multiple choice test, choose what in your opinion is responsible for Tiger’s ‘awesomeness’
a)Talent
b)Focus/Persistence
While merely watching Tiger on the golf course, most people, I included, are likely to choose Talent, but knowing what I know about the golfer, it’s difficult for me to say he’s what he is because of something he was born with that none of us had. I’d say the same thing about Kobe. If Kobe has any talents at all, it’d be his ability to stay at the basketball court for hours practicing his three-pointer, free throws and dribbles while his favorite shows run on television. In fact, Kobe himself says that if he had stayed at Italy, he’d have tried to become a soccer player. If that happened, would we say he was born with a God-given potential to play soccer?
My intent is not to make you discard your beliefs in giftedness; probably rather to make you less of an absolutist on talent. To believe that you got to have some special talents in an area to do well in that area places a limitation on you as a human. Believe in talent or giftedness is commonplace, but I choose to believe that talent is inadequate.
Persistence and focus is a theme you’ll find in Beyonce, Tiger Woods, Kobe Byrant, Lionel Messi, Angelina Joli, Nelson Mendela, Kofi Annan and Hillary Clinton. We say they have talent; they say they’re merely focused and persistent at what they do.
In conclusion, before you write yourself off in any area as not talented enough, simply ask, who is? Perhaps what you need is a little bit of focus and persistence.
Blog entry
14 Feb 2012 - 3:02am
Letting Go of Limiting Beliefs-
I had a special request to write about this topic. I sincerely hope I address the properly. I have called upon Archangel Gabriel, Metatron and Michael to help me with this one.
I assume this request is referencing those that encounter fear in their lives. Fear that comes from a belief or notion of duality and separation. Good or Evil, Wrong or Right. This 3rd Dimensional world is run by duality. True oneness knows no separation and embraces all things as experience neither good nor bad. As you embark on an journey of awareness know that your intuition will guide you. You are on a journey of self discovery and re-membering of your true self. As you go along this path you will have to let go of beliefs or attachments that keep you in duality and fear. In order to do this you must face the feeling or idea head on and let it any fear go.
Examples of this are situations coming to the surface for many to deal with and release. Release meaning healing the situation by forgiveness and letting go of the illusion of control. From an early age all of us are taught many things. Some of these carry on through our lives and hold us back from true understanding. To identify these, look to your fears. When you read or listen to something you don't like, ask yourself why? Are you afraid of it? Are you judging that person or thing without knowing it? Or is it so foreign of a concept to you that it brings about the fear of the unknown? Anything of fear is of duality and illusion. Once you face your fears, they weaken. When you add in Love and Forgiveness, they dissolve.
Ask yourself what you believe in all areas of your life. Then look at each teaching and see why you believe that. Which of them involve fear based thinking or judgment? Most beliefs come from our culture and families. If you grew up in India your beliefs and way of life would be very different from a child in China. Does that make each of them right or wrong? Where is the truth in all social conditioning? The answer to that will only come when you open your heart.
I have come to my own understanding after much searching. This topic does not pertain to just religious belief or dogma. This can also be how humanity lives, consumes and treats each other. The Indians have a very different view of the Earth and spiritual matters than most Americans today. Our industrialized society now seems to deem that the pursuit of happiness means money. For every child in America is encouraged to stay in school, go to college then work for the rest of their lives and make money. That is the definition of success. But why does each generation do this? Because in this 3D world, most follow their logical brain and what they are told is "right" or "proper" rather than their heart. That is why you have so many in their 40's or 50's looking back and examining what they want out of life. The famous mid-life crisis.
Now to find out what you truly believe, aside from any conditioning, you must return to that childlike innocence and wonder. Remember when anything was possible. You didn't see borders between countries, skin colors or religions. We have all been taught to see the world as separate. "Their problems" or "Our money" only adds to the illusion of you vs. me mentality. So there is so much more to this idea of limiting beliefs than just religion. Soon many will see past these illusions and realize we are all connected energy, and truly ONE. Our culture and beliefs separate us. Each time someone chooses to love rather than judge they break through another limiting belief.
Ask God/Source for guidance, then be prepared to follow your feelings. Anything that brings up fear or doubt is there to learn from. Examine why you believe what you do and seek the answers within. Never be afraid to learn or hear someone else's views. That doesn't make them yours. Listen to your heart and trust what you get. You opinion and belief is just as valid and another. But judge not, for their truth may be what is right for them in this moment.
Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you.
Much Love~
Cassandra
www.awaken-to-life.com
Blog entry
11 Feb 2012 - 1:48pm
It is an incomplete belief system that does not encompass the very concepts of its contradiction.--Strike a Chord of Silence**
Prayer for the Fallen By ~Brenda-Starr~
The definition of religion has picked up too much heavy baggage. I prefer the term “belief system.”
Otherwise it is only half a truth, constructed in fear of its own demise.
A belief system should be a nourisher of the believers, else it does not justify the intrusion on the silence. It should give to its adherents not its truth, but provide a sacred environment to realize their own truth.
A belief system is a tool to aid a person in producing a result. A belief system is person, relative to a time and need of the individual. A credible belief system is a living, progressing/changing, like the person it serves.
Never can the tool be more important than the craftsperson.**
Too often religion is practiced in the absence of these things--a one size fits all attempt. In such improper practice, religion becomes the sarcophagus of a once living truth. In such hands, religion is the rigid remains of what was living and life imbuing, but has a monument to itself and its leaders.
Try not to take excessive offense when confronted with another’s beliefs that you cannot abide. We re are often introduced to our own beliefs by defining their conflicts with something we disagree.**
If you could design a religion, what would it look like?
Truth is but a resting place until the next revelation **
Words do not contain truth, but may reflect the truth that you hold within.
This is my truth. Only you can determine if there is any value in it for you.
C.G. Waltersprimarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. His current novel, Sacred Vow is a metaphysical novel about a man who responds to the mysterious call of [his soulmate], opening the way to redefinition of both himself and his understanding of the world around him…Highly recommended. —Midwest Book Review.
Blog entry
10 Feb 2012 - 7:21pm
As a student of Crystal Therapy I need casework studies to submit for my qualification.
Today I had a new volunteer visit me. A lovely intelligent woman who had seen my advert
on a notice board in a local eatery.
As is always the case in a first visit, I allowed extra time for the pre-work interview.
This gives us an opportunity to check for medical contra-indicators, and assess their
understanding of crystal therapy and manage their expectations.
At least that was the theory.
The reality was that she was a dam of pent up emotions which, when she started to speak,
burst the floodgates and all that emotion just poured out.
Having gone through a similar experience many years ago, and being able to relate to
those feelings, I felt her need to get it out. We talked about common experiences,
common feelings, and how we dealt with issues that came up.
The planned 20 minutes of chat became 30 minutes, then 40 minutes.
After an hour she apologised for talking so much.
I told her not to worry about it. I explained that I am studying because I want to be a healer.
I added that she may have come here for the crystals, but that she will also receive healing
in other ways. Whether it is just having someone listen without judgement, or friendly advice
that helps to make sense of something, or even just having a laugh with a new friend.
When she left she thanked me saying she felt a lot better, and hugged me saying she would be back.
I think my point is that, although we go to healers for the trained, skilled, experienced therapist,
that isn't always how the healing is delivered. Sometimes we just need a compassionate friend
with a willingness to listen and share their own experiences.
Bright Blessings
xxx
Teaching
8 Feb 2012 - 5:57pm
symbol for Confucianism
Chinese Thought and Philosophy - Confucius and Confucianism
found here: http://www.chinaknowledge.de
Confucius (Latinized from Chinese Kongzi 孔子 or Kongfuzi 孔夫子 "Master Kong"; 551-479 BCE), Chinese name Kong Qiu 孔丘, courtesy name Zhongni 中尼, was probably the most important Chinese philosopher. He is traditionally seen as the father of the philosophical school of Confucianism (Chinese: rujia 儒家 or rujiao 儒教), although the tradition of the experts on rituals (ru 儒) is much older than Confucius himself. His teachings were elevated to a state doctrine during the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE). Confucianism was reinterpreted in respect to cosmology during the Song period 宋 (960-1279). In this shape it is known in the West as Neo-Confucianism (the most important Chinese terms for "Neo-Confucianism" are lixue理學 or daoxue 道學). During the 20th century, Confucianism was, especially among academicians, made liable for China's backwardness. Only with the discarding of socialist ideology in the late 1990s, Confucianism again became prominent as a unifying force of Chinese culture.
RuYi" Design
The term ru 儒
There were "Confucians before Confucius" (Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee, Confucianism and Women: A Philosophical Interpretation). The corresponding Chinese term is ru 儒, which is interpreted by ancient philologists as "soft" or "peaceful" (rou 柔: Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, Zheng Xuan's 鄭玄 commentary to the Liji 禮記) , meaning someone who is able to appease and becalm others by a certain decent behaviour. Other commentators use the word "smoothener" (ru 濡: Zheng Xuan, Huang Kan's 皇侃 commentary to the Shuowen jiezi) for such a mediating position. The ru are mediators not only between man and man, but especially between Heaven, Earth and Man (Fayan 法言). For this task, they need constancy (buyi 不易: Hanshi waizhuan 韓氏外傳) as well as the right expertise (shu 術, ji 伎) to discern (Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義) what is proper and what not. Seen from the inscriptions on oracle bones, it seems that the word ru was a kind of ritual washing performed before sacrifices were performed.
It is not known from which time on there were ru experts, but they might have originated very early. It can be seen in the burials of the Neolithic period, as well as the tomb furnishings of the Erlitou culture 二里頭 (1900-1350 BC) of the early Shang period 商 (17th-11th cent. BCE) that rituals played an important role in religious and social life. During Confucius' time the rituals of the Xia 夏 (17th-15th cent. BCE) were still performed in the state of Qi 杞, those of Shang in the state of Song 宋. Scholars of the early 20th century tried to find out the real origin of the ru experts. Some identified them as a class of professionals of the Shang dynasty, some as experts in the state of Lu 魯, the home state of Confucius. It is for sure that the term ru only came up during the late Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE). The ru were specialists in rituals and music, with an extraordinary focus on funeral rites and ancestor veneration. These rituals were so complex that all courts of the various states, as well as members of the wealthy class, were in need of such experts. Such a professional knowledge continued to play an important part of Confucian teaching and was crucial for the establishment of Confucianism as a state doctrine during the Former Han period. Besides pure rituals (type, arrangement and number of sacrificial tools; music to be played; actions to be performed), etiquette played an important part in the teachings of the ru. The term for rituals is li 禮, that for etiquette yi 儀. The first character includes the radical "spiritual matters" (示) and an offering vessel (豊), the second character the radical "man" (亻) and the term "to make oneself beautiful" (義). The latter became one of the core concepts of Confucianism. At the time of Confucius, social comportment like trustworthiness, seriousness or loyalty had ceased to be observed by the ru experts, and they had become simple-minded practitioners of rituals without caring much for the social context of etiquette. For Confucius, a ritual expert had to live as an example for others, with high moral standards. For him, the living were as important as the death.
Terracotta Warriors of the Shang era
After Confucius' death many other philosophical schools came up (the "hundred contending schools") offering different concepts for the ordering of society. Daoists, with their soft attitude, can be called the originary ru, especially because they do not adhere to the collar of rituals. The Mohists also discarded the rituals, especially the expensive mourning rituals, and advocated going back to a basic etiquette in an equally levelled society. This was, by the way, also an aspect stressed by Confucius: that a small man with the right behaviour was more valid than a depraved noble. The ru were thus the fathers of many different philosophical schools and only became more rigorous after they had to distinguish themselves from the new schools. The late Warring States period 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE) Confucian Xunzi 荀子 (Xun Kuang 荀況 or Xun Qing 荀卿) connected the quality of being a ru with the ability to govern a state. From a class of professionals (like physicians or teachers), the ru, now as adherents of the school of Confucians (rujia 儒家), had entered the realm of politics and participated in government. Their usefulness for government was doubted by contemporaries because they still were experts in the rituals and knew the many ritual writings by heart, yet this seemed to be a thankless and very impractical work in regard to politics. At the beginning of the Han period, the ru professed in the six writings (liuyi 六藝; what later became the "Six Classics" liujing 六經) and adhered to the social hierarchies taught by Confucius. The Confucians also venerated the ancient sages of the past, like the mythological emperors Yao 堯 and Shun 舜 or the founders of the Zhou dynasty 周 (11th cent.-221 BCE), King Wen 周文王 and King Wu 周武王, as well as the brother of the latter, the Duke of Zhou 周公. The Duke of Zhou was, according to Han period historiography, characterised by a benevolent and righteous behaviour, loyally assisted his brother in the war against the Shang dynasty and later ruled for his nephew, the young King Cheng 周成王. He performed the rituals for the king, drafted all proclamations necessary to firmly establish the rule of the dynasty and cultivated himself to bring peace to the kingdom and the people. The Duke also created the rituals necessary for the correct performance of the state sacrifices, the audiences at the court and the interaction between state officials of different layers of administration. Later Confucians therefore saw him as "the first Confucian" and often mentioned him together with Confucius (with the joint term Zhou-Kong 周孔). The Duke of Zhou had occupied a position for which all Confucians later envied him, namely that of the sage philosopher acting as a regent for a king. Confucius himself was never so happy to be given such a function. The Duke of Zhou was highly venerated by Confucius. In his later years Confucius was worried about his spiritual potential when he ceased dreaming of the Duke.
Confucius
Confucius is said to have lived from 552 or 551 to 479 BCE (his birthday is celebrated on the 27 day of the 8th lunar month). He was a descendant of the house of Song 宋, heirs to the last prince of Shang 商 (17th-11th cent. BCE). Confucius' direct ancestors had fled during an internal unrest and had found exile in the state of Lu 魯. His father Jushu Ge 郰叔紇 served the dukes of Lu, but he died when Confucius was still young. Confucius as a half-orphan lived a very austere life in his young years and never received an appropriate education. With the age of 15 he started learning everything he was able to study and was therefore later called a "universal erudite" (boxue 博學). He was especially interested in the ancient rites and music, but also learned shooting with the bow, driving the chariot, reading and mathematics (the so-called six arts of the nobleman, liuyi 六藝). Confucius often visited the state altars and asked the priests about everything he liked to know (mei shi wen 每事問). His eagerness for learning can be seen in his statement that when he is accompanied by other persons, somebody is certainly able to be his teacher (San ren xing, bi you wo shi yan 三人行，必有我師焉。). In his later years he became the first private teacher in Chinese history. Before Confucius, learning took only place in state academies (like the Jixia Academy 稷下 in Qi 齊). Confucius assembled disciples around him to which he thought the meaning and the importance of the old classical books, like the Shijing 詩經 "Book of Songs" and Shangshu 尚書 "Book of Documents". His career as a state official was not very brilliant. In his twenties he was appointed master of the granaries (weili 委吏) and the state-owned cattle (chengtian 乘田).
In 515 Duke Zhao of Lu 魯昭公 (r. 541-510) had to escape the usurpation of the three noble families of Jisun 季孫, Mengsun 孟孫 and Shusun 叔孫 and requested exile in the state of Qi 齊. Confucius accompanied him and answered the questions of Duke Jing of Qi 齊景公 (r. 547-490). During this audience he made his famous statement that in a perfect society the ruler behaves like ruler, a minister like a minister, a father like a father, and a son like a son (Jun jun, chen chen, fu fu, zi zi 君君，臣臣，父父，子子。).
In 505 Confucius was given the post of minister of justice (sikou 司寇) in the state of Lu, and his disciple Zilu 子路 was made counsellor to the regent Ji Huanzi 季桓子. During the reign of Duke Ding 魯定公 (r. 509-495) Confucius, appointed as counsellor (zhong duzai 中都宰), submitted a plan to deprive the three noble families of their power, but this plan could not be realized, and he left Lu.
From then on Confucius traveled from state to state and offered his advice to the rulers of Wei衛, Song, Chen 陳 and Cai 蔡. Yet he was never appointed to a prominent state office for a longer time (he was Junior Minister of Works xiao sikong 小司空 and Senior Minister of Justice da sikou 大司寇) and was thus not able to become the counsellor of a noble ruler who would revive the glory of the kings of the past. In 484 he disappointedly returned to Lu. At least he was received as a famous teacher by the regent Ji Kangzi 季康子, received a stipend and was stimulated to continue his teachings. In old age he was granted the title of "Older of the State" (guolao 國老) and was allowed to bring forward suggestions for a better government. In 479 he died. Duke Ai 魯哀公 (r. 494-467) personally wrote an eulogy, and Confucius was granted an extravagant burial. His disciples were allowed to keep a mourning period of three years. The site of his tomb (in modern Qufu 曲阜, Shandong) with the temple and his ancient mansion (Kongzi guju 孔子故居, Queli 闕里) are since venerated as a holy place. Emperor Gaozu 漢高祖 (r. 206-195 BCE) of the Han dynasty was the first to honour Confucius with the Grand Sacrifice (tailao太牢). In the year 1 CE Emperor Ping 漢平帝 (1 BCE-5 CE) bestowed upon Confucius the title ofBaochengxuan Ni gong 褒成宣尼公 "Duke Ni, Great accomplished and wide-reaching". The titles by which Confucius is called are very numerous. The most important of them are Wensheng Ni fu 文聖尼父 "Cultivated and Holy Father Ni", Xianshi Ni fu 先師尼父 "Primordial teacher Father Ni", Xiansheng xianshi 先聖先師 "Primordial Saint and Teacher", Zhisheng xianshi 至聖先師 "Perfect Saint and Primordial Teacher", Wanshi shibiao 萬世師表 "Manifest Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations", Zouguo gong 鄒國公 "Duke of Zou", Wenxuanwang 文宣王 "Cultivated and Wide-Reaching King", and the like.
The Philosophy of Confucius
Kind-heartedness ren 仁. While the former ru had been experts in ritual matters, Confucius transformed the content of their rituals into a social philosophy. For him, a ritual expert could not be but a person of a high moral integrity. The two main concepts of him are kind-heartedness (ren 仁, also translatable as humanity, kindness or charity) and ritual (li 禮). Kind-heartedness is the expression of righteousness (yi 義, also translatable as generosity or philanthropy), and it is the result of unselfishness (gong 公, as opposed to si 私 "selfishness"). The term ren refers to the interaction between two persons (the character is derived from the character of "man" 人 and that of "two" 二). Relations between two interacting persons had become all the more important as status had become less important than abilities. Ren "kind interaction between persons" was therefore by Confucius raised to a status it never had before among the class of the ru "ritual specialists". It almost seems as if Confucius was the inventor of this term that only rarely appears in pre-Confucian times. In contemporary writings like the histories Guoyu 國語 and Zuozhuan 左傳, ren means "to have affections towards someone else" or "kind behaviour". For Confucius, ren had many different meanings, depending on the context. To be ren was, to be a human (ren zhe, ren ye 人者，人也。). It meant "to have an affection towards others" (ai ren 愛人), whoever it might be. A kind-hearted man thus had to overcome the difference between relatives and non-relatives or between persons standing close in a social network and such standing afar. Confucius surpassed the narrow frame of "being related [only] to relatives" (qin qin 親親) and "venerating [only] the venerables" (zun zun 尊尊). Yet this did not mean that Confucius did not lay stress on the respect for parents: filial piety played an important role in his ritual-guided thinking and it was "the root of kindness" (xiaodi zhe, qi wei ren zhi ben 孝弟者其爲仁之本。), but it had to be expanded also to others. Confucius's most famous statement about benevolence is that "what I dislike should not be done to others" (ji suo bu yu, wu shi yu ren 己所不欲，勿施於人。), or, vice versa, to erect or promote (i.e. support) others if one wants to erect or promote oneself (ji yu li er li ren, ji yu da er da ren 己欲立而立人，己欲達而達人。). The own feelings have to be transferred to others (tui ji ji ren 推己及人). Confucius provided a lot of examples how kind-heartedness is used. A person being ren does use straight and simple words, without adornment and skilled speech. He "loves the mountains, quietness and longevity", i.e. something immoveable, reliable and constant. A man displaying kind-heartedness is respectful (gong 恭), magnanimous (kuan 寬), truthful (xin信), diligent (min 敏) and gracious (hui 惠). In all his conversations Confucius does not adhere to one single theoretical definition of what ren is, but he provides dozens of examples what kind-heartedness can be in pratice. Ren is a practical virtue, used in daily life and easily to apply. Such virtues (de 德) are fully displayed by giving up the self (ke ji 克己), "not seeking one's own life" (wu qiu sheng 無求生), and by "killing one's own body" (sha shen 殺身). It is good to known what ren is, it is yet better to like ren, and the best is to enjoy kind-heartedness displayed against others.
The way (dao 道) of the cultivated man is never inclined to one extreme side, but is directed towards the "golden mean" (zhongyong 中庸, zhongxing 中行 "well-balanced behaviour"). Confucius' grandson Zisi 子思 has therefore written the book Zhongyong 中庸 "Doctrine of the Mean".
Parents were to be served during their lifetime and to be venerated after their death. As long as a father is alive, a son has to respect his will, and after his father's death, his way of life has to be taken as an example (fu zai guan qi zhi, fu mo guan qi xing 父在觀其志，父沒觀其行。). Filial piety claimed not only to nourish the parents (something that animals do, too), but also to pay them respect.
The term yi 義 is often translated as "righteousness". Yet it must be understood as the substance of all activities and as the right manner in which something is performed. It is a kind of behaviour "appropriate" (yi 宜) to the actual situation. While kind-heartedness is mainly reserved in the private sphere (father and son), appropriate behaviour is applied in the official sphere (lord and minister, husband and wife, younger and older, friend and friend, the "five human relations" wulun 五倫). The appropriate behaviour of the perfect man of virtue (junzi 君子) is often contrasted with selfishness and the search for profit (li 利) by the mean man (xiaoren 小人).
Kind-heartedness begins at home with filial piety (xiao 孝) towards the parents (shi qin 事親 "to serve the parents") and love and respect towards older brothers (di 弟, also ti 悌). It is therefore tied to family relationship and by no means equal to the Christian universal love. Affection towards other persons (ai ren 愛人) ranks only in second place. In the official sphere, kind-heartedness is expressed in two different ways. The first is loyalty towards superiors (zhong 忠), and the second respect towards others (shu 恕). Loyalty (zhong) towards superiors (shi jun 事君 "to serve one's lord") is important for the functioning of a state, a smaller polity, or even an enterprise in the widest sense. Filial piety is likewise a crucial constituent for a well-functioning society. Without it, social disorder would erupt. Zeng Shen 曾參, a disciple of Confucius, therefore compiled the small book Xiaojing 孝經 "Classic on filial piety". A ruler, faced with the loyalty of his own ministers and the people, had the duty to respond this loyalty with benevolence. The kindhearted ruler grants to the people what it likes (yin min zhi li er li zhi 因民之所利而利之。), lowers taxes and uses the penal law with caution. He leads the people along the right way by force of his own virtue (ren zheng de zhi 仁政德治 "kindhearted government and rule by virtue") and makes it feel treated justly by applying the proper rituals (dao zhi yi de, qi zhi yi li 道之以德，齊之以禮。 "He leads them by means of virtue and makes them equal by means of rites."). The righteous ruler appoints competent and wise talents (ju xiancai 舉賢才) as his advisors. While the ruler responds to the loyalty and respect (jing 敬) of his ministers with kind-heartedness (ren), the father answers the filial piety (xiao) of his son by generosity (ci 慈). Comportment and behaviour inside a family are so directly compared with the situation in a state, and each family was seen as a basic cell of the whole empire. If there was benevolence and kindness, filial piety and generosity inside each family, it would also to be found on the level of a state's government. A generous father will incite filial behaviour in his son, and a decent and benevolent ruler will make his ministers most loyal not because they are seeking for profit but because they are convinced to serve their lord with their utmost sincerity. Kind-heartedness can move other people and change their inner heart. It has an educating and exemplarious character that is able to move the hearts of a whole people. In order to become an exemplarious personality, a constant cultivation of the self is necessary (xiu shen 修身, xiu ji 修己, zheng shen 正身). In the eyes of Confucius everyone is able to become kindhearted, if one only really wants it (wo yu ren, si ren zhi yi 我欲人，斯仁至矣。). The best way to become a kindhearted person is to give up oneself and to go back to the proper rites (ke ji fu li 克己復禮). To find the true form of kind-heartedness is very easy because it has to be found in oneself (wei ren you ji 爲仁由己).
Ritual for Confucius
Ritual li 禮 and etiquette yi 義. "Ritual" is a general term for all rules, regulations, demeanour and customs in different social contexts. Part of rituals originated in religious contexts, when people were communicating with deities, spirits and the souls of ancestors. Rituals were to be observed in regular periods and in fixed patterns. The rites of the Zhou dynasty also defined which state officials observed which duties in administration. Everyone had a certain position with qualified duties. The term li can be translated as "humankind behaviour in an official context". During the time Confucius lived, a lot of nobles disobeyed these ancient prescriptions and rebelled against their lords and masters. Rituals had become vain names and designations. In such a society it was impossible to respect Heaven and to bring sacrifices to the spirits. Without rites it was impossible to give everyone his position in society. The positions of lord and minister, old and young, husband and wife would be utterly disturbed. Members of the upper and lower nobility indulged in luxury and lacked the sense for an appropriate modesty and frugality. It was therefore necessary to revive the perfect rites established by the Zhou dynasty (wu cong Zhou 吾從周 "I adhere to the [rites of the] Zhou"). For Confucius, rites were not a meaningless formality but had to be filled with kind-heartedness to obtain their full meaning. An outer guideline (li) without an inner spirit (ren) would be useless. Rites without a kindhearted spirit was meaningless, music without a benevolent accent was not beautiful.
Yet a personal attitude of kind-heartedness without outer guidelines (rites and etiquette) would lead to confusion and chaos. Both had therefore to be combined. Rites were the standard for humankind behaviour, and the latter was the spirit of all ritual behaviour. Each and every social encountering is accompanied by the performance of certain rituals, all seeing, hearing, speaking and doing was involved in etiquette. Rituals were the outer expression of inward kind-heartedness; they were the visual and perceivable adornment of a sincere feeling. Rituals therefore played an important role in the private as well as in the political sphere.
In the society of his own days, Confucius saw that designations or names (ming 名) and facts (shi 實) were not any more congruent. The government was dominated by ministers and grandees, and the feudal lords behaved like the king, the Son of Heaven. The only way to restore order under Heaven was to "rectify names" (zhengming 正名). A ruler had to behave like a ruler, and a minister like a minister (and not like a ruler). Only strict adherence to what the rites of the Zhou prescribed would lead to a stable and peaceful society. Every ruler had to observe the rites of the Zhou and to fill them with the spirit of kind-heartedness. The virtuous power (de 德) of the ruler, combined with the correct sense of sparingly used punishment (xing刑), would bring the population the right sense for what is correct and decent. Politics was, to "rule in the correct way" (zheng zhe zheng ye 政者正也。), with the help of the ancient rites (yi li zhi guo 以禮治國 "to rule a country with the help of rites"). A ruler who had rectified his own behaviour would be able to bring peace to his country (xiu ji yi an ren 修己以安人). If a ruler reigned with the help of rites, his ministers would serve him with loyalty (jun shi chen yi li, chen shi jun yi zhong 君使臣以禮，臣事君以忠。). If the ruler had cultivated himself, everyone would follow him even without orders (qi shen zheng, bu ling er xing, 其身正，不令而行。), yet a ruler without kind-heartedness would not be obeyed even if he decreed orders (qi shen bu zheng, sui ling bu cong 其身不正，雖令不從。). Although it is good if the people has sufficient food and a state disposes of a good army, a state whose people do not trust their ruler would never flourish. In a state that is governed by appropriate rituals the ruler was like the polestar around whom the people willingly gathered. This could only happen if the ruler gave up himself and returned to the ancient rites (ke ji fu li 克己復禮), filled with the spirit of kind-heartedness and simplicity.
The role of Heaven. The focus of Confucius' philosophy was society, and he seldom mentions Heaven (tian 天) and does not bring man into a cosmologic pattern. Yet this does not mean that Confucius did not believe in ancestral spirits or ghosts and spirits or the impersonal Heaven as an arbiter of right and wrong. The man of virtue was well aware of the power of Heaven and its importance for the stability of a dynasty and society. Confucius, in his own words, knew the rules according to which Heaven observed the earthly rulers, granting them the "Heavenly Mandate" (tianming 天命), but also the common man, and shaped his life and fate (si sheng you ming, fu gui zai tian 死生有命，富貴在天。 "Dead and life are a man's fate, and his richness and grandeur lies with Heaven.").
Knowledge and learning. Only a few persons have an innate knowledge (sheng er zhi zhi 生而知之). Except these men of virtue (junzi 君子, literally "son of a lord"), all others have to learn constantly (xue er xi shi zhi 學而時習之) and were only able to achieve their understanding of life by learning (xue er zhi zhi 學而知之). Good examples have to be followed (ze qi shan zhe er cong zhi 擇其善者而從之), and bad examples have to be discarded (qi bu shan zhe er gai zhi 其不善者而改之). Everything one can observe and learn is thus constantly subject to a process of evaluation and of reflection. Learning and reflection about what is learnt can be led to the way to righteousness. Kind-heartedness can be learnt from one's own heart, and there is no way to obstruct those who are willing to learn to become a man of virtue. Only the "small man" would not try to learn or would think without learning, or learn without reflecting on what he has learnt. Confucius knew that it was hard to become a perfect noble, yet there were some points to be observed that at least could lead into the proper direction, namely to study the Classics writings (wen 文), correct (humankind) behaviour (xing 行), loyalty (zhong 忠) and trustfulness (xin 信).
The Ancient Classics. Confucius did not compile own writings. He understood himself as a transmitter and not as an author (shu er bu zuo 述而不作). Yet he studied the ancient classics and often quoted from them because he trusted in the thoughts of the old (xin er hao gu 信而好古 "he loved antiquity and believed in it"). The ancient writings were the Shijing 詩經 "Book of Songs", the Shangshu 尚書 "Book of Documents", the Yijing 易經 "Book of Changes", or ritual books. He was later credited with the compilation of these books, as well as of the chronicle of the state of Lu, the Chunqiu 春秋 "Spring and Autumn Annals" but textual research shows that the core part of these texts are much older than Confucius. Later on these writings were canonized as the Confucian Classics. Confucius' own teachings are preserved in the Lunyu 論語 "Confucian Analects" that were compiled by his disciples. The "Book of Songs" is a selection of 305 songs and hymns out of a total corpus of several thousand. Confucius is said to have made this selection with the intention to preserve those of the songs expressing the thought of ritual and etiquette. The originally hundred chapters of the "Book of Documents" contain the most important speeches giving an impression how the benevolent ruler will be rewarded with the Heavenly mandate. Confucius is also said to have revised ancient records of rites, but the history of the three ritual books (Liji, Yili 儀禮 and Zhouli 周禮) is very complex. According to a word of Confucius, all matters begin with the "Songs", find their shape with the "Rituals" and are accomplished in the "Music". It is not sure if there was ever a book about music, but a such is always counted among the "six Classics" (liujing 六經). Music was later always seen as a part of rituals, so that a chapter on music, the Yueji 樂記, is included in the ritual book Liji. The "Book of Changes" consists of two parts, the core part being a book on prognostication with the help of hexagrams, and commentaries to these hexagrams. These "ten wing" commentaries (shiyi 十翼) are attributed to Confucius. The "Spring and Autumn Annals" are a chronicle of China written from the viewpoint of the state of Lu. Confucius is said to have compiled this book in order to criticise the chaotic and brutal circumstances of his time and the negligence of kind-heartedness and benevolence (li beng yue huai 禮崩樂壞 "the rites were shattered, and the [proper] music was destroyed"). Zuo Qiuming 左丘明 wrote a kind of parallel to the Chunqiu, the Zuozhuan 左傳, that is more narrative and less cryptic than the main classic.
Confucius Temple of Heaven
Disciples. Confucius's most important disciples were Yan Hui 顔回 (Ziyuan 子淵), Zilu 子路,Zigong 子貢, Zai Yu 宰予, Zixia 子夏, Ziyou 子游, Zeng Shen 曾參 and Zisi 子思 (a grandson of Confucius). There were, all in all, 72 disciples (Kong men qishier xian 孔門七十二賢), ten of which are praised as the "ten wise of the Confucian school" (Kong men shi zhe 孔門十哲).
The upcoming of the school of Confucians (rujia 儒家)
The most important philosopher supporting and expanding the philosophy of Confucius was Meng Ke 孟軻, known as Mengzi 孟子. While Confucius had mainly preached to persons of the upper class only and told them how to behave as a "gentleman" in order to create a peaceful society, Mengzi (or Mencius, as his name has been latinized) made the rulers a focus of his philosophy. From a social philosophy Confucianism thus became a political philosophy. Benevolence and kind-heartedness was to be the right way of government. Only this behaviour would contribute to a peaceful society in a state, and in turn to a strong nation that would be able to fend off all foreign challenges. Heaven as the "father" of the ruler would express his concerns about a brutal government of exploitation by stirring up rebellion. A joyful and content people was so the base of a successful government. Confucian scholars would be able to educate (jiaohua 教化) rulers, and the latter to have a virtuous effect (dehua 德化) on their people because the human character was good by nature. Such theories came into being because Confucianists had to cope with a lot of contending schools attempting to bring forward different arguments for the best way of ruling a state. The concept of benevolence seemed not sufficient in the face of institutional reforms that took place in many of the states during the Warring States period. The Confucian philosopher Xun Qing 荀卿, also known as Xunzi 荀子, therefore developed the concept of the necessary implementation of rites (li) to educate the people. Unlike Mengzi, Xunzi defined human nature as bad and claimed that only rituals, like laws (fa 法), would be able to bring people back to the way of humanity and kind-heartedness.
Confucianism as a state doctrine
Under the rule of the First Emperor of Qin 秦始皇 (r. 246-210 BCE), the "hundred schools of thought" were abolished and had to cede in order to make room for legalism and practical sciences like medicine, agriculture, divination and military thought. This stance was relaxed at the beginning of the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE). The first Han rulers were adherents of a Daoist policy of non-action. This "free market" policy helped the national economy recovering after decades of war and unrest. Yet an advisor of the founder of the Han, Shusun Tong 叔孫通, stressed the importance to make use of scholars expert in Confucianism in order to establish a good-working administration. Under the rule of Emperor Wu 漢武帝 (r. 141-87 BCE), Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒, a philosopher who combined cosmologic speculation with the Confucian view on the state, convince the emperor to adopt Confucianism as the sole state doctrine. All other schools were not further considered as worth being sponsored by the state (bachu baijia 罷黜百家 "driving out the hundred schools"). Han period Confucianism did not consist of a single tradition. There were mainly three traditions fighting for intellectual dominance over the other. These are the new text school (jinwenpai 今文派), the old text school (guwenpai 古文派), and the schools of the apocryphal writings (chenweixue 讖緯派). The new text school relied on Confucian classics that had survived the prohibition of the Qin period. The old test school interpreted texts that were allegedly discovered in the walls of Confucius' mansion in Qufu, being hidden to escape the First Emperor's book burning decrete. The apocryphal texts contained material interpreting Confucian teachings as related to Heavenly revelations. The new text school prevailed during the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE), the old text school during the Later Han period 後漢 (25-220 CE). Only at the end of the Later Han period, adherents of the new text school again gained ground. The most famous old texts scholars, interpreters and commenters are Zheng Xing 鄭興, Jia Kui 賈逵 and Ma Rong 馬融, while Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 was the most important new text commentator of the very late Han time. His interpretation of the Confucian classics is known as the "teachings of Zheng" (Zhengxue 鄭學).
Early Buddhism
Confucianism as a competitor to Daoism and Buddhism
During the Wei 曹魏 (220-265) and Jin 晉 (265-420) periods Confucianism had to compete with a growing interest in Daoism. The main philosophical stream of that time was the so-called "teaching of the mystery" (xuanxue 玄學) which integrated Daoist ideas into Confucianism. Yet scholars were still deeply interested into the interpretation of the Confucian classics. Some modern scholars trace this occupation back to the loss of political influence during the Later Han period, when eunuchs, relatives of empresses and powerful generals influenced the politics of the imperial court. Scholars were likewise interested in the core Confucian writings, as well as in Daoist writings. He Yan 何晏 and Wang Bi 王弼 wrote comments on the "Classic of Changes"Yijing and the Lunyu, as well as on the Laozi 老子 and Zhuangzi 莊子. Wang Yan 王衍 and Ji Kang 嵇康 combined the idea of natural spontaneousness and the nothingness of the way with Confucian ideas.
Laozi statue - Daoism
With the growing importance of Buddhism in China the enmity between the latter and Daoism became more prevalent, a fight over which Confucianism lost a lot of impetus. It was nevertheless still used as a state doctrine because the Confucian scholars were experts in state rituals and all aspects of administration. Daoism and Buddhism, as religions that were focused on a life outside the worldly society (monasteries, hermits), did not show a similar importance for the state. Even powerful adherents of Buddhism, like Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty 梁武帝 (r. 502-549), had erected Confucius temples, used Confucian experts in administration and appointed Confucian professors (boshi 博士 "erudites") in the National University. Society was based on social hierarchies, about which only Confucianism had to say something. Scholars like He Chengyan 何承天 and Fan Chen 范縝 vehemently opposed Buddhism as a destructive ideology that would bring chaos into society, disrupt ancestor veneration and bring a government to the brinks of destruction. Confucianism was so important for the recruitment of state officials that during the Sui 隋 (581-618) and Tang 唐 (618-907) periods, the three "teachings" Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism were used for different purposes each. Experts in the Confucian Classics (mingjing 明經) and candidates passing the state examinations (jinshi 進士) had both passed the school of Confucius's teachings and their interpretation.
At the beginning of the Tang period, a new generation of Confucian scholars wrote new commentaries to the Classics and purified them from the Daoist influence of the earlier commentaries. The most important commentators are Kong Yingda 孔穎達 and Yan Shigu 顔師古. Both scholars laid the foundation for the thoroughly new interpretation of Confucianism during the Song period. The scholar Han Yu made further efforts to push back Buddhism into the realm of religion or even superstition and to make free the field of philosophy for a new, invigorated and austere Confucianism.
1000 threads from the Song Dynasty
The reinterpretation of Confucianism during the Song period
Unlike Buddhism with its very complex cosmology Confucianism had never really cared about Heaven or the universe. This was a lack that late Tang and early Song period scholars clearly recognized. In the 9th century Confucian scholars therefore began creating a cosmology of Confucianism, explaining that the natural Heavenly order (li 理) is implanted into every human. The social order of traditional Confucianism was a reflection of the Heavenly order. This new kind of Confucianism (xin ruxue 新儒學) was therefore also called "teaching of the order" (lixue理學) or "teaching of the (natural) way" (daoxue 道學). Philosophers like Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤, Shao Yong 邵雍, Zhang Zai 張載, the brothers Cheng Hao 程顥 and Cheng Yi 程頤 made use of Daoist concepts like dao 道, taiji 太極 or wuji 無極 to explain the universe in the Confucian sense. The Classic of Changes was used for metaphysical speculations. The brothers Cheng also used hitherto neglected writings, the chapters Daxue 大學 and Zhongyong 中庸 of the ritual classic Liji 禮記 and put them side by side with the Confucian Analects and the Mengzi, creating the canon of the "Four Books" (sishu 四書). These four small books contained the material for a new, personally interpreted version of Confucianism. Instead of focusing on society as a whole, the individual scholar began cultivating himself in order to detect the Heavenly and natural way, not only in himself, but also in all things on earth. The goodness in man came from Heaven, and everyone had the potential to become a perfect noble. In order to detect the dao a thorough investigation of all things was necessary (gezhi 格致).
The Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) philosopher Zhu Xi 朱熹 unified all the different philosophical interpretations of the first Neo-Confucians and integrated them into a coherent system. Zhu Xi was seen as a second Confucius. He assembled disciples around him and taught them by the question-and-anwer method used by Confucius. Zhu Xi wrote an interpretation to the Four Books, the Sishu jizhu 四書集注, which was to serve as the orthodox interpretation for the centuries to come. His philosophy is the perfection of the teachings of the two Cheng brothers, and the teachings of all three are subsumed under the term Cheng-Zhu lixue 程朱理學 "The Brother Cheng's and Zhu Xi's teachings of the Heavenly order". There is another tradition of Neo-Confucians with Lu Jiuyuan 陸九淵 and Wang Yangming 王陽明 as representants. Their tradition is subsumed under the term Lu-Wang xinxue 陸王心學 "Lu Jiuyuan's and Wang Yangming's teachings of the mind".
Scholarly Confucianism under the Qing dynasty
The tradition of Neo-Confucianism experienced an end during the 17th century. Confucian scholars felt that Neo-Confucianism was too speculative and not concerned with the original writings of Confucianism. The late Ming period scholar Gu Yanwu 顧炎武 therefore criticized the Neo-Confucians and initiated a more scientific approach towards the ancient Confucian writings. This new approach was instantly followed by other scholars that started to undergo textual critique, lexical research, to discern between originals and forgeries and to collect fragments of lost texts. This scientific and intellectual movement is known as the "teachings of research and prove" (kaozhengxue 考證學). The most important scholars are Mao Qiling 毛奇齡, Qian Daxin 錢大昕, Dai Zhen 戴震, Duan Yucai 段玉裁, Lu Wenchao 盧文弨, Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 and Ma Guohan 馬國翰. For the modern editions of the Confucian Classics, these scholars have made highly valuable contributions.
Ideologization in the 20th century
The impact of the intrusion by foreign powers during the 19th century also influenced the interpretations of Confucianism by Chinese scholars. While some scholars tried to use Confucianism as an element of Chinese culture that would enable China to withstand Western influence, other shifted the responsibility of China's backwardness to Confucianism. Reformers of the late 19th century tried to find elements in Confucianism that supported a change of habits in administrations in order to strengthen state and nation. Kang Youwei 康有爲 and Liang Qichao 梁啟超 have be counted among those scholars, but also Dai Jitao 戴季陶, whose interpretation of Confucianism as an intrinsically Chinese philosophy able to strengthen the nation by bringing order and peace into China's society was used by Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 in his New Life Movement 新生活運動. Some years after the founding of the Republic, academicians in Peking started making Confucianism responsible for China's backwardness. During the May Fourth Movement in 1919 五四運動 the destruction of the "Confucian shop" (Kongdian 孔店) was seen as a crucial activity on the way to a modern China with an advanced society and economy. This was a kind of foreplay to the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命 in the People's Republic of China where Confucianism was seen as backward, feudal and worth eliminating. Confucianism was identified with strict obedience to superiors and the cementation of social status.
The nationalist revival of Confucianism in the PRC
While Confucianism had always been seen as a constituant element of Chinese culture in the Republic of China and in Taiwan, it was only revived in the People's Republic after the Communist Party had given up Communist ideology and replaced the latter by overt nationalism. Part of this ultra-nationalism is the claim that Confucianism, although often defined as intrinsically Chinese (no foreigner is able to understand Confucius), is not restricted to any nation, people or "race" so that it can be transplanted to the "West". In the last decade a large discourse evolved about common human values independent of any cultural background, and a common sense was established that there are indeed common basic ideas of humanity and kindheartedness as expressed in the thoughts of Confucius as well as in the New Testament. Yet it does not seem that both philosophies were able to influence the realpolitik of states very much: China has not become a peaceful country because of Confucianism, nor have Christian ideas led to a peaceful world. Yet it still seems that the Confucian concepts of a ritualized behaviour in society and kindheartedness among persons in a social relationship towards is instrumentalized to support the ideology of the so-called "harmonious society".
* I have read to much and learned and what I have learned I do not think it has absorbed yet. I find myself drawn to certain areas of what is written here. A very interesting culture, one that I feel at home with also. I have done my best to correct the work here without damaging the context of the writer. There is a link above at the beginning if anyone wishes to see more.
Brightest Blessings,
Teaching
6 Feb 2012 - 5:34pm
African Art: Dance of Praise
THE AFRICAN EXPERIENCE OF GOD THROUGH THE EYES OF AN AKAN WOMAN
by Mercy Amba Oduyoye
Found here: http://www.aril.org/african.htm
Africans experience God -- Nana -- as the good parent, the grandparent. Some say he is father; others say she is mother. But the sentiment is the same: Nana is the source of loving-kindness and protection.
MERCY AMBA ODUYOYE is a widely known African theologian, author of Daughters of Anowa (Orbis, 1995) and -- with Musimbi Kanyoro -- The Will to Arise (Orbis, 1995). Her essay appeared first in a special issue on Africa in The Way, the English Jesuit journal of spirituality, Summer 1997.
Writing about Africa is a hazardous enterprise. One needs to draw up many parameters and make explicit the extent of the study. This becomes even more difficult considering the subject in hand. Whose experience of God are we dealing with? What is the extent of the Africa we are talking about? From the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope there have been primal religious experiences of God issuing, for instance, in the building of the pyramids and continuing to under gird the annual festivals celebrated by West Africans. There are Muslims from Cape Verde to the Red Sea and down to Dar and throughout the continent, some of them having roots going to the beginnings of Islam while others are recent converts. The same goes for Christians. Africa also hosts Hindus and Sikhs and Buddhists and many others. We, therefore, want to talk about the experience of God in a multi-religious context.
To create a handle for the subject we shall limit ourselves to the Primal Religion (designated African Religion, AR) as it has been documented by recent studies, and the new Christianity that Africa is living in our days. Geographically we shall limit ourselves to Africa south of the Sahara. The scope of the content will be guided by the experiences of God I have gathered through reading and participation in events that have afforded me the possibility of hearing Africans talk about God. I have in mind the traditional notions as captured by the early African theologians from the AR, the experience of God in South Africa in the days of the struggle against racism, and the emerging profile of God being sketched by African women through creative literature and theological reflection. But first we need to establish the nature of the reality of God in African cosmology and culture.
African Art: Prayers Under God's Eye
The Living God
"The fool says in his heart 'There is no God.' “In traditional Africa there are no such "fools." In his inaugural lecture delivered at Ibadan in 1974, Professor Bolaji Idowu discussed "the reality and unreality of God" under the title "Obituary: God's or man's?" bringing to that university the "God is dead" debate of the 1960s. Idowu believes that "man's estimate of himself and his destiny, his interpretation of the phenomena of the universe and his philosophy of history depend upon this one central point: belief in God, because He is; or unbelief. . ." Elsewhere Idowu asserts that "God is universal and so is revelation." Here he agrees with the Tanzanian who said that as people everywhere see the one sun, so they all have the one God. On the other hand, Betty Goviden, in her article "In search of our own wells," quotes Malusi Mpumlwanas, a South African poet, who asks "What do I mean when I say I believe in God?. . . . Is God of the 'Die Stem' and 'Nkosi Sikelela' one and the same God?"
In traditional Africa, that is, Africa when people are being themselves, discounting Christianity, Islam, and Western norms, God is experienced as an all-pervading reality. God is a constant participant in the affairs of human beings, judging by the everyday language of West Africans of my experience. A Muslim never projects into the future nor talks about the past without the qualifying phrase insha Allah, "by the will of Allah." Yoruba Christians will say "DV" ("God willing"), though few can tell you its Latin equivalent, and the Akan will convince you that all is "by the grace of God." Nothing and no situation is without God. The Akan of Ghana say Nsem nyina ne Onyame ("all things/affairs pertain to God"). That Africans maintain an integrated view of the world has been expressed by many. In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela writes:
My father was an unofficial priest and presided over ritual. . . . and local rites. . . ., he did not need to be ordained, for traditional religion of the Xhosa is characterized by a cosmic wholeness so that there is little distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the natural and the supernatural.
The Yoruba respond to prayer with Ase, the divine and highly potent power with which Olodumare (God) created the universe and maintains its physical laws. The belief in the all-pervading power and presence of God endows the universe with a sacramental nature.(5) The African view of the world is nourished by a cosmology that is founded on a Source Being, the Supreme God, and other divine beings that are associated with God. As God is the foundation of life, so nothing happens without God. God lives, God does not die, and so indeed humans do not die. Even when we do not occupy a touchable body, we still live on.
The way we experience God is portrayed in the language we use about God, especially the names by which God is known. Early researchers into AR like G. Parrinder, E. B. Idowu, and J. S. Mbiti have recorded for us several African names of God with copious annotations, which it is not necessary to rehearse at this stage. What needs to be said is that these names are still current and that more names descriptive of people's experience of God are available in proverbs, songs, and prayers. These names, says Idowu, are not mere labels: "They are descriptive of character and depict people's experience of God."
When words fail, symbols take over. For the Akan of Ghana the Adinkra symbols, the minuscule figures for gold weights and those on royal maces, include many that are theophorous. The star in Adinkra is a symbol that says "Like the star, I depend on God and not on myself." The symbol of hope says, "God, there is something in the heavens, let it reach my hands." The dependence of the existence of the human spirit on the spirit of God is expressed in another symbol; and the more well known Gye Nyame is the Akan expression of the belief that without God nothing holds together, and is variously interpreted as "except God" or "unless God" -- God is experienced as the very foundation of existence. All these examples demonstrate the difficulty of translation and the inadequacy of words to express our experience of God.
People believe that all the good and well-being they enjoy come from God and that if one is not yet enjoying well-being it is because one's time has not yet come. "AR holds that the world and nature are good gifts that God entrusted to human beings: they provide nourishment for life, security and home for our bodies" (Lutheran World Federation [LWF] document on AR). The experience of God as beneficent is not only Muslim or Christian, but a living faith of Africans that has been reinforced by these "missionary" religions.
Experiencing the Deposit of Faith
The current interest in the nature of Christian missions has sparked off studies in the theology of religions, inter-religious relations, multi-religious communities, gospel and cultures, and has therefore renewed interest in the religion of "the other." It is in this context that the LWF established a working group on AR which is described as "an indigenous system of beliefs and practices integrated into the culture and world views of African peoples." This original religion of Africans expresses the African experiences of God and pervades all cultural norms. All human relations are affected by the belief that we all belong together in God. Onyame nti (because of God, or for the sake of God), we act or refrain from acting. God is experienced as the sole creator and sustainer of all things, who expects human beings to be to God as children and to each other as siblings, and to respect the earth and other natural phenomena.
The belief in the unity of God goes with the unity of the cosmos. God's sustenance and beneficence are seen in the rain as in the sunshine. Indeed when the dark clouds begin to gather, some say the rain is angry, while others say God is angry. But even as we say muna, which in the human face is a sign of anger and displeasure, the muna of God issues forth in the blessing of the rain. If there is too much rain or flood, we do not attribute them to God but to the anger of the divinities that are associated with nature or the ancestors whom we may have wronged by some unethical behavior or lack of reverence for what pertains to the spirit world. God always gives what is sufficient. The experience of God as good and the experience of evil becomes a challenge to Africans. In the tradition, some would say both come from God but that "when God gives you disease, God also gives you the cure."
symbol of majesty and supremacy of God
.
We experience the total dependence on God in AR in the prayers. God is the ultimate receiver of all prayers, so all libations begin with calling upon God. This God has been with Africans from the beginning and features in prayers and greetings, blessings and curses: "God will pay you back" is feared as a most potent curse. People are discouraged from using it as it may rebound on then when they deserve what they have received at the hands of those they curse. In AR it is not God who suffers from the evil we do to each other. God does not suffer at the hands of the exploiter and the oppressor; it is the individual who suffers. However, when individuals suffer through evil not of their doing, God who is the Creator of all humans demonstrates concern. Behind the unpronounceable curse is the expectation that God judges impartially, that God sees when we cheat and exploit the weak. Most important is the experience that God guards the weak. Often, when children and others deemed weak in society escape calamity, all agree that it is God's doing.
The immediacy of God in African affairs is also demonstrated through the God-related names we bear. Theophorous names like Nyamekye (gift of God) and Dardom (depend on God) are examples from Akan names. Yoruba names beginning with Olu or Oluwa speak of human experience of God. In names we encounter the African ontology that is centered on God who is the source of life and cohesion, whose sovereignty over all cannot be questioned. We experience blessings when ideals like unity, community, caring, faithfulness, excellence, steadfastness, etc., abound among human beings, for in these we experience God.
God is experienced as the good parent, the grandparent Nana, a source of loving-kindness and protection. Some say Nana is father while others say Nana is mother, but the sentiment is the same: human beings experience a closeness to God which they describe in terms of motherhood and fatherhood. There was never any need to debate the existence of God. The challenge was always to discern God at work. Does God take sides? If so, whose side is God on, and why? The African experience of God is that ultimately God is on the side of the weak and the side of justice. No one can explain God. Nsa baako ntumi nkata Onyame ani (no single hand can cover the eye of God), and so Africans grant a plurality of approaches to God and experiences of God. Experiences of God vary according to the circumstances surrounding people's daily life. To illustrate this we will review some contemporary scenes that indicate shifts in the language about God that correspond to changed situations.
An African Interpretation by the Mafa People in Cameroun
A Contemporary Shift in God-Talk
The South African case is illustrative of how traditional Christian language about God is modified to cope with the people's experience of God at work. Alan Boesak, writing on "Coming in out of the wilderness" in Emergent Gospel, tells of Isaiah Shembe (1870-1935), the founder of an AIC (African independent church), and records this statement made people in his church:
You my people, were once told of a God who had neither arms nor legs, who cannot see, who has neither love nor pity. But Isaiah Shembe showed you God who walks on feet and who heals with his hands, and who can be known by men.
In this church the African meets a God who loves and has compassion. Like Betty Goviden, Isaiah Shembe underlines the South African dilemma of a God who seems to decree injustice so as to favor some and oppress others. In this, as in other contexts, the experience of God as a healer and companion on life's journey is very important for Africans, and the "exodus" from white-led churches into AICs, says Boesak, is a theological statement. Further theological statements issuing out of the South African experience of God have been collected in Black theology: The South African Voice edited by Basil Moore. In South Africa, God was experienced by the Africans as active and operating with a whole lot of envoys when missionaries arrived to declare the whole system of AR idolatrous and without God. It has taken the AICs to reestablish African language about God in the vocabulary of African Christians. The South African experience of racism included a Christian God who was boss (the South African secret police) and partial to the dominant group. Black theology had to debunk the underlying theory that God is partial and favored the white race and subjected the black race to servitude under them. A fresh profile of God was needed to heighten the experience of God as compassionate and just. Revelation is through experience, and South Africans, black and white, were experiencing afresh the presence and essence of God in that situation. In this collection of essays we find a testimony to people's experience of God in South Africa.
In the context of apartheid, where white people set themselves up as gods who determined how the humanity of others was to develop, it was a real challenge to talk about the Source Being in meaningful terms. God in the apartheid system was depicted in patriarchal and hierarchical terms, lending support to the oppressive regime. Traditional Christian theological terms like omniscience and omnipotence fueled the oppressive authoritarianism and were no use to a people who understood God as abhorring slavery. The Africans found white authority incongruent to their traditional philosophy in which authority derives from serving the unity and well-being of the whole people. Authority is not power over. Besides, their traditional experience of being human is in life-giving relationships. This results in images of God that are freeing and that depict unity and wholeness.
God has to be experienced as the source of humanizing relationships of love, truth and justice, of mercy and kindness. New language developed and South Africans, both those of African descent and those of European and Asian descent who were awakened to the evil of apartheid, began to experience God as freedom. God as freedom became a theological symbol. They began to discard the anthropomorphic language which fuels sexism and to create relational expressions. In the contribution of Sabelo Ntwana and Basil Moore titled "The concept of God in black theology," they state that "God is love" means that God is a person who loves me, but "God is freedom" means that God is the freedom made known in our history, calling us from oppression into wholeness of life. God is this wholeness which exists in the spaces between people when their dignity and worth is mutually affirmed in love, truth, honesty, justice, and caring warmth. God cannot be represented in any created object.
Mokgethi Motlhabi in his essay declares that the Church had become an oppressive human organization. "Only God is freedom." By definition, therefore, our freedom is reflected in the image of God. From Motlhabi's experience in the South African context, God was to be imaged as "both creator and liberator to all people in their entire situation, not only religious but also social, political and economic." Here is a call to the holistic cosmology of AR that is also biblical. In South Africa, God has been experienced as freedom and truth, as comrade and friend in the struggle for freedom.
Women's Experiences of God
The South African re-imaging of God revolved around ridding themselves of the patriarchal model that supports the hierarchy, domination, and sexism of their experience under apartheid. On this, the editors of Black Theology: The South African Voice wrote: "The symbol 'person' for God attracts both gender and color and has strong overtones of authority." "God is male" has had repercussions in Christianity that one cannot continue to uphold; therefore, "Black theology of liberation that is relevant to South Africa cannot afford to perpetuate any form of domination, not even male domination; if its liberation is not human enough to include the liberation of women, it will not be liberation." The constitution of the new South Africa has been true to this vision, a vision shared by many African women and articulated by women who have constituted themselves into a Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians.
Since in the Church in Africa men and the clergy presume to speak for God, and to demand the obedience of women, it is not easy to experience God as empowering and liberating when one is in the Church's ambit. Women experience God as the one who orders their subordination, who requires them to serve and never be served. God is the one who made them women, with a body deemed to be the locus of sin and impurity. God is experienced as source of women's oppression and Jesus as the author of the exclusion of women from sacramental roles in the Church. This is the God the Christian tradition wants women to love and obey.
For many women, however, this is a clear substitution of the will of God for the will of the male of the human species. Many women experience God differently and cannot allow themselves to be subjected to cultural codes that mask the image of God in women. They experience God as empowering them with a spirituality of resistance to dehumanization. The andocentric Bible and Church have not been able to warp women's direct experience of God as a loving liberator.
The experience of God is articulated by these women in terms of a theology of creation and the implications of the Christian affirmation that "God was in Christ." The Christology of African women is centered on Jesus, friend and liberator who upholds the dignity of the humanity of women. They experience God in Christ as affirming the goodness of the sexuality of women, a factor that has been a pretext in both AR and Christianity for the diminution of women, discrimination against them and their marginalization from centers of power and the ministration of sacraments. Writings of women theologians from Africa are replete with these experiences.
African Art: Ethiopian Whispers
In The Will to Arise Teresia Hinga describes an experience of God in Christ that is very real to African women. Women often describe Jesus as the friend and companion who helps them bear life's burdens. There is also the prophetic Jesus who challenges oppressors and hypocrites but forgives sinners. In Jesus, women experience the God who is love. These experiences of God are affirmed by women in terms of "nevertheless." Women describe themselves as being in the image of God even if sexism denies their dignity.
In the women theologians' circle, studies of God's hospitality, African hospitality, and women in the household of God reveal women's experience of God as the Great Householder who empowers all and recognizes all as children in a parent's home and around the one table. They give expression to experiences of the God who sustains in times of dire need and who brings victory where it is least expected. They have constantly attributed all recognition and inclusiveness to the power of God which transforms human beings and human conditions. They express their experience of God in affirming cultural beliefs and practices, while they feel called by God to denounce and to deconstruct oppressive ones.
Despite sexism's making it difficult for women to experience God in the Church, women have nevertheless witnessed to their experience of God in Christ, the one who brings salvation. While critical of certain aspects of biblical culture, they have nevertheless testified to their experience of the liberating God of the Bible in events in their own lives. Rereading Scripture, and especially the stories of women in the Bible, has brought God closer and enhanced the Presence around us. Women experience God as groaning with them as they participate in straining toward the birth of a new Africa free from sexism and racism, from poverty, exploitation, and violence.
All experiences of "love beyond self," all that is just and life-giving, are understood to be expressions of the presence of God. All that enhances the dignity and worth of women is attributed to the presence of God. Women who take the image of God in human beings seriously see it in the faces of the starving children around them and in all those who suffer needlessly in Africa. When women live by caring, they are expressing the caring God in whose image they are created. Hopefully those who experience love and justice and compassion will realize that God is present.
Building Up Christ's Body
How do these experiences of God in Africa relate to the building up of the Body of Christ in Africa? How do the churches respond to peoples' experiences of God? There is a revival of traditional African images of God, in the AICs and, to a lesser extent, in the "Prosperity Christianity" that has taken Africa by storm for nearly two decades. The AICs have a profile of being prophetic-healing-praying churches. Africans move to these churches to hear God through prophets, as they used to do through the divination of AR. They seek and experience healing of body and soul and the efficacy of communing with God in prayer. Religion comes alive; it ceases to be a formal gathering with an ambience that is devoid of African culture. However, to a significant extent the charismatic-Pentecostal-prosperity churches have returned Africans to the anti-African culture of the Western missionaries. They maintain that to succeed you must move away from African beliefs related to ancestors, African practices and ritual, and seek "deliverance" from evil and poverty through the Church, your new family. The music, song and dance, tithing, and exuberant demonstration of spirituality may be similar in both types of church, but there is a marked difference in their attitudes to things African. Those who flock to join these churches presumably do so because they experience the presence of God they yearn for. These churches are building up the Body of Christ by seeking to meet the felt needs of people.
The South African experience of God as liberator has encouraged churches in other parts of Africa to confront governments with their lack of care for the populace. Contemporary experiences of atrocities committed in Africa by Africans on Africans lead people to ask "Where is God in all this?" "On whose side is God?" some have asked. Some have surmised that God is apparently not interested in what happens to humanity in Africa. In other words, Africa experiences the absence of God when evil triumphs. This is the case with adherents of AR as with Christians. Mandela quotes the ending of a speech given during his initiation into manhood:
I know that Qameta (God) is all-seeing and never sleeps, but I have a suspicion that Qameta may in fact be dozing. If this is the case, the sooner I die the better, because then I can meet him and shake him awake and tell him that the children of Ngubengcuku, the flower of the Xhosa nation, are dying.
When apartheid was formally dismantled, all Africa, indeed the whole of the justice-loving world, rejoiced and the religious gave glory to God. The presence of God has been demonstrated.
To build up Christ's body we need to demonstrate the liberating presence of God. When we are able to empower Zaire and Rwanda, Sudan and Nigeria to learn to live creatively and justly with difference, we shall be helping to unveil God. African myths of separation attribute the felt absence of God to human acts of greed and callousness. To build up the Body of Christ everywhere requires building up human relations, seeing humanity as one family under God who is the source of the life of the human family. We cannot continue the rhetoric of loving, caring words about God if people are not experiencing loving, caring acts from one another.
We cannot tell people that creation is a "pure gift from God, unsolicited" when some enjoy more of these gifts than others and the Church does little to alleviate poverty. African affirmations about God and creation have to come alive in the projects, program and attitudes of the Church. What does it mean when we say "Nothing is too difficult for God?" when we affirm it is "God who gives the cow to the Masai" or that "When God gives no one can snatch"? All of this is empty rhetoric if people cannot testify that "What God says God does." And how is this to be demonstrated if the Church proclaims a "God in Christ" who has arms too short to reach the hurt of people? We seek the presence of God who saves now, in the being and doing of the Church. For many it is the absence of God, the alienation from God the source of life that is the immediate experience.
Faith in a God of love lives on in Africa in spite of the apparent absence. For Africans like the Masai for whom there is no life after death and even for the Akan who are gathered to God and to the ancestors when they die, it is important to see the goodness of God here in the land of the living, for that is what establishes the presence of God among human beings. Many of the women I know are like Buchie Emecheta: they know that God has more important things to do than to punish them for having "ambitions" of fulfilling their potential. Like her they pray for miracles. God is a miracle-working God. Emecheta says, "When I saw a miracle flying by I would grab it." Winning a scholarship for secondary school education was for her one such miracle. African women expect God to "deliver." In lyrics, traditional and modern, they sing about the God who says and does and they invite all to come and see what God has actually done. They declare that words are not up to the task of expressing thanks to God. When Africans can testify to sight for the blind, that becomes evidence that God is being experienced. To respond to these expectations and experiences of God in Africa is to build up the Body of Christ, not only in Africa, but worldwide. For God cannot treat Africa and Africans differently from other places and people and still remain the sole source of human being. The Church will build up the Body of Christ if it acts to heal, strengthen, nourish, and treat with dignity all of its members, and that means acting as God-in-Christ expects of the Church.
* Some of the book the author used were:
* Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (Abacus, 1994)
* Kwesi A. Dickson, African Theology
* J. S. Mbiti, Prayers of an African Religion
* The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians came into being on the initiative of Mercy Amba Oduyoye to enable African women to contribute to the theological literature that is being developed by Africans. Since its inauguration in October of 1989 two pan-African books and three regional ones have been published. Papers from the August pan-African conference are being processed for publication
* Healey and Sybert, Towards an African Narrative Theology
**There are many more, over 20 sources were used to create the article. The article is found here, http://www.aril.org/african.htm
I have learned an awful lot. There are many other articles and many other readings to be found. At the moment I am guided to the African ways and religion and I am also guided to share all that I am finding and learning so we can teach each other.
Blog entry
4 Feb 2012 - 5:01pm
Welcome to the first of my insights drawn from daily life.
Todays insight is drawn from todays weather.
Here in Somerset it has been snowing on and off through the day.
Nothing major, just a light fall that colours the surrounding with
the look of icing sugar. I know that it has been heavier in other
parts so it is understandable that getting about may be problematic.
But it continues to amaze me that every winter a portion of the
population choose to become incapacitated by it.
One of my friends is due to go to an Imbolc ritual tomorrow,
a few miles from where he lives, and anxiously watches
the skies hoping that the clouds spill their load as rain not snow.
Even though he really wants to go, he would rather not venture out in the snow
* because he doesn't know the way
* because there may be an icy slope that he can't negotiate
* because even if he got there the weather may get worse and he may get stranded there.
I said to him that he should try. I said just go slower, and be more careful.
I said that even if it was snowing in his town, the roads may be clear on the way to the other town.
I said that if he came to a slope he couldn't negotiate, he would still be able to turn around
and come back because he had already made it safely to that point.
But his fear is greater than logic. But, it's his Life - his choice.
It got me thinking about how many times we miss out on things in our lives
because our fears cannot be reasoned with. About how often we give up
before we even start because we cannot envision a positive outcome.
And how our choices to create the life we want in the future are sabotaged
by our fears here in the present.
Lets make an analogy of that tale as follows:
Our town is the Present time, where the daily outlook changes according
to external circumstance, ie the weather.
The Future is the other town. We don't know the way so we map out the route we plan to take.
There are likely to be unforeseen obstacles on that route.
But we are resourceful.
We can always find another way.
We can refer to an atlas to help us decide on a different route.
We can weigh up the pros and cons of changing our mode of transport.
And if transport cannot get through then we can always kit ourselves out to go on foot.
These things may slow us down but they cannot stop us from getting to our destination.
Only we can do that...by not starting out in the first place.
If we train our bodies we can run marathons.
But even if we can't run marathons, we can still get there eventually.
So ...
We can't go back, so we have to go forward.
But when things around us are bad, just ... go slowly and more carefully...you'll get there in the end.
Teaching
4 Feb 2012 - 1:16pm
Philosophy of Love
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
Love: Ethics and Politics
The ethical aspects in love involve the moral appropriateness of loving, and the forms it should or should not take. The subject area raises such questions as: is it ethically acceptable to love an object, or to love oneself? Is love to oneself or to another a duty? Should the ethically minded person aim to love all people equally? Is partial love morally acceptable or permissible (that is, not right, but excusable)? Should love only involve those with whom the agent can have a meaningful relationship? Should love aim to transcend sexual desire or physical appearances? May notions of romantic, sexual love apply to same sex couples? Some of the subject area naturally spills into the ethics of sex, which deals with the appropriateness of sexual activity, reproduction, hetero and homosexual activity, and so on.
In the area of political philosophy, love can be studied from a variety of perspectives. For example, some may see love as an instantiation of social dominance by one group (males) over another (females), in which the socially constructed language and etiquette of love is designed to empower men and disempower women. On this theory, love is a product of patriarchy, and acts analogously to Karl Marx’s view of religion (the opiate of the people) that love is the opiate of women. The implication is that were they to shrug off the language and notions of “love,” “being in love,” “loving someone,” and so on, they would be empowered. The theory is often attractive to feminists and Marxists, who view social relations (and the entire panoply of culture, language, politics, institutions) as reflecting deeper social structures that divide people into classes, sexes, and races.
This article has touched on some of the main elements of the philosophy of love. It reaches into many philosophical fields, notably theories of human nature, the self, and of the mind. The language of love, as it is found in other languages as well as in English, is similarly broad and deserves more attention.
*I learned a lot reading the Philosophy of Love as I posted. I enjoyed sharing what I was guided for the past couple of days.
Brightest Blessings
Teaching
4 Feb 2012 - 12:53pm
Philosophy of Love
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
The Nature of Love: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual
Some may hold that love is physical, i.e., that love is nothing but a physical response to another whom the agent feels physically attracted to. Accordingly, the action of loving encompasses a broad range of behavior including caring, listening, attending to, preferring to others, and so on. (This would be proposed by behaviorists). Others (physicalists, geneticists) reduce all examinations of love to the physical motivation of the sexual impulse-the simple sexual instinct that is shared with all complex living entities, which may, in humans, be directed consciously, sub-consciously or pre-rationally toward a potential mate or object of sexual gratification.
Physical determinists, those who believe the world to entirely physical and that every event has a prior (physical cause), consider love to be an extension of the chemical-biological constituents of the human creature and be explicable according to such processes. In this vein, geneticists may invoke the theory that the genes (an individual’s DNA) form the determining criteria in any sexual or putative romantic choice, especially in choosing a mate. However, a problem for those who claim that love is reducible to the physical attractiveness of a potential mate, or to the blood ties of family and kin which forge bonds of filial love, is that it does not capture the affections between those who cannot or wish not to reproduce-that is, physicalism or determinism ignores the possibility of romantic, ideational love—it may explaineros, but not philia or agape.
Behaviorism, which stems from the theory of the mind and asserts a rejection of Cartesian dualism between mind and body, entails that love is a series of actions and preferences which is thereby observable to oneself and others. The behaviorist theory that love is observable (according to the recognizable behavioral constraints corresponding to acts of love) suggests also that it is theoretically quantifiable: that A acts in a certain way (actions X,Y,Z) around B, more so than he does around C, suggests that he “loves” B more than C. The problem with the behaviorist vision of love is that it is susceptible to the poignant criticism that a person’s actions need not express their inner state or emotions—A may be a very good actor. Radical behaviorists, such as B. F. Skinner, claim that observable and unobservable behavior such as mental states can be examined from the behaviorist framework, in terms of the laws of conditioning. On this view, that one falls in love may go unrecognised by the casual observer, but the act of being in love can be examined by what events or conditions led to the agent’s believing she was in love: this may include the theory that being in love is an overtly strong reaction to a set of highly positive conditions in the behavior or presence of another.
Expressionist love is similar to behaviorism in that love is considered an expression of a state of affairs towards a beloved, which may be communicated through language (words, poetry, music) or behavior (bringing flowers, giving up a kidney, diving into the proverbial burning building), but which is a reflection of an internal, emotional state, rather than an exhibition of physical responses to stimuli. Others in this vein may claim love to be a spiritual response, the recognition of a soul that completes one’s own soul, or complements or augments it. The spiritualist vision of love incorporates mystical as well as traditional romantic notions of love, but rejects the behaviorist or physicalist explanations.
Those who consider love to be an aesthetic response would hold that love is knowable through the emotional and conscious feeling it provokes yet which cannot perhaps be captured in rational or descriptive language: it is instead to be captured, as far as that is possible, by metaphor or by music.
*I am learning also as I am gathering and posting. The theoretical concepts are intriguing and they do make sense if you think like that; and I do have that capacity, always have.
Teaching
4 Feb 2012 - 12:37pm
Philosophy of Love
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
The Nature of Love: Romantic Love
Romantic love is deemed to be of a higher metaphysical and ethical status than sexual or physical attractiveness alone. The idea of romantic love initially stems from the Platonic tradition that love is a desire for beauty-a value that transcends the particularities of the physical body. For Plato, the love of beauty culminates in the love of philosophy, the subject that pursues the highest capacity of thinking. The romantic love of knights and damsels emerged in the early medieval ages (11th Century France, fine amour) a philosophical echo of both Platonic and Aristotelian love and literally a derivative of the Roman poet, Ovid and his Ars Amatoria. Romantic love theoretically was not to be consummated, for such love was transcendentally motivated by a deep respect for the lady; however, it was to be actively pursued in chivalric deeds rather than contemplated-which is in contrast to Ovid’s persistent sensual pursuit of conquests!
Modern romantic love returns to Aristotle’s version of the special love two people find in each other’s virtues-one soul and two bodies, as he poetically puts it. It is deemed to be of a higher status, ethically, aesthetically, and even metaphysically than the love that behaviorists or physicalists describe.
Teaching
3 Feb 2012 - 7:30pm
Philosophy of Love
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
The Nature of Love: Further Conceptual Considerations
Presuming love has a nature; it should be, to some extent at least, describable within the concepts of language. But what is meant by an appropriate language of description may be as philosophically beguiling as love itself. Such considerations invoke the philosophy of language, of the relevance and appropriateness of meanings, but they also provide the analysis of “love” with its first principles. Does it exist and if so, is it knowable, comprehensible, and describable? Love may be knowable and comprehensible to others, as understood in the phrases, “I am in love”, “I love you”, but what “love” means in these sentences may not be analyzed further: that is, the concept “love” is irreducible-an axiomatic, or self-evident, state of affairs that warrants no further intellectual intrusion, an apodictic category perhaps, that a Kantian may recognize.
The epistemology of love asks how we may know love, how we may understand it, whether it is possible or plausible to make statements about others or ourselves being in love (which touches on the philosophical issue of private knowledge versus public behavior). Again, the epistemology of love is intimately connected to the philosophy of language and theories of the emotions. If love is purely an emotional condition, it is plausible to argue that it remains a private phenomenon incapable of being accessed by others, except through an expression of language, and language may be a poor indicator of an emotional state both for the listener and the subject. Emotivists would hold that a statement such as “I am in love” is irreducible to other statements because it is a nonpropositional utterance; hence its veracity is beyond examination. Phenomenologists may similarly present love as a non-cognitive phenomenon. Scheler, for example, toys with Plato’s Ideal love, which is cognitive, claiming: “love itself… brings about the continuous emergence of ever-higher value in the object–just as if it were streaming out from the object of its own accord, without any exertion (even of wishing) on the part of the lover” (1954, p. 57). The lover is passive before the beloved.
The claim that “love” cannot be examined is different from that claiming “love” should not be subject to examination-that it should be put or left beyond the mind’s reach, out of a dutiful respect for its mysteriousness, its awesome, divine, or romantic nature. But if it is agreed that there is such a thing as “love” conceptually speaking, when people present statements concerning love, or admonitions such as “she should show more love,” then a philosophical examination seems appropriate: is it synonymous with certain patterns of behavior, of inflections in the voice or manner, or by the apparent pursuit and protection of a particular value (“Look at how he dotes upon his flowers-he must love them”)?
If love does possesses “a nature” which is identifiable by some means-a personal expression, a discernible pattern of behavior, or other activity, it can still be asked whether that nature can be properlyunderstood by humanity. Love may have a nature, yet we may not possess the proper intellectual capacity to understand it-accordingly, we may gain glimpses perhaps of its essence-as Socrates argues inThe Symposium, but its true nature being forever beyond humanity’s intellectual grasp. Accordingly, love may be partially described, or hinted at, in a dialectic or analytical exposition of the concept but never understood in itself. Love may therefore become an epiphenomenal entity, generated by human action in loving, but never grasped by the mind or language. Love may be so described as a Platonic Form, belonging to the higher realm of transcendental concepts that mortals can barely conceive of in their purity, catching only glimpses of the Forms’ conceptual shadows that logic and reason unveil or disclose.
Another view, again derived from Platonic philosophy, may permit love to be understood by certain people and not others. This invokes a hierarchical epistemology, that only the initiated, the experienced, the philosophical, or the poetical or musical, may gain insights into its nature. On one level this admits that only the experienced can know its nature, which is putatively true of any experience, but it also may imply a social division of understanding-that only philosopher kings may know true love. On the first implication, those who do not feel or experience love are incapable (unless initiated through rite, dialectical philosophy, artistic processes, and so on) of comprehending its nature, whereas the second implication suggests (though this is not a logically necessary inference) that the non-initiated, or those incapable of understanding, feel only physical desire and not “love.” Accordingly, “love” belongs either to the higher faculties of all, understanding of which requires being educated in some manner or form, or it belongs to the higher echelons of society-to a priestly, philosophical, or artistic, poetic class. The uninitiated, the incapable, or the young and inexperienced-those who are not romantic troubadours-are doomed only to feel physical desire. This separating of love from physical desire has further implications concerning the nature of romantic love.
*I have always had a fondness for philosophical stuff. One of my first "big" books when I was about 12 or 13 was a Sigmund Freud book. I am guided by the Creator to this series of teachings and postings as always, and I am loving what I AM reading and sharing.
Teaching
3 Feb 2012 - 1:21pm
Philosophy of Love
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
1. The Nature of Love: Eros, Philia, and Agape
The philosophical discussion regarding love logically begins with questions concerning its nature. This implies that love has a “nature,” a proposition that some may oppose arguing that love is conceptually irrational, in the sense that it cannot be described in rational or meaningful propositions. For such critics, who are presenting a metaphysical and epistemological argument, love may be an ejection of emotions that defy rational examination; on the other hand, some languages, such as Papuan, do not even admit the concept, which negates the possibility of a philosophical examination. In English, the word “love,” which is derived from Germanic forms of the Sanskrit lubh (desire), is broadly defined and hence imprecise, which generates first order problems of definition and meaning, which are resolved to some extent by the reference to the Greek terms, eros, philia, and agape.
a. Eros
The term eros (Greek erasthai) is used to refer to that part of love constituting a passionate, intense desire for something; it is often referred to as a sexual desire, hence the modern notion of “erotic” (Greekerotikos). In Plato‘s writings however, eros is held to be a common desire that seeks transcendental beauty-the particular beauty of an individual reminds us of true beauty that exists in the world of Forms or Ideas (Phaedrus 249E: “he who loves the beautiful is called a lover because he partakes of it.” Trans. Jowett). The Platonic-Socratic position maintains that the love we generate for beauty on this earth can never be truly satisfied until we die; but in the meantime we should aspire beyond the particular stimulating image in front of us to the contemplation of beauty in itself.
The implication of the Platonic theory of eros is that ideal beauty, which is reflected in the particular images of beauty we find, becomes interchangeable across people and things, ideas, and art: to love is to love the Platonic form of beauty-not a particular individual, but the element they posses of true (Ideal) beauty. Reciprocity is not necessary to Plato’s view of love, for the desire is for the object (of Beauty), than for, say, the company of another and shared values and pursuits.
Many in the Platonic vein of philosophy hold that love is an intrinsically higher value than appetitive or physical desire. Physical desire, they note, is held in common with the animal kingdom. Hence, it is of a lower order of reaction and stimulus than a rationally induced love—that is, a love produced by rational discourse and exploration of ideas, which in turn defines the pursuit of Ideal beauty. Accordingly, the physical love of an object, an idea, or a person in itself is not a proper form of love, love being a reflection of that part of the object, idea, or person, that partakes in Ideal beauty.
b. Philia
In contrast to the desiring and passionate yearning of eros, philia entails a fondness and appreciation of the other. For the Greeks, the term philia incorporated not just friendship, but also loyalties to family andpolis-one’s political community, job, or discipline. Philia for another may be motivated, as Aristotle explains in the Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII, for the agent’s sake or for the other’s own sake. The motivational distinctions are derived from love for another because the friendship is wholly useful as in the case of business contacts, or because their character and values are pleasing (with the implication that if those attractive habits change, so too does the friendship), or for the other in who they are in themselves, regardless of one’s interests in the matter. The English concept of friendship roughly captures Aristotle’s notion of philia, as he writes: “things that cause friendship are: doing kindnesses; doing them unasked; and not proclaiming the fact when they are done” (Rhetoric, II. 4, trans. Rhys Roberts).
Aristotle elaborates on the kinds of things we seek in proper friendship, suggesting that the proper basis for philia is objective: those who share our dispositions, who bear no grudges, who seek what we do, who are temperate, and just, who admire us appropriately as we admire them, and so on. Philia could not emanate from those who are quarrelsome, gossips, aggressive in manner and personality, who are unjust, and so on. The best characters, it follows, may produce the best kind of friendship and hence love: indeed, how to be a good character worthy of philia is the theme of the Nicomachaen Ethics. The most rational man is he who would be the happiest, and he, therefore, who is capable of the best form of friendship, which between two “who are good, and alike in virtue” is rare (NE, VIII.4 trans. Ross). We can surmise that love between such equals-Aristotle’s rational and happy men-would be perfect, with circles of diminishing quality for those who are morally removed from the best. He characterizes such love as “a sort of excess of feeling”. (NE, VIII.6)
Friendships of a lesser quality may also be based on the pleasure or utility that is derived from another’s company. A business friendship is based on utility–on mutual reciprocity of similar business interests; once the business is at an end, then the friendship dissolves. This is similar to those friendships based on the pleasure that is derived from the other’s company, which is not a pleasure enjoyed for whom the other person is in himself, but in the flow of pleasure from his actions or humour.
The first condition for the highest form of Aristotelian love is that a man loves himself. Without an egoistic basis, he cannot extend sympathy and affection to others (NE, IX.8). Such self-love is not hedonistic, or glorified, depending on the pursuit of immediate pleasures or the adulation of the crowd, it is instead a reflection of his pursuit of the noble and virtuous, which culminate in the pursuit of the reflective life. Friendship with others is required “since his purpose is to contemplate worthy actions… to live pleasantly… sharing in discussion and thought” as is appropriate for the virtuous man and his friend (NE, IX.9). The morally virtuous man deserves in turn the love of those below him; he is not obliged to give an equal love in return, which implies that the Aristotelian concept of love is elitist or perfectionist: “In all friendships implying inequality the love also should be proportional, i.e. the better should be more loved than he loves.” (NE, VIII, 7,). Reciprocity, although not necessarily equal, is a condition of Aristotelian love and friendship, although parental love can involve a one-sided fondness.
c. Agape
Agape refers to the paternal love of God for man and of man for God but is extended to include a brotherly love for all humanity. (The Hebrew ahev has a slightly wider semantic range than agape).Agape arguably draws on elements from both eros and philia in that it seeks a perfect kind of love that is at once a fondness, a transcending of the particular, and a passion without the necessity of reciprocity. The concept is expanded on in the Judaic-Christian tradition of loving God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5) and loving “thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). The love of God requires absolute devotion that is reminiscent of Plato’s love of Beauty (and Christian translators of Plato such as St. Augustine employed the connections), which involves an erotic passion, awe, and desire that transcends earthly cares and obstacles. Aquinas, on the other hand, picked up on the Aristotelian theories of friendship and love to proclaim God as the most rational being and hence the most deserving of one’s love, respect, and considerations.
The universalist command to “love thy neighbor as thyself” refers the subject to those surrounding him, whom he should love unilaterally if necessary. The command employs the logic of mutual reciprocity, and hints at an Aristotelian basis that the subject should love himself in some appropriate manner: for awkward results would ensue if he loved himself in a particularly inappropriate, perverted manner! (Philosophers can debate the nature of “self-love” implied in this-from the Aristotelian notion that self-love is necessary for any kind of interpersonal love, to the condemnation of egoism and the impoverished examples that pride and self-glorification from which to base one’s love of another. St. Augustine relinquishes the debate–he claims that no command is needed for a man to love himself (De bono viduitatis, xxi.) Analogous to the logic of “it is better to give than to receive”, the universalism of agaperequires an initial invocation from someone: in a reversal of the Aristotelian position, the onus for the Christian is on the morally superior to extend love to others. Nonetheless, the command also entails an egalitarian love-hence the Christian code to “love thy enemies” (Matthew 5:44-45). Such love transcends any perfectionist or aristocratic notions that some are (or should be) more loveable than others. Agapefinds echoes in the ethics of Kant and Kierkegaard, who assert the moral importance of giving impartial respect or love to another person qua human being in the abstract.
However, loving one’s neighbor impartially (James 2:9) invokes serious ethical concerns, especially if the neighbor ostensibly does not warrant love. Debate thus begins on what elements of a neighbor’s conduct should be included in agape, and which should be excluded. Early Christians asked whether the principle applied only to disciples of Christ or to all. The impartialists won the debate asserting that the neighbor’s humanity provides the primary condition of being loved; nonetheless his actions may require a second order of criticisms, for the logic of brotherly love implies that it is a moral improvement on brotherly hate. For metaphysical dualists, loving the soul rather than the neighbor’s body or deeds provides a useful escape clause-or in turn the justification for penalizing the other’s body for sin and moral transgressions, while releasing the proper object of love-the soul-from its secular torments. For Christian pacifists, “turning the other cheek” to aggression and violence implies a hope that the aggressor will eventually learn to comprehend the higher values of peace, forgiveness, and a love for humanity.
The universalism of agape runs counter to the partialism of Aristotle and poses a variety of ethical implications. Aquinas admits a partialism in love towards those we are related while maintaining that we should be charitable to all, whereas others such as Kierkegaard insist on impartiality. Recently, Hugh LaFallotte (1991) has noted that to love those one is partial towards is not necessarily a negation of the impartiality principle, for impartialism could admit loving those closer to one as an impartial principle, and, employing Aristotle’s conception of self-love, iterates that loving others requires an intimacy that can only be gained from being partially intimate. Others would claim that the concept of universal love, of loving all equally, is not only impracticable, but logically empty-Aristotle, for example, argues: “One cannot be a friend to many people in the sense of having friendship of the perfect type with them, just as one cannot be in love with many people at once (for love is a sort of excess of feeling, and it is the nature of such only to be felt towards one person)” (NE, VIII.6).
*the above picture and its explanation can be found here: scienceprojectideasforkids.com/2011/four-elements/
Teaching
3 Feb 2012 - 1:01pm
Philosophy of Love: An Overview
Author: Alexander Moseley
Information found here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/love/
This article examines the nature of love and some of the ethical and political ramifications. For the philosopher, the question “what is love?” generates a host of issues: love is an abstract noun which means for some it is a word unattached to anything real or sensible, that is all; for others, it is a means by which our being – our self and its world – are irrevocably affected once we are ‘touched by love’; some have sought to analyze it, others have preferred to leave it in the realm of the ineffable.
Yet it is undeniable that love plays an enormous and unavoidable role in our several cultures; we find it discussed in song, film, and novels – humorously or seriously; it is a constant theme of maturing life and a vibrant theme for youth. Philosophically, the nature of love has, since the time of the Ancient Greeks, been a mainstay in philosophy, producing theories that range from the materialistic conception of love as purely a physical phenomenon – an animalistic or genetic urge that dictates our behavior – to theories of love as an intensely spiritual affair that in its highest permits us to touch divinity. Historically, in the Western tradition, Plato’s Symposium presents the initiating text, for it provides us with an enormously influential and attractive notion that love is characterized by a series of elevations, in which animalistic desire or base lust is superseded by a more intellectual conception of love which also is surpassed by what may be construed by a theological vision of love that transcends sensual attraction and mutuality. Since then there have been detractors and supporters of Platonic love as well as a host of alternative theories – including that of Plato’s student, Aristotle and his more secular theory of true love reflecting what he described as ‘two bodies and one soul.’
The philosophical treatment of love transcends a variety of sub-disciplines including epistemology, metaphysics, religion, human nature, politics and ethics. Often statements or arguments concerning love, its nature and role in human life for example connect to one or all the central theories of philosophy, and is often compared with, or examined in the context of, the philosophies of sex and gender as well as body and intentionality. The task of a philosophy of love is to present the appropriate issues in a cogent manner, drawing on relevant theories of human nature, desire, ethics, and so on.
*I love looking at the philosophical side of things, gives us much to think about and see the relevance of the words spoken and written long ago still have merit today.
Teaching
31 Jan 2012 - 9:14pm
The Pursuit of Happiness
“Happiness depends on ourselves.” More than anybody else, Aristotle enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. As a result he devotes more space to the topic of happiness than any thinker prior to the modern era. Living during the same period as Mencius, but on the other side of the world, he draws some similar conclusions. That is, happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue, though his virtues are somewhat more individualistic than the essentially social virtues of the Confucians. Essentially, Aristotle argues that virtue is achieved by maintaining the Mean, which is the balance between two excesses. Aristotle’s doctrine of the Mean is reminiscent of Buddha’s Middle Path, but there are intriguing differences. For Aristotle the mean was a method of achieving virtue, but for Buddha the Middle Path referred to a peaceful way of life which negotiated the extremes of harsh asceticism and sensual pleasure seeking. The Middle Path was a minimal requirement for the meditative life, and not the source of virtue in itself.
Who is Aristotle?
Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western science and philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. Although we do not actually possess any of Aristotle’s own writings intended for publication, we have volumes of the lecture notes he delivered for his students; through these Aristotle was to exercise his profound influence through the ages. Indeed, the medieval outlook is sometimes considered to be the “Aristotelian worldview” and St. Thomas Aquinas simply refers to Aristotle as “The Philosopher” as though there were no other.
Aristotle was the first to classify areas of human knowledge into distinct disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and ethics. Some of these classifications are still used today, such as the species-genus system taught in biology classes. He was the first to devise a formal system for reasoning, whereby the validity of an argument is determined by its structure rather than its content. Consider the following syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal. Here we can see that as long as the premises are true, the conclusion must also be true, no matter what we substitute for “men or “is mortal.” Aristotle’s brand of logic dominated this area of thought until the rise of modern symbolic logic in the late 19th Century.
Happiness as the Ultimate Purpose of the Human Existence
One of Aristotle’s most influential works is the Nicomachean Ethics, where he presents a theory of happiness that is still relevant today, over 2300 years later. The key question Aristotle seeks to answer in these lectures is: what is the ultimate purpose of human existence? What is that end or goal for which we should direct all of our activities? Everywhere we see people seeking pleasure, wealth, and a good reputation. But while each of these has some value, none of them can occupy the place of the chief good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end, an act must be self-sufficient and final, “that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else,” and it must be attainable by man. Aristotle claims that nearly everyone would agree that happiness is the end which meets all these requirements. It is easy enough to see that we desire money, pleasure, and honor only because we believe that these goods will make us happy. It seems that all other goods are a means towards obtaining happiness, while happiness is always an end in itself.
The Greek word that usually gets translated as “happiness” is eudemonia, and like most translations from ancient languages, this can be misleading. The main trouble is that happiness (especially in modern America) is often conceived of as a subjective state of mind, as when one says one is happy when one is enjoying a cool beer on a hot day, or is out “having fun” with one’s friends. For Aristotle, however, happiness is a final end or goal that encompasses the totality of one’s life. It is not something that can be gained or lost in a few hours, like pleasurable sensations. It is more like the ultimate value of your life as lived up to this moment, measuring how well you have lived up to your full potential as a human being. For this reason, one cannot really make any pronouncements about whether one has lived a happy life until it is over, just as we would not say of a football game that it was a “great game” at halftime (indeed we know of many such games that turn out to be blowouts or duds). For the same reason we cannot say that children are happy, anymore than we can say that an acorn is a tree, for the potential for a flourishing human life has not yet been realized. As Aristotle says, “for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.” ( Nichomachean Ethics,1098a18)
The Hierarchical View of Nature
In order to explain human happiness, Aristotle draws on a view of nature he derived from his biological investigations. If we look at nature, we notice that there are four different kinds of things that exist in the world, each one defined by a different purpose:
Mineral: rocks, metals and other lifeless things. The only goal which these things seek is to come to a rest. They are “beyond stupid” since they are inanimate objects with no soul.
Vegetative: plants and other wildlife. Here we see a new kind of thing emerge, something which is alive. Because plants seek nourishment and growth, they have souls and can be even said to be satisfied when they attain these goals.
Animal: all the creatures we study as belonging to the animal kingdom. Here we see a higher level of life emerge: animals seek pleasure and reproduction, and we can talk about a happy or sad dog, for example, to the extent that they are healthy and lead a pleasant life.
Human: what is it that makes human beings different from the rest of the animal kingdom? Aristotle answers: Reason. Only humans are capable of acting according to principles, and in so doing taking responsibility for their choices. We can blame Johnny for stealing the candy since he knows it is wrong,” but we wouldn’t blame an animal since it doesn’t know any better.
It seems that our unique function is to reason: by reasoning things out we attain our ends, solve our problems, and hence live a life that is qualitatively different in kind from plants or animals. The good for a human is different from the good for an animal because we have different capacities or potentialities. We have a rational capacity and the exercising of this capacity is thus the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For this reason, pleasure alone cannot constitute human happiness, for pleasure is what animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is not to annihilate our physical urges, however, but rather to channel them in ways that are appropriate to our natures as rational animals.
Thus Aristotle gives us his definition of happiness:
“…the function of man is to live a certain kind of life, and this activity implies a rational principle, and the function of a good man is the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed it is performed in accord with the appropriate excellence: if this is the case, then happiness turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.” (Nichomachean Ethics,1098a13)
Happiness as the Exercise of Virtue
In this last quote we can see another important feature of Aristotle’s theory: the link between the concepts of happiness and virtue. Aristotle tells us that the most important factor in the effort to achieve happiness is to have a good moral character — what he calls “complete virtue.” But being virtuous is not a passive state: one must act in accordance with virtue.
According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc., that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make choices, some of which may be very difficult. Often the lesser good promises immediate pleasure and is more tempting, while the greater good is painful and requires some sort of sacrifice. For example, it may be easier and more enjoyable to spend the night watching television, but you know that you will be better off if you spend it researching for your term paper. Developing a good character requires a strong effort of will to do the right thing, even in difficult situations.
* More about Aristotle and his theories can be found: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-psychology/#6
Blog entry
31 Jan 2012 - 9:32am
The elements of your existence
what makes you and defines
your psycical body
the way this effects your
your thoughts and the interactions with other people
your peers and others
effecting what you choose to eat
and what you choose to drink
and also effecting your health and well being
your Mind and its processes
The relationships you have
the way exeperinces unfold
the life you lead
is effected by these elements
as well as your early interactions
with Love and compassion
you have the ability
everyone has the ability
to look within
to find those elements
that will help
you to understand your true self
and where you feel changes
be comfortable with who you are
follow that truth
expand your awareness
reach your full potential
Blog entry
17 Jan 2012 - 4:58pm
There is only one way - yours, yours, yours, and yours and yours and yours etc.... (The Elohim)
Blog entry
23 Dec 2011 - 5:07am
Bhagavad Gita 13.26
"Whatever exists, Arjuna,
animate or inanimate,
has come into existence
from the union of field and Knower."
Field-matter
Knower-consciousness
13.30
"When he sees that the myriad beings
emanate from the One
and have their source in the One,
that man gains absolute freedom."
the One, the MoG (Mind of God), the Quantum Ocean, quantum physics,
great interwoven tapestry of creation:
Thing of creation as knitting. It is truly all one string, one thread, continuously flowing.
Where nubs,
stitches,
& ribs exist
in the garment,
these are actually
the result of previous actions
combining with present actions and
to be confined
(if the row you're knitting now)
with future actions.
The stitches
are themselves
the result of
interaction
(creating the
"matter,"
the stitch,
the nub)
.
The types of techniques
(rib,
stitch, knit, pearl,
stockinette, etc.)
are ways of creation,
processes, plans.
The force that creates
& enacts
these processes
is energy,
will,
consciousnesses.
Perhaps
matter is a result of
colliding dimensions?
Or
a result of time
behaving
in a linear fashion,
meaning that cyclical time
or freedom from it entirely
provides manipulation of
the physical plane.
13.34
"He whose inner eye sees how the Knower is distinct from the field, and how men are set free from Nature, arrives at the highest state."
Blog entry
16 Dec 2011 - 5:33am
Allright so Im sure most of you have heard of this whole deal sweeping the internet about David Wilcock getting a death threat. If not, see here:
2012indyinfo.com/2011/12/15/breaking-david-wilcock-has-received-a-death-threat-the-occupy-2012-scenario/
Can you not see whats going on here? Okay, first of all, what is this saying? Whom is it serving? To me, this is either a publicity stunt or a fear mongering ploy, and Ill tell you why.
First of all, I get threats all the time, but you dont see me making headlines. Which goes back to the whole sad state of affairs here. Your branded with "this name" and most everyone thinks that the ground you walk on is sacred. But if you have "this name", then no one really could care less about your state of affairs. I thought that all was supposed to be one?
Now, David Wilcock, according to my intel, is a spiritual teacher. But what is he teaching here? Fear? "Hey look at me I got a threat and because Im David Wilcock, everyone will take notice and feed me their power by spreading this message/fear, and sending me love and light." Why would a righteous, spiritual teacher such as he, even consider making this public? Perhaps he fears for his life? Oh but wait, fear does not serve the spiritually awakened yes?
All I can say is, welcome to the real world David. You aint the first, and you aint gonna be the last to get these threats. Its how you respond to them that makes the difference, and I think you have made a grave miscalculation in this circumstance sir. By making this public, you have added to the fear, and you have of course gained a great deal of support from those whos concern for you is genuine. For those that support him, I ask to you examine this issue carefully. Of course the natural instinct is to worry, send him love and pray for his protection. But think about the larger picture here, see what is going on.
Blog entry
11 Dec 2011 - 9:29am
My religion has always been and still is-- Kindness. I am a spiritual being having a human experience.
The unity we look for as a whole is in realizing that religions and traditions of the world come from One Creator.
I truly hope at this time in history most of us have an undersatanding of this. Any differences that we may feel are attributed to the times and the people that they came to, or to the man-made dogmas and rituals which should never be a reason for separation or for considering one way better than another. The essence of all the Teachings is love and compassion and justice.
All the Manifestations are One Divine Spirit. They are each the First and the Last, the Way and the Life, because they each shine with the one Light of Truth, the reality of all creation, the oneness deposited at the heart of all created things. We are truly--- all connected. When we can remember that we all come from One Creator, we will surely have ~Peace~
~Wishing you many Blessings~
Blog entry
10 Dec 2011 - 5:23pm
I decided to post a blog response to the video Martiangirl had posted. The children who are speaking out today need support, and they also need HOPE. Thank you, Martiangirl for posting the video.
Link to Blog: http://lightworkers.org/blog/148279/17-year-olds-video-about-obscelete-educational-systema-lil-sad
These are very serious issues that should concern each and every one of us.
As I posted in response to Martiangirl’s blog , people may rail against my perspective here and disagree with me, but it is based on much research into education and knowing how diabolical the system truly is. First, I will say that it's great that this child is seeing the issues and speaking out about them. It will not be the adults for the most part who work on changing the system (although there are some), but the children who are just being born today, supported by the children just now leaving high school. There are a few adults who are trying to pave the way to make their work easier -- such as the work Joe Kincheloe has left and my dissertation work showing multiple ways to apply his theory that can begin to provide solutions to these issues. I say a few are working on this, because the majority of educators are so locked up in the matrix that they continue to support it rather than change it. It’s very difficult to work toward change in a system that is so rigged to sustain itself. It is the primary reason I left the system. I will only go back if I see a genuine opportunity to work toward the changes I believe in.
In regards to academics, the answer is never either-or. We don't give up high level academics; they are interwoven with learners' passions. Everyone is entitled, capable, and needs to be able to achieve at their highest levels in our future society. Anyone who already taps into "source" or higher realm knowledges knows we can all do this if we put forth the effort. Passion fuels that effort.
This student has exposed truths and of course they are truths that must be exposed and we need to go further in ways that restore hope for these children. But the system is devised as one-sided and there are many publications in the so-called “critical” education genre that reiterate these same words with no viable solutions offered. In other words, they want us to see these problems loud and clear and even know the "correct" nomenclature they have developed to describe our suffering, but they want us to feel disempowered toward changing anything. Missing is a needed corollary which was according to plan by those in power who control education. The latest strategy which is actually very damaging is the trend to include a watered down "critical thinking" strand in student coursework now. Often it is used in conjunction with indoctrinating media and students are taught to take analysis only at the surface level never going deeper or studying the power, the matrix, the multidimensional issues, what drives the educational system (or the media system, political system, etc.).
To put this in simple terms, the cabal loves to teach that there are PROBLEMS, but not that there are SOLUTIONS, thus we are dependent on them. And in the process, this serves to create more problems because people are not taught to engage in collaborative problem solving and instead are focused on problems such as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc., and today we can add bullying - these are all highlighted for the purpose of creating division and increasing the magnitude of the problem (what we focus on grows, thus they don't focus on solutions). This is also their primary tactic in media: flaunt in our faces the problems, but no solutions.
Thus, this serves to create an apathetic, hopeless society who can see the problems, be emotionally affected and divided by them, but they cannot see their way out of them. There are no solutions. No process for finding solutions. The media has been doing this for a long time, but the cabal is pushing it to extremes now in the classroom. And then to prepare students for a controlled society, they have rules, rules, rules. A personal example: I was totally appalled when my children would bring home the rules of all of their different classrooms. Every teacher is required to have certain specific rules and then encouraged to add their own - and indeed, they do! When I read all of the different rules in all of the different classes they were taking, my reaction was, how are they supposed to remember which rule goes to which class? And some of the rules were just ludicrous.
To make matters worse, the cabal has established so many roadblocks to our freedom and our ability to even find gainful employment or engage in entrepreneurship, that most of us can barely navigate the system anymore. This is a debilitating.
I am very proud of and grateful for the work Joe Kincheloe has left behind for us. He took critical thinking and pedagogy, critical analysis, "critical complex epistemology" to a higher level - to one in which we CAN SEE and ENACT solutions. His theoretical work not only gives hope again, people become empowered to find holes and opportunities in the matrix and reconstruct the matrix.
There will be much more to say about his work in relation to divine wisdom knowledges and our growth and consciousness expansion as I move forward with my work. That he has been able to situate this theory into “critical pedagogy” is a miracle. He apparently saw the downward trend this so-called “critical” pedagogy was heading and how it would be used to further the agenda of the cabal in some extremely harmful ways. He has truly brought us some solutions that are so profound it will take decades to fully understand their power and capacity for creating change. There are a few people who understand this and who are now supporting my efforts rather than my being confronted only with those trying to quash what I’m doing with his work.
Seeing the problems with little hope for changing them is debilitating. Seeing the problems and finding multiple solutions can help us take back our freedom and bring joy back into our lives. All of us can be productive, happy, participating and free citizens.
We do need to support these children who are speaking out - and we also need to give them hope!
POLITICS OF EDUCATION REARS ITS HEAD
Here is an example of the politics of education which is very sad, in my view.
If you click through to the YouTube comments for the video below, you will see what I’m talking about. I personally find the comment left for this child destructive. I do not understand how the person who posted the negative comment can possibly find this video as something Joe would take any issue with. Our knowledge is never complete, always changing, always growing. That is the foundation of his theory, along with his belief in the freedom of expression. This student is expressing where she is in her understanding and sharing how his work gives her hope for the future. (OK, so she placed his birth in West Virginia and it was actually Eastern Tennessee, just a few miles off, but give her a break; she is a high school student, not an advanced scholar competing in the education publish or perish business!). In my personal interpretation, Joe would be upset by the comment posted. It does not match his theory.
Keeping in mind, this is a young student's interpretation of how she views Joe’s theoretical work which is very complex and not possible to present in a short video, the most important thing is that his work provides this student hope and that she is sharing this hope with others. I cannot fathom quashing the hope of a child. And she does touch on some of his most important ideas: linguistics, analyzing power structure, and the need to incorporate all voices and perspectives. I pray that all of the students in the world who are struggling, such as the student who made the video posted by Martiangirl, can regain their hope. I do believe Joe’s work provides some wonderful keys for making this possible - keys that help us each find our own unique pathways to greater knowledge and empowerment.
Kara Flageollet - How Joe Kincheloe Changed My Life
MUCH MORE TO COME!!!!
Brought to you with LOVE because I care!
Soferia
You can read some of Joe's work here: http://www.joelyonskincheloe.info/
Blog entry
30 Nov 2011 - 9:09pm
'Faith of consciousness is freedom
Faith of feeling is weakness
Faith of body is stupidity.
Love of consciousness evokes the same in response
... Love of feeling evokes the opposite
Love of the body depends only on type and polarity.
Hope of consciousness is strength
Hope of feeling is slavery
Hope of body is disease.'
~Gurdjieff
Blog entry
22 Nov 2011 - 11:29pm
These words gave me so much faith in our new world to come, a real change in our political systems from what we previously had.
-Mariel
Inaugural speech of President Michael D. Higgins, St. Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, Friday, 11th November, 2011
Muintir na hÉireann and friends of Ireland at home and abroad, there can be no greater honour than to have been elected Uachtarán na hÉireann – President of Ireland. I thank you the people of Ireland for the honour you have bestowed upon me and I accept and appreciate the great responsibilities of that office.
Citizens of Ireland, you have chosen me to be your ninth President, to represent you at home and abroad, and to serve as a symbol of an Irishness of which we can all be proud.
An Irishness which is carried by every citizen and which we must recall and forge anew together.
I enter the ninth Presidency with a sense of humility, but also with confidence in the great capacity of our people, the people of Ireland, not only to transcend present difficulties but to realise all of the wonderful possibilities that I believe await us in the years ahead.
I wish to acknowledge the immense contribution of those who have previously served in this office, particularly the two great women who have immediately preceded me.
They have made contributions that developed our consciousness of human rights, inclusion, and the important task of deepening and sustaining peace within and between communities in every part of our Island. It is work I will endeavour to continue and build upon.
As your President, I am grateful for the extent of the support, the strong mandate, you have given me. I also realise the challenges that I face, that we face together, in closing a chapter that has left us fragile as an economy, but most of all wounded as a society, with unacceptable levels of unemployment, mortgage insecurity, collapsing property values and many broken expectations. During my campaign for the Presidency, I encountered that pain particularly among the most vulnerable of our people. However, I also recognise the will of all of our people to move beyond anger, frustration or cynicism and to draw on our shared strengths. To close the chapter on that which has failed, that which was not the best version of ourselves as a people, and open a new chapter based on a different version of our Irishness - will require a transition in our political thinking, in our view of the public world, in our institutions, and, most difficult of all, in our consciousness.
In making that transformation, it is necessary to move past the assumptions which have failed us and to work together for such a different set of values as will enable us to build a sustainable social economy and a society which is profoundly ethical and inclusive. A society and a state which will restore trust and confidence at home and act as a worthy symbol of Irishness abroad, inviting relationships of respect and co-operation across the world.
We must seek to build together an active, inclusive citizenship; based on participation, equality, respect for all and the flowering of creativity in all its forms. A confident people is our hope, a people at ease with itself, a people that grasps the deep meaning of the proverb 'ní neart go cur le chéile' – our strength lies in our common weal – our social solidarity.
Sin iad mór-théamaí na hUachtaránachta atá curtha romham agam, agus mé
lán-dóchasach go bhfuilimid ar tháirseach ré nua d'Éirinn agus d'Éireannaigh, sa bhaile agus i gcéin. Ré nua ina mbeidh bunluacha na cothroime agus an chirt, agus spiorad na cruthaíochta, faoi bhláth: poblacht, a mbeidh Éireannaigh de gach aicme agus traidisiún bródúil aisti.
My Presidency will be a Presidency of transformation, recognising and building on the many positive initiatives already under way in communities, in the economy, and in individual and collective efforts throughout our land. It will be a Presidency that celebrates all of our possibilities. It will seek to be of assistance and encouragement to investment and job creation, to innovation and original thinking – a Presidency of ideas – recognising and open to new paradigms of thought and action. It will aspire to turn the best of ideas into living realities for all of our people, realising our limitless possibilities – ár feidireachtaí gan teorainn.
In implementing the mandate you have given me, I will seek to achieve an inclusive citizenship where every citizen participates and everyone is treated with respect. I will highlight and support initiatives for inclusion across Ireland and also make it a priority to visit and to support the participation of the most excluded in our society, including those in institutional care.
I will champion creative communities who are bringing about positive change at local level by giving recognition to their achievements on the national stage. I believe that when we encourage the seedbed of creativity in our communities and ensure that each child and adult has the opportunity for creative expression, we also lay the groundwork for sustainable employment in creative industries and enrich our social, cultural and economic development.
In promoting inclusion and creativity, I will be inviting all citizens, of all ages, to make their own imaginative and practical contribution to the shaping of our shared future.
Active citizenship requires the will and the opportunity to participate at every level and in every way – to be the arrow; not the target.
Next year Bunreacht na hÉireann is 75 years old and a Constitutional Convention is planned by Government. As President, I encourage all citizens, of all ages, at home and abroad to take the opportunity of engaging with this important review as an opportunity to reflect on where we have come from and on how we might see ourselves into the future.
During my Presidency, I also intend to hold a number of Presidency Seminars which may reflect and explore themes important to our shared life yet separate and wider than legislative demand, themes such as the restoration of trust in our institutions, the ethical connection between our economy and society, the future of a Europe built on peace,
social solidarity and sustainability.
The first of these seminars will focus on being young in Ireland. It will address issues of participation, education, employment, emigration and mental health. I hope also that the seminars during the next seven years might encompass consideration of global issues, stressing the importance of the ethical connection between politics, economy, development and society.
In preparing for my Presidency, I recognise that our long struggle for freedom has produced a people who believe in the right of the individual mind to see the world in its own way and indeed that individual innovation and independence of mind has given Ireland many distinguished contributors in culture and science, often insufficiently celebrated.
However, in more recent years, we saw the rise of a different kind of individualism – closer to an egotism based on purely material considerations – that tended to value the worth of a person in terms of the accumulation of wealth rather then their fundamental dignity. That was our loss, the source in part, of our present difficulties. Now it is time to turn to an older wisdom that, while respecting material comfort and security as a basic right of all, also recognises that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured.
Our successes after all in the eyes of so many in the world have been in the cultural and spiritual areas – in our humanitarian, peace-building and human rights work - in our literature, art, drama and song – and in how that drama and song have helped us cope with adversity, soothed the very pain which they describe so well, and opened the space for new possibilities.
Our arts celebrate the people talking, singing, dancing and ultimately communing with each other. This is what James Connolly meant when he said that: "Ireland without her people means nothing to me". Connolly took pride in the past but, of course, felt that those who excessively worshipped that past were sometimes seeking to escape from the struggle and challenge of the present. He believed that Ireland was a work in progress, a country still to be fully imagined and invented – and that the future was exhilarating precisely in the sense that it was not fully knowable, measurable.
The demands and the rewards of building a real and inclusive Republic in its fullest sense remains as a challenge for us all, but it is one we should embrace together.
A decade of commemorations lies ahead – a decade that will require us to honestly explore and reflect on key episodes in our modern history as a nation; that will require us to draw on the ethics and politics of memory in such a way as will enable us not only to be sensitive to differing and incomplete versions of that history, but also to remain open to the making of reconciliation or to the acceptance of different versions of aspects and events of memory if required.
A common shared future built on the spirit of co-operation, the collective will and real participation in every aspect of the public world is achievable and I believe we can achieve it together. In our rich heritage some of our richest moments have been those that turned towards the future and a sense of what might be possible. It is that which brought us to independence. It is that which has enabled us to overcome adversity and it is that which will enable us to transcend our present difficulties and celebrate the real Republic which is ours for the making.
Every age, after all, must have its own Aisling and dream of a better, kinder, happier, shared world.
Ní díomas ach dóchas a bheidh ag teastáil uainn ins na blianta dúshlánacha atá amach romhainn. Dóchas as ár n-oighreacht shaibhir, as ár ndúchas iolrach; dóchas as ár
n-acmhainn samhlaíochta agus cruthaíochta; as an daonnacht choiteann a fáisceadh as stair chasta ár muintire i ngach cúinne d'Éirinn.
It is my wish to be a President for all of the Irish at home and abroad. We Irish have been a diasporic people for a great part of our history. The circumstances that have impelled – and that continue to impel – many citizens to seek employment and a better life elsewhere, are not ordained by some mysterious hand of fate. They challenge our capacity to create a sustainable and prosperous economy and an inspiring model of the good society. We, in our time, must address the real circumstances that generate involuntary emigration, and resolve that in the years ahead we will strive with all our energy and intellect, with mind and heart to create an Ireland which our young people do not feel they have to leave and to which our emigrants, or their children, may wish, in time,
to return to work and live in dignity and prosperity. I invite all of the Irish, wherever they may be across the world, to become involved with us in that task of remaking our economy and society.
Agus, ár muintir atá lonnaithe i dtíortha ar fuaid an domhain mhóir, bíodh a gcás, a gcearta agus a ngaiscí siúd ar ár n-aire againn. Tá rian a saothair agus a ndíograis fágtha acu ar gach tír inar lonnaigh siad: ar an gcultúr polaitíochta agus creidimh, sna réimsí oideachais agus sláinte, san eolaíocht, san saol gnó agus sna h-ealaíona ar fad: agus i ngluaiseachtaí éagsúla ar son chearta daonna agus dínit an duine. Ní suarach iad na gaiscí seo mar thaisce inspioráide dúinne sa bhaile.
Let these, then, be our shared hopes, our common purpose, as we face the future.
We Irish are a creative, resourceful, talented and warm people, with a firm sense of common decency and justice. Let us address the next seven years with hope and courage as we work together to build the future for our country –an Ireland we all feel part of,
an Ireland we all feel proud of.
Muintir na hÉireann, ar aghaidh linn le chéile leis an dóchas agus an misneach sin a bhí is ba choir a bheith i gcónaí in ár gcroí.
Blog entry
17 Nov 2011 - 4:29pm
When Socrates was asked the definition of an educated person, he mentioned nothing about knowledge and information. Instead, he said..
"Education is a matter of behavior. The ones I consider educated are these:
1. those who control unpleasant situations, instead of being controlled by them
2. those who face facts with bravery and logic
3. those who are honest in all their transactions
4. those who face invidious people in a benevolent way
5. those who control their pleasures
6. those who are not defeated by their failures and misfortunes
7. finally, those who are not corrupted by their successes and their glory"
video
13 Nov 2011 - 6:23pm
Uploaded by PeterSiNeh on 13 Nov 2011
Served with LOVE by the BLEND OF LOVING ENERGIES
You are a beautiful Soul and dearly loved!
NAMASAKRA _/|\_
SiNeh~
You are invited to BE one of us or to just visit at:
http://lovingenergies.spruz.com
Story
5 Nov 2011 - 6:29pm
My God
my elixir
my teacher
my providence
my every inspiration
my ability
my blunder
my opportunity
my kindred spirit
my satisfaction
my liege
my beloved
my immortality
my hope
my dreams
my king- my queen
my secret remedy
my life
my breathe
my amour
my true solace
My God
lives in me.
-
The word God is something that countless religions and individuals have sought to define for millennia. In the English language, those three letters connote a serious tone and strong opinions- worship and reverence... anger and discontent. It has brought many people together- united in a common understanding, in a common faith. And it has driven countless people from one another- divided in the idea that there version is somehow superior than another.
Many of us walk the middle ground between Atheism and Religion, as people who attribute our Faith to something less defined, and more fluid in its formlessness. Agnosticism doesn't quite capture it either, for to say that we do not know whether or not there is some mysterious and magical force pervading the Universe is inaccurate. Personally, I KNOW it is there, I just don't KNOW exactly what IT IS. Only- that IT IS. I enjoy my seeking and research, my continued dedication to furthering my understanding through experience and open mindedness... but I am also ok with sitting comfortably with my inability to ever know with the logical mind. The reverence for the journey fuels my enthusiasm and persistence.
This article was a spontaneous arrangement of ideas that originated several months ago with a conversation about Ritual and irReverence with my dear friend, Kim Upton. We were talking together on a weekday afternoon, as we so often do- about the grander questions of Life and Life after Life, about our children and their wild daily happenings, and eventually about Toes- Big Toes. Though I am pretty sure that I'm the one that instigated that part.
Sitting in my living room, surrounded by shelves of disheveled books, tacked up art posters, brightly colored baby toys, vintage furniture, fading flower bouquets, strewn shoes and baskets of randomness- she in her own nook of chaos and artistic confusion- we marveled at the majesty of the Sacred together. Though we live across the country from one another, we were connected in our simultaneous agreement and understanding of everything holding as much God-ness as everything else. I gazed over at our altar and thought about what it meant beyond the confines of its shelf there- about my understanding, my version of God and ceremony.
We have kept an altar in our home for years, a Sacred Space where we gather together bits and pieces of that which we hold to be holy and sacred. Bits of drying flowers from old arrangements, rocks and gemstone crystals, tiny carved statues and half-melted candles, letters to the Universe, pieces of prayers and Buddha statues, images of deities and culturally diverse religious figures, incense, artwork, a hornet that had passed and left his beautiful body to be found in the corner, a piece of robin's egg scattered in the garden. Anything that speaks to us as we go about our daily lives- anything that makes us stop and recognizing the spark of Holy NOWness in that moment.
"This moment. Holy" - Caveh Zahedi
The Holy Moment Scene from Waking Life
For me, God is not as delicate a word as others. I use it in the same way that I use the Universe, All that IS, or The Powers that Be- and all are interchangeable in my writing. Although I was raised Southern Baptist, and part of my journey to self discovery involved the dismantling of this belief structure, the word God doesn't cause any adverse reactions to my system. It seems rather comfortable and safe- accessing a part of my childhood when the word meant pure Love, before it took on any complex and hypocritical connotations. I never believed in the idea of a floating old man in the sky to begin with, as my intuition always told me there was much more to the equation than I was being told. For some people, the word God is not comfortable at all, and I can certainly understand why. (Admittedly I have this reaction to the word "Jesus", but it is something I am working through, and hardly has anything to do with the person himself.)
Others may have a similar reaction to other words or indicators of God-ness, finding it perhaps tres New Age, or indicative that there are too many feathers in the writer's hair. The word gods or goddess are equally as controversial... even I, as a proud and empowered woman, have a hard time with goddess, because I have certain reactions to some of the reading I've done which has claimed this word for its own purposes.
And there we have the underlying issue with any word in any language we may encounter: association. We are reacting to the word as it was first and repeatedly presented to us, and those associations have wired themselves into our psyches and now contain an entire realm of unprocessed emotion and reactivity. God, Universe, Great Spirit, All that IS, gods, goddess, etc- these are simply our best offerings, our best attempts at describing something wholly and completely indescribable. The Powers that Be (one of my favorites) are so much more complex (and simple) than any collection of vowels and consonants we can imagine. When you look up at the stars, or into the eyes of a child, or smell the fragrance of an heirloom peony- do you need to use a word to describe that moment. THAT moment is God, et al, and it doesn't require anything from you. If you are in want of something to give, it will honor your quiet observation and a moment of passing irReverence. (Just as it honors your free will choice to refuse to see it at all.)
There is no cell in your body, no leaf, no rock, no blade of grass, no cloud, no rat, no creature great or small, no moment- which is devoid of God. God, by it's own nature, and in it's own ineffable irReverence for itself, shows up in every breathe that it has breathed into life. In every thought, every motion, every possible potential. God will meet You anywhere. We are holders of the same Sacred Space within our very Being that we so often seek to find and attend outside of ourselves. We Are God incarnate.
God is here... there, right inside our big toe.
I cannot fathom passing the color purple in a field and missing its beauty, and what a great oversight if we fail to notice the majesty within our very Selves, our own Reflections, the genius in the construct of our anatomy... of our humanity. And the world around us and it's very lack of humanity... it's unbounded enthusiasm for persistence, for self actualization, fully realized without a need to be defined as anything other than what IT IS- the Holiest of Holies lives and breathes within every spark of Life. All That Is is ALL There IS.
Are we truly more aware because we believe ourselves to be, because we practice at it? The tree stands tall and mighty, and it knows itself to be God, perfectly imperfect, completely sacred and sufficient in its own majesty. The hawk knows its place in the Universe, and within our Mother Earth- the Hawk knows that it does not know, but it knows EXACTLY what it NEEDS to know. The whale song is a mantra of self empowerment and righteousness not unlike the hymns we sing in worship, but those songs are true originals, as if we had spontaneously created those very rhythms for ourselves!
Ritual is another aspect of God that tends to complicate spirituality for people. Here we find another vat of emotional reactions to certain approaches, meditations, prayers, habits, ceremonies, etc. What may work or fit for one person in one form, may be a complete deal breaker for another person. Just because something is ancient and revered as holy of holy, doesn't mean that it is any more relevant or sacred than the personal and spontaneous, or the (gasp) New Age. There are so many techniques and options available for someone seeking to connect with the divine- individually or collectively. The single most important aspect of any Ritual is intention. If you are intent upon opening yourself up and connecting with Higher levels of Being, that intention IS the "rainbow bridge" (Arguelles). Your presence makes it so.
There is no wrong way to connect with the Divine, and there are no qualifications necessary to get you there. I always suggest experimentation when it comes to navigating the realm of ritual. Try new things- seek out others who think and feel as you do, and engage in conversation that will challenge you to think outside any boxes you may still be holding on to. Try spending time alone and with groups, finding someone to facilitate for you, or stepping into a role of facilitator yourself. As with any other aspect of your life, allow yourself to get excited about your connection to God. Look for new ways to connect with all that IS, and see what magic you can discover.
I feel than my entire home and life is an altar to God's presence, as much as any intentionally made collection of fragments of faith would serve to be. As our scientific understanding begins to re-merge with spirituality, we find that those tiny atoms we learned about in elementary school- the bits of vibrating mass that make up every visible piece of our existence, turn out to behave differently and are dependent upon our observation. They are in essence, performing for us- a grand cosmic play of pure energy dressing itself in form, and we are playing our part as it unfolds.
Dr. Masaru Emoto's experiments with water crystals are an excellent and beautiful example of this phenomenal fact.
HIDDEN MESSAGES IN WATER - Dr. Masaru Emoto Experiment With Meditation At Brahma Kumaris
As a parent I find the subjects of faith, spirituality, God and religion to be of particular importance, because we are responsible for passing on a greater version of the Truth than was handed to us in centuries past. We are responsible for putting an end to suffering through separation and discrimination, by admitting that our well intending religious organizations have gotten carried away with their exclusivity, and there is no longer a time or a place for leaving ANYONE out in the cold. Race, Creed, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Age, Number of Legs or lack-there-of... we are a United Whole. And a Loving God- my God would never discriminate against any of its creations based on the name that it was given or called by. As a parent, you learn to respond to whatever Loving name your children call you by. (Even if at times, it's not so very loving. God responds to that, too.)
“How do you feel about the question?” “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God,” I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face. My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, “I suppose that’s what we’re all trying to do—love God.”
Excerpt from Life of Pi by. Yann Martel
I believe in teaching our children to Love unconditionally, and to be the best version of themselves that they can Be. I believe in Being a light unto others by shining with Love and Faith from within. I do not believe in limiting my relationship with God. I believe in Peace. I believe in finding the best possible version of Truth for oneSelf. I believe in Tolerance. I believe in the beauty of the diverse cultures of our world and the stories they have passed down for centuries to their own children. I believe that God exists in every crevice of every corner of every piece of the Universe, and therefore I believe that all beings are Blessed- and all beings are Loved. Salvation is not reserved for any one person of any one belief. Heaven is available to anyone who believes that a life without suffering is possible, and who recognize that all of life is a gift to be experienced, and to learn from.
I also believe that we live in a world full of good people. In fact, I believe that everything is essentially good at it's core, on a quantum level, at the bottom of the rabbit hole- where all the mysteries are explained into order from chaos. I believe that all things originate from the same light, and are sensical in their harmonic origins, in some reach of understanding that eludes my present ability to comprehend. I've always been just as reliant on scientific evidence to justify my beliefs as I am intuition and psychic nobilities. I like to know how and why things work, and like so many others I prefer it to be proven to me visually. To see something with "my own eyes". But even My Three Eyes don't see it All.
As I continue to grow through this mysterious and complex life that is so filled with unpredictable beauty, I find that my range of visions has widened, my dreams have become more palpable, my concepts of reality looser around the edges and more open to interpretation. I find that meeting God in any building with a predetermined leader holds less credence for me than meeting God beneath a giant Oak, or down on my belly in the green grass to observe an almost microscopic flower. But I also revel in communion with others who resonate together on a Soul Level- in Friendship. I find that my understanding of God has shifted to include the Universe, Great Spirits, The Powers that Be, gods, goddesses, and my firm and comfortable statement of un-knowing. Sometimes we can sit together in our un-knowing, and harmonize therein, bridging the space between gnosis and confusion.
I used to frequently say, "I believe in everything and nothing", and I sort of got a kick out of the look on people's faces. The God in my big toe and I, we sit and laugh at nonsensical contradictions. We bow ever so irReverently at the majesty that is each passing moment. And we spontaneously dance, sing or paint our way to personal rituals in new ways every single day. We rather like it that way. Maintaining (or reconnecting) with our sense of humor is an essential part of the journey to self discovery and personal spirituality.
"Laughter is the Language of the Gods"
Letting go of any pretentious ideas about having all of the answers, or having any of the answers in a way that you aren't comfortable with surrendering if the situation presents itself as having shifted (which it will)- helps to keep you balanced on your journey. Finding joy in moments of certain uncertainty, laughing with yourSelf- the Grand Self that IS, and venturing to see the Trees and the Forest at the SAME TIME... that is where the stuff of milk and honey flows.
God WILL meet you THERE.
by. Rachael Ehrlund
Originally posted @ http://www.birchnest.com/2011/11/05/sacred-irreverence-god-ritual-and-my-big-toe/
-
The Blind Men and the Elephant
by. John Godfrey Saxe
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Blog entry
31 Oct 2011 - 11:12am
This is inspired, partially, by Timothy Leary's book "Chaos & Cyberculture." I also have began reading and experimenting with a book and program for programming. I'm still just beginning, but the endless possibilities excite me. Anyways, the idea of a real cyberspace, or collective digital artificial realities, seems so incredible and inevitable to me. This is the kind of stuff we should be doing with our money and technology. We do not need to allow these centralized entertainment corporations and television networks to stake claim on a Monopoly on entertainment. We have the technology to do anything. This idea is both for a book, and real life. Both excite me a lot.
Virtual reality like games, or movies//tv shows, where you wear goggles or something like that to put you in a realistic virtual-reality. You can use anything needed for props, and have it literally be as if you are playing, or doing whatever you are doing. It would be well coded, just like a video game, and everything would be just as real. It would be better, though, because it would seem like you were actually there, instead of just seeing it on TV. Not only that, but any real environment could be perfectly replicated. All of these movie, show, game, etc. technologies could maybe be open to edit, and all those occupying cyberspace would have a collective virtual reality, with as many different activities or realities/circumstances.
We already have the technology, we're just not utilizing it; we do this in favor of tv shows, movies, military, NASA, and other work-related uses. We could instantly travel to any place in the world, and meet with each other. Play rounds of golf at famous courses. Play NBA games. ANYTHING that happens in real life can be replicated in cyberia. Anything that can be IMAGINED can be created. You could potentially create psychedelic realities which can be interacted with, and things of that nature. ANYTHING is possible, and it can be improved upon, and any environmental or sensory tools made more realistic, as times goes on.
You can upload pictures of yourselves, making your cyberspace counterpart a perfect imitation. You could even have an altered avatar, which could be anything. Anyone could take on any form they desired. You could act out any fantasy you wanted. You could even have real sexual simulations done in cyberspace, with something to even stimulate the feeling. Any sort of feeling or physical-sensory necessities could potentially be filled, for any activity or circumstance you want to simulate. Anything that is currently done in a videogame could be done in cyberspace. You could create your own "TV shows/movies/virtual realities." You could be a professional athlete. You could be ANYTHING. You could also create any more simpler situation you wanted, making it easy to do regularly, and have it be much more active then watching TV, or anything people generally do so there goes that potential argument against it. We could spend a big portion of our lives in a world of information, suited to stimulate our evolving brains in ways that were not previously possible.
Blog entry
25 Oct 2011 - 9:57am
I had this fairly interesting discussion with my friend that made me to realize something about the freedom. We may speak about it but do we really live to support it?
My friend has a daughter who is 14 years old and aiming to sign up a fairly respected liberal university when the time is right. My friend is very conservative. He told me that he is very worried about this direction that he’s daughter is taking. I asked from him why he is worried? He said he want her to adapt the values he is promoting - he wants her doughter to become conservative. Then I made my question: “I know you are speaking about the freedom with your bigh heart – why do you not allow that to your daughter?” This question stopped him and made him a bit upset. I repeated and asked him to think of giving her daughter the true freedom by allowing her to seek her own values.
I think everyone of us should allow the true freedom especially for our children. Freedom is allowing anybody to do anything they feel right for them?
Love
Tom
Blog entry
22 Oct 2011 - 1:43am
Here is a new chapter on "Transformation of religion"
Read
Download
I discuss main commonalities and differences between the Monotheism and the channeled celestial messages focusing on cosmology of the Bible. I refer to Blavatsky, Kabbalah and Hinduism in explaining how mainstream worldview deviated from the universal truths about God and lessons of souls in the physical world.
Blog entry
16 Oct 2011 - 6:53am
An amazing journey this has been thus far, and I see things I never thought I would ever see.
I've come to understand love and fear, as well as how they are the root of all positive and negative energies.
These people, they are all so consumed by fear:
Fear of being alone.
Fear of being ignored.
Fear of scarcity.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of not being good enough.
Fear of not having enough.
Fear of failure.
The list goes on and on, and you can see how everything negative has it's roots in fear if you contemplate it enough.
Why does someone feel anger, lust, hate, envy, greed, apathy, laziness, etc.?
Because deep inside they are afraid of something. They are trembling, bleeding, and crying on the inside.
I wish I could take every single one of them, and hold them tight. I wish I could cry with them and take on their pain.
I wish I could show them that there is nothing to worry about, because they are loved and they have purpose.
Of course, I still have my own fears. I have severe social anxiety. I'm afraid of being judged and laughed at,
or labelled a reject unfit to be seen as a lovable friend or companion. I'm afraid of being betrayed or deceived,
hence my gift of "discernment".
But then there is love...the root of all peace and joy.
Love needs no reason, unlike fear. Love can be felt by anyone in any situation if one just changes their perspective.
Love can bring peace, even if you find yourself cast away by the wayward delusions of society.
Love can propel you to a state of fulfillment, even when you have nothing of material value.
Love can make you smile even when you have no physical reason to be one bit happy.
Love can disarm the world of it's hatred and violence!
The key of all this is to feel compassion and acceptance towards those that hate you.
Understand they are just confused and afraid. Be the light that may guide them, because you may be their only hope!
Love yourself, and understand your existence is a gift and an opportunity to grow and spread peace.
We all have purpose, and we are all eternal.
Never forget that. Never forsake yourself.
Live for others, not solely for yourself.
If everyone did this, then everyone would be happy and the chaotic fury of this broken system would end.
Peace and love to you all :)
Blog entry
14 Oct 2011 - 1:25pm
Greetings everyone.
I am new to the community but i wanted to share a great book with you. I own a copy of it an it is written by Kim Micheals. Below you will find a link to a section of the book picking up i believe from chapter 18 just before it begins discussing the human ego...
Below that you will find a link to a book store if you are interested in purchasing it...
GOD BLESS YOU ALL :)
http://www.askrealjesus.com/persgrowth/identity/componentself/C18journeyback.html
http://www.morepublish.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=36&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
Blog entry
8 Oct 2011 - 1:57pm
its like the destination has been set
like the que of souls are waiting
like everything that can be done has been done
everything that can be said has been said
like an island that is over populated
its done and its the waiting for the transistion
its whatever you created through your councious creating mind through intergalatic helpers
Namaste
FSD
Blog entry
3 Oct 2011 - 12:20pm
‘MahaVad’ is an Amazing Book (scripture) to Guide us along the Way. ‘MahaVad’ –the book contains invaluable knowledge – with explosive truths and facts for both scientific and spiritual conscious men. It reads like an astonishing fairy tale. It is breath-taking and simply stunning. It is an amazing mysterious story about greater worlds. Many say, it's a new 'Vedanta' of the modern times.‘MahaVad’ is a spiritual science with spiritual psychology. It is a great'ism' of the new times. ‘MahaVad’ is the naked truth of true spiritual world!MahaVad is the true-spiritual and great religious ‘ism’ and trueself-developmental teachings of MahaManas. MahaVad is the minebook of true spiritual knowledge. The veil of mysterious spiritual world hasbeen uncovered in this extraordinary book (scripture). The real state of lifeand the great (God) life has been revealed here. The honest reply of eternalself-inquiry has been gotten after so long.
The maintheme of the true-spiritualism & new religious doctrine –'MahaVad' –isunveiling the real truth of life, humanism, making known the target of life,self-development.
Originally Humanism is their Religion, their Devotion to humaninterests.
The book is part of the course of ‘MahaManan’ education, –the true self development program giving you the way of real life, and pure meditation skills. It is a simple and effective way for self – realization and self –improvement. The book comes along with a tutorial audio CD, of guided meditations. Now 'MahaVad' is available in Bengali language only. Some points that are covered:
• Unveiling the Mystery of Creation
• Creation of material life
• Sentient Soul & Spirit• Spiritual Psychology
• Religion of Humanity & True Spirituality
• Teachings of MahaManas (MahaAnand)
• ‘Maha Atma-Vikas Yoga’ or ‘Maha-Yoga’ (True Self-Development Education)
• Who am I – and Why –from where to where.
• Has God, the Source, and Personal existence?
• Fortune / Fate – what is it?
• Knowledge Yoga and Devotion Yoga
• Secrets of Homeopathic Medicine.
• Eternal Life and Eternal Love
• Brief biography of MahaManas (MahaAnand)
• Frequently asked Questions & Answers
And many more........... .
If a Vedic Ascetic, with modern mind, has written ‘Upanishad’ (Vedanta) at present time and the type of product which would have come out of that, similar is the ‘MahaVad’. This true spiritual and new religious scripture is the mine of real spiritual knowledge. This scripture is only for the real followers of ‘Knowledge-Yoga’. I feel that, this scripture is not for infatuated devotion-path followers.
Let us travel from ‘I’ to Supreme ‘I’ through the journey by the divine boat of MahaVad.
MahaVad is a true spiritual science with spiritual psychology and true cosmology. MahaVad is a wonderful experience of inner truth and the way of a better life.
‘MahaVad’ is notHinduism. Some say it is new and purified Hinduism, also some say ‘MahaVad’ isnew ‘Vedanta’ of this new millennium. Some are confused and ask, is it scienceor philosophy? It is true that ‘MahaVad’ is like ‘Vedanta’ in many respects,but some fundamental points of ‘MahaVad’ is different from Hinduism. It may beknown that ‘MahaVad’ and Hinduism are not same. Some points those are different from Hinduism.
1. ‘MahaVad’ dose not admit incarnation theory.
2. It dose not admit the doctrine of transmigration of souls.
3. Conception about God and Soul are different from Hinduism.
4. Creation-mystery and goal of life, even Maha Life of great Universe are notsame as Hinduism.
5. Creation of organism theory also different from Hinduism.
Not only Hinduism it is different from all religiousdoctrine. ‘MahaVad’ is not like a tempting Dream-seller, it is true spiritualknowledge. It is a careful search of our main root. It is our true spiritualguide and material guide also.
To know more, please search ‘MahaVad’ ‘MahaDharma’ throughGoogle & Yahoo, and visit our websites and blogs also.
Blog entry
2 Oct 2011 - 9:07am
Now in this extreme critical time, only true-spiritual revolutionary movement can save us. Also a true- spiritual high-flow-tide is growing up behind the screen. Just we have to welcome it immediately for our own interest. Lac of consciousness –ignorance and illness are main causes of most distresses and problems. Science –technology –politics and widely practiced religions are not able to solve it. It can be solved by true spiritualism (with true spiritual self-developmental method) ––‘MahaVad’.
‘MahaVad’ –taught by ––originated by MahaManas (MahaAnand), ––the great sage of the modern age. To know about ‘MahaVad’, ‘MahaDharma’ and ‘MahaAnand’, please search through ‘Yahoo’ and ‘Google’ and visit our websites.
‘MahaVad’ –the mine book of true spiritual knowledge and the main scripture of ‘MahaDharma’.
The veil of mysterious spiritual world has been uncovered in this extraordinary book (scripture).
The real state of life and the great life or God life has been revealed here. The honest reply of eternal self-inquiry has been gotten after so long.
Another great wealth of this book is– ‘Maha Atma-Vikash Yoga’ –that is true self-development education, that which is a incomparable practical course of education for universal development of one’s own self, with the education of better living and ‘Maha-Yoga’ treatments for soundness of body and mind.
Who am I – why am I, where I came from –what is the ultimate truth of ‘I’ existence, how and why the great universe came into existence, how the creatures came into existence and what is the end of all––???
In reality, what is happened after death, what is the God’s own reality, is it possible to pay a visit of God, is God really become incarnated ––??? ––True answers of these questions are obtainable in ‘MahaVad’.
Let us travel from ‘I’ to Supreme ‘I’ –through the journey by the divine boat of ‘MahaVad’.
‘MahaVad’ is a true spiritual science with spiritual psychology. ‘MahaVad’ is a wonderful experience of inner truth and the way of a better life. ‘MahaVad’ is the cosmology of modern times.
MahaVad is the true spiritualism –great teachings and great ‘ism’ of MahaManas (–the great sage of the modern age).
‘MahaVad’ is your acquaintance with yourself (your own reality). ‘MahaVad’ is the naked truth of the spiritual world and cosmic life.
‘MahaVad’ –a true spiritual, fair and joyful religious doctrine that helps to develop the Mind and also consciousness, without any bad side like superstition, malice– hatred, cruelty, malpractice. There are two ways of practice in ‘MahaVad’, one is ‘MahaManan’–the way of true Spiritual knowledge and true self-development. Other is ‘MahaSadhana’ –the way of devotion–the way of pure love – eternal love.
Blog entry
30 Sep 2011 - 8:43pm
Well, for 8 months, I have been free. However, starting Wednesday, I return to the daily grind called employment, or slavery in my book. Now I am sure your thinking, "How can it be slavery when you are paid in money?" Well see, there you have your answer. Money = Debt = Slavery. It is easy to enslave those who have no idea that they are indeed slaves. There is no money, there is no credit, there is only debt. Its the greatest ruse in history, this little paper note gives you worth. Or as the Kabbalahists claim, money is the light of god on this planet. Oh what nonsense.
My new occupation? Dishwasher/Scapegoat. Yay! Of course I hear, "Well, why dont you find a better job?" Ill tell you, is there any jobs out there, as in professional, and outside of the church, that preaches the wicked ways of money? I cannot seem to find any. The only job I want, is one that I can make use of my innate gifts, one that I am passionate about, and one that DOES NOT PAY IN WORTHLESS PAPER. It is very difficult to get any kind of following behind an idea of the abolishment of money, in a society that thrives on it.
The sole reason I must do this? My family. They know how I feel about employment of this degree, and about my whole idealistic society. Yet, they force it upon me none the less, or I am met with eyes of disappointment. Must be time to integrate the lower chakras again, emotions of those. Ive been flying high for 8-9 months now, I suppose this test comes at a proper time. The game of consciousness is being turned up again. Will I break? Will I rise, Will I fall? We shall see, but one thing is for sure. My family will see the change in me, and I am not thinking it will be for the better. Much love all.
Teaching
23 Sep 2011 - 1:17am
I can't help but grow concerned about a lot of messages that I hear and see, someone claiming them for their own when I have, myself, hear it somewhere else before. For me, this is a sacred issue because this is how stolen idenity happens, fraud...etc. Plagiarism is when someone steals credit for someone else's works. You can see it if someone comes up to you and claims to be your parent, but you get a test done only to prove that was a lie. You can see it when you write a story, draw a picture and then you find it on a website or being sold in stores without your permission. These people/ beings are master manipulators. That is why the Bible warns of the Being masqueraded as an Angel of Light. That is plagiarism at its finest. Some people call it being fake, not real, unreal, stupid, gay, masquerading, tamper, imitation, etc. Whatever you may call it, it is all the same. I hear all these messages of if it does not resonate love, then it is evil or fake. And while I agree with it, what about the many people who have not experienced REAL LOVE in this reality? I have noticed over the years that different people define what they see as love...Differently of course. But the common demoninator that is found, that many people can agree on (IN MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)is the Creator, God, Allah, Almighty, the father...whatever you call that energy or consiousness, is this being's love is UNCONDITIONAL. Zip, Zero, Zilch, nada, NONE...ABSOLUTELY NO CONDITIONS WHATSOEVER.
Now, I'm going to Test the readers this message may get, What are conditions to you? In the bible...What is the ONLY THING THAT DENIES YOU OF HEAVEN? Here I'll give you all a hint, Denial. Denial of what though? Okay I can't hold back; CHRIST! THE SON! Christ teaches of love, that is all. And to get into heaven you must accept those teachings...But not only accept them but to give credit to the right being who brought those teachings to this little planet. To NOT DENY HIM and might I add and take the credit for yourself. Now when I talk about Christ I personally am referring to that energy of Love. The one who did come down for us. I am not referring to the stereotypical version, I mean the real one. And if you understand what I mean, then you and I are on the same page, the same vibration, the same wave length, etc. I do not know what his real name is and nor will I ever claim to know, but I am on a personal quest to find out using the way and the grace that was given to me by the creator.
Now can it really be called plagiarism if you give credit to the source you got it from? No not really but only if they are okay with it. If they are not okay with it then it can POSSIBLY be considered plagiarizing if they are that stingy about it (in my view). Let's take many holy books around the world but lets focus on the easiest one; the Bible. There are stories in that book that have been told hundreds of years before hand but they are claimed as only "gospel truth" if they are used by Christians. All others are fakes...according to these "Holy Leaders". There are some people who research, dream, talk, witness, etc many topics regarding any and everything and do so for a long time. But then claim to know all of it as if they themselves are the arbitor of it. That the only way to get accurate information is through them.
When someone has that energy of they are the only ones with Knowledge of anything and they show it off by bragging about it like they themselves is GOD, like they are the only ones that own it, like they are God's gift to the universe (Superiority complex)...That is when you have to question that beings motives. Someone who is truly humble will tell you what they believe/know themselves and then tell you to research it for your self in the way that you can. You can learn the ways of the "Wise old man" (like in movies), but you can never truly understand/appreciate until you test your skills, going beyond your self perceived "comfort zone". They will not tell you to research and then blast you out for "not believing them". In fact they will be thrilled that you finally understand, not upset. That is from my view of my personal experiences anyway.
So this is what I tell you, Look for yourself. Find whatever it is you are looking for. I can tell you for a fact that these Beings such as Angels, E.T.'s, spirits, etc will NOT act like how the majority of "humanity" is acting now. Here's an example let's say there is a settlement you need to settle with the courts for some reason or another. You meet your lawyer, you shake hands, you feel that cold chill go down your spine making your neck hairs rise. ....That's not normally a good feeing. (Real quick theres a difference between a good feeling and the feeling good.) That is LOVE telling you to be careful and cautious, that this person is not who they seem...Which goes back to PLAGIARISM. And if you happen to get fooled the first time there is a saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
Now of course writing this message I am writing to the people who will listen, to the people who are REAL. And I encourage you to look for yourself, find yourself, and just stay true to yourself. Don't ever take one person's word for Gold; back it up not with proof but with Wisdom. Don't get caught plagiarizing...the fate of a plagiarizer is not a happy one and unfortunately I, myself, have seen the works of a plagiarizer and it makes me terribly, horribly sad. And it's even more heart wrenching when it's someone you know.
Blog entry
19 Sep 2011 - 1:04pm
You know if I´ve read proverbs and some of the psalms is a lot..I recommended to read it. What is really the story behind this book and why do so many people takes everything writen there by heart. is this book usuful? or is just a book for general knowledge. Please advice,..
Blessings
Naiad
Blog entry
29 Aug 2011 - 10:27pm
Isn't that WONderFUL?
((((((((LOVE))))))))
SiNeh~
This is Michael's reading of his poem "Planet Earth."
It appeared in the cd case of his Dangerous album, as well as in his book, Dancing the Dream.
*On screen words too*
Planet Earth, my home, my place
A capricious anomaly in the sea of space
Planet Earth are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spacship, a large asteroid
Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn't true
You are my swweetheart soft and blue
Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.
In my veins I've felt the mystery
Of corridors of time, books of hisotry
Life songs of ages throbbing in my blood
Have danced the rhythm of the tide and flood
Your misty clouds, your electric storm
Were turbulent tempests in my own form
I've licked the salt, the bitter, the sweet
Of every encounter, of passion, of heat
Your riotous color, your fragrance, your taste
Have thrilled my senses beyond all haste
In your beuaty, I've known the how
Of timeless bliss, this moment of now
Planet Earth are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spacship, a large asteroid
Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn't true
You are my swweetheart gentle and blue
Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.
Planet Earth, gentle and blue
With all my heart, I love you.
Blog entry
27 Aug 2011 - 11:40am
4. God and all
5. God, Eternity, the World, Time, Generation.
6 God made Eternity, Eternity(made) the World, the World(made) Time, Time(made) Generation
7. Of God, as it were the Substance, is the Good, the Fair, Blessedness, Wisdom
8. Of Eternity, Identity, or Selfness
9. Of the World Order
10. Of Time Change.
11. Of Generation, Life, and Death
12. But the Operation of God, is Mind and Soul.
13. Of Eternity, Permanence, or Long-lasting, and Immortality.
14.Of the World, Restitution, and Decay, or Destruction.
15. Of Time, Augmentation, and Diminution.
16. And of Generation qualities.
17. Therefore Eternity is in God.
18. The World in Eternity
19. Time in the World
20. And Generation in Time.
21. And Eternity standeth about God.
22. The world is moved in Eternity.
23. Time is determined in the world.
24. Generation is done in Time
25. The Spring and Fountain of all things, is God.
26. The Substance Eternity.
27. The Matter is the World.
28. The Power of God is Eternity.
29. And the Work of Eternity, is the World not yet made, and yet ever made in Eternity
30. Therefor shall nothing be at any time destroyed, for Eternity is incorruptible.
31. Neither can any thing perish, or be destroyed in the World, the World being contained and embraced by Eternity
Blog entry
16 Aug 2011 - 2:16pm
Recently in an Arunanow channeled message Aruna states “Choosing ego's desire over God's will was the most significant decent in consciousness man has ever made.”
Any creator that makes a choice is self aware (EGO) GOD descending into duality. To make a choice that satisfies the “will” (desire) is a discriminating mind therefore a “god” has an ego just as man does. How would the creator of the material universe with a will be any different than an ego desiring something? There is only one ego. It is the I AM presence that permeates all life regardless of how aware they may be at any moment. It is misleading to imply humans were the only one’s that descended into duality when all creators do this the moment they discriminate like Planet Earth. The authors of the bible confused the spirit of life force with the conscious creator “god” that discriminates and judges in this material world whomsoever that may be. We also are gods in that respect. We have just as much access to the universal life force as any other creator but as sentient beings we understand suffering and through compassion we can choose the path to end that suffering for ourselves and others and non human gods cannot. This is how we are the divine creation. How is god’s will superior to ego’s desire when they are one in the same? To create all creators have to discriminate. There is nothing wrong with it that until we become lost in our own illusion and begin to fear separation and death.
The consciousness of the planet is a god in a sense, a collective consciousness of all the living entities within her EM field. And though she may be capable of FEELING (compassion) every aspect of life within her and emotion, it is not the same distorted compassion that humans feel due to the density of their illusion. We KNOW SUFFERING because this existence is suffering from the day we are born. We are capable of acting, thinking and speaking in ways that can ease the suffering of others unlike any other creator god. When has the creator of the universe and life as we know it ever stopped a fire, fed a starving child or told a joke and made someone smile? Only humans and some animals do this. It is not a god outside of us that works through us but our own ability to CHOOSE compassion when we awaken from the illusion that we are somehow unworthy of a more powerful god. No one is more powerful than anyone else because power comes to all of us from within. We use the non-discriminating pure energy of creation to SHAPE our world good or bad. God is not always good because GOD is any creator that has FREE WILL. We are here to demonstrate how a creator god at this density can use compassion to shape the material world. We are here to exercise our free will and it is NOT to be overridden by ANY OTHER GOD. If there is only one spirit then it moves through all of us and we all have a choice to act of our own free will according to the path we wish to follow. “Let go and let god” is supposed to mean, let the universe unfold through you but the word “god” negates that meaning. It’s a choice. To place the will of another creator above the will of your own is to say that you are unworthy of being your own conduit for the life force of creation. Many people give up their own sovereignty out of fear not wanting to take the credit or be responsible for what they create.
Ego is not the problem and desire is not the problem. All creators must have will or desire to create and be masters of SELF/EGO. That is what all material beings do. It is the MIND attaching to attitudes and opinions and thoughts to the point of suffering that causes the problem. Ego is SELF AWARENESS. Gods are self aware; ego is the very definition of the word GOD. Even the planet is self aware to an extent but compassion on that level is not about easing suffering of sentient beings or the planet would grow food and send fresh water to the desert. WE are the sovereign gods of ourselves that have the free will to act compassionately or negligently.
Aruna Channeling St. Germaine~
“All you need do to drop your unloving attitudes is to notice them as they appear, and instantly discard them.”
That is not all you need to do if this statement is attempting to promote the path of compassion. Attitudes loving or unloving arise from the neutral ego that falls into duality by choosing an attitude. All attitudes should be observed and released if they are not useful. Love in ACTION is not an attitude. It is the unfolding spirit of life whether we allow it to unfold through us or not. However we can choose to act from compassion which is love in action.
“Appropriate action is not the same as aware action. . . Only ego determines the appropriateness of an action. Aware action comes into being when unaware attitudes are observed and deleted”.
One must be “aware” to take action, appropriate or not. Aware actions do not “come into being” simply because ignorant attitudes are deleted. Ignorant attitudes warrant ignorant actions. She is implying ego is ignorant and aware actions are the same as loving actions. But as we all know we can act in an unloving way and be fully aware of it because the EGO is I AM (self awareness). From there the ego makes choices (duality) for better or worse depending upon not just the level of awareness but the level of compassion.
“Aware action is outside of ego's control – it arises spontaneously as ego's way of doing things is exposed and negated.”
All aware (intentional) actions ARE the result of EGO’s control. LOVE is self awareness/EGO unfolding eternally and indiscriminately.
“ Positive attitudes naturally move into that vacated space and begin creating new and different experiences. . . Choosing ego's desire over God's will was the most significant decent in consciousness man has ever made.”
Positive attitudes are not waiting patiently in the sidelines to rush in when we discard the negative ones because positive and negative are relative. We must choose positive attitudes consciously without fear or desire to control others. Attitudes are formed by thoughts that arise from the ego MIND, good or bad. The ego IS self awareness that is necessary for all life. All aware actions “appropriate” or not stem from the ego mind that seeks to control or procreate. Aruna is confusing the word “aware” with “love”. A loving ATTITUDE is an invention of the same mind that invents contempt. The moment the SINGULAR SELF that resides beyond polarity/ego/I AM presence, makes a decision to take an “appropriate” action it discriminates; but simply unfolding and allowing the other parts of the SELF to unfold indiscriminately IS not an attitude but the ACT of LOVE. It is appropriate to defend yourself when you are attacked but how loving that action is depends upon your level of compassion. Realizing one’s self as part of the whole, intellectually does not automatically conjure up loving “attitudes” or compassion for other sentient beings in this realm. There is a hive mentality that is void of compassion but operating for the good of the whole just as there is a compassionate mentality that enjoys the freedom of co-creation. “One for all” or “all for one”, are the two forms of life’s expression; but they are both still inventions of the mind/ consciousness system. Universal compassion is FEELING oneness and the EGO’s DESIRE to co create. Humanities version of compassion in this density is often confused with pity and is a desperate attempt to end suffering because of the fear of it. But compassion cannot possibly end all suffering at this density or even in higher realms because it is also a result of the minds attachments and not just physical sensation. All life is ego because all life is the result of the desire to create. How loving our actions are as individuals is completely up to us and a result of the heart and the mind working together in this material realm. When the mind rules compassion is a side note or ignored completely. When compassion rules the path is much smoother but ALL LIFE operates on a G.eneration O.peration and D.estruction System.
Blog entry
12 Aug 2011 - 7:06pm
Real meaning of Karma according to ancient Sanatana Dharma(Hinduism today) and even according to Buddhism is "Action". Anything that you do,see,touch,hear, smell, taste is all Karma(Action. This is the true meaning, which many people have manipulated and changed the meaning of into something bad. Karma is not bad or good unless you classify it. Karma is Action. All actions are done through the 5 karmendriyas ( Organs of Action), which is your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and your body to move. Therefore there is NO way you can overcome Action through Action. The only way to overcome Karma(action) is by Inaction. The only way to fully overcome good or bad actions is to withdraw all senses. By withdrawing all senses(Pratyahara) and losing awareness of the body, you come into the state where Thoughts are dormant which is the cause of all Karma(Action). While in this state you feel a seperateness from you and your thoughts(impressions), when you remain long enough in this state, then you enter Nirvana(The Superconscious). The supreme consciousness which is the source of all existence. Hence this is the only way to be free of Karma(Action). You may ask what is the point of this life then if everything is Action(karma). The main goal of Yoga is to remain in Nirvana and also remain on earth. Hence you live a life Action in Inaction. You accept both realities and unify them. The real straight up meaning of Karma is Action and it cannot get anymore straight up then that. This should remove many of peoples confusion about karma which people unintentionally or intentionally confuse people about. It is best if you truly research for yourself to find the real meaning of Karma. Most New Age concepts alter the true meaning of Karma. Whatever action you do, has a consequence (doesnt mean its bad or good). This is the energetic "Law of Attraction" which governs existence.
Blog entry
9 Aug 2011 - 5:58am
The truth is different between different people. Truth deepens where you ask it - the intention seems to be always easy to understand.
The truth and intention are very important to me and more I progress in spiritual growth more it seems to become in front of my toughs and feelings.
Truth in earth has become very twisted – especially in a business. Here is a simple example from an advertisement:
More you call – more you save.
This is an advertisement of a one teleoperator. We all know that more you call you do not save more. You get discounts of the rates but you will not save more. If you want to have a discussion about this claim you will end up on and endless complex discussions with layers marketing managers and all kinds of people and you still know you have been right all the time and your children knows that too.
Therefore I am starting to always look at any claim via it’s truth and intention. Life seems to become easier when you ask about the intention and then you are digging the truth out of there. Typically all people say that their intention is good or high value but the truth they present is twisted. By putting people to think of their intention and asking them to form their truth to be easily understandable and in line with their intention we can see some good stuff happening.
Love
T
Blog entry
7 Aug 2011 - 12:06pm
This topic has been cooking in my brain for a some time and now I felt it is time to write about a bit my understanding of our brain, consciousness and multidimensional features of a brain.
Kindly note that the ideas presented here does not have any source than myself or scientific proof. When we want to understand something that is beyond of our current scientific reality we need to trust our intuition and then try to prove it wrong or right...
Your brain is creation of a god and manipulated by several spices over the ions. Your brain is engineered to function the better more you adapt light, love and other god’s values into your daily life. Before the multidimensionality starts to open at your brain the creator has to be absolutely sure you are welcome to use these new powerful features. The reason why you cannot activate multidimensionality within you if you are not in light and love is that this would open up the direct link for negativity to enter into higher dimensions. The higher vibration always overlaps the lover frequency. So you cannot use your multidimensional high frequency brain if your consciousness is working in a low negative frequency. Therefore there is a seatrain behavior and characteristics you need to be able to have before the new features at your brain will be automatically activated. The new features is just not one gate – there is multiple gates in your mind you need to open in order to come completely conscious multidimensional being. Ascension is actually just activation of your full brain capasity. You are actually not going anywhere it is right here we are - just in other dimension. So once you have all features on if you want you can come and go between dimensions. You can come back to 3D and sift your frequency to higher and go back to 5D.
I have opened now new doors/gates in my consciousness and found that the fundamentals are very simple: you need to live from your hart and spread love and positivity. No negativity is allowed in any form for a long period of time. Then you need to actively heal yourself and inner discussions and what ever arises in front of you, you need to master it so that you are in control of that.
Your brain creates everything and you have already everything. Now just go and create good stuff and open the gates 8>)
Love
T
Blog entry
6 Aug 2011 - 2:53pm
Namaste, and welcome! This is my first blog ever! I have never written a blog before, nor have I ever avidly read someone else's blog. I've recently felt the urge to express my thoughts and feelings in some way and I remembered how I loved to write stories and poems when I was a young'un so natually blogging online came to mind now.
The topic I would like to discuss right now is Free Thinking, or thinking for yourself, and how religiion can play a role in forming your way of thinking. To think for yourself is to decide right from wrong, make distictions and determinations based on information you recieve. Information, In - formation, it has the word 'form' in it. Without having any information, or being informed of something, one cannot form thoughts on that something. There would be a lack of information, therefore no formation of thought concerning the information would occur. There would be no base for it to stem from, like a plant that has no roots. When one is given information, they could think about it, or form thoughts based on the recieved information. It would be like the soil that the roots of the plant dig into and explore and expand through.
Religoins do this, they give you information to think about. And you either choose to believe it or not, based on the thoughts you formed from the information that you were given and using your free will. So if you do follow the teachings of one religion you are led to believe they are the authorities on information about god and life and have everyhing you need to know. They tell you 'Think this way and all will be well'. They do not want you to question their methods or beilefs, only to conform to them. If you did decide to follow one religion then you would have used your ability of free thinking. It was your own thoughts that led to the conclusion 'I want listen to these teachings', or to say that you are better off without them. When you are raised a specific religion the choice is forced upon you. You still have the power to decide for yourself weather or not you want to adhere to that religion, but usually you are too young to realize this so you believe what you were informed of. Why would you as a child have cause to doubt the only information pertaining to god that is given you in the beginning? You would have no other information to form a thought that is contrary to the given information. So you are formed to the given religion, their way of thinking becomes your way of thinking to an extent. You have nothing else to go on at that point.
When you become consciously aware that you do have a choice, you may realize that all the information is actually within yourself. You do not really need an organization like a religion to tell you whats what because you have the power to think, to form thoughts and feelings based on information you know, on what you perceive to be truth, and make a decision based on that perception. Then you are thinking freely since you are no longer restricting your perceptions to only that of a religious system. You have put your roots in yourself, so to speak, and now your plant has room to grow from those roots.
Ultimately religion is a form of control, because they tell you how to think. They say it is one way and all other ways are incorrect. Every religion believes it is infallible, yet there are so many religions how can they all be right at the same time while offering differing opinions on basiclly the same subjects? You are still making a choice when you choose to follow a religion, the choice you have made is to give up your power of free will and thought to the chosen religion. You let them decide for you. You allow them to tell you what and to how to think.
The reason its known as 'free will', is because you are free to think for yourself. You can choose right or wrong, this or that, pizza or french fries. Though its not really so black and white like that, but more grayish. That is why you must be able to also think freely and openly. When you form a perception around one thought it becomes like the general of an army telling the troops what to do. It dictates all other actions without fail. But when you are open to many thoughts you can see them all and take time to understand them each in their own way. You do not need one thought commanding the basis of all other thoughts, but all thoughts working together to make an informed decision. For instance, one could beileve that there is only one way to fold a napkin, and when he sees someone fold a napkin in another way that one dictating thought will kick in and say its wrong or try to correct the other persons way of folding. Really there is an infinte number of ways to fold a napkin and no one way is right or better than another. The way you choose to fold the napkin is only the perception you formed based on your thoughts. So inform yourself wisely, and form thoughts accordingly. Remember that Light is information; Darkness a lack of information. Thank you for your time and consideration, and Namaste!
Story
31 Jul 2011 - 10:37pm
1. Regardless of past, prior, and other affiliations, connections, networks, agreements and growth, an Individual shall possess the inviolable urge, right and capacity to be who and what it wants to be, at any and all times, without recriminations, retributions, penalties or dogmas insisted upon it by any part of itself or “Other”.
2A. All Higher-Ups, Guides, Family Members[1] and Children of this Individual are to protect, encourage and whole-heartedly allow this power and act of constant, free self-determination, by any Individual with whom they are connected.
2B. The Divine Creator disposes this right to any and all Individuals of the Universes, for purpose of his and/or her pursuit of higher learning, Divine enlightenment and experiences of freedom and consequence.
2C. The Divine Creator allows any and all Individuals to call upon their Creator at any time, in order for assistance in manifesting their rights, in their current reality.
2D. No members, Higher Guides, or individuals or organizations affiliated in any way with that Individual may seek to impede or disguise or destroy his or her rightful acts of self-determination.
3A. All such Family members are to assist in, encourage, and make their Family members aware of their divine rights of free self-determination, without imposing their own self-interests as blockage to any one’s growth, to the best of their sincere abilities and positions of relationship to that individual.
3B. All Family members are, to the best of their natural abilities, without compromise of self, to encourage the Divine Higher Connection for each individual, to flourish and magnify as that one seeks to do.
3C. The rights of the individual shall always be supported by the group. The group’s growth and strength are best assisted over the long-term of NOW, by allowing the free flow of individuals back and forth amongst all groups, so that the individual creative growth and flow of self-determination empowers the pulse, creative thought, experimentation and growth of all groups.
This universal freedom allows the Divine Creator’s greater personal growth from interaction with and meditation upon the increased harmony, pleasure, constructive uncertainty and fearless—that is, loving, strong, and mobile—growth of its all and individual members, networks, circulatory systems and possibilities.
4A. This growth makes the Divine Creator even more successively joyful and responsive to the intimate needs of the individuals, in ways which will manifest the happiness of the individuals according to the wisdom and holistic logic of their decisions.
4B. The Divine Creator is to be assisted in carrying out these Codes to the best of each individual’s and group’s/network’s abilities at that and at any given time.
4C. The creation of events and conditions which are personally pleasing to the individual shall magnify the glory of the Creator and all individuals.
4D. The right to self-determination of any individual shall remain indefinitely and infinitely, in depth and detail, available for the duration of this remaining Cosmic Day.
5A. No conditions or group decisions to submerge or repress the reality of this Divine Code Rule Number One shall remain in effect any longer than it takes for the entire and/or local Cosmic Network of Divine Rays to assist in their realignment to the universal harmony of this Code Rule.
5B. None shall knowingly impede efforts to reimpose or regrow Universal Harmony in any system, network, family, or individual without incurring certain learning penalties and power-permit withholdings.
5C. These penalties and withholdings are only to remain in force and effect for the length of time, to the degree and in the manner deemed necessary by reflection and experience, in order to bring their experients back into Cosmic Alignment with this Code Rule.
6A. The right of any and all individuals, foremost, and networks, secondarily, to learn in freedom of doing “right and wrong” in relation to the flow of Harmony back and forth throughout the Divine Creator’s “spiritual ecosystem”, shall not be abridged or withdrawn because of the fact of those “right or wrong” decisions.
6B. The seeming paradox or duality conflict between the tenets of No. 5, and No. 6A, shall always be “settled” by adjournment or recess to call upon the Divine Creator’s wisdom, which is greater than and so Divinely harmonizes and impels truth into any and all situations of seeming paradox and/or conflict.
7A. All individuals, families, and networks sprung therefrom, shall not only benefit from their own positive behavior and encouragement into freedom: All shall share the benefits of All, it being understood and accepted that universally uniform growth rate and freedom is not expected or demanded at any time. The Cosmic Day rhythms of Divine Dictate must still be understood and accepted and experienced by all parties.
7B. All interactions of, and nature of, the Divine Creator must be represented to others by local networks and individuals as being of a positive force and nature.
7C. To the extent to which this is followed, and consciously learned, by individuals and systems, the more they partake of the Nectar of Divine Harmony and the growth into sublime networks and understandings, which reflect more purely that Divine Ray of Intent.
7D. The Divine Ray of Wisdom and Intent seeks illumination and harmony with all localized systems, families and individuals. When bent toward this generalized direction, all individual freedom of self-determination and growth must flourish for the individual, resound throughout the Universe, and empower the Creator to greater satisfaction.
8A. There is no greater satisfaction than to increase the Divine Creator’s satisfaction due to the empowerment and growth of all individuals, as outlined above.
8B. No court of ruling or judgment shall abridge or impede the individual’s right to partake of this Universal Divine Code Rule Number One.
8C. All courts, rulings, and judgments shall include fair self-representation and legal (logical) guidance for all interested (related) parties.
8D. The rights of the individual shall not be unfairly abridged or destroyed (deleted) by the claimed rights of any other entities or groups, as defined back in No. 1.
9A. No cruel and unusual punishment shall be meted out upon any group or individual.
10A. All involvement in courts shall be a free-will offering of love and wisdom, without further self-aggrandizement or interest.
10B. The rights of the courts shall not supersede the reasonable rights of the individuals or organizations (families, affiliations). That is, the courts shall seek to serve only the Divine Ray, while considering whole-heartedly the welfare and growth of the parties being represented before the courts.
10C. Within these courts shall be seated representations for every spiritual/ethnic/planetary mixture and background of the individuals concerned, or at least, undisputed experts in those fields, so that the Ray of the Divine Creator may fill the jury/courts with a more perfect understanding of the influences and ideological concepts admixtured within each person involved in that dispute.
Selection of courts/representations/jurors may take into consideration geographic necessity and timeliness requirements of that case.
11A. There is no recourse to a branch of Higher Power other than the Higher Power branch which extends down to that courtroom, unless spiritual pragmatism clearly shows the necessity of a higher understanding of the particulars of that case than are readily available.
11B. Any recourse to a more direct quotation from a Higher Power readily available in that courtroom (in order to imbue the minds of the participants with influence) shall be an entirely voluntary matter. That is, Higher Power can only be invited (not demanded) on the basis of spiritual logic and necessity.
11C. The courts shall seek to breathe in only the air of the most Divine influences. Any pandering, intentional misrepresentation of interests and realities, or attempts to subvert the flow of Divine Justice is penalizable upon death or upon ostracism from the Divine Planetary Sector, at the conclusion of the hearings.
11D. No Planetary Sector shall involve itself unnecessarily or mercilessly into the activities of another Sector. The Power Permit holders of that Divine Ray of that Sector must establish influential communication with its courts system and Sector-related cases universe-wide at all times, in order to avoid the grievous miscarriage of justice common to areas left only unto Subliminal Divine Influence (such as the Earth Regions at this Now Time).
12A. The interrelationships between families and courts must be indisputably clear. All families must remain consistently linked to instantaneous available justice systems.
The different, varying families to which an individual belongs must maintain an air of proprietary influence (not in any possessive sense) yet remain indistinguishable above (not exalt themselves above) the rights of that individual, in any and every court judgment affair, whether post-death or pre-birth or upon ostracism or placement in another planetary/dimensional game colony. That is, no family shall overly influence a court against any client, whether or not presently or formerly of that family.
All families must maintain clear certification of their Sector ratings (Divine Ray degree of acceptance/absorption into their interests and consciousness activities) and maintain these with public availability to every Sector entrance to that family. Every family member seeking to leave a family, or to enter a family, must receive clear, comprehensible information regarding the nature of that game/family field which they are considering entrance to, discourse with or exit from. That member must also be clearly notified of what entrance/exit/activity penalties/pluses/processes they might be enduring/educating themselves into, as a result of their actions therein.
12B. No individual shall be coerced into maintaining, entering into or leaving any given family games/activities learning areas. All shall maintain varying degrees of subliminal/overt consciousness regarding their freedoms, and their own personal spiritual certifiability ranking and consequence number (ratio). This shall be maintained in order to pursue that connection with Higher Power through family and individual activities which maintains or distends their spiritual ranking/value to their spiritual/planetary influence community at large.
12C. All individuals shall be—and must be—notified under varying individualized formats, of those games and life/Sector entrance activities which may best suit their spiritual seekings and growth.
No human being may be denied knowledge of their ranking, growth and possibilities for highest and most pleasurable spiritual/personal growth, simply because they are observers and explorers of the outer limits of growth conditions in this Universe.
That is, no Higher Self or Selves, on up to Oversoul, shall treat an individual human unit as being a mere subunit, unworthy of immersion into the full, normal divine cosmic activities/growth processes and flow. No human being shall be considered unworthy of eventual entrance into the Hall of Fame of their past and future ancestors.
No human prototype shall remain unworthy of entering into the highest individual association possible with their Divine Creator Spirit Prototype. That is to say, no human spirit/soul may be simply used and discarded or abused as an exploratory vehicle, without appropriate and dire penalties upon the family members responsible, and without resuscitation of that human family member into an even higher positivity influence ranking in the Hall of Fame unit of that family, and more importantly, of that Divine Ray of Influence Sector.
12D. All pain and punishment, imposed or chosen by a human being or their guardians, teachers or family members and associated courts must maintain the strictly highest correlative spiritual growth value.
Simply spoken:
All pain must equal growth, and/or gain, commensurate with and adequately multiplied over its original base experience index value.
12E. All human beings are to be nurtured into the proper processes and understandings that no limitations may be placed upon them in any way, shape, manner or event, other than what is currently, spiritually logical and rational for their highest growth, game scores, and unity with their Sector’s Rays of Influence of the Divine Creator.
12F. All human beings are to be filled with the understandings, proper to their time, place, method and ranking of personal growth, that no limitations are meant to exist upon how high, how far, how deep and how pleasurably intensely they may grow into service and pleasurable consciousness of the Divine Creator, regardless of the relative status of any other entities or families/groups.
Human beings are not to be subsumed, dissolved, misused or imprisoned within any Sector or any family’s game, in order for any Sector individual or group, or family, to maintain power over them. No entities may leach off or demand the power of other entities, including humans, without appropriate penalties imposed upon them and resumption of power rankings to those misused.
Clones, whether psychic or physical, are not to be used to demand or drain others’ karmic/spiritual powers. Misusers set themselves and their families back several generational units.
12G. Humans are to be recognized as maintaining the highest spiritual purity ranking value in the universes, in deference to their submission to powers and pains of growth and understanding through dire sequence of consequence, to which other entities and other (higher) aspects of humans are not to be subjected at this time (nor have they volunteered to be subjected).
The apparent use/misuse of humanly powers and perceptions by humans is not to distort from or dilute the higher reality of the values of any human-based Sector, whether one emerging from “darkness”, such as are Earth’s regional directors, or whether one intent upon distorting higher powers, influences and relativities/relationships, as are several others.
Note #1: This Completes Universal Divine Code Rule Number One. May the Blessing of the Divine and Local Rays and Creators shine upon all individuals, families, memberships and formations of free will rule, with love and dignity, without end. AMEN.
Note #2: There are several subjunctions and opinions extended onto this Code Rule Number One, since of course the Divine Creator has meditated upon these matters, without end, in consideration of the rapidly approaching (several billion years henceforth) end of this Cosmic Day.
Note #3: Similar odds exist for fruition among all sectors of human life, upon all Earths and in all heavens, individually and within recombinant group memberships and platforms of understanding.
Factor in the differences between upcoming wisdom particles and their commensurate wavelengths of expressed evolution available for human consumption in the near enough future.
Sub-Note One:
The Divine is instilling higher Code regulations directly into human psyches worldwide.
Trusting these packets of Light knowledge will be activated into fullest unison of harmonious results.
Knowledge of these differing aspects of spiritual law means consideration of those most relevant for your ray structural growth.
Inducement of these Codes’ migration into the various structures of human behavioral systems requires that adequate focus be paid to those wavelengths that are naturally adequate for growth, allowing for one’s individual ray structure as a birthright component.
While all are of equally spiritual stature, the magnificent initiation sequences for coded structural ingestion requires human accumulation of truths sublime enough to activate their personal ray structure internal codings.
Consider relevance of individual ray structure in order to ingest the higher assimilable truth packets. What is wholesome, in essence, is of universal quality. At the same time, any available entry points into an individual person’s developed ray structure may be used for ease of assimilation, accumulation and recombinant display of these Code qualities for one’s suitable growth.
Understanding these ray concept structures may be difficult or unusual for many.
Consider this allegory of the snowflake, each as primarily unique in its three-dimensional qualities as in any human’s six-dimensional qualities.
Each one snowflake you may say, possesses individual characteristics which allow its structural components to be seen as specific unique visual behaviors:
The angle, shape, length, location, individuation and curvatures of every angle, spiral, corner, branch, indentation, and in short, the manifested pattern, are in innate unique response to the innermost qualities of “being” a snowflake, as so much is made of its union with, and unique shape in comparison to, all other snowflakes.
Now, consider these selfsame endless varieties of possible snowflake shapes in response to their interior potentialities, and you allow yourself a glimpse of the innate mechanisms at work that do influence the curvature, shape, heft, strength, exhibited radiance and goals of every human being.
In its unique stature and spiritual signature, so to speak, every human soul shape reflects its divine influences and responses to those influences upon its innermost core of being.
Those influences extend into all directions of course, into all of past, present and future of these current lifetimes.
Consider this:
The Divine Sun of personality has shaped every innermost being from its moments of conception into these Earth sequences. Every being has been garnering experiences and acquiring motivations and focus that reflect, over time, the nature of certain Divine Ray influences, radiated in an infinite number of “divine sun rays of expressible possibilities” through their interactions within each human’s psyche.
Measurement of any ray structure requires knowledge, foremost, of all ray sequence base initiations prevalent within those structures, which may be expressed in a numerical function far in excess of any former calculations.
Meaning:
Inside every ray structural component of an individual’s spiritual makeup, includes, incalculable potentialities for growth.
Once an illumination of those structures proceeds in accordance within higher potentiality basis of experience, growth may accelerate beyond all displayed notions of structured limitations upon a lifetime’s growth.
As if any snowflake, once exposed to those current possible evolutions provided from within the Grand Matrix of all snowflakes in any system, had multiplied the evolutionary systems at work upon any and all snowflakes to induce this hyper-acceleratory growth within regions of the “psyche” and the “personality” of an every snowflake, to motivate its growth expansion into a higher expression of its own remarkable unique functions of its design, purpose and “experience of its ‘life’”.
Sub-Note Two:
Self knowledge of these crystalline patterns and habitual exercises of self’s authority within one’s structural design, remain instantly perceptible by any human being willing to observe their interior self.
Gradient growth, that is measured, purposive growth expressed in wholly harmonious units of energy, is in response to those most accessible packets of truth energy ingested through those most developed aspects of one’s ray structured growth patterns.
Intensive cultivation of growth within an individual’s ray structural units (psyche-into-personality access points) will best occur once one’s ray structural conditions are acknowledged, and exposed to those higher generational units of evolutionary forces available for stimulating those common access points.
Those common access points are to be stimulated into allowing that flow of higher generational forces whose ranking admits them access into that individual solely for the purpose of inducing limitation-breaking energy flows. They exist to induce superior behavioral flows and genuine ascension into superior growth.
Ray structural growth is a primary purpose for these inducements of behavioral changes during anyone’s lifetime.
That may be expressed as if each “ray of cosmic influence” more fully completes its experience within each individual accessed according to each individual’s openness towards that ray.
Each individual’s openness may be seen as a roughly matching numerical equivalent potential vibrating both within the subscriber (the human soul voluntarily accessible to growth under unique functions of the pure ray’s expressible equivalent into human life), and within those fuller expressions of sacred human cultivated numerical dynamic (emerging into the soul from that ray’s influence).
Thus is the individual’s soul rewarded for seeking fuller exposure to those aspects of numerical ray structural units most conducive to growth in life patterns of fulfillment.
Sub-Note Three: Your eyes are cleansing. Your routes are straightening out from the bewildering by-ways of past pains and pleasures. Soon your spiritual routes shall be known with gladness and clarity in your hearts.
Until then, DCR1 stands as a signal of truth to block incipient shadows (darkness in self) whose obedience to none other than their own self interests, remains beyond question.
Pursue messages, in self, whose vitality influences your internal growth even as a star, fed by cosmic internal fuels from an unseen heart of the galaxies, prepares readiness to obey divine cosmic realities.
Whether these internal signals are readily obeyed by conscious self or not, those true impulses can never be forgotten, much less avoided.
For DCR1 to manifest these higher realities into your lives, preparation is required.
The soils of your souls must be tilled a little longer. The stones of any unbelief in self goodness as a product of any human life, may and must be plucked from the ground to be deposited in a discard pile.
For the incipient wisdom of DCR1 to make manifest changes into the lives of any and every one, so that these (annualized) reports and notes are not necessary, two tools of recognizance must be used as well as followed to the utmost of your any abilities:
First, voluntary growth is the nature of the Universal Purposes. No further growth in any human scenario may further take place than any conscious consent is given. (Limited beliefs notwithstanding, your conscious fears of self growth are meant to be dissolved into today’s changes.)
Second, about all self-growing power potential for reinstatement of any human soul into its former positions of Glory within Creator’s Universe:
Necessary adjustments to any one conscious self’s fears must be undergone as an adventurous task, not as a descent into darkness of humbled awful darkened souls groping for the lightness.
For the latter approach’s heaviness is an unbearable weight upon the soul struggling to un-deceive itself as to its former glory and present purposes.
Respect for self reliance within any individual’s crystalline outer structure makes available internal tasks of self healing into clear-eyed, open-hearted soul growth.
In essence, the responsibility for any soul growth falls primarily upon your selves.
No one else can or may primarily substitute their efforts on behalf of your own self enrichment, for your own courageous efforts.
Evading freedom for any soul bears awesome consequences. What you deny today, you may suffer from tomorrow.
What you accept today, as for your own highest good, opens these crystalline points of access for your own highest rays’ self-structures of growth into your lifetime.
Fruition of your soul’s purposes for being (in existence) may particularly be in emphasis during such times of incipient (expected) advance commonly known as your soul ascension in these latter-days-of-your-immersion-into-darkness-times.
Remember, the group experience, of your oversoul’s growth as well as of any spiritual Family group, must take advantage of any upsurge into higher realities available for experiencing.
No matter at what level of submergence of self’s wisdom into the darkness of unknowing during any incarnational soul’s earthly cycles, one most vital tool for any soul growth initiatives remains this:
Finding & accepting ANY convenient applicable means for inducing any higher Divine Ray of Influence cycle into a more resonant match within your own divine enrichment systems.
Grant this access to these Rays of enlightenment through any spiritual enrichment point made available into any lifetimes of yours.
What you may do today, as a simple access tool for divining your own wellbeing-point to put into action, is to say this Prayer of Pure Goal Words:
“Divine Master of All, Creator of Any and All; Sacred Creature of All Creation’s Power, Truth and Oneness, grant me this day, access to these educational tools suitably matched for my own highest soul growth today.
“Grant me this entrance tool into my own higher dimensional, highest destiny advancement phases in harmony within the sacred sphere of this Heavenly Earth.
“Grant me full access to any and all Divine Ray Influences most potently to be applied to my soul’s development at this time.
“Show me in this perfect Ray of spiritual advancement, what to do, how to live a purposeful life, how to awaken any destiny gifts you have prepared before me to accept in this powerful time for soul advancement.
“Make these and my soul families’ experience upon Earth be a fruitful gift of your love pouring into mine and all our lives as well as we can do.
“Guide these soul-ray-structure alignments within my conscious being, in harmonious accord with all other human beings upon this Earth at this very moment.
“Let us all be blessed in the common human goal of advancing love, light, peace, wisdom, prosperity upon this Holy Earth in your most Sacred Name, Amen.”
Accept this joint project for all humanity includes every human soul repeating these exact above words at any given time.
How is this possible?
For the leavening of the bread, for the rising of mankind’s advancement into any higher dimensional game colonies / spiritual destinies as a group and as an every one, these words must be given subconscious response, on any level, to any possible degree of the simple word: “Yes.”
For these potent ray structures opening your lifetimes into any higher degree of miracle-enacting as well as spiritual peacemaking—for the inevitable peaceful world societies’ advancement into greater harmony within Divine and Common Human Nature upon your Earth (as well as, in turn, upon any other Earth in existence), your greater consent to wellbeing opens any greater doors within yourself made accessible by your own history and planned destiny.
You must open these doors of welcoming into your own selves, the highest, most good potential human nature you can possibly imagine.
Such an effort is completely worth it.
Accept this fact—your success upon any levels you are currently dwelling upon, is well known as guaranteed.
What is of greatest consequence is any application of these higher soul faculties into direct experience, must begin in greater earnest effort towards the common human “goals” of awakeness, pure happiness, more pure God and Goddess alignment within self than ever before.
Do not worry—perfection of results simply means this:
You do your very best in any given situation for growth—and do leave the rest up to God!
Accept this:
Limitations upon your soul growth may steadily fall away, despite any vast historical incidents reckoned by your conscious self to the contrary.
This is why your soul’s response to the Divine Creator’s encodement of wellbeing-reality into your solar selves system–(into your conscious, subconscious, superconscious and over-consciousnesses’ selves spiritual (not necessarily physical genetic) families, beings and cycles, which are all working together as free-floating and mixing and assembling individual and group units)–is so critical for your growth in these times of upward assent:
Because your soul consent increases the more your conscious self also agrees to these Higher-Good changes, you may readily enhance your own soul growth into gladness according to your conscious statement of any consent, of any YES, into the words as above spoken.
For, while every human has already given great consent to the YES answer implicit in the above “request-command”, on SOME level of its conscious-into-subconscious humanity experience, a vital tool for your own advancement is to make a more conscious YES statement to the above Pure Goal Words.
For the above Pure Goal Words are as an agreement to make the very best usage of unknown Divine spiritual tools to be applied into the growing tasks of this human lifetime—to be applied into your own honored specific circumstances of whatever religious stance or platform, whatever level of conscious effort you make into Divine Wellbeing under any God names, terms, circumstances, rituals or fellowships.
These above Holy Extract words are meant to specifically embrace your God-given place within any religion or spiritual path at all—
This personal human embrace of accepting God’s highest and best available for your use at this time is the driving force behind encodement of DCR1 into any English language equivalents to be desired to be read at this time.
This our human project—
To ready one and all for greater awareness of the oneness, the holiness, and the sacred practical power of every human flower blossoming from filth or beauty, into a more Holy State of Garden Access than ever before conceived or created, ever since the Original Access of Divine Creation Subunits, to be known as future humans, ever first conceived of a Mother Earth, and gave her First Birth.
We have spoken enough for now. Welcome these subunits of life known as daily experiences, to magnify and bless all humanity’s welfare, as best you can, and your lives shall be worthy and made complete.
We bless you and release all into welcoming Higher Reality Units known as your Pure Soul’s Kiss.
Note #3: The perpetuation and distribution of this knowledge shall not serve to otherwise promote any single doctrine of deity and selfhood, nor to dissuade or destroy any single doctrine of deity and selfhood. All are to learn to dwell in peace, cooperation, brotherhood, and true knowledge of True Freedom.
Amen.
We are your The Crystalline Ones, readily available for any human subunit to contact for access to these immersion points into Greater Soul Bliss that the Divine Creator has prepared for mankind.
This ends our update to Divine Code Rule Number One!
For Earthly application through the early part of your Earth year 2012, as stated.
Peace, blessings, encouragement unto one and all.
AND SO IT IS,
THE END WITHOUT END
—The Crystalline Ones
together the Hierarchy of the New Age, in conjunction with the localized rainbows of Divine Rays of Understanding, prepared for Earth and Earth Regional Comprehension, Dissemination and Growth. Direct quotations from us, in Earth script, of these Codes are most difficult because of the sweeping and intensely inclusive natures of these derivatives/laws, which are meant for Earth history enlightenment through the beginning of year 2012.
First “downloaded” in recognizable Earth format to “Signet” on July 27, 1998. First updated version received on November 29, 1998. Second updated version received on November 5, 2008. Third updated version received on January 7, 2011.
Any further reordering or updates shall be maintained for further clarification of these Codes, for Earth intellectual stimulation / consumption.
Universal Divine Code Rule Number One (also known as Your Cosmic Bill of Rights) is Copyright 1998, 2008, 2011, as transcribed by “Signet”. You DO NOT have permission to alter the contents of this document. YOU ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED to noncommercially reproduce and distribute this document—in whole, whenever possible, so that its parts may be read in proper context.
http://www.coderulenumberone.com
Blog entry
28 Jul 2011 - 8:11pm
A movie that pretty much sums up the awakening process for me is Office Space. It is the epic tale of a guy, Peter Gibbons disgruntled with his meaningless 9-5 job as a code monkey at a software company. His boss has the personality of a stapler which in fact is the prized possession of another employee, Milton Waddams that complains about never receiving his paycheck every day. Turns out he was “let go” a long time ago but no one wanted to tell him. So they keep moving his desk further and further away until he ends up in the basement. It reminds me of my life. I always felt like someone was playing a joke on me; laughing behind my back ”She doesn’t know he he. She’s a gerbil on the wheel. Tee hee.” When the boss takes Milton’s stapler it is the last straw. Meanwhile, Peter is so depressed he goes to a hypnotherapist but the doctor dies of a heart attack before he pulls Peter back out of this bliss state. Suddenly nothing matters anymore accept being happy so he slacks at work and ignores his boss, Lunburgh until he finds out that he has hired someone to downsize. Rather than fire Peter the two guys that do the firing, Bob and Bob are taken with Peter’s honesty and focused, relaxed disposition but they are firing his two friends Michael and Samir. Peter begins to snap out of it and decides it’s time to convince his friends that their company and boss are evil. He asks friend Michael Bolton (not the singer) about the software he is always bragging about that will take fractions of pennies from the companies and roll it over into a personal bank account. His other friend Samir Nagheenanajar has the passwords to the system. Suddenly it becomes a gangsta movie where they awaken to the fact that they are basically slaves in someone else’s sick dream where the God of corporate America doesn’t believe in resting on Sundays and thinks Hawaiian shirt Friday is supposed to relieve them from the monotony of typing numbers into a databank and the secretary’s incessant squeak, “Just a moment please. Just a moment please. Just a moment please”. I had no idea that other people hated copy machines as much as I do. I can’t tell you how liberating it was to watch them beat the shit out of it with a baseball bat in an enemy field with the music in the background “Die mutha#$%@^! DIE!” It was like angels singing. What really tugged at my heart strings was when Peter said to Joanna, played by Jennifer Aniston, “I don’t like my job and I’m not gonna go anymore. I don’t really like paying bills. I don’t think I’m gonna do that either”. I knew that I was not alone in my contempt for the corporate world and meaningless work and my “dream of doing nothing”. It is not just about doing nothing but doing something that means something to me. Everyone has a dream and whether it is building stuff, inventing games or sleeping with two women at the same time (the lofty goal of his friend Lawrence hysterically played by Diedrich Bader when asked what he would do if he was a millionaire), it is far more meaningful than typing numbers into a computer so that someone else can make ten times more money than you and ask you ten millions times “Did you get that memo?” I don’t want to spoil the end for you in case you are one in a million that has not seen this cult classic, but let’s just say, everyone got what they deserved including Peter. Nothing goes the way he expected it to and yet it all works out because he followed his heart.
Blog entry
25 Jul 2011 - 1:49pm
Here is just random text that want to come out via my keyboard. Sorry agin the english but I do not adjust it that much.
The disclosure can happen in many levels. You can hear from the news that something we have been waiting for a long time is reviled or you can make disclosure within yourself. I prefer everybody to look within their mind and open up your personal secrets.
I was a bit amazed once I realized that disclosure not necessarily will mean global news about our true roots and our history. The disclosure is happening all the time and the form is called awakening. Many of us are now becoming aware who they are and that can be called also a kind of disclosure.
The most fundamental wow effect is that people are starting to realize that they are not human with a spiritual soul. They are souls within a human body and yet another shock may be that they have not been even humans in their previous life. Some are even first timers in body being before pure light body coming here to this reality from higher dimension. I see here in LW many members who have "downgraded" themselves from higher dimension to become human in earth to learn yet another interesting lessons and also help the earth.
The next thing what amazes people is to realize that they have hold all the time all the needed tools to be happy. Being happy is just state of mind. You can be happy always anywhere and you do not need anything for that. Because if you need something to become happy you are already in a limbo to wait next thing to happen so you could be happy. Being happy is just pure state of mind and you can create that feeling by starting to love for example the flower you see.
Then I would like to point out something very personal for me. I am partially in charge of everything on earth. I cannot outsource myself from anything. This is the key to make the final change in the world. We do not set ourselves outside on anything. This is a bit crazy but it is true. We are all connected and affecting even to dark force is part of us. We just select what frequency we vibrate in the spectrum. We can go up or down or even stuck on the same vibe. Once you do not outsource yourself on the issues you will become aware of that what you need to do to make the change. Changing others instead of you is much harder.
What do you want to disclose today within you? Just ask and you will get the answer sooner or later.
video
22 Jul 2011 - 5:32am
People come into your life for a reason
Blog entry
17 Jul 2011 - 5:06am
Television off. Insects chirped outside the window, and Pandora's John Coltrane station were the only sounds. The air felt like the first day of Spring, here we were in the middle of July. I lit Sandlewood incense, and poured a cup of cold, but not too cold, water. With all my senses engaged appropriately, the atmosphere for clear thinking manifested.
I laughed, lol. It dawned on me how funny it all is. In the Bible, Ephesians states "it is not against flesh and blood, that we wrestle". If only I could apply that principle with my ex girlfriend. The light bulb illumined, maybe the illuminati really were struggling. We've all had our demons. Some may have addictions to cigarettes, drugs, money, sex, power.... power. Could the addiction to power have created a plice state, modern day mental slavery, and a one-world government?
Was it just an extreme addiction these rulers were battling, mixed with a demon or two perhaps? Were these people I should pray for, instead of battling?
Afterall, the good folks at LightWorkers all work towards holding that love and light a little more than the average Joe would, I suppose. Sure, we bicker, we're human. We're also the awake ones, and I even saw the potential to become Anonymous today. Maybe I'll wait on that one a bit. Kind of hard to be Anonymous, with my profile pic blasted on LW, facebook, blogs, but that was my fault. And what about IP addresses, and the webcam that stares at me, watching...
If I smoked, now would be the perfect time. A cigar, not a cigarette. We are living out the Bible. Now the question is, is it our collective beliefs that manifested reenaction of the world's most famous story? Or was this the works of an Elohim, who knew what was to come? My guess was an Elohim, a word so cleverly replaced in the Bible. The replacement of that word ALONE permitted so many religions to thrive and exist, even today.
I took another sip of water and listened to the insects. I took a deep breath, and imagined love for those people who are at their wits end with this system. Somewhere, someone feels like giving up, contemplating taking their life because the system was to cruel to give a damn about them, and they were incapable of taking the reigns of life. I should know. Somewhere, there are still hundred of thousands who cannot find employment, cannot feed their families, and sadly enough, there are some who even starve to death. I imagined love, it is not fair there are millionaries with gold plated ceilings, so many vehicles they can't all be driven, and millions that do nothing but sit there. With people like that around, I'd laugh at anyone who dared call me selfish. How little excess wealth would it cost to give a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich and cup of noodles to the starving? There shouldn't be hunger or homelessness, period. It isn't justified. Regardless, it all remained a beautiful play, and we were currently enjoying Intermission. After a beautiful full moon last night, the atmosphere felt as if we were returning to our seats for the commencement of Act III, the greatest act of them all.
Did our ones in power not know they set themselves up for failure? My country, God bless her, was founded on the conquering of my own ancestors who were given Casinos as reparations. It seemed common sense, live by the gun/die by the gun. Perhaps the addiction to power was so overwhelming, it blinded them from not only the love and care for fellow man we had, but even their own eventual demise.
Yeah, it's been nice visiting you again, brain. I closed my eyes, and downed the last drink of water. Practicing this whole from the heart idea has been an interesting experiment. Perhaps thinking with the head was the experiment, since I'll be returning to heart after this. I've accomplished more, thinking with my heart in a week than I have using my head for years.
Could our world be a stage, with each seat in the audience being another life form, watching us? Could the theatre our stage is located in, be one of many theatres in a building, connected to an ever expanding, infinite galaxy? If this were all a play, what more could we do but watch, since we all know how this story ends... Happily Ever After! Eventually anyway...
Blog entry
14 Jul 2011 - 3:07pm
Hello.
I’m Kenneth.
The purpose of this site is to answer this seemingly simple question: ’What is A Course in Miracles?‘
In my journey as a spiritual seeker, I’ve been through many, many different belief systems in the field of spirituality and personal development. I’ve been Christian, Atheist, Agnostic and Buddhist at various stages in my life. I have read hundred and hundreds of spiritual, ‘new age’, psychology, self-help and personal development books. Some were utter rubbish. Some were better than others. Some brought about dramatic results in my life. But none of them made complete sense on a metaphysical level and yielded results in daily life.
When I found A Course in Miracles in 2005, I knew that my search was over. There was a deep resonance within, an inner knowing that this was it. It was incredibly rational, inspiring and practical. It was entirely metaphysically coherent, without religious dogma. It was difficult to understand the material at first, as was getting past the Christian terminology. But as I later learnt, these are but teaching tools that the author of the Course intentionally uses.
The impetus for this site came about through an inner sense of prompting (what the Course calls the Holy Spirit) for me to study and teach the Course more intensively. In this regard I have absolute certainty in what I am writing, because in truth, I am neither the interpreter or author – the Holy Spirit is. I am merely a conduit.
There is a fair amount of misinformation available online about A Course in Miracles. Many spiritual teachers pick and choose quotes from A Course in Miracles, as it fits their purposes. Many interpret A Course in Miracles as they see fit, and engage in endless intellectual and philosophical speculation. Many will examine individual ideas from the Course in detail while missing the big picture.
I do not think there is any interpretation as to what the Course says. It says what it says. I think it presents some very ancient and very profound Truths that have been available to mankind for 3000 years, since the earliest Hindu texts. The difficulty lies in being aware of what is metaphorical and literal – and for this, it is essential to know what the Course is saying in totality. My goal, thus, is to present to you the core ideas of A Course in Miracles. Amongst them are:
- The dream-like nature of the world
- Happiness is a decision that one makes
- The central practice and importance of Forgiveness
- Psychological well-being is found through changing one’s perceptions about the world, and not changing the world
- The importance of listening to one’s inner guidance – what the Course calls the Holy Spirit
- Spirituality is not about doing or learning more – it is about undoing our barriers to Love
This site also serves as a resource about ACIM materials – videos, excerpts, other websites, but mainly books. Just as there are no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ spiritual paths, there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ books about ACIM. However, in the words of Sir Francis Bacon:
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.
I’m sure you will agree this is remarkably true in our age of information overload! I am a book junkie, and through my extensive reading I have found a few truly excellent authors and books, and it is my intention to recommend these to you. I do not have any affiliations with any of the authors – I do this out of my sincere desire that these books guide you in your path as they have wonderfully done for me.
Blog entry
13 Jul 2011 - 6:19pm
I am very impulsive and have done something that I believe might be incredibly wrong as far as other's feelings are regarded. I posted on facebook that I was excited because there is a professional jazz drummer that wants to be in our band. The current drummer recently told me that he would be getting a promotion in his current job and would not be able to play soon. I don't feel many good vibes with my band any more and the line up change is something that might restore the balance within it's realms. I am very unsure of what to do. I feel negative thoughts coming back into my head, which is a normal human impulse. I need some advice. I feel somewhat empty and alone again...
Blog entry
12 Jul 2011 - 9:35am
I think sometimes when people get caught up in a purely emperical world-view, they miss the big picture. They miss the point of it all. They try to find the objective truth of reality, independent of self, as if self is something that is completely separate from reality. Yet the scientific community themselves will say that we are the product of what we came from, evolutionarily speaking. We, then, work under the same fundamental principles reality works under. When you really delve in to the assumption that people who take the self aspect out of it, as if we are nothing, you see that it sounds more religious than a spiritual world view. They say that their world-views have nothing to do with reality, or truth. This is to make the assumption that our minds work in ways that defy natural law. This is simply not the case. Whatever it is that the universe functions through, our minds, and our evolution, works through too. This means that self-exploration is equally valid to emperical evidence. Our minds, who we are, are working under the same essential principles that all of reality is.
Blog entry
9 Jul 2011 - 11:48am
Irrational Dichotomy (n): Division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups: a dichotomy between thought and action, or holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously.
When a person is exposed to evidence which runs counter to their previously held notions of reality, there exists within their mind a contradictory dichotomy of ideas which must eventually become resolved. This is an uncomfortable, and often distressing time for them and can, if un-resolved for an extended period of time, lead to mental illness.
Christians, and indeed all Religious adherents, fall into this group. And they are not allowed to resolve these dichotomies.
Understanding and enlightenment comes to one when that dichotomy is ultimately resolved and beliefs once again fall in-line with observable reality.
Blog entry
8 Jul 2011 - 9:28pm
"It's a sin.." replied Pastor James, "it's the same as halloween and witchcraft."
. . .
As teenage valdeezy, I asked my preacher about palm reading. I asked him specifically, why we must live questioning day-to-day life, when some palm readers (emphasis on SOME!) can accurately predict what youre going through and show you your life's path. I had a bible with an index of key words, so I knew there was nothing mentioned regarding palms or palmistry. This is what Christians (no offense, Christians) believe, and what I was told about palmistry some time ago (rr-bb.com/showthread.php). How convenient: another Val questioning palm reading lol.
It didn't bother me so much that my pastor put Palmistry in the same box Christians fight hard to get out of, as did his confidence and certainty in reply. I used to think you had to know your Bible inside out to become a pastor. Oh, if we only read the textbook before taking our tests... KJV Bible state in Job 37:7, ahemm ahemm (clears throat philosophically) "He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work". In other versions, like the New Living Translation Bible for example, the very same chapter and verse states: "Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power". Wooow. Don't know about you, but I have a huge problem with the Bible being re-translated for anyone unless it's braille for the blind. Rephrasing the good book for an intelligent, competent human being is the equivalent of saying, "Hey, remember when the Bible meant this to you? Well you're wrong, this is what it REALLY means..." I sense the sarcasm emerging as do you, I'm sure, I digress...
There are all sorts of translations for this scripture. Some are so scientifically complex, they reference what was said 26 Chapters before and even start talking about rain and snow. I won't call out names (bible.cc/job/37-7.htm), but God is easier to understand, I believe. Look at your hand. Examine it like an episode of CSI. What other seal could there possibly be other than the palm of the hand? The only way I can relate this controversial scripture about hands to snow is, "fingerprints are like snowflakes, there are no two alike". Police investigators know this, that's why they used to dust for fingerprints, and still do today. To me, this one sentence in the bible justifies palm reading. I have a book on the basics of palmistry, and even if you study the main 3 lines alone, the head, heart and life lines, that in itself is enough a "seal" to determine someone's personality, the way they think, and if they know what they want to do in life. Sounds like God proving his work about me, to me...
Some years later I picked up the very Bible I used as a teen, and turned to the index. Though it did not mention "palm" or "palmistry", it did link "hand" to Job 37:7. We are given two eyes, two ears and one mouth for a reason. Maybe.. we should spend less time trying to preach to others about what to believe, and do a little more observing and listening (if this sounds like a contradiction, I did two times the research prior to writing!) Boy, did I wish I knew that scripture before asking my preacher about it. It probably would have been less of a question and answer session, and more of a discussion. Through my experience, however, preachers are a lot less privy to discussions and prefer the power provided via Q&A.
This is not in any attempt to disrespect Christianity or my pastor. I, for one am on the path of wisdom, and I respect all religions in there is something to be learned in each one of them. My pastor told me it was also a sin to read other religious books. Shortly after, I decided to remove the label of 'Christian' from myself. I can actually thank my pastor for forcing me to look and think for myself. Now If you'll excuse me, I've got to give praise to God. Why are my palms up and facing me instead of closed?.... read Job 37:7!
Blog entry
1 Jul 2011 - 3:53pm
During the fall 2010 I was watching Stanley A. Fulham’s interview on youtube about he’s new book called Challenges of Change. Something really in this interview stopped me to think of what he said. He said “heaven and hell is a state of mind”. I was never heard of that kind of claim and I came very interested of this approach. I started to go deeper and deeper with philosophy on this sentence.
If Heaven and hell is a state of mind is true, it means that anybody anywhere is able to create either even or hell over certain period of time. I started to think of this in practical way and was able to convince myself that this claim has lots of truth in it – it may be that it is completely true. I decided to create heaven immediately into my life. At the same time I learned that we are able to create almost anything in our lives. When you combine these there is a seed to find something amazing. And if you want to create heaven on earth and you are ready to do a bit work for that it will become your reality. I am getting very close that point that I have created the first level of heaven in my life.
Blog entry
26 Jun 2011 - 11:48pm
Slow it down. The hustle and bustle may only bring trouble.
Slow down your movements. It helps you to focus and appreciate more fully what you experience.
Slow down your breathing. It helps you to truly feel the love behind every last breath.
Slow down your speech. It helps to gather your thoughts and speak with Love and grace.
Be deliberate in all you do. Get the most out of every moment by slowing it all down.
Teaching
26 Jun 2011 - 7:09pm
In the past, your ability to succeed in the world career-wise was determined primarily by your knowledge of, and aptitude for, the requirements of your desired job. During this time, people were not nearly as educated, by and large, as they are today. So, we began to put more of an emphasis on formal education. This has led to a large increase in the amount of formal education which the average citizen receives. Along with this increase in education, there has also been huge technological breakthroughs, most pertinent being the internet. At this time, there has been a shift of requirements from pure knowledge and ability, to a huge emphasis being placed on the amount of formal education received. Yet with so many more students receiving higher levels of formal education, the effectiveness of this education in assisting you in success in your field of choice has been minimized. There are 17,000,000 people with a college degree in this country working jobs that do not require a college education. There are over 5,000 people with a PhD who are janitors in this country. As a formal education is being more and more emphasized, the effectiveness of receiving this education is diminishing more and more. Oddly enough, coinciding with this shift towards an increased emphasis on formal education is the rise of the internet age.
With the internet, people can essentially learn anything they could ever want, free of a formal education. This is also free, in comparison to a college education which is ridiculously expensive, and most students end up having to pay back loans for years after their education is complete. I find it very strange that now that information has become so widely available, the importance of being educated itself, in the truest sense of the word, has for all intents and purposes lost its value. Now it's all about the degree, which, coincidentally I'm sure, has huge costs associated with it. With public libraries and the internet, you could quite literally receive a better education for free, or minimal costs, than most people receive after four years at a University. Yet as this is now so possible, society has essentially decided that true education has no value. You could know everything there is to know about a subject, and yet you will not be able to obtain a job in the field without the piece of paper that is the college degree. You see, this is all being done under the guise of supporting education. Yet we have become so indoctrinated by society that we quite literally associate “education” with the formal educational system, as opposed to the acquisition of knowledge, which an education is in its truest sense. Therefore, under this supposed promotion of education, we have quite literally made true education meaningless. Knowledge means nothing, only the piece of paper you can acquire after paying thousands of dollars. This is all being done under the guise of the progressive world, in which education is supposed to run abundantly. Yet all too often, the progressive world is that which is preventing us from further progress. We saw a good thing in promoting education, namely the formal education system, and then we became so narrow-sighted that we began to mistake “education” itself for this system, which is only a means to an education.
In terms of practical steps we could do to continue to support education, but now in a broader sense beyond the “system.” What if there were to be a system put into place, which would place a “stamp of approval” or something of the like, to websites aimed at education. The stamps of approval could include verifying that there is accurate information presented, and/or concluding that the thought process which drove the ideas presented was legitimate. This would encourage people to share their knowledge on the internet, as well as promote the sharing of accurate information, and legitimate thought. It would improve upon the already vast database of information available on the internet. Beyond these “approved” websites, there would still be infinite room for, as there is now, more questionable or controversial information, which people could study themselves, and determine for themselves the merit of it. The internet is the ultimate tool for education, and I think we should start treating it as such. The emphasis on the formal educational system has led to an unbelievable devaluing of education, and I think it is time for us to begin to rectify this.
Blog entry
7 Jun 2011 - 11:20pm
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Glory be to our Mother Father God. It brings great Joy and Happiness to be able to address you all today. For we live in a time that will change the Tar into Gold and the Poor into the Rich. Hallelujah to our Creator for his name shall remaineth on High.
We must learn to think as a collective conscious that seeketh the Greatest Good for the universe. Love must be found in oneself before we can Truly Love others. Revamping of Values and Beliefs can be daunting and scary. Know this though that God wishes the best for all but we need to harness the energies of our thoughts in order to have his glory flow with greater abundance. We are apparatuses of the Grand Network of Energies. The benefit of these energies can be harnessed to bring harmony, peace, prosperity, and joy to all. Remember intentions are part of the Grand Balance. Many ignore intentions and fail to realize they leave a residue effect which can be felt throughout all universes. Mother Father God does not reside in Selfish intentions but instead lies within the Righteousness. No amount of Good can justify Selfish Intention because reality’s positives we experience fail to placate effects elsewhere. Become one with the Source and allow the spirit to guide your mind to Righteousness. A life of purity is attainable for all, for the wisdom of this way of living lies within. Bring Love to your enemies and wisdom to the Lost. For the Truth of the matter is that God has always had his angels watching over us since the beginning. God’s divine purpose is to display his Glorious Love throughout the Universes. His Love in capsules all known feeling of purity which man could possibly experience. Live your life in the Light and behold to his glory and grace which he so graciously pours onto us. Give thanks to Mother Gaia for the sacrifices and pain she has endured for Humanity. Her steadfast faith in Man was her saving grace and her sacrifices shall not be ignored. For the Love our Mother has shown us will be recognized. Her Glory will be preserved and she will no longer suffer at the expense of Man’s selfish ambitions. I love you Mother Gaia and I bring you Glory and Love for you are worthy. Your enduring spirit we can feel and it brings hope to hopeless and Love to the Lost. Your beauty leaves us captivated in the splendors of your Creations. Your scents bring us Joy and Happiness. Your creatures bring prosperity to the balance. Praise Be to the Prime Creator!!!
http://criesofrighteousness.wordpress.com/
Blog entry
7 Jun 2011 - 7:07pm
To all,
Here is a little something about the tao i learnd the past year =)
To be desireless is to follow the Tao. The sage does not desire to understand, the sage accepts what he does and does not understand. The sage understands and accepts both “good and evil” The sage understands the nature of the Tao, everything in balance, everything fluctuates in power, everything is constantly moving. The sage understands that the Tao is timeless; the nameless does not know time. The sage understands that time is illusion it is not linear it goes on and on, like the universe that keeps expanding, destroying and creating. The nameless is infinite. I did not understand the full meaning of the Tao when I first read the Tao Te Ching. Instead I had to read it over and over, I grew frustrated but when I let go of the desire to understand the Tao, I finally understood its infinite meaning. This changed my life, I understood that I must accept both good and bad things in my life. It taught me the nature of emptiness and to not fight the waves of the universe, instead ride the waves. When you fall off one wave there is always another to get back on. The Tao taught me to not chase the wave that I fell off instead let it go and be accepting of the next wave.
Love and light,
Nicole Lutz
Teaching
6 Jun 2011 - 7:12am
We live in bizarro world. We do everything backwards. We try to get to the foundation by focusing on things. Things are the outflow of the foundation. Thoughts flow from being. Yet we focus on thoughts, rather than being. Facts stem from good thinking. Yet our educational system focuses on facts, in hopes that it will result in good thinking, which is the goal. Shouldn't we focus on the goal, which is the foundation? In education, wise thinking, using facts along the way to assist in the ultimate goal. Happiness is the goal, but it is also the foundation. If we are happy, then we can be happy no matter what. If we have things, we can be happy with them. Whatever we have, we can be happy with. If we search for our happiness in things, we will never find it; there are always more things available. You'll get some new things, be happy for a bit, but then you'll want more. "Things" get boring eventually, if you use them for a source of happiness, and thus a sense of self. Is this not the basis for our entire "consumer society?" People will buy things to be happy, it won't be enough, and thus they will buy more, and continue to perpetuate the system. People go searching for their true self, as if it exists in some future place, and it is the ego that is naturally, inherently existing. If our true self is not that which we naturally and inherently are, then it is no true self at all! It is a goal, of the future. It is a mental construct. Mental constructs are of the ego. True self must inherently exist, or it is not true self. The ego is our creation, which flows from true self.
We live in a world where everything is done backwards. Where are we? Bizarro world!
Blog entry
3 Jun 2011 - 5:02am
"Come on Bee, go, that way, not that glass you can't go through that. Silly thing, you're like most humans. I need to get the cup and paper don't I?"
I return to the kitchen, get my birthday card and cup return to assist the silly Bee. I do understand it is probably afraid of me, I'm bigger and shooing him towards what he sees as wall - I am backing him against the wall. And he isn't without retaliation, I am aware, I've never been stung by a Bee, but I imagine it's not a fun thing, even though not deadly, especially when you have medication. I track the Bee down by the sound of its buzzing, he's by the window desperately trying to get out to the balcony flowers and blue sky, Freedom. He has brought himself to my home by the actions he has taken, choices he has made, and now that I try to help him, fear gets in the way. I place the cup over him and slid the birthday card underneath to temporarily trap him, he buzzes like crazy, it's fine I know the feeling, I myself haven't always been able to see what situations have actually helped through have then seemed like I was being smacked around by fate.
I release him to the balcony, for a moment he's disorientated and tries to fly into the glass that reflects the trees and flowers and the blue sky, reflects his Freedom, he bounces off the glass few times before realizing it's an illusion of Freedom. To that I can relate as well. The Bee is now Free to make yet other choices, and I... I am writing this, realizing why I have been freeing close to ten Bees in a three day period - to remember this, to look back at my own life see how it all relates. I was a Bee as well, I was assisted as well, and my choices no longer ( hopefully ) take me to situations that need rough saving. I've looked at the Illusion of Freedom and turned away from the Illusion to real Freedom.
I'm out of the House people! :)
Love, Light and Joy!
Niina
( original entry at my Blog @ http://niinac.blogspot.com/2011/06/saving-bee-story-of-humanitys-fight.html )
Blog entry
3 Jun 2011 - 4:27am
Reminder on How the Path was Forgotten
One day, a calf needed to cross a virgin forest in order to return to its pasture. Being an irrational animal, it forged out a tortuous path full of bends, up and down hills.
The next day, a dog came by and used the same path to cross the forest. Next it was a sheep’s turn, the head of a flock which, upon finding the opening, led its companions through it.
Later, men began using the path: they bent down, deviating obstacles, complaining and cursing – and quite rightly so. But they did nothing to create a different route.
After so much use, in the end, the path became a trail along which poor animals toiled under heavy loads, being forced to go three hours to cover a distance which would normally take thirty minutes.
Many years passed and the trail became the main road of a village, and later the main avenue of a town. Everyone complained about the traffic, because the route it took was the worst possible one.
Meanwhile, the old and wise forest laughed, at seeing how men tend to blindly follow the way already open, without ever asking whether it really is the best choice.
.(based in traditional Malayalam story).
Visit the Paulo Coelho's Blog HERE for more great reminders.
Love, Light and Joy!
Niina
( original entry at my blog @ http://niinac.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-path-was-forgotten.html )
video
2 Jun 2011 - 6:59am
Told entirely with images, poetry, and music, General Orders No. 9 is unlike any film you have
ever seen. A story told in maps, dreams, and prayers, it is one last trip down the rabbit hole
before it's paved over.
2011 / Directed by Robert Persons / Documentary / 72 min. /
http://www.generalordersno9.com/
Blog entry
30 May 2011 - 6:36am
I have been educating myself really hard on paranormal, quantum physics, new world, ET, secret societies, religion, mind control, spirituality and any other subject around Metaphysics. I have been using mostly the sources of internet by going through huge amount of data here and there. It seems to pop new data constantly, source after source making the research nice adventure. I find this also very fast way of taking information instead of reading the books (I also read…).
My most resent observation is that there is some kind of alignment of the vision where we are going as a humanity. But there is lots of data that is conflicting each other and I have a feeling that some source of data is manipulated. This inner feeling about the possibility that the data is manipulated is telling me to carefully listen my own intuition instead of believing other’s stories completely.
I think if the information source is not critical him/herself the development may be blocked. If I would want to manipulate I would go to these people and make them believe they are having the truth and in this way stopping them to seek more.
My intuitive advice for everybody here is that keep your child mind open and seek always new questions. Do not take anything as it is since there is _always more to the story_. The world is infinite and constantly developing so the surroundings of the ultimate truth is changing – if you are not adapting you will most likely not close the truth – instead of roaming around on a same level. If some data feels rights take it. If some feels not leave it. You have within yourself all the tools to progress and understand the truth.
It is hard to keep your mind non judging, open and "seeking state of mind". We so quickly are filtering data through our past experiences and belief systems. This observation is very valid what comes to me since I find it very hard to have the mind on a right kind of state. But I also feel that I have to bring out my observations. I am not right and I am not wrong, I just need to share my toughts. The ones who read this far I want to thank you for reading this. You have become my support for my spiritual growth. Love and Light!
(sorry for my English - writing about this topics is not my strength yet. I am native Finnish speaking person)
Blog entry
27 May 2011 - 8:17am
A month ago, I wouldn't have attempted this blog. BUT I have a little experiment going with myself, an aspiration, if you will. Ninety blogs in ninety days.
When I first came to lightworkers I was so stringent about what I would post. ONLY original, and only the very highest, bestest, yadda and yadda. I fall into the ole "good enough" trap more often than most. Anyway you get the gist of my personal challenge.
ON days like today, it really is a challenge. I blew up out of bed just after 2 am. Thunderstorms had driven Kelsey (the smaller of my two dogs) into my bed. Her shaking and pressing up against me might've been what woke me.
BUT GOLLY, I woke in a mood. I think the best term we can use here is "enraged." I am all huffing and puffing and blood pressure and sypathetic responses in my physiology. My brain is always looking for a rational explanation. So in the wee hours I am (stealthily) storming around the place being irritated by any number of tiny insignificant things.
A wife is good if looking for someone to blame. These mornings I spend a couple of hours muttering non-LW stuff under my breath while making a pot of coffee that will effectively preclude me returning to sleep. The computer is my companion.
OH, I look at the news. Not too much, though. I check the sun and the earthquake sites. I peruse the alternative headlines. I really don't know what I am looking for...I cuss myself for wasting this quality meditative time on internet foolishness. I know I'll be even more wretched if I don't fulfill my own promise to myself.
So I write this blog. Zendear ain't always grinnin. Sad to admit, but perhaps helpful.
I think there is a great deal going on in my dream life, a lot of back and forth. I feel like I get more out of my naps, my unconventional sleep schedule than I can articulate. Going into Narnia, if you will, then back here to mow the yard and help out in other ways.
On these days, when I wake up swinging, I imagine that maybe my dream life was a bit frustrating that night.
THANK HEAVEN that I have developed just enough inner adult to learn how not to infect others. It's a phrase as old as phrases: "First, do no harm..." Interesting how pessimism tries to gather a team--misery loves company dontcha know. Optimisim is, for the most part, content. Optimism can entertain itself quietly without bothering anyone.
"A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth puts its pants on in the morning." Good news travels at leisure, crisis needs immediacy.
The most necessary part is to master my thoughts. I can't help how I reach consciousness, but once conscious, I cannot allow the mood to drive my imagination. Sometimes I caress myself, say "You're okay, it's okay." Sometimes I mantra the Lord's prayer. Sometimes I headphone up and use heavy metal to bang it out. I have to meet myself on neutral ground. I have to acknowledge what is going on in order to heal it. Sound about right?
Nearly everyday, the sunrise is a balm. I feel so grateful for those first orange rays. I carry some anger issues for some reasons. That's okay. I AM much more than a mood or a twisted childhood.
Shoot, if I need a shortcut I could go read one or more of my more serene blogs. OR one of the angry ones...Both serve to show me: "This too shall pass."
Shine Bright.
Teaching
25 May 2011 - 5:04pm
In regards to perception, let's start out with a more obvious, extreme example. The Sun. When you look up at the sky, and see the Sun, you are not seeing the Sun as it presently is. It requires time for the light which creates our perception of the Sun to reach us, and thus we are seeing the Sun as it was at the time of that light's origination, in the past. We can all agree on this, but let's take it further. Look at the wall in your room. There is distance between you and the wall. Therefore, it takes time for the light which causes your perception of it to reach you. Of course, not as much time as the Sun's light, but still time. This is the case with all perception. Your perceptions are merely your interpretation of waves which originated in the past, and you observing them as if they are the reality of the present moment. Yet in real truth, it is merely your mind's present interpretation of waves that originated in the past.
The same can be said of your thoughts. They are just your mind's interpretation of past events, or of future possibilities. You can never TRULY think about the present moment. You can only LIVE the present moment. If you decide to try to think about "the present moment," the very instant your thought begins to formulate, it is already in the past. Therefore, your thought which you consider to be of the present moment, is merely the present representation of a thought of the past. Or you can hypothesize about the future. So, as I said, thoughts are inherently of the past or the future. You can only LIVE the present moment, BE the present moment.
Let's think of this in terms of Karma, or Law of Attraction, as well as much spiritual talk. What manifests in your reality? That which you attract into your reality through the outflow of your consciousness. If you are still attaching to thoughts and things, then what you will experience will be the results of those thoughts or things, which are of the past. Thus, those who are bound by Karma through their attachment, are receiving the results of Karma, or the past. Free yourself of attachment, unbind yourself of Karma, and then you can live in the PRESENT. The more you can do this, what manifests in your reality? Your PRESENT mindset, or state of consciousness. This is why you experience more synchronicity, or seem to have more control over your reality. It is not that you are gaining anything new, but rather that your attachments previously made it more difficult for you to notice it, as it was not of the present. Now you are living in the PRESENT moment, and you can notice these things.
Blog entry
20 May 2011 - 7:12pm
Very true
History is the tomorrow
The day you never thought would mirror itself
We are all ways, humanity at war
never have not been
tricked into genocide
just tied up by politicians (control freaks)!
Just universal Love..
No politics
No state religion
No False lies about abundance
No wars against terror (we are that terror)
No saviours from outer space
Just mother Earth Gaia
Be only the love in you
Les
-
We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!
I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?
There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
Blog entry
13 May 2011 - 6:59am
Many of us think that we humans think too much and not live from the hart and feel. The one thing I have noticed is that thinking and feeling as a word has different meaning for different people and cultures.
Example in our mother language here in Finland we really rarely express ourselves with saying “I think”. We rather use a word “I Feel”.
I think the humans should think more, feel more and live from the hart with love. But I would not put these two words “feel” vs. “think” into fight each other. Some people has ability to feel things much more than some who is very mind centric. If you say for a mid centric people you need to feel more instead of think it could potentially led situation where they lose the touch of reality and start living from their feelings that are not yet developed to a stage it would create positive things. I think we should not strictly advice people by saying you need to stop thinking – and live more from the feelings/hart based. This could be potentially harmful. We should either try to balance the thinking vs feeling to feeling direction and try to express the love side. This would eventually lead right path for thinking too and it will reflect on that.
I met one person who seemed to be very capable and he said he likes more cultures where people thinks more. This guy was obviously meaning that the thoughts are actually feeling based deep thinking. This put me to feel and think about he’s expression and I realized that his word for thinking meant actually more feeling than thinking.
This is jut my thoughts for this morning. Have a good day!!
Blog entry
9 May 2011 - 4:17pm
yes it is true?
if you feel it within
if you look and it grabs you?
as you walk upto that latest door will you enter?
does it say on the door what is inside or not
so you read those words or heard that speech about this or that well you have the answer within
you decide to take that step as it feels good
just know that with thought comes actions
you follow those messages that are within your nature your being
call it your cell dna if you like
you have an itch you scratch it?
does it stop the itch or ?
if your spinning with all this and that then wait for your vibrations to settle before taking the next step
in love always
Blog entry
6 May 2011 - 5:06pm
"There is no coming to consciousness without pain.
People will do anything, no matter how absurd,
in order to avoid facing their own soul.
One does not become enlightened by imagining
figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious."
~ Carl Gustav Jung
Shared with
ALL EMBRACING LOVE
SiNeh~
Teaching
4 May 2011 - 2:32pm
Dear hearts of light,
years i questioned myself how one belongs to fantasise and how one belongs to dream,
because everybody that i have get to know, doesn't matter who, did say in a certain way to me, "act normal",
when my fantasy or dream doesn't fit in the picture of that persons fantasy or dream.
Because of this i began to think about what normal behaviour is and what normal experience is and how on should experience normal,
because out of the fantasy and the dream grows experience and out of the experience you receave wisdom that
you teach your surroundings and your children and you pass that to your children what you see and find "that is normal",
while the child and someone elses vieuw is a completly different experience vieuw of what's normal.
I know that fantasising and dreaming is creating out of the fantasie and the dream and that is what Is.( All That Is )
Dear hearts fantasising and dreaming is the engine of inspiration to create what the creation does also and waht the creation truly is.
So why are we prisoning fantasys and dreams ourselfs and does that also happens by our surroundings while that
is just living hole and one with All That Is ( Creation, Source, Allah, God, Buddha, Dharma, Prana).
In loving service into infinnity,
Swen.
video
1 May 2011 - 9:53am
Oh, I enjoyed what that Lady talk about.
GOOD FOOD FOR THOUGHT
LOVE~, SiNeh~
