Posts
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Grace comes from God, the ultimate and deepest Mind of Love. One of God's more famous qualities, outlined by both theologians and mystics, is utter immutability. That is, while God, as life, is always changing, growing, and mutating, in the Core or Essence, He/She is changeless.
Therefore, Love, and Its expressions, are also without alterations. Every creature is within God's grace. Otherwise, it would be only partial, not complete or "perfect." But different creatures have differing degrees of realization and awareness.
Once God gives a gift, it is forever. There is nothing that a mere human being can do to remove herself from grace. Even if she sincerely tries, she cannot do so.
People are free to make any honest mistake, with full awareness that God's Love (grace) is more than sufficient to "cover" or to forgive the error. For karma does not result from mistakes, but comes from only deliberate, voluntary, intentional actions.
If you intend to help, and end up hurting, you will still receive good karma because your intentions were good. Look at the nightmare of wars and persecutions that have come from the teachings of Jesus. But because his intentions were only good, he did not receive of the bad energy. But also, if you intend to hurt, and end up helping, you still get negative karma.
In the end, grace covers the cosmos with an infinite "blanket" of forgiveness. God would be very unreliable if He ever withdrew this amazing gift, and God is the Rock, always trustworthy and reliable. When it comes to major items of His will, He does not change His mind.
So, grace is forever, and cannot be withdrawn, canceled, avoided, or reversed. Every Bible-based denomination teaches this; but they do not always realize the implications of the teaching. For the teaching of grace strongly, and inevitably, implies universal salvation, and that is a teaching that terrifies many Christians. But Christ said, "If I be lifted up, I shall draw all to Myself."
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
Personal Desire and Sadness
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As is so often the case, Brother Donkey has arisen early to tend to email and other cyberprojects. It occurs that we give each other meaning, for our loving each other here on earth is all that gives meaning to these human lives. That is why it is such a joy to reach out into cyberspace on this so-early morning to touch your heart.
Without the great gift of each other, there would and could be very little substantial meaning to our earthlives. And without the great but secondary gift of cyberspace, many soulconnections and general mindconnections would not be possible. So, we can count ourselves double-blessed.
Thirdly, the desire itself to love arises as a superblessing of human life. Mystics teach that the desire for Love is God acting within, and through, us. It is not only this life's greatest pleasure, but is its core-meaning, to share Love.
These three great, interactive blessings fill our moments with strength and solidarity. They remind us how hollow is a life filled with selfishness and the final emptiness of personal desires. For personal desire is a rude, crude, and vulgar taskmaster, and it has no Love to give. Naked personal desire is stripped of all meaning-- and so is personal accomplishment that does not serve Love.
So, we can all-- you, me, and every other human being-- take a brief moment to stop, still, and center on this one wondrous fact. With all the pain and agony that come with this life, we can find meaning, and delight, in erasing only a moment of sadness or loneliness in our own or another's heart. For this, too, is the service of Love.
If we become sad enough, as micronanoscopic earthcritters, we must open our hearts to the influx of the ocean or galaxy of Love. Then, It can begin to trickle in and heal us. For our sad moments remind us that we are only human, and, secondly, that no mere selfish pursuit can ever make us happy. This is the great, often hidden, gift and blessing of sadness.
Sadness is an opportunity to peer deeply into our own hearts, and to make an inventory of all our Love-activities. A heart filled with Love is self-healing when it focuses upon only that Love.
May you examine your heart today. And may you find it filled with unconditional, universal, and consistent Love.
*******
As is so often the case, Brother Donkey has arisen early to tend to email and other cyberprojects. It occurs that we give each other meaning, for our loving each other here on earth is all that gives meaning to these human lives. That is why it is such a joy to reach out into cyberspace on this so-early morning to touch your heart.
Without the great gift of each other, there would and could be very little substantial meaning to our earthlives. And without the great but secondary gift of cyberspace, many soulconnections and general mindconnections would not be possible. So, we can count ourselves double-blessed.
Thirdly, the desire itself to love arises as a superblessing of human life. Mystics teach that the desire for Love is God acting within, and through, us. It is not only this life's greatest pleasure, but is its core-meaning, to share Love.
These three great, interactive blessings fill our moments with strength and solidarity. They remind us how hollow is a life filled with selfishness and the final emptiness of personal desires. For personal desire is a rude, crude, and vulgar taskmaster, and it has no Love to give. Naked personal desire is stripped of all meaning-- and so is personal accomplishment that does not serve Love.
So, we can all-- you, me, and every other human being-- take a brief moment to stop, still, and center on this one wondrous fact. With all the pain and agony that come with this life, we can find meaning, and delight, in erasing only a moment of sadness or loneliness in our own or another's heart. For this, too, is the service of Love.
If we become sad enough, as micronanoscopic earthcritters, we must open our hearts to the influx of the ocean or galaxy of Love. Then, It can begin to trickle in and heal us. For our sad moments remind us that we are only human, and, secondly, that no mere selfish pursuit can ever make us happy. This is the great, often hidden, gift and blessing of sadness.
Sadness is an opportunity to peer deeply into our own hearts, and to make an inventory of all our Love-activities. A heart filled with Love is self-healing when it focuses upon only that Love.
May you examine your heart today. And may you find it filled with unconditional, universal, and consistent Love.
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Grace
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We all deserve to die, due to sin. And we all do. But, at the soul-level, we can find immortality. Immortality is not a reward for being or doing good.
It is not a "reward" at all. It arises strictly and solely from grace. This is not a reward, but is God's free gift. He may give this grace to whomever he wills. It is free of all demands, and does not come "more" to a good person than to a bad one. But its realization might come more quickly.
Every creature, including, of course, every human being, is already, right this moment, within the boundless grace of God. How can we know this? Because "God is Love" (1 Jn. 4:8, 16), God's Love must be unlimited, boundless. Otherwise, we would believe in a "limited God." This is an oxymoron, a flat contradiction in terms.
Because God is unlimited, forgiveness and Love are unlimited. So, grace, the gift of everlasting life, must also be unlimited.
People do not want to believe this. They want to feel that they are "better" than others, that they know more, that they work more, are more "just" and "righteous" than others. They hate the ideal of equality. They are like the selfrighteous Pharisees.
But Jesus told those "righteous" people that prostitutes and other sinners would "go ahead" of them into the Kingdom. (Mt. 21:31). "What glorious hope that this gives all of us; for Jesus prophesied that repeating and deliberate "sinners" would come "into the kingdom." But Jesus did say this, and he blew their minds.
Why, and how, could "sinners" (chronic and deliberate) even "enter the kingdom" at all? Jesus knew that all sinners, as was God's will, would pay for their karma, and then, someday, even the worst sinners would "enter the kingdom," because of grace.
God loves each one of his children infinitely. This includes you. This is a Love so broad, so deep, so immeasurable, that it is breath-taking. We cannot even imagine it.
God's plans are perfect. So, God has never created any soul-- and He has created all souls-- that will end up a"failure." For if a soul did fail in eternity, at bottom, that would be God's own failure, not just the failure of the soul.
Further, God is smart enough to arrange that, in his cosmos, each and every soul would find a salvation symmetric with his unlimited grace. And God is not only smart; he is also loving enough to desire the equal destiny of Love, light, and everlasting life for all of his children. This is, in fact, how God has arranged the cosmos, through the outworking of the karma of each person. Each soul receives exactly what it deserves; yet, in the end, grace and Love are even greater than sin.
To think otherwise, to deny this, is to propose that some sins exist that are greater than God's Love. And that is utter disrespect, even blasphemy!
*******
We all deserve to die, due to sin. And we all do. But, at the soul-level, we can find immortality. Immortality is not a reward for being or doing good.
It is not a "reward" at all. It arises strictly and solely from grace. This is not a reward, but is God's free gift. He may give this grace to whomever he wills. It is free of all demands, and does not come "more" to a good person than to a bad one. But its realization might come more quickly.
Every creature, including, of course, every human being, is already, right this moment, within the boundless grace of God. How can we know this? Because "God is Love" (1 Jn. 4:8, 16), God's Love must be unlimited, boundless. Otherwise, we would believe in a "limited God." This is an oxymoron, a flat contradiction in terms.
Because God is unlimited, forgiveness and Love are unlimited. So, grace, the gift of everlasting life, must also be unlimited.
People do not want to believe this. They want to feel that they are "better" than others, that they know more, that they work more, are more "just" and "righteous" than others. They hate the ideal of equality. They are like the selfrighteous Pharisees.
But Jesus told those "righteous" people that prostitutes and other sinners would "go ahead" of them into the Kingdom. (Mt. 21:31). "What glorious hope that this gives all of us; for Jesus prophesied that repeating and deliberate "sinners" would come "into the kingdom." But Jesus did say this, and he blew their minds.
Why, and how, could "sinners" (chronic and deliberate) even "enter the kingdom" at all? Jesus knew that all sinners, as was God's will, would pay for their karma, and then, someday, even the worst sinners would "enter the kingdom," because of grace.
God loves each one of his children infinitely. This includes you. This is a Love so broad, so deep, so immeasurable, that it is breath-taking. We cannot even imagine it.
God's plans are perfect. So, God has never created any soul-- and He has created all souls-- that will end up a"failure." For if a soul did fail in eternity, at bottom, that would be God's own failure, not just the failure of the soul.
Further, God is smart enough to arrange that, in his cosmos, each and every soul would find a salvation symmetric with his unlimited grace. And God is not only smart; he is also loving enough to desire the equal destiny of Love, light, and everlasting life for all of his children. This is, in fact, how God has arranged the cosmos, through the outworking of the karma of each person. Each soul receives exactly what it deserves; yet, in the end, grace and Love are even greater than sin.
To think otherwise, to deny this, is to propose that some sins exist that are greater than God's Love. And that is utter disrespect, even blasphemy!
*******
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Mystic "One": Abandoning Jehovah
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Neither I nor any sound mystic would ever disagree about the true existence of only "one God." And I would consider it the highest of ignorance ever to claim that there exist, in reality, more than one God. Mystics go even further: Not only is there only one Mind (God) in the cosmos, but you and I are all a part of, grow from, this One. (Mystics often call God simply the "one.")
This Mind or God is so inclusive that everything and everyone is a part of It. So, when we speak of "many gods," what we literally mean, by this shorthand, is many human-formed images, historically, and as cultural artifacts. In looking at history, it is only a convenient symbol, a kind of "shorthand," to speak of the many gods (god-images) recognized by different cultures/religions at different times. We do not, of course, accept them all as realities.
The mystical one God exists so undivided that the "eating of the forbidden fruit" which keeps us from paradise is the illusion that any thing, or any mind, can ever exist divided from It/Her/Him. There is, was, and can ever be, only one God, one Mind, at the Core of everything. And this One is perfect, unmixed Love. In fact, the entire point of the comments in the email was: Any "god" that expresses hatred, bigotry, anger, and other lower-nature qualities is but a distortion of truth. In the case of Jehovah/Yahweh (of the "Old Testament"), this error later blossomed into an entire theology of misperceptions, or falsehoods. Tragically, and confusedly, most assume that the ancient godimage of the "Old Testament" is the same as the God of Jesus.
It is quite easy to slide or fall into this assumption; most Christians do hold it as a matter of dogma. It is so commonly assumed, in fact, as to be invisible. Even most educators and religious teachers take it fully for granted. But the assumption that Jehovah-Yahweh is God contradicts a couple of important historical issues. For it was the loyal, faithful people of Yahweh who conspired with the Romans to murder Jesus. It was also they who were among the most vicious enemies of Christianity during its first two centuries.
Wise and intelligent people can hold to no stupid or ignorant anti-Semitism because of this, however, for no one is ever responsible for the actions of her ancestors. True, many Christians tried like mad to force Christianity into the mold of Judaism. These were called "Judaizers." They pretended that the Hebrew Scriptures were part of the "Bible" of Christianity, and they, too, made the serious mistake of identifying (and equating) the god of the Hebrews with the Lord of pure Love identified by the mystic Jesus. But the very reason that Christianity split from Judaism is that it had an entirely different set of Scriptures, the Christian Greek Scriptures ("New Testament"); Christianity recognized its own, and separate, prophets; and it had its own teachings. These teachings did not concur with those of the "holy days," "feasts," "sacrifices," and other patterns from Judaism.
Christians ignored all of this fanfare, even though these celebrations and rituals were demanded by the Hebrew Scriptures. Even though the Levitical and other laws of Jehovah were included in the Bible of the Hebrews, they were simply dropped and abandoned by the Christians. It could accurately be said that many if not most Christians simply dropped and abandoned the Hebrew Scriptures as the "Bible" of another religion-- Judaism. Christianity did not evolve from, or originate within, Judaism as a "splinter" group. No, it originated from the teachings of an enlightened man reared in Egypt-- Jesus. To prove that the religion did not have power over free Christians, Jesus altered many of the "Laws of Jehovah," as in Matthew chapter 5. In other words, he did not feel bound to those ancient laws.
Christianity did not hate Judaism. But it insisted upon total freedom from the "written law codes," as Paul made clear in Galatians. These law-codes were the Bible of the Jews. It is most logical that a religion that has a different Bible, different prophets, different teachers, and different teachings has also a different God. The God taught by Jesus was Love, as reflected by his disciple John, who wrote simply, "God is Love," and he wrote it twice (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). The ancient god periodically showed a quality called chesed in Hebrew, "loving-kindness." But he showed this to only those who carefully obeyed all of his laws, and very rarely. Jehovah was a god
bound by law, and was very concerned about "righteousness" and "obedience." The Christianity of Jesus was more concerned with a deeper, more authentic, goodness.
The whole idea of a priesthood, a temple, and a thousand religious laws, binding on the Hebrews, was simply deleted by the Christians. Also, the exclusivity of being the "chosen people" disappeared, as Christianity began to be a universal faith, open to non-Jews ("gentiles").
When you separate the God of Love from the ancient god, it clears up so many mysteries. For Jehovah, says the record, slaughtered women, men, and children. He was a creation of mad and murderous generals and kings of the Middle East, and naturally, he thought precisely as they did. These horrid activities are unthinkable to the omnipotent Lord of Love. They are hideous. So is Armageddon, a God-slandering myth, and so is eternal hellfire, another myth of nightmarish humans, not a creation of the stainless God.
If you have any questions re the misidentification of God that is common to our society and culture, let me recommend my book Jehovah, Good-bye: The "New Theism of Love.
*******
Neither I nor any sound mystic would ever disagree about the true existence of only "one God." And I would consider it the highest of ignorance ever to claim that there exist, in reality, more than one God. Mystics go even further: Not only is there only one Mind (God) in the cosmos, but you and I are all a part of, grow from, this One. (Mystics often call God simply the "one.")
This Mind or God is so inclusive that everything and everyone is a part of It. So, when we speak of "many gods," what we literally mean, by this shorthand, is many human-formed images, historically, and as cultural artifacts. In looking at history, it is only a convenient symbol, a kind of "shorthand," to speak of the many gods (god-images) recognized by different cultures/religions at different times. We do not, of course, accept them all as realities.
The mystical one God exists so undivided that the "eating of the forbidden fruit" which keeps us from paradise is the illusion that any thing, or any mind, can ever exist divided from It/Her/Him. There is, was, and can ever be, only one God, one Mind, at the Core of everything. And this One is perfect, unmixed Love. In fact, the entire point of the comments in the email was: Any "god" that expresses hatred, bigotry, anger, and other lower-nature qualities is but a distortion of truth. In the case of Jehovah/Yahweh (of the "Old Testament"), this error later blossomed into an entire theology of misperceptions, or falsehoods. Tragically, and confusedly, most assume that the ancient godimage of the "Old Testament" is the same as the God of Jesus.
It is quite easy to slide or fall into this assumption; most Christians do hold it as a matter of dogma. It is so commonly assumed, in fact, as to be invisible. Even most educators and religious teachers take it fully for granted. But the assumption that Jehovah-Yahweh is God contradicts a couple of important historical issues. For it was the loyal, faithful people of Yahweh who conspired with the Romans to murder Jesus. It was also they who were among the most vicious enemies of Christianity during its first two centuries.
Wise and intelligent people can hold to no stupid or ignorant anti-Semitism because of this, however, for no one is ever responsible for the actions of her ancestors. True, many Christians tried like mad to force Christianity into the mold of Judaism. These were called "Judaizers." They pretended that the Hebrew Scriptures were part of the "Bible" of Christianity, and they, too, made the serious mistake of identifying (and equating) the god of the Hebrews with the Lord of pure Love identified by the mystic Jesus. But the very reason that Christianity split from Judaism is that it had an entirely different set of Scriptures, the Christian Greek Scriptures ("New Testament"); Christianity recognized its own, and separate, prophets; and it had its own teachings. These teachings did not concur with those of the "holy days," "feasts," "sacrifices," and other patterns from Judaism.
Christians ignored all of this fanfare, even though these celebrations and rituals were demanded by the Hebrew Scriptures. Even though the Levitical and other laws of Jehovah were included in the Bible of the Hebrews, they were simply dropped and abandoned by the Christians. It could accurately be said that many if not most Christians simply dropped and abandoned the Hebrew Scriptures as the "Bible" of another religion-- Judaism. Christianity did not evolve from, or originate within, Judaism as a "splinter" group. No, it originated from the teachings of an enlightened man reared in Egypt-- Jesus. To prove that the religion did not have power over free Christians, Jesus altered many of the "Laws of Jehovah," as in Matthew chapter 5. In other words, he did not feel bound to those ancient laws.
Christianity did not hate Judaism. But it insisted upon total freedom from the "written law codes," as Paul made clear in Galatians. These law-codes were the Bible of the Jews. It is most logical that a religion that has a different Bible, different prophets, different teachers, and different teachings has also a different God. The God taught by Jesus was Love, as reflected by his disciple John, who wrote simply, "God is Love," and he wrote it twice (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). The ancient god periodically showed a quality called chesed in Hebrew, "loving-kindness." But he showed this to only those who carefully obeyed all of his laws, and very rarely. Jehovah was a god
bound by law, and was very concerned about "righteousness" and "obedience." The Christianity of Jesus was more concerned with a deeper, more authentic, goodness.
The whole idea of a priesthood, a temple, and a thousand religious laws, binding on the Hebrews, was simply deleted by the Christians. Also, the exclusivity of being the "chosen people" disappeared, as Christianity began to be a universal faith, open to non-Jews ("gentiles").
When you separate the God of Love from the ancient god, it clears up so many mysteries. For Jehovah, says the record, slaughtered women, men, and children. He was a creation of mad and murderous generals and kings of the Middle East, and naturally, he thought precisely as they did. These horrid activities are unthinkable to the omnipotent Lord of Love. They are hideous. So is Armageddon, a God-slandering myth, and so is eternal hellfire, another myth of nightmarish humans, not a creation of the stainless God.
If you have any questions re the misidentification of God that is common to our society and culture, let me recommend my book Jehovah, Good-bye: The "New Theism of Love.
*******
The Soul and the World
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The great Unconscious can dream up any kind of world in which the in-dividual ("undivided") can become a "person." This is the kind of "dream-world" in which we now exist. (The word "person" is from the Latin persona, and means "mask." You are one "mask" being worn by the Mind, and I am another.)
Why, then, does not the Mind dream up only perfect lives, without problems, challenges, and difficulties?
It did, for billions of years. This might be seen as the "amusement park" phase of earthly history. The Mind dreamed up trillions of lives (probably more), and each one was thrilling, blessed, perfect, content, satisfied, and whole. This "paradise" phase continued for countless eons.
Souls were "emanated" (sent "out" into the world) by the Mind, and each celebrated a fantastically brilliant and unlimited experience of the perfect life. This went on, as noted, for billions of (countless) years.
Everyone loved the "game" of "physical" life. But everyone wanted to make it more exciting. Everyone was interested in improving the "game," making it more realistic and thrilling.
So, one day, a soul (nonphysical, very deep Mind) said, "The ultimate game would be to forget that we are everlasting, eternal, invincible souls." The Mind can do anything, and so, according to God's will, it allowed Itself to forget. In fact, It willed Itself to forget that it was the Being of Love.
When It forgot, it got caught up in the "drama" of life. Falling into illusion and dream, it began to believe, for example, that "death" was real, and that it was the "end of life." This gave rise to all forms of ignorance (avidya).
This fall into illusion is symbolized by the story of Cain having murdered his brother Abel. For, by this time, people thought that they were nothing but animal-bodies. Souls forgot that they were nonphysical Minds or soulminds, and fell into the delusion that they were nothing but "animal" bodies. Indeed, the seeds for this animal-illusion were planted in Genesis, by Jehovah. For, after they fell from their perfect realization of grace ("Eden"), Jehovah "covered" them with "animal-skins."
Once you began to believe in selfishness, as a soul, you believed that you were completely separate from all other beings. (Actually, you were one with them, all "plugged" into the common Mind, Lovemind, Coremind, or Godmind.)
Thus "separated" from God and from all other creatures, you could develop and cultivate the "separate" life, containing the "knowledge of good and evil." This was, in Eden, the "forbidden fruit." (It involved a belief in the true reality of evil, its absolute reality, and a belief that anything or anyone could ever exist "separate" from the One, the Mind, or God.)
This nightmarish belief made it possible to "sow the seeds" of karma. This principle was mentioned by Paul as "that which a man soweth, that shall he also reap." So, once the seeds of karma began to grow, not only was every imperfection possible, but they became inevitable. For all of us, in our dark days of ignorance, harmed many people. (This we did voluntarily or intentionally.)
It is because we all carry around a load of such great karma that the "good news" of Christianity was so delightful. For it was this: "All your sins are forgiven." After the coming, and teaching, of Jesus Christ, we could live without any more karma; the sins of centuries, and mountains of them, simply vanished in the Love and grace of God. For Jesus died a death of "propitiatory" karma, meaning that his life absorbed the "sins of the world."
So, Jesus became a symbol and statement of divine forgiveness, which was one hundred percent. But until, by grace, we grow into the full realization of that grace, it does not, and cannot, affect us.
But the whole situation, this "panbiography" of billions of years, and billions of "individual" minds, is not that simple. Most people come back to earth to work out their karma. But some other, greater, or enlightened, souls also come to earth, to perfect some spiritual quality. (This is called "voluntary karma," for it has been chosen as a "limitation" by the soul, in a "contract" with God.)
Thus, it would be inappropriate and incompassionate for us to look at a problem in life and say that it is due to "sin" or "karma." For there are souls, of many ages in duration, who have chosen or selected a life with certain karmic limitations.
They have come to earth simply to experience being human, or the power of "limitation" to create humility, or to unlock compassion.
This fully explains why some of the greatest, most tender, Love-filled, and mystical teachers-- some of the most humble and enlightened-- have experienced major difficulties on earth.
Any problem that is genetic is, by simple definition and extension, also karmic. So, a person who suffers from this condition might be taking this condition as a supreme "test" or "exam" for the soul. She need not be "guilty" of any karma, and the condition is not due to ordinary karma. (This is called "reflective" or "reflexive" karma.)
So, both the good and the bad "suffer" from the limitations of earthly (biological) life. (It was thinking about suffering that brought the Buddha to full enlightenment. So, this is yet another way that suffering has benefited both people and the entire planet.) For the earth is a great school, and many of its "learning courses" or "lessons" are quite difficult.
At the soul-level, each soul realizes and knows, although deeply unconsciously, that nothing from earth can ever harm it. This world can harm or damage the body, and it can also hurt the mind. But, at very deep levels of mind, such as the soul, it cannot be harmed. For the soul is invincible, meaning that it cannot be harmed or hurt by any earthly event, object, or situation. For the soul is so deep within the Unconscious that nothing can ever harm, or even affect, it.
Knowing that she is an invincible, invulnerable soulmind, and not a body, releases the enlightened into a new universe, with brand-new selfimage. She knows that she is forever, and so, does not take "death" quite as seriously as the "final end," or the "extinction" of consciousness. It is to have this startling Selfrevelation that a person practices meditation. For this is getting in touch with those very profound soul-levels of Mind.
When you can know that the world is not "absolute" reality, you don't have to take its tragedies and disasters so seriously. The world no longer controls you. Instead, you give up your entire Mind to the control of the One, the great Mind; after that, you never have to worry, ever again. For everything is in the "hands of God," or in the one great Mind.
The mystic believes that only Mind is real. The "material, physical, external" world is not. The enlightened realize that the life of a person in this world (70 or 80 years) is but an eye-blink in eternity, and so, she is not crushed, wrecked, dhattered, or ruined by the conditions in this world. She knows that it is all but a dream, and this gives her power and courage that she could never obtain in any other way.
*******
The great Unconscious can dream up any kind of world in which the in-dividual ("undivided") can become a "person." This is the kind of "dream-world" in which we now exist. (The word "person" is from the Latin persona, and means "mask." You are one "mask" being worn by the Mind, and I am another.)
Why, then, does not the Mind dream up only perfect lives, without problems, challenges, and difficulties?
It did, for billions of years. This might be seen as the "amusement park" phase of earthly history. The Mind dreamed up trillions of lives (probably more), and each one was thrilling, blessed, perfect, content, satisfied, and whole. This "paradise" phase continued for countless eons.
Souls were "emanated" (sent "out" into the world) by the Mind, and each celebrated a fantastically brilliant and unlimited experience of the perfect life. This went on, as noted, for billions of (countless) years.
Everyone loved the "game" of "physical" life. But everyone wanted to make it more exciting. Everyone was interested in improving the "game," making it more realistic and thrilling.
So, one day, a soul (nonphysical, very deep Mind) said, "The ultimate game would be to forget that we are everlasting, eternal, invincible souls." The Mind can do anything, and so, according to God's will, it allowed Itself to forget. In fact, It willed Itself to forget that it was the Being of Love.
When It forgot, it got caught up in the "drama" of life. Falling into illusion and dream, it began to believe, for example, that "death" was real, and that it was the "end of life." This gave rise to all forms of ignorance (avidya).
This fall into illusion is symbolized by the story of Cain having murdered his brother Abel. For, by this time, people thought that they were nothing but animal-bodies. Souls forgot that they were nonphysical Minds or soulminds, and fell into the delusion that they were nothing but "animal" bodies. Indeed, the seeds for this animal-illusion were planted in Genesis, by Jehovah. For, after they fell from their perfect realization of grace ("Eden"), Jehovah "covered" them with "animal-skins."
Once you began to believe in selfishness, as a soul, you believed that you were completely separate from all other beings. (Actually, you were one with them, all "plugged" into the common Mind, Lovemind, Coremind, or Godmind.)
Thus "separated" from God and from all other creatures, you could develop and cultivate the "separate" life, containing the "knowledge of good and evil." This was, in Eden, the "forbidden fruit." (It involved a belief in the true reality of evil, its absolute reality, and a belief that anything or anyone could ever exist "separate" from the One, the Mind, or God.)
This nightmarish belief made it possible to "sow the seeds" of karma. This principle was mentioned by Paul as "that which a man soweth, that shall he also reap." So, once the seeds of karma began to grow, not only was every imperfection possible, but they became inevitable. For all of us, in our dark days of ignorance, harmed many people. (This we did voluntarily or intentionally.)
It is because we all carry around a load of such great karma that the "good news" of Christianity was so delightful. For it was this: "All your sins are forgiven." After the coming, and teaching, of Jesus Christ, we could live without any more karma; the sins of centuries, and mountains of them, simply vanished in the Love and grace of God. For Jesus died a death of "propitiatory" karma, meaning that his life absorbed the "sins of the world."
So, Jesus became a symbol and statement of divine forgiveness, which was one hundred percent. But until, by grace, we grow into the full realization of that grace, it does not, and cannot, affect us.
But the whole situation, this "panbiography" of billions of years, and billions of "individual" minds, is not that simple. Most people come back to earth to work out their karma. But some other, greater, or enlightened, souls also come to earth, to perfect some spiritual quality. (This is called "voluntary karma," for it has been chosen as a "limitation" by the soul, in a "contract" with God.)
Thus, it would be inappropriate and incompassionate for us to look at a problem in life and say that it is due to "sin" or "karma." For there are souls, of many ages in duration, who have chosen or selected a life with certain karmic limitations.
They have come to earth simply to experience being human, or the power of "limitation" to create humility, or to unlock compassion.
This fully explains why some of the greatest, most tender, Love-filled, and mystical teachers-- some of the most humble and enlightened-- have experienced major difficulties on earth.
Any problem that is genetic is, by simple definition and extension, also karmic. So, a person who suffers from this condition might be taking this condition as a supreme "test" or "exam" for the soul. She need not be "guilty" of any karma, and the condition is not due to ordinary karma. (This is called "reflective" or "reflexive" karma.)
So, both the good and the bad "suffer" from the limitations of earthly (biological) life. (It was thinking about suffering that brought the Buddha to full enlightenment. So, this is yet another way that suffering has benefited both people and the entire planet.) For the earth is a great school, and many of its "learning courses" or "lessons" are quite difficult.
At the soul-level, each soul realizes and knows, although deeply unconsciously, that nothing from earth can ever harm it. This world can harm or damage the body, and it can also hurt the mind. But, at very deep levels of mind, such as the soul, it cannot be harmed. For the soul is invincible, meaning that it cannot be harmed or hurt by any earthly event, object, or situation. For the soul is so deep within the Unconscious that nothing can ever harm, or even affect, it.
Knowing that she is an invincible, invulnerable soulmind, and not a body, releases the enlightened into a new universe, with brand-new selfimage. She knows that she is forever, and so, does not take "death" quite as seriously as the "final end," or the "extinction" of consciousness. It is to have this startling Selfrevelation that a person practices meditation. For this is getting in touch with those very profound soul-levels of Mind.
When you can know that the world is not "absolute" reality, you don't have to take its tragedies and disasters so seriously. The world no longer controls you. Instead, you give up your entire Mind to the control of the One, the great Mind; after that, you never have to worry, ever again. For everything is in the "hands of God," or in the one great Mind.
The mystic believes that only Mind is real. The "material, physical, external" world is not. The enlightened realize that the life of a person in this world (70 or 80 years) is but an eye-blink in eternity, and so, she is not crushed, wrecked, dhattered, or ruined by the conditions in this world. She knows that it is all but a dream, and this gives her power and courage that she could never obtain in any other way.
*******
Sorting "Jehovah" out of your Godimage
*******
The Hebrew Scriptures (the correct or Jewish name for the "Old Testament," this name reflects a sad Christian bias) have been found useful in lesson-creation, mostly as allegory, even by mystics.
We especially enjoy the Song of Solomon as a metaphoric description of the soul in relation to the Spirit. The Love between the two is very deep, and sometimes sensual, but it leads to the "divine marriage" between smaller Minds and the One, the great Mind.
If we are going to use this ancient document (Hebrew Scriptures) as a guide, however, we must be consistent. You mentioned the "hardness" of Pharaoh's heart, for example. But we must not forget that the Scriptures themselves say that it was "Yahweh" who made his heart hard. So, whose responsibility was it? If it was Yahweh's doing, as the texts themselves say, why did Pharaoh suffer punishment?
No, my friend, no one ever "gets her butt kicked" by my God. For my God has none of the pettiness and triviality of the "god" common to our culture and society. He/She is completely free of all violence, which reflects frustration. Anger also reflects frustration. But it is quite impossible to frustrate a Being who is omnipotent. She/He is billions of lightyears above such pettiness and small-mindedness. The "task" or function of my God is simply to Love, never to punish or harm any of Her/His creatures. That would be as petty as stepping on ants or torturing dogs.
My God is pure Love, and Love plus nothing. He allows people to mess up, and to create karmic retributions for themselves, but She does not directly punish or hurt anybody. His/Her only response is forgiveness. That is why Jesus said, "The Father judges no one."
You say that the "Old Testament" does not confuse you; but I submit that you are already confused, seeing a "god" that is part Yahweh ("butt-kicking") and part Love. The true and real God is all Love, unmixed Love. The cultural and historical assumptions of the ancient Hebrews do not affect or change this God.
*******
The Hebrew Scriptures (the correct or Jewish name for the "Old Testament," this name reflects a sad Christian bias) have been found useful in lesson-creation, mostly as allegory, even by mystics.
We especially enjoy the Song of Solomon as a metaphoric description of the soul in relation to the Spirit. The Love between the two is very deep, and sometimes sensual, but it leads to the "divine marriage" between smaller Minds and the One, the great Mind.
If we are going to use this ancient document (Hebrew Scriptures) as a guide, however, we must be consistent. You mentioned the "hardness" of Pharaoh's heart, for example. But we must not forget that the Scriptures themselves say that it was "Yahweh" who made his heart hard. So, whose responsibility was it? If it was Yahweh's doing, as the texts themselves say, why did Pharaoh suffer punishment?
No, my friend, no one ever "gets her butt kicked" by my God. For my God has none of the pettiness and triviality of the "god" common to our culture and society. He/She is completely free of all violence, which reflects frustration. Anger also reflects frustration. But it is quite impossible to frustrate a Being who is omnipotent. She/He is billions of lightyears above such pettiness and small-mindedness. The "task" or function of my God is simply to Love, never to punish or harm any of Her/His creatures. That would be as petty as stepping on ants or torturing dogs.
My God is pure Love, and Love plus nothing. He allows people to mess up, and to create karmic retributions for themselves, but She does not directly punish or hurt anybody. His/Her only response is forgiveness. That is why Jesus said, "The Father judges no one."
You say that the "Old Testament" does not confuse you; but I submit that you are already confused, seeing a "god" that is part Yahweh ("butt-kicking") and part Love. The true and real God is all Love, unmixed Love. The cultural and historical assumptions of the ancient Hebrews do not affect or change this God.
*******
Supernature Talents
*******
Human beings, as you seem already to know, have catalogued and documented both precognition and telepathy several times over the past few thousand years.
The famous psychologist Carl Jung called the recurrence of a new word, or bit of new knowledge, shortly after having learned it, "synchronicity." This has much to do with the mysterious nature of time, space, and mind, and their many and complex interactions.
It is understandable that you would like to use these rare abilities to help others. That is, in fact, why they are given by the great Mind. The very best way to do this is the practice of mind-clearing, or thought-free states of meditation. For as much as we would yearn to regulate or control such mental powers, experience proves that we can be their recipient, but not their cause.
Meanwhile, you can sharpen your awareness of these mindfunctions by keeping a careful record of their occurrence; and it will also help if you can record and interpret your night-dreams.
Perhaps sadly, there is little that we can do to influence these processes, since they arise spontaneously from a much greater or deeper Mind within. In order to cultivate any "psychic" ability, I often recommend "psychometry." This is the holding of a small object in the left hand, and recording all impressions received from it. Of course, you must work with someone who knows the history of the object, in order to test and validate your "hits" and "misses."
*******
Human beings, as you seem already to know, have catalogued and documented both precognition and telepathy several times over the past few thousand years.
The famous psychologist Carl Jung called the recurrence of a new word, or bit of new knowledge, shortly after having learned it, "synchronicity." This has much to do with the mysterious nature of time, space, and mind, and their many and complex interactions.
It is understandable that you would like to use these rare abilities to help others. That is, in fact, why they are given by the great Mind. The very best way to do this is the practice of mind-clearing, or thought-free states of meditation. For as much as we would yearn to regulate or control such mental powers, experience proves that we can be their recipient, but not their cause.
Meanwhile, you can sharpen your awareness of these mindfunctions by keeping a careful record of their occurrence; and it will also help if you can record and interpret your night-dreams.
Perhaps sadly, there is little that we can do to influence these processes, since they arise spontaneously from a much greater or deeper Mind within. In order to cultivate any "psychic" ability, I often recommend "psychometry." This is the holding of a small object in the left hand, and recording all impressions received from it. Of course, you must work with someone who knows the history of the object, in order to test and validate your "hits" and "misses."
*******
Why they just don't get it
From Walmart Watch
After a rough 2006, the New Year has not been so good for our friends in Bentonville.
New executive leadership keeps pushing Wal-Mart down a reckless and unsustainable path -- and Wall Street isn't happy. Scores of consultants keep trying to spit-shine Wal-Mart's tarnished image, sinking untold millions into PR campaigns that are immediately exposed as hot air.
Why can't Wal-Mart get a break? Because they won't face reality.
Americans aren't buying the empty rhetoric coming from the store of smiling faces. They're ready for real reform and honest leadership -- and I'm hopeful that 2007 will be the year for it.
As our campaign kicks off its third year, it's clear to Wal-Mart's friends and foes alike that change is needed and long overdue. 2006 holiday sales were down, the stock is in its third year of stagnation, and corporate leadership has lost the confidence of shareholders and employees alike.
Recent news coverage tells the story better than I can:
"Wal-Mart is fighting for its image -- and for its financial future... Wal-Mart is an embattled company and is fighting wars on all sides" -- Business Week, Jan. 9, 2007
"Bad years do happen to good companies. But for Wal-Mart, 2006 was just another downer in period of decline that's lasted seven years...Wall Street is starting to lose patience" -- Fortune Magazine, Jan., 2007
Our campaign began in 2005 with modest means and big intentions. Contrary to Wal-Mart's spin about our deep pockets, we've shamed, embarrassed and bruised them for mere fractions of what they claim we've spent.
But we have magic here -- no tricks, no gimmicks. With your help, and the support of hundreds of thousands of Wal-Mart Watch supporters, we've built a nationwide campaign that continues to hold Wal-Mart accountable for the truth.
And the truth remains:
* Wal-Mart leads the list of companies with the most employees and dependents in taxpayer-funded health care programs.
* Wal-Mart faces the nation's largest class-action lawsuit from 1.6 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees for gender discrimination.
* Wal-Mart stores and parking lots already occupy roughly 75,000 acres in the U.S. -- and the company plans to nearly double its footprint over the next 10 years.
We have so much we need to fight for in 2007 -- and that fight will require fresh ideas, unprecedented energy and renewed passion. So as our campaign kicks off the new year, I'm proud to announce that I'll be handing over leadership to my friend and colleague, David Nassar.
Get ready for something special. Over the coming months, David will take this organization -- and this community -- to new heights. Help him build a strengthened Wal-Mart Watch by asking your friends and family to join our fight today:
http://action.walmartwatch.com/newyear
On behalf of David and the rest of the Wal-Mart Watch staff, I thank you for your commitment to making Wal-Mart a better corporate citizen.
Sincerely,
Andrew Grossman
On the eve of our celebration of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, I hope you will take a few minutes to read Dr. King's "Letter From Birmingham Jail."
http://www.thekingcenter.org/prog/non/letter.html
It is a brilliant piece of work, and inspires me.
Paid for by WalmartWatch.com, a campaign of Five Stones and The Center for Community and Corporate Ethics
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Christianity and Law-codes
*******
Jesus came to replace, and do away with, the whole code of the ancient "Laws of Jehovah." This is why Christians do not practice the literal sacrifice of animals, and why they ignore the ancient Levitical and other laws of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament").
Even more deeply, it guaranteed that Christianity would not be simply a "variety" of Judaism. Its voluntary and God-approved ignoring of the ancient Hebrew laws made it plain that God freed Christians from all those laws, and hence, also from the god that had given them.
This is why Christianity exploded brightly into the world: It suggested that the Hebrew god, after thousands of years, was somehow deficient, or was not enough. The new Christians, following Jesus, learned to listen to the direction of the "Holy Spirit" (God) in their own hearts. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, the old 'law-code' was neutralized and broken by 'faith in Christ." In fact, if the laws ("Old Testament" could save you, Paul wrote, "then Christ died for nothing."
Christians lived in the utter faith that their karmic burden (sin) had been erased by vicarious participation in the "death" of Jesus, which also symbolized their "death" to being controlled by this world. For, in some ways, as Paul told the Romans, "we died with him."
The historical effect was that Christianity became a different religion from Judaism. Judaism had a different Bible, different prophets, different teachings, and different laws. It was logical to take one more tiny step and suggest that Christians had also a different God.
And they did. Their God was Love. (1 Jn. 4:8,16)
Jehovah rarely had chesed ("loving-kindness"), but only toward those who obeyed his laws. But God was Love, unbounded by national or genetic concerns. God loved all, even the "Gentiles" (non-Jews).
This is the verse by Jesus that summarizes the irreversible and irrevocable split that forever separated Christianity from Judaism.
*****
Jesus came to replace, and do away with, the whole code of the ancient "Laws of Jehovah." This is why Christians do not practice the literal sacrifice of animals, and why they ignore the ancient Levitical and other laws of the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament").
Even more deeply, it guaranteed that Christianity would not be simply a "variety" of Judaism. Its voluntary and God-approved ignoring of the ancient Hebrew laws made it plain that God freed Christians from all those laws, and hence, also from the god that had given them.
This is why Christianity exploded brightly into the world: It suggested that the Hebrew god, after thousands of years, was somehow deficient, or was not enough. The new Christians, following Jesus, learned to listen to the direction of the "Holy Spirit" (God) in their own hearts. As Paul wrote to the Galatians, the old 'law-code' was neutralized and broken by 'faith in Christ." In fact, if the laws ("Old Testament" could save you, Paul wrote, "then Christ died for nothing."
Christians lived in the utter faith that their karmic burden (sin) had been erased by vicarious participation in the "death" of Jesus, which also symbolized their "death" to being controlled by this world. For, in some ways, as Paul told the Romans, "we died with him."
The historical effect was that Christianity became a different religion from Judaism. Judaism had a different Bible, different prophets, different teachings, and different laws. It was logical to take one more tiny step and suggest that Christians had also a different God.
And they did. Their God was Love. (1 Jn. 4:8,16)
Jehovah rarely had chesed ("loving-kindness"), but only toward those who obeyed his laws. But God was Love, unbounded by national or genetic concerns. God loved all, even the "Gentiles" (non-Jews).
This is the verse by Jesus that summarizes the irreversible and irrevocable split that forever separated Christianity from Judaism.
*****
Radical Christian Right Targeting Military
*******
Read America's Holy Warriors
The radical Christian Right is coming dangerously close to its goal of taking over the country’s military and law enforcement.
Note from Mick: ...I am speaking loudly about this dark movement, covertly growing much like the "Brown Shirts" in the 30's under Hitler. This article is written by Chris Hedges.... "War is a Force That Gives us meaning." I remember that he was booed off the stage at a college in Illinois. when he spoke out re the illegal, immoral invasion of a weaker, sovereign nation.
I have heard first-hand accounts from the grunts on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan re "Blackwater Security's" behavior, and cold blooded murder of Iraqi and Afghani citizens. It is widely believed now that they were responsible for much of the false reports of shootings, lootings, and killings in our own New Orleans. The 7 police officers who shot a forty-year old retarded man in the back 8 times are believed to be intertwined with Blackwater Security. They receive $200K annually,
tax-free, for being bodyguards-- but for whom? The corporate wolves, and crooked politicians...
A group of g.i.'s on bbc/pbs/npr reported: Last year, they had hired a group of Iraqi's, as their gardener's, landscaper's,etc., at their compound near Fallujah(leveled twice by us, over 40K killed). One day, a group of jack boot thugs came down the road, asked who "these scum" were. They no sooner had the words out of their mouths, when they were all gunned down....I did not know that they were affiliated with the Christian Right. I now have my new purpose in my "second adulthood."
Everyone I ever meet will now know this. This is complete bull____. These are innocent Arabs, in an 8,000 yr old country. And [these Americans] were going in there, as it's another "Christian Crusade." WE are the "great satan," [according to some Muslims]. How can we even state that we are a "good Christian nation"?
...Also, 9/11 was a staged, "False Flag" black op. It will be proved, someday, when it's too damn' late! The evidence is there--in "black and white"-- as the right likes always to say. (They are ignorant about what their own so-called "leaders" are doing to us, and to other countries. Covertly, in a clandestine manner.) That's why all this is so secretive.... We had better get in the game. For we are losing this
once great Republic, and it isn't a "buncha peace loving liberals" causing it! It's the NRA Police State jackasses.
RET. Col.Larry Wilkerson, Deputy Sec. of State under Colin Powell, has said on record, when asked about radical terrorists in this country: "There are violent groups in this country, but none of them I know of, are Liberal, peace groups. They're mostly the Timothy McVeigh, NRA, Right-Wing Para-Military Types."
This is happening now! People, wake up! [Radio talk-show hosts] and the other propagandist are not just silly entertainment! They are complicit in all of this! They've drunken the Kool-Aid (it equates with their obscene, grossly high salaries.)
Jesus, save us from these savages!
Read America's Holy Warriors
The radical Christian Right is coming dangerously close to its goal of taking over the country’s military and law enforcement.
Note from Mick: ...I am speaking loudly about this dark movement, covertly growing much like the "Brown Shirts" in the 30's under Hitler. This article is written by Chris Hedges.... "War is a Force That Gives us meaning." I remember that he was booed off the stage at a college in Illinois. when he spoke out re the illegal, immoral invasion of a weaker, sovereign nation.
I have heard first-hand accounts from the grunts on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan re "Blackwater Security's" behavior, and cold blooded murder of Iraqi and Afghani citizens. It is widely believed now that they were responsible for much of the false reports of shootings, lootings, and killings in our own New Orleans. The 7 police officers who shot a forty-year old retarded man in the back 8 times are believed to be intertwined with Blackwater Security. They receive $200K annually,
tax-free, for being bodyguards-- but for whom? The corporate wolves, and crooked politicians...
A group of g.i.'s on bbc/pbs/npr reported: Last year, they had hired a group of Iraqi's, as their gardener's, landscaper's,etc., at their compound near Fallujah(leveled twice by us, over 40K killed). One day, a group of jack boot thugs came down the road, asked who "these scum" were. They no sooner had the words out of their mouths, when they were all gunned down....I did not know that they were affiliated with the Christian Right. I now have my new purpose in my "second adulthood."
Everyone I ever meet will now know this. This is complete bull____. These are innocent Arabs, in an 8,000 yr old country. And [these Americans] were going in there, as it's another "Christian Crusade." WE are the "great satan," [according to some Muslims]. How can we even state that we are a "good Christian nation"?
...Also, 9/11 was a staged, "False Flag" black op. It will be proved, someday, when it's too damn' late! The evidence is there--in "black and white"-- as the right likes always to say. (They are ignorant about what their own so-called "leaders" are doing to us, and to other countries. Covertly, in a clandestine manner.) That's why all this is so secretive.... We had better get in the game. For we are losing this
once great Republic, and it isn't a "buncha peace loving liberals" causing it! It's the NRA Police State jackasses.
RET. Col.Larry Wilkerson, Deputy Sec. of State under Colin Powell, has said on record, when asked about radical terrorists in this country: "There are violent groups in this country, but none of them I know of, are Liberal, peace groups. They're mostly the Timothy McVeigh, NRA, Right-Wing Para-Military Types."
This is happening now! People, wake up! [Radio talk-show hosts] and the other propagandist are not just silly entertainment! They are complicit in all of this! They've drunken the Kool-Aid (it equates with their obscene, grossly high salaries.)
Jesus, save us from these savages!
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