open mind? or not so open

[Kenneth]

Hi Lysear!

I think, that it is a good question ...

For me, if it a spiritual matter, I try to keep an open mind - but most of the time the information goes into the "Maybe" part of my mind, until I can verify it personally, or it intuitively matches up with some other allready verified information. I try to listen to that "inner voice / Intuition" that I have ....

I like the "complete" picture... (Or as close to the "inner meaning" of the subject as I can get), and I have a problem with systems, that only paints "part" of the picture... (I.e. most of the worlds different religions ...).

Or are so complex, that it takes a lifetime + some more to even get the basic idea of it .....

(A little story comes to my mind about this ....

..... A man and the Devil were walking along a road, when a man in front of them suddenly stopped, picked up a shining thing from the ground, put it in his pocket, and smiling started walking again.
"Hey - that man just found a piece of the Truth !?!" the first man asked the Devil ... "Doesn't that bother you ?".
"No" the Devil replied .... "Because now I will help him Organize it !!!"


I pray every night - but it is NOT in a feeling of praying to something OUTSIDE of myself !! - I pray to my Inner Self, sort of I try to move myself "closer" to my inner self - the God part of me .....

In MY oppinion, this is the basis of the very core of my skepticism (is it called that in English as well ?) - about different religions, cults etc. etc. ! ....

IF THEY SAY, THAT THE TRUTH/GOD/THE PATH etc. etc. IS OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF, (ie. in a living person, a decesed person, an "icon" of some sort, a "special place" etc. etc.) I WOULDN'T TOUCH THEM WITH A NINE FOOT POLE !!!!! ....
(I don't think I can say it much clearer!!).

If someone shows me a new path to something special inside of myself, I would thank them deeply, and admire them for their knowledge on that part of the truth - but I wouldn't start praying to them, paying them lots and lots of mony (!), or treating them as "better" persons than any other Man !!! ... Including my self ....

We are all part of the same - we ARE the same ... So how can anyone even dare to think, that they are "better" than any other - that they are More than their fellow mankind ? ....

I have a dilemma here ... About charging og paying money for something, that I truly believe is ours to share - ALL mankind !! .... (But I am working on that one as I write this too - but any comments are more than welcome ) :.....

But back to the Question - This is a little "picture" that illustrates it:

I try to reach out as far as I possible can with one of my hands to get every new idéa or thought - but I don't let go at any moment with my other hand, that is holding firmly on to my inner self ..... As I "grow", I can reach out farther and farther - but I STILL don't let go of myself. This takes a lot of patience sometimes, but it is worth it !! ...



/Kenneth

--- One thing at a time, be in NOW, and be gentle to yourself ---

[Tom]

Buddha is famous for having said that it is wrong to accept anything one hears without testing it, no matter who said it or how traditional the words are. Until we experience a thing for ourselves, it cannot be fully understood no matter how open the mind is kept.

[cainam_nazier]

I would have to agree with Kenneth and Tom.

I believe it is good to keep an open mind on all topics but to blindly believe some thing with out any knowladge or experience is the way of the sheep.  If you follow every one else you will soon find yourself backed in the corner and shaved naked, cold, confused, and forced to start over.

It is good to think that some thing is possible, but is just that, and anything is possible.  Truth is defined by the individual and because of that some thing that is possible only becomes truth when experienced or known by the individual.  Some one else can not tell you what is true, false, right, or wrong, in the end only the individual can make that choice.  Some one else can only show you a path, you have to walk it.


David Rogalski
cainam_nazier@hotmail.com
I am he who walks in the light but is masked by the shadows.
http://www.prepaidliving.com/vip/David127385

[Lysear]

It was also some Greek philospher who said question everything, could have been plaito. I think they are quite wise words and I use them on a regualr basis. In fact thats why i study the occult, because i didnt want to accept the view of most other people on the subject and criticise it without trying myself.


                               Lysear

[kakkarot]

"test the spirits" says the bible. "believe only what you see", says modern day "wisdom".

i say: believe what you will, but remember that just because you believe it doesn't make it right, and just because you choose to not believe it doesn't make it wrong. yes, believe what you will, for in the end life will be what ever it will be, and neither i nor anyone has the right to try to decide what that will be.

~kakkarot

Secret of Secrets

[James S]

Lysear,
It's a good question!

On one hand you have fanatics that will be led by blind faith that something is true. You'll either see these people donating their entire livelyhoods to some cult, or being sucked in by the next email make money quick scam.

On the other hand you have atheists or skeptics who refuse to believe in anything or will go to great lengths to disprove something.

Somewhere in the middle doesn't always cut it though.

There are times that we do need to accept things on faith, because we just can't see ahead enough to know what's happening, and other times that we need to put on the peril sensitive sunglasses and promtly ignore whats being presented to us.

A good skeptic will sometimes concede that just because they can't explain it doesn't mean it isn't true, and a wise disciple won't always take thing presented to them on face value alone.

It is always good to remain open to the fact that there is often more than just one right way, but because something is right for one or a number of people doesn't make it right for everyone. For this reason be open to the possibilities, but remain cautious.

Develop your intuition, or learn to listen more to your higher self. These things can help bring better understanding to a subject or help lead you in a direction that is right for you. Good intuition will allow you to "feel" when you should stop and listen or run away.

James.

[sahlyn]

I am normally the one who is saying it's best to keep an open mind. And in the majority of cases, I think it is so. However, I must agree with James that that an open mind can in some cases be an enormous hinderance. Let me list an example:

Say that you where in an accident and suffered spinal injury, and the doctor said that you will never walk again. You could be open-minded about it and think "Oh, maybe I will, and maybe I won't". Or you could be entirely stubborn and single-minded about it, and think "To hell with that idea! I will so walk again! without a doubt! you just watch me!

I'm sure you will know where I'm going with this. An open mind, although a seemingly fool proof way of getting to the truth while avoiding delusionment, lacks one very powerful energy, an energy that I doubt has any real limits to the miricals it can bring about. Faith.

Any magician will tell you of the importance of faith. Attempt to cause great change without faith of success, and the outcome will be utterly limited.

It's no secret though; blind faith in the hands of fools will not allow for Truth to be unveiled.

"My beleifs are neither cherished nor invaluable
They serve only as temporary guides,
leading me always to the depths at which new beleifs form
Truth or not truth, delusions they will always be
I debase them to a passive influence,
as I detach and let go
And as the tides of ascension call need...
I shall disfigure and deface them, without remorse".   (by Me)


oxxxx(:::::::::::::::::>
'may we learn to be nothing, may we learn to be everything'

[Tom]

An open mind. The whole concept is funny. It is what Kevin Trudeau (author of "Mega Memory") calls willingness to accept change. It is one of two things which are multiplied together to calculate what he calls a teachability index. The other is willingness to learn, which you rate yourself from 0 to 10. He said that if you buy a course and take the time to read it you probably have an 8 to 10 for willingness to learn. If you have a 0 for your score for willingness to accept change, 0 x 10 = 0 and you are not very teachable no matter how willing you are to learn. It still does not mean that you have to accept anything that anyone is saying, not matter what. That is like handing out blank checks to strangers.

[Mobius]

Hi all

I like these proverbs from Robert Monroe & a friend of mine Solo, thought I might add it to this thread.

"The greatest illusion is that man has limitations"

Robert A. Monroe


A message from Bob

There is no beginning, there is no end, There is only change.

There is no teacher, There is no student, There is only remembering.

There is no good, there is no evil, There is only expression.

There is no union, there is no sharing, There is only one.

There is no joy, there is no sadness, There is only love.

There is no greater, there is no lesser, There is only balance.

There is no stasis, there is no entropy, There is only motion.

There is no wakefulness, there is no sleep, There is only being.

There is no limit, there is no chance, There is only a plan.

Robert A. Monroe "Ultimate Journey"

Time = Illusion

The future already happened in the past.

The Past usually happens in the future(S).

The moment you realize, and become aware of being in the present, It already belongs to the past.

      Solo T. (Australia 1996)


The Ocean

"What I am experiencing now is so wonderful ... I hope you can understand how wonderful it is. This is so much more than I can say in words.

It's like being omnipresent. I am outside time and space but yet in it all.

It's so much consciousness everywhere and it's so big.

It's like the drops in the ocean. Like every drop is aware of it's own existence but not about the ocean,  and the ocean is not aware of what's outside itself and not of the drops who makes it an ocean.

To understand it all, you have to stand on the beach on a distance from the ocean.

And then there is other oceans. And when you can see them all ... you start to understand how big it is."


     Joe Harrington a few hours before his crossing over in 2001

Good journeys all

Mobius

[sahlyn]

Just a few more thoughts, take it or leave it

I'n my previous posts I was refering to open-mindedness as being an impartial state of "maybe, maybe not". This definition could possibly be misleading, for open-mindedness is not -as I will explain below- a state devoid of influence.

While it is possible to push away influence from immediate consciousness, the "maybe pile" -containing all beleifs that have not been proven or disproven- is a complicated network, and causes great influence on a subjective level.

The more evolved the individual, the more advanced and more acurate will be the network. ie.With every beleif in the maybe pile, there will always be strong preference -even if only unconsciously- of some beleifs over others. This differs greatly from individual to individual, and is dependent on how evolved the individual is. The open-minded "maybe, maybe not" attitude is thus not a dead-centre stand-point, but rather a detached point in which preference may be harboured, but conclusions must be avoided.

Being aware that this influence is present is the first step in realising that reality, as you percieve it, is not reality, but instead your own limited, subjective interpretation of reality.

Ascending, and learning to percieve more and more of actual reality (Truth) is, I asume, what we are all after. The benefits of keeping an open mind are obvious. Faith is a tricky one, and can either speed up or slow down the process. On a lower level faith certainly has its place .eg. the concentration of energies into acheiving a particular outcome. On a higher level...well, it's not for me (I always like to wonder about the possibilities). But as long as the ultimate goal is to attain truth, then I have no problem with the way others choose to get there.

oxxxx(:::::::::::::::::>
'may we learn to be nothing, may we learn to be everything'

[Lysear]

I love this topic in the other thread so I think I am gonna start a thread properly on one condition. Please dont use it as a method by which to insult people, or as a method of one-up manship or anything equally as annoying. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion even the critics!

ok here goes, to what extent should someone have an open mind in matters spiritual or in life generally for that matter. It would be good to have an intellegent adult conversation about this, although I acknoweldge there are a few younger members here (including myslef to an extent as I am only 20) but I still think this is possible.


               Lysear