Religion

[Wyzeguy211]

Weird...I go to church, but my free will isn't taken away from me. Maybe I'm a freak. Why would the church rob someone of free will? They probably didn't acknowledge the Christian belief that free will is a gift from God. One that can't be taken away. I apologize if you've had bad experiences with Christianity, but not all Christians are psychotic-tackle-you-on-the-street-and-cram-a-bible-down-your-throat people.

[TheSeeker]

Buddhist don't try to convert people (well the type that doesn't hold Buddha as a deity, just as a man who reached enlightenment).

I think a big part of trying recruit people to your religion is insecurity, if you really know the truth about existence I imagine that you don't 'need' anyone else to know

edit:  btw, i'm not religous at all, but to each their own

[Xelios]

I have no need or desire to worship any God or Godess.
What's wrong with just giving a simple thanks to your deity every day at your own house or out in the woods?
Why do people feel they need to go to church and go through the weekly rituals,and listen to some religions wrong views and wrong ideas about the afterlife.
Preachers telling people not to watch tv or not to listen to rock music is infringing on free will. Putting nonsense into people's heads about sex being a sin is ridiculous,and yet in other parts of the bible we can read where it says go forth and be fruitful.
There are many dimensions a soul can go to after that sould leaves the
physical form. Millions of dimensions. Both physical and spirit dimensions.

[Cruel Tendencies]

If you don't feel a need to attend a church or belong to a religion, then that's all good, don't go.  There's nothing wrong with worshipping (or not worshipping) in one's own way.  But, simply because someone doesn't understand the tenets and meaning to a faith, doesn't mean the faith isn't a valid paradigm to approaching God.

In all areas of life in which one can gain esteem, there are going to be people who take advantage of it in order to fulfill selfish goals.  This is true in politics, education, any area of business, and religion, as well as any other area you can think of.  Just because individuals abuse positions of authority, however, doesn't mean a spiritual path is bad or invalid.  There is enormous truth and value to be found in Christianity, as well as other religions, if one so desires to find it.

The "recruiting" of people to a religion is usually (not always) done with good intent.  There are certain sects of Christianity, for example, who believe it's their duty to try to convert everyone they meet.  Yes, it can be annoying, but it's done because they truly believe that something horrible will happen to you if you don't become "saved" and go to their church.  Is it reasonable?  Not really.  But it's what they really believe, and to not try to "save" others that they meet would be living contradictory to their faith, which is never a good thing.

While it's true that some preachers tell their congregations what they should stay away from, but that's their job.  They're speaking to their own flock, the people who go through out of their own free will, and look to that pastor for leadership.  If you don't like the way a particular pastor or denomination in general preaches, there are lots of other churches to go to.  All denominations of Christianity focus on and emphasize different aspects of the same truth, and so people can go to whichever one (or none) fits them the best.

All that said, I would hope that we're all secure enough in our own beliefs to be able to withstand a little bit of proselytizing from well-meaning individuals.


Paul

[Xelios]

The main thing that has always bothered me about the christian religion is this. It would be of no surprise to me if these things happened in other religions as well.
Some guy is up front going on about good behviour. Meanwhile he takes some young child somewhere private and starts molesting that child.
The he says a bunch of prayers of forgiveness afterwards,and only because in his sick twisted mind he thinks a few prayers are going to make everything okay for him. He does not care about the child he has just ruined. These are the same things demons try to do to human adults and children.

When the Jehovah's witnesses came to the door, I told them I am not interested in your belief system. They got quite angry and stormed away.
The next day I find a note tapped to my door,and it was all about the fact that I had better smarten up or else,so I called the cops.

How is it that religion is positive?
Let's name a few things they have done.
Holy wars.( Muslims and Christians both have done this in the name of their God.)
Spanish Inqusition.
Destruction of Native american culture and beliefs.
Molestation of young kids.
Catholic bishops burning certain books of the bible because those books did not fit in with their religion. There are hundreds of books missing from the bible.
Women being burned and accused of using witchcraft becasue they used herbal medicine.
It is plain to see that the men who wrote a lot of the books of the bible hated women.

The list goes on and on.

I had a christian woman purposely destroy a relationship I had with a woman who I deeply loved. I thought that christian woman was my friend.

A lot of christians will be in for a rude awakening when they do find themselves in the astral dimension. When they see that people in that dimension can have one lover or as many as fifty lovers. Sorcerers and people who made use of magick also inhabit the astral. Plus a whole bunch of other things that they will never be prepared for once they are in the spirit realms.

There are no positive religions in this world.

[Tab]

quote:The he says a bunch of prayers of forgiveness afterwards,and only because in his sick twisted mind he thinks a few prayers are going to make everything okay for him.

Something that ALWAYS bothered me. A belief system that allows for ultimate punishment or ultimate perfection to be based on a simple insignificant admittance of a deity, or forgiveness for mere words, without reguard to intent. Someone can at death suddenly say "Christ is my savior" and be forgiven instantaneously. No. No no no. Nonsense. That's one of the reason enlightened religion makes so much more sense. You must devote yourself and progress spiritually, with REAL intent, to achieve spiritual harmony. That is so much more right and sensible than any religion of mere words and symbols.

[CRIMINALMIND63]

One needs to seriously analyze the bible. I have not read the whole bible, but what I have read it mocks itself. It talks about using witchcraft and killing people with it. Then it tells you to stay away from it. Moses killed the first born of egypt through magic in the name of his God. It was through Moses ability of magic this happened he just used the name of his god. It was more of his higher self that did it then God.  
There is mach killing in the bible used in the name of God for racial reasons, it's keeps racism a live today. Why is there a Holy Land? All of EArth belongs to God. Because it's based on prejudice by race and the right to rule people.
The bible instills fear into people through the use of God, But the God of the bible is really only the power a person had at the time of the events. Meaning who had the magic abilities at the time control. This is why you come across different names in the bible for Gods.
The bible is based on bloodlines to keep control of people through their powers. They are considered Holy based on a selfish bias bases and use the name of God to cover for the things they want. You would have to have a better understanding of magic and channeling to know that most of what is written is the wishes of other's before them.
If you ever done research on wizardry there was a belief that powers come from young boys and having sex with them. Most wizards where to believed to have been homosexual. This maybe a cause for the priest sexual relations with minor boys.
Don't think that the books of the bible have been left out due to it not fitting with the religion. They are left out because it tells of the powers within each of us and that it can be used against people.
Most church doesn't believe in the need for exorcisms, why is this? Don't they know about God and his powers and kingdom? They know and they leave you to suffer because you have been marked, this is why it's hard to find help.
What are the rituals the priest do? I haven't seen anywhere in the bible the rituals. Where has this information come from? Why is it kept from us. What is it's real meaning?
If God had created all then why would he choose one race over another? It's the God in the person that says you are superior to another. There is poverty to breed fighters for the purpose of those in power. They breed them to sacrifice them to a God they believe is evil. They sacrifice them to a blood thirsty God they believe will save them. They place theirself in a high position to save themselves just to sacrifice another in the name of a God to please them.
We where given the power to create ourselves through freewill, to chose what we think and feel and how we chose to act. Not to create lives for everyone else around us as we chose fit for them.

[Anonymous]

I have posted this in the World Religions section, and I'll post it here as well, because I feel it is relevant to this discussion. This is my theory, and whether it sounds like someone else's theory or not is pure coincidence. It means whoever else thought this up thinks the way I do, and that means I should read about them and do some more research. Anyway, I give you my theory:

I came up with a theory about how and why the Universe may have come to be. It is based on a combination of Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian
beliefs. Please bear in mind as you read this that I have not thoroughly examined each of these religions and understand, for the most part, only the basic concepts (except for Christianity, which I know a lot more about) with additional knowledge here and there about each, but I learn more every day. I do try to read up on them. I have not read the holy books of any of these religions, save the Christian Bible, and even then, only parts of it. I've formed this
belief/theory mainly from my experiences, some reasoning, and, of course, what I've read. I've talked to different people about their religions and have listened to their beliefs, what they had to say, etc. It has proven to be very interesting and one day (but not in one day) something clicked and I came up with the following:

what I think happened, essentially, was that there was an issue at hand with the One. A great issue. The One has put itself into an egg and simultaneously created and exploded itself into the Universe, in the form of a universal energy, retaining its will. The creation of the Universe was determined by the One as the best way to resolve the Issue. It is a given that the Universe is multidimensional, and there are many planes of existence within it. The One has always existed, and has put itself into the Universe as a form of life force. Hence, everything has a soul, mostly a tiny piece of the One's soul/spirit. The One has free will, and therefore, we also have free will. What the One wants to do is resolve the Great Issue because of which it has put itself into the Universe. The One has no form. The One is all things, and is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. When the One resolves this issue, the issue will no longer exist, and there will no longer be a need for the Universe to exist. In fact, I believe it may very well cease to exist, but this is not necessarilly true- it may go through a conversion through which the Issue will no longer exist. This will be painless and instantaneous. I do not believe anyone will care because we will still exist as part of the One (this belief is more Hindu, based on the concept of Brahman and the end result of the final reincarnation). The Universe is one of infinite probability/possibilities and is this way because this is what is required for this issue to be resolved. Understanding our role
is not so important to the One, so long as we continue to act in accordance with the nature of the Universe and in accordance with our own nature. We shape our environment, and in turn, our environment shapes us. I have decided that it is not human nature after all to destroy each other, contrary to what psychologists and others
will tell you. It (malice) is learned behavior, induced by illusions about reality. I believe our role is to eventually come to an understanding about everything (hence the human desire to discover and learn, no matter how much knowledge we acquire). As we shape our environment, we must decide how we would like it to shape us. It is
much like a game of chess, in the sense that one move will determine what happens twenty or more moves later. We have control over our environment as it has control over us. It is yin and yang.

The current religions (all of them), I believe, exist merely to motivate us to think for ourselves and believe in something beyond what we can see with our eyes or feel with our hands, or hear with our ears, smell with our noses, or taste with our tongues. Each holds a piece of the Truth. 99% of each religion is incongruent with the Truth in some way (more than that even, as there are many more religions in the world if you count the numerous tribes of the natives of different lands). Sometimes this is deliberate. It's part of what gets us to think on our own. It is up to us, if we wish to find the answer, to determine what part of each is congruent with the Truth. We are multidimensional beings. I do not know if we exist in all planes, but I know we exist in more than one. I don't believe that determing how many planes on which we exist is necessary, but I could be wrong.

I might add, however, that while the One exists within this Universe, it also exists outside of the Universe.

The Issue is responsible for misery and suffering. Because the Issue exists, so does evil. Evil is not necessarily malice. Malice is evil, however. Evil is one aspect of the Issue.

The rest of my theory I cannot explain at this time because there are some concepts which I am having trouble finding the words for (i.e. how to explain the Great Issue for which I believe the Universe was consequently created), and because I am extremely exhausted right now and have reached my thinking limit for today; I know I missed some things somewhere in my explanation.

[Cruel Tendencies]

I'll attempt to respond to some of the complaints here about Christianity and the Bible, to the best of my ability.  This will most likely be long and involved, but I'll try my best to keep it brief.


Something that ALWAYS bothered me. A belief system that allows for ultimate punishment or ultimate perfection to be based on a simple insignificant admittance of a deity, or forgiveness for mere words, without reguard to intent. Someone can at death suddenly say "Christ is my savior" and be forgiven instantaneously. No. No no no. Nonsense. That's one of the reason enlightened religion makes so much more sense. You must devote yourself and progress spiritually, with REAL intent, to achieve spiritual harmony. That is so much more right and sensible than any religion of mere words and symbols.

The idea that someone can turn to Christ with mere words is a widespread misconception about the concept of repentance.  It's true that anyone may repent at any time in his life, but to repent is to sincerely have it in your heart to turn back to God and away from the things you've done.  Just saying "Christ is my saviour" has about as much impact on your life as saying "Superman is my saviour."  Empty words are just breaths of air, but meaning behind the words gives them power.

The Hebrews of the Old Testament (Jews) were told through their prophet Moses to follow a specific set of Laws, and if they did so, they would be blessed by YHVH, and if they did not, they would be cursed.  They were to follow the Laws on their own willpower, and when every one of them was followed, the pious Jew was thought to be as perfect a human being is as possible.  Think of a sculptor chipping away at a block of stone until all the unnecessary (evil) pieces are gone, and a perfect statue of a man is left.  This is the approach of Judaism to creating a holy individual.

To some, it may sound unfair of YHVH to bless those who do His will and curse those who don't, but this covenant is more of a gift than one might at first think.  I will briefly explain, but remember, it's very complex and can hardley be explained and understood completely in a single post.

Each of the Hebrew letters represents a specific state of change, which are the building blocks of reality.  Combinations of the letters represent concepts that can be applied to the universe in order to bring about change in accordance with Will.  The most powerful of these are the names of God, and YHVH at the top of that list.  YHVH is the name spelled with the letters Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh.

Yod means seed, and is infinite potential.  Like how the potential for a tree is contained in its seed.

Heh means window, and is a receptive and restricting force -- it receives the infinite potential from Yod, and singles out one potentiality to pass on to Vau.

Vau is a ray of light, and connects spirit with matter.  The concept of "life" is innately spiritual, but LIGHT turns the spiritual concept of life into the physical reality (i.e. light is necessary for all life).  Vau turns the spiritual potentiality of Yod that Heh has singled out, and turns it into physical power for creation.

Heh, again is a receptive force, but this time it is receiving physical power for creation, and grounding it into the material world.

The letters of Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh correspond to Fire-Water-Air-Earth, respectively... some Jewish Kabbalists switch Fire and Water, but this isn't the place to go into that type of a discussion.

So, essentially, YHVH is the formula for manifesting what is in a person's heart - which, for the sake of simplicity, we'll call Good and Evil, or Selflessness and Selfishness respectively.  The Israelites, by carrying out the covenant with YHVH, were given the power to manifest whatever kind of life they wanted for themselves.  

By obeying the Law (which in its simplicity is to love one another) they manifested loving forces acting on them, in the form of God's blessing.  By straying from the Law, and going after idols, they manifested forces of judgment on themselves, because their hearts were impure.

Now, why would God give this blessing to one race of people and not others?  Well, since we're viewing the OT in a literal way for this purpose, we'll look at it literally.  The nation of Israel were descendants of Abraham, who the covenant was initially made with.  It was because of Abraham's loving and giving nature, and faith in God, that this blessing was bestowed upon him and his descendants.  Once a God bestows a blessing, it can never be revoked.

The question also came up of why Moses was allowed to use magick and the Egyptians and others aren't.  Well, it has to do with where the source of power comes from.  Magick, generally speaking, comes from the power of the individual Will, and magickal powers can be gained through sheer effort and practice, and can be used to any end at all.  The magick employed by Moses, however, came from his advanced spiritual development, and that type of power can only be used when the person is in alignment with God's Will (i.e. Love).  This answer may not be satisfactory for some, but embarking on a path of sincere devotion to God will make clear the distinction between magick and miracles.

Back to the question of reward and punishment, and the accepting of Christ as saviour.  This idea has to do with Christ's role as the Word of God.  Now, you may ask, what exactly is the Word of God?  The Word, in essence, is the vehicle for the Will.  God is infinite, and we cannot conceptualize Him.  Any attempt to describe, or picture, or imagine God will be an utter failure, because God created things like descriptions, pictures, and imagination.  He is beyond our comprehension and completely invisible to us.  

The only way we can come to know and understand God is through his Will, which for human beings can be summed up as Love.  Now, it's said that Christ is God, and that's because they are the same in the sense that if you hear my words, you're hearing me.  If you accept God's Word (love) you're accepting God.  When a person *sincerely* accepts Christ, they are inviting the Word of God, which is the Will to Love, into their heart, to change them from the inside out.  Earlier I used the metaphor of chipping away at a block of stone in order to form a statue as the path of the Law.  The Christian path, on the other hand, is to speak to the statue that is already inside the block, and say "I know you're in there, come on out" and watch as the unnecessary stone falls away, leaving only the perfect human being that was there all along.

All this said, I understand the complaints about various churches and religious organizations, and they're usually very valid complaints.  I admit that most Christian leaders (the visible ones, anyway) don't talk about this stuff, and that's because not every Christian wants to be a mystic (and because a lot of the leaders don't understand it).  

Most of them just want to live their lives and try to do what God wants, and not get into the whys and hows.  Those who want to know more about God and why things are the way they are must seek him out themselves, develop a relationship with him, and ask these questions.  

All religions have their problems, and the more widespread the religion, the more widespread the problems are going to be.  There are abuses of power in every religion and every sect within those religions, but opinions should not be formed based on the lowest common denominator.  We shouldn't look at the worst Christians available and say "Christianity is a farce" any more than we should look out on a desert and say "There's no life on this planet."


Paul

[Cruel Tendencies]

I had meant to comment on the idea of reward and punishment, Heaven and Hell, but I forgot to.  I'll continue here.

Going further with the idea that YHVH manifests what is in a person's heart, be it Good or Evil, we'll want to talk about those concepts themselves.  It can be said that any experience we want to have will motivations that fit into the categories of either Selfless or Selfish.  Every possible experience already exists on higher planes, in the form of potential.  It must exist there first for us to experience it.  All potential for Good forms Heaven, and all potential for Evil forms Hell.

Now, Good and Evil, Selfless and Selfish, Heaven and Hell, are two ends of a spiritual pole.  They are a duality, and are as far from one another as east is from west.  The only reason that we can see Good and Evil side by side is because of the properties of physical 3d space.  In the spiritual world, 3d space does not exist, and Heaven and Hell are literally worlds apart.

(Aside:  The Age of Grace, which is what Jesus ushered in, works differently from the Age of Judgement (Old Testament).  Judgement works based on what you've done in the past, and what you've failed to do because of flaws in your character.  The idea of Grace means that we don't have to be strong and free from sin in order to be Judged righteously, because we are freely given the choice to submit to Christ and let him change us from the inside out.)

As I believe I said, Love is the force that binds one thing to another thing, and human beings to each other, and human beings to God.  When we bind ourselves to the Word of God, i.e. Christ, via love and devotion, we allow Christ to rule our hearts, and by his very nature we let the content of our heart turn to the potential for Good and Selflessness, and Heaven.  

When we bind ourselves to the inherently Selfish, self-gratifying, evil part of ourselves, i.e. the flesh, by identifying with and showing devotion to it, we bind ourselves to the part of us that dies, and not the part of us that lives.  We bind ourselves to the potential for Evil that exists in the world, and become a part of it, i.e. Hell

The comment was made that when we die, we end up on the astral plane, which is generally true.  In Kabballah, the astral is referred to as Yetzirah, which is the plane directly above Assiah (physical and etheric plane).  There are, however, two planes above the astral (actually 3, with subplanes in all of them, but again this is not the place for that discussion.)  These are Briah, the world of the archangels, and Atziluth, the world of archetypes.  At times called the mental and spiritual planes, respectively (also corresponding to Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh, Atziluth-Briah-Yetzirah-Assiah).  

My understanding (which is imperfect) of the placement of Heaven and Hell is Heaven is the highest regions of Yetzirah, the astral, and Hell is the lowest regions.  In the spiritual, Will is communicated via thought and feeling, and cannot be hidden from the rest of the world.  What is in your heart is apparent to all those around you, and you go where your heart takes you.  Whether that place is Heaven or Hell, it's where you want to be.


Paul

[Xelios]

The message I got from angels is that God loves every human and the animals on this Earth.

A lot of the men written about in the bible were very corrupt. King David killed one of his soldiers because he desired that man's wife.
This is a man who had no control over his earthly desires. A spoiled brat who got what he wanted. A man of a very low spritual level.

I admire some of the things Jesus is supposed to have done.
Even he did things that show irrational behaviour. He cursed a fig tree becasue it would not bear figs for him.

Certain stories in the bible make no sense. Noah and the Ark. The only humans on the ark were Noah and his wife. Noah's sons and their wives. So the offspring will have incestuous sex,and from this incestuous coupling children with major health problems would appear within a generation or two. And six to eight generations later there would be people who would not be able to have children. Others who would have such bad deformaties they would not be able to eat,walk etc. Children with very low intelligence and a whole host of other nasty physical problems that would make the worst health problems today look minor in comparision.

There is a story I found. The god Jupiter also destroyed a race of humans just because they had no desire to worship Gods.

[CRIMINALMIND63]

Take another look at the Qabalah. We all contain heaven and hell within us. There is potential for both within ourselves. Magic can cause heaven or hell in a person. All the tarot cards are contained within the qabalah. They can be positive or negative, heaven or hell. Pour evil into it and you have hell, good and you have heaven. Attacks are based on pouring heaven or hell into these areas. We do exist on different planes they are the layers of our aura. What is placed in your aura enters your physical body. I have much experience with this. I have noticed if something is placed within me or from a higher level.

[Tab]

Cruel, thanks for those posts. I respect your viewpoints on these things as you're explaining from a deeper-than-face value meaning. That's a rare thing when it comes to Christianity.

[Cruel Tendencies]

Take another look at the Qabalah. We all contain heaven and hell within us. There is potential for both within ourselves. Magic can cause heaven or hell in a person. All the tarot cards are contained within the qabalah. They can be positive or negative, heaven or hell. Pour evil into it and you have hell, good and you have heaven. Attacks are based on pouring heaven or hell into these areas. We do exist on different planes they are the layers of our aura. What is placed in your aura enters your physical body. I have much experience with this. I have noticed if something is placed within me or from a higher level.

One of the basic tenets of the Judeo-Christian paradigm is that the entire world is contained within Man.  The microcosm (individual) mirrors the macrocosm (rest of the universe).  You're absolutely right, Heaven and Hell are contained within us, and when we're no longer in the physical, there really is no difference between inner and outter.  

"Like attracts like" is a common axiom found in occult and metaphysical circles, and it's very true.  Whatever part of ourselves (Heaven or Hell) we give preference to in our life here on earth, that is what we're attracted to once we're no longer in the physical.

The forces of Heaven pushing against the forces of Hell form an equilibrium, so that a third force (free will) can move between the two and decide which one it "likes".  We go where we want to go.


Paul

[Dark Knight]

Hey Xelios,

I'm a Catholic, and I will not defend the atrocities Medieval Christiandom inflicted (or present day). It's all true, but something else is true too. Catholics hid Jews during the Holocaust. Catholic Priests died in gas chambers willingly alongside their Jewish compatriots. Mother Theresa nursed and tended the sick in India without asking for anything in return.

My Catholic High School had a thorough set of religious courses to be taken over the course of several years. We studied both Testaments, World Religions, Ethics and Bioethics, and an entire course on why we should (or should not) believe in God. The starting point in our learning...do not ever, EVER, take the Bible literally. From realizing that there are 2 creation stories in the Bible, to the contradictions, we were taught to think for ourselves and to question, so we knew our faith was indeed ours, and so that we didn't need the Bible to be literally true for a loving Creator to exist and care about us.

Just as children grow up to become adults, whole planets, civilizations grow and evolve starting at a childlike or childish level of understanding, spirituality, and emotional well being, and hopefully eventually evolve into a more adult spiritual level. But we were all children at one point. Yes atrocities happened in the past, but you can't compare the people of the past to who we are now. You can't blame a 7 year old for being a 7 year old. You have to go back in time and see what the philosophies, thoughts, spirits of the time period were. Know you can do better now and forgive what we were because we couldn't have known any better. No one grows up over night. We have to learn, but that learning takes time. And yes sometimes we do lose our way and repeat the sins of the past.

All I know is this...I wouldn't have the spirituality, the open mindedness, the love for others I have now if I hadn't been a Catholic first.

[CRIMINALMIND63]

"Like attracts like" is a common axiom found in occult and metaphysical circles, and it's very true. Whatever part of ourselves (Heaven or Hell) we give preference to in our life here on earth, that is what we're attracted to once we're no longer in the physical.

You hear this but this isn't always followed. Here is an example. You have electrons and protons that attract to be come a neutral charge. Everything doesn't follow this axiom. If you would like to give me some examples I could show you the opposite. There are no real laws. If that's the case then there would only be positive in one area of the universe and negative in another area. A better example would be that what is attacked is what is needed at a time or what also can be connected at a time.
All this is based on a mind concept, what one has seen and experienced but can be changed over time. You have a possibility of likes attracting likes and opposites attracting. Not everything is alike in every aspect there are degrees of differences.

[Cruel Tendencies]

That's true, opposites do attract, and when they attract to and interact with each other, they produce a third element.  In the case of protons and electrons, as you pointed out, they produce a neutral charge.  That's the basic understanding of Severity + Mercy = Beauty/Harmony.  

However, when this is played out on a macrocosmic, spiritual level, it's "All the electrons on one side, and all the protons and the other" and they interact as teams.  In other words, everything from Hell is together on one side, and everything from Heaven is together on the other side, and the two sides interact (opposites attracting)  to create free will.  "Like attracts like" is the mechanics of the development and growth of a "group mind" or "egregore" or "oversoul".  Cellular consciousness

I touched on this in an earlier post, though I may not have stated it clearly.


Paul

[Anonymous]

"My, my, what a thumping good read. Lions eating Christians, people nailing each other to two-by-fours. I say, won't find that in 'Winnie the Pooh!'" -Stewie reading the Bible

"I love God, he's so deliciously evil!" -Stewie

LOL, Family Guy rules! Anyone else a fan?

[Dark Knight]

Crim,

thank you for showing something that a lot of people miss. Life is the not black and white scenario some individuals on this forum seem to believe.

There are boundaries (which become more and more subtle over time) that you learn to navigate. Some situations are black, some are white, and some become a mixture of the two (shade of gray). And even with black and white, there can be subtle changes in intensity of color, some brighter, some darker.

There is no one law over everything with regards to mindless extremes.

There are laws which allow for freedom to navigate and recognize inclusion of all.

You have to use your senses to feel things out and determine where those boundaries are, or if they need to be changed to include more/less.

You can't do like some people do, which is let some stupid law do the thinking for them, instead of making it themselves.

[Dark Knight]

Yes Ender, despite being severely attacked, brainwashed, raped, etc, I can find some strange, ironic, limited level of amusement in little Stewey.

If you didn't know, Cartoon Network, here in the States, will air an episode of the Family Guy not shown on Fox because it was way too controversial. It will air Sunday night, Nov 2, 2003 at...lemme think...11:00PM EST is the Big O, then...damn...I don't know the exact time, I just know it airs Sunday night Nov 2.

[Mick]

quote:Originally posted by CRIMINALMIND63
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You hear this but this isn't always followed. Here is an example. You have electrons and protons that attract to be come a neutral charge. Everything doesn't follow this axiom. If you would like to give me some examples I could show you the opposite. There are no real laws. If that's the case then there would only be positive in one area of the universe and negative in another area. A better example would be that what is attacked is what is needed at a time or what also can be connected at a time.
All this is based on a mind concept, what one has seen and experienced but can be changed over time. You have a possibility of likes attracting likes and opposites attracting. Not everything is alike in every aspect there are degrees of differences.

I agree, I think such dogmatic rules as this and the duality thing is much overplayed and conveniently ignore the results of simple examination. I have seen people use it to justify all sorts including negatives acts as part of some higher process. Not saying that such does not happen but I doubt it is a constant.

[Cruel Tendencies]

For people who're relatively new to their individual spiritual path, it's often very appealing (and sometimes fun) to think that religions they've left behind, or the dogmas of paths that just aren't for them, are completely bogus and/or have no basis in the reality that the spiritual seeker is beginning to see through new eyes.  It's understandable that someone who knows they need to figure things out for themselves would not rely on old religious doctrines and what are perceived as outdated modes of thought.

It's also easy to pick out the bad things that've happened throughout history, and that continue to happen today, in the name of some religion, or by someone demanding that they are right and anyone who thinks differently is wrong.  However, as appealing as the thought is that all the old stuffy priests and people who "just don't know" what type of reality really exists would go "Oh!  I've been wrong all along, silly me," it's a bit naive to think that the paths that've been laid down and followed by some of the most dedicated and devoted people to have ever lived, are all a big farce and don't know what they're talking about.

Believe me, I'm in no way suggesting that anyone should simply follow the beaten path just because people have been there before you.  That's not it at all.  What I am suggesting, however, is that a certain amount of respect should be given for the basis of all spiritual paths, no matter what one may think of the way certain individuals have used those religions with ill intent.

All religions and paths have truth in them, and it's the job of the true seeker not just to throw out what's come before him, but to look into those religions and see the truth that they were originally founded on.  I know it's tempting to simply say "That's not true!" and point out an instance where something doesn't seem to make sense, or an instance where it's been used to justify something that was less-than-good.  Most often, though, one is only approaching it from the wrong direction, and with an open-mind and some contemplation, it becomes clear why such and such was laid down as doctrine, or why a specific belief about the world exists.  

The universe does work according to certain laws and principles, and it's up to us to figure them out.  But we are far from the first people to have this task, and the wise man learns from the mistakes of others.


Paul

[Dark Knight]

In terms of dogma...yes I agree. We're all at different levels of spiritual growth, some people need that structure to work within to figure out their lessons and successfully navigate through life. I have no problem with that whatsoever.

The problem I have, is that there are certain individuals (some here) who have chosen to make the structure their entire existence well after the lessons have been learned. Like using it as a drug, letting the structure create the high instead of using the tools learned to create the high yourself. If people existed in their own little bubbles and didn't interact with or needed each other, it wouldn't be a problem...you'd be free to exist in your own little fantasy world as much as you like and stay there, never change, never grow.

Problem: you don't exist in a bubble. Clinging to the structure for the energy instead of creating it yourself, you'll choose structure over people, which causes tremendous harm to others. The structure is there to provide safety in learning. If you genuinely need that safety to learn, God Bless, but if you don't and are just using it to leach off of it at the expense of others, sorry, that bubble is asking for a hat pin.

[Mustardseed]

Its so funny to me how any religious talk or talk about belief systems always ends up with Bible bashing [] It really gets the gall and bitterness flowing and it seems that at least on this forum it totally enrages folks. I wonder why?
RG
MS

[CRIMINALMIND63]

Don't take this the wrong way, it's just some awareness. If things where good here we wouldn't have to grow. Back to the same thing, we are here to experience to grow. It's the same mind concept that keeps the old in. It's the same thing you must experience evil to know good. You must suffer to rise in spirit. Round and round we go again.
It's still the same message we have recieved for eons. Time to change the mind concept for everyone benefit not just our own.