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excuse unedited cell grammar and incomplete setence structure
to clarify, i would not have the audacity to impose my conclusion on an individual who derived their own conclusion of god
i believe in jesus; however, i dont convert people or condemn the beliefs or non-beliefs of others
to me, jesus is about being tolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others---not condemning*
even though i vaguely blog about religion , i dont impose my opinions on others, for jesus is ultimately about being accepting of the difference and beliefs of others.
i dont convert. i dont belong to a denomination.*
my belief is simply this: treat your felllow human as you would want yourself to be treated
to me, my idea of church is feeding the homeless , not a place of venue with rituals
my version of church doesnt involve any rituals, ideology or place of venue. my idea of church is feeding the homeless with people of different or no beliefs
to me, jesus is about empathy sympathy and mercy---not condemnation of others
No one is suggesting that you are imposing anything on anyone. Honestly, none of us has that ability. To frame my question as simply as possible, which do you personally feel is more important, to subscribe to a belief system because you find it satisfying? Or to subscribe to a belief system because the overwhelming preponderance of evidence seems to indicate that it is true? Or to simplify the question even further, would you prefer to believe in a pleasantly beautiful illusion, or would you rather know the truth, even if that truth proved to be cold and impersonal?
I have tried meditating a few times. Did some reading. No pros or cons to it for me. I just seldom feel like trying to concentrate on nothing.
Time is your friend, here. Grief ebbs and flows over time. Meditation is not concentration on nothing. Try it again and make time every day, about twenty minutes. It really helps.
Time is your friend, here. Grief ebbs and flows over time. Meditation is not concentration on nothing. Try it again and make time every day, about twenty minutes. It really helps.
Your wife is with you. She sees you.
Actually, some meditation is about concentrating on nothing.
Other meditation might be about mindfulness or focused thinking.
1. reincarnation. Only very few reincarnate. reincarnation is re existence of THE SAME persona. Example: Buddha. Dalai Lama. There is complicated reason why. In a nutshell, they have un accomplished business on the physical plane of the physical world. As story goes, when Sukyamuni approached the heavenly gate, wide open for him, he stopped and looked behind him, hesitating. What are you waiting for, we have been expecting you - the heavenly folk asked him. To what he replied - How can I be here, if there is still suffering and ignorance on Earth? This is why he keeps returning to Earth, as one of the great gurus. (The Nirmāṇakāya, Buddha incarnation, Emanation, or created body which manifests in time and space)
2. re existence is more appropriate term. Persona does not re exist. It is dissipated after the dream stage of the after the death states. As it was nothing but illusion anyway, it vanishes. What re exists, is the same I, same Self. This I, conscious Self, has taken many personae onto itself, during its earthly existences. Like masks, it played role of a man and that of a woman, a great warrior or a coward, millionaire or a peasant. Played them for eons, for countless times.
3. I'll quote Lakshmi. If a person plays a character in a video game, what is the final goal when game is over? It is learning. Learning some habits, honing character. When game is over and that character is turned off, what was learned - stays and is used in a new game, for a new character.
4. Yes, humanity, as a whole, does not learn much. Not even a little. Humans, drugged by senses, under the spell of ego mind, keep on living the same type of lives, over and over and over. Until they get fed up with this so much, that they rebel and look for exit. Even after, they go through MANY existences, falling down on their knees, getting back up and falling again.... Until life comes, when one is so desperate, that he or she simply gives its entire self to this purpose of breaking free. Then one succeeds.
5. Desperation does not lead to hallucination. Desperation leads to desperate measures. For some, desperation may be just that - the trigger point to the great change. For some, it may lead them the opposite direction. It is up to one, how to turn this.
6. Read this:
Hi stevie60, Your questions are valid and many ask the same thing.
This is my input: Ask someone that knows.
Or read someone that knows.
Here you will get opinions and speculation from many that don't even know a thing
about how anything works...and thus, you perpetuate the confusion.
If you care to I could give you a list of books privately, just ask.
I started reading about the Afterlife in the 70s...sometimes I think I have read every NDE and
every detailed book written from 'the Other Side' messages.
I myself was shocked to experience a past life "scene" that blew my socks off...and another and another....
all reflecting lessons..and giving me insight into what an amazingly slow learner I am.
PS You willl find out God is not a pr*ck.
Best wishes on your research.
Oh, eventually you will find instructions (books) on how to speed up things so you can finally
'not need' to come back to this place anymore. Sound exciting? It is. Simple instructions in English..
Who would have thought !
We know very well how human psychology works, how con-men work, how arguments work, and how the self-deluded work. It can be read about by oneself as well. You will find only what you seek unless the truth metaphorically slaps you in the face, which it often doesn't care to and lies are prone to marketing and violence all more often, that is how human psychology works.
Last edited by LuminousTruth; 10-25-2018 at 07:57 PM..
Good advice. The subject is so complicated, ultimately beyond human reason. People want simple answers, but these questions require a lot of thought and studying.
The atheist/materialist here only know what they were taught about religion as children, followed by the New Atheists. There are whole worlds of information they have never heard of.
Reverse that and look in the mirror.
There is a lot of Psychology, Sociology, and Hard Sciences to study.
The Christians were saying that the Hard Sciences were beyond human reason just 500 years ago.
My parents were religious, what I was taught about religion as a child was that "this religion is good, that religion is bad."
What the New Atheists taught me about religion was "look at the arguments these various religious people have for themselves."
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of [even] in your [universtiy] philosophy."
Look WITHIN not WITHOUT! Do not throw reasoning out the window just in spite of the sometimes bitter truth. Your wants are not necessarily your needs.
Last edited by LuminousTruth; 10-25-2018 at 07:58 PM..
I do not know what you have read. I have not read up on the experiences of others. I have not sought past life regression by a psychic or medium.
My best description is you are outside of yourself while watching yourself. No drugs involved, either.
The experience was vivid, and strange. The experience was odd.
I can certainly understand your skepticism.
I've had this experience while somewhat slightly deprived of sleep and trying to meditate. I (my perception) was floating away from my physical body which appeared to my perception as only a neon outline sitting in a sketched environment. I'm sure there are more ways to skin a cat.
I am pretty sure I am not hallucinating. I haven't used those drugs in about 35 years. My life on the outside is very normal except maybe extremely boring to some. My issue is severe grief. I have lost so many over the years, my wife included. If I knew she was in a good place I would not grieve for her and how much of life she is missing.
If I think she is gone into oblivion than it really sucks that her life was cut so short. My best friend and I had a pact. Whoever died first would come back and let the other know what was up. He has been gone several years now and no word or vision or lucid dream or words in my oatmeal. Nothing.
If I could believe I could dump all of this grief and be happy for her. But I can't without some proof other than because or here say. A lot of people continue to get rich farming so called believers for money.
Boredom and Loneliness (secluding oneself) has also been known as a cause of hallucination. Although I've heard that loss is the greatest of things to cause a hallucination of any sense type.
Grief does indeed often come from experiencing a great loss. If you lay all of your grief in front of you, you will notice one thing. The effect that your loved ones have had on you has not left this world. They are carried with you in your heart, and the best we can do with grief is to let it remind us of love. Such love is metaphorically reborn in the form of new love, and such goodness can then be further passed on to beautify at least our known and concrete existence.
To wish to not grieve for someone is to wish to forget about them, to put them out of your mind, why ever would that be necessary?
You cannot even begin to imagine all of the possible parallel lives that you yourself might be missing out on, and which in terms of more original religious conceptions of reincarnation and rebirth, you would never ever share in. She would have missed out on her parallel possibilities as well.
Recognizing reality is noticing what can be fixed, denying reality thus denies the solutions. Human life is fragile and nature can be unfair, but one must notice a problem to be able to focus and work against it. If the problem is too much for you, you can always ask others for help. And remember to repose, these things are complicated after all. Who knows, by showing you love, your friend might have let you know what was up even before they died.
Last edited by LuminousTruth; 10-25-2018 at 08:00 PM..
I don't feel much of anything. But her presence (not really the correct word) is everywhere in this house. The decorations, the furniture, the organization of things. I built this house and we raised our family here. So all those memories are everywhere.
I do talk to her. But never an answer. And I am pretty sure taking her ashes to dinner and a movie would not be received very well by most people.
You probably did not memorize and inscribe her as an imaginary character in your head. Perhaps she was too real/close for you to fantasize about her physically or emotionally. Otherwise, you should be able to imagine her giving you answers. It could be also that you might think that such attempts on your part (to put words in her mouth) would be an insult to her true memory. Who knows, and who needs to know?
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