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Only if one believes that there is a spiritual aspect, that everything that exists is divinity in essence and NOT the material body that turns to earth. So Jesus’s exhortation to love your neighbor as yourself is an actual fact of faith that “loving you is an act of loving my self”. Upanishad texts say the same thing, “loving your (husband, your son, your possessions, everything) is not for the sake of those things that are not yoy, but for the sake of the joy that exist which is your atma.” It is a bit convoluted but meaning is clear. Love is not for the object that dies, but it is the love that is always within you.
I had a lovely experience last night when we were out for dinner at a restaurant, which was full of families celebrating mother’s day. There was a 7 year old boy at our next table, precocious, and irresistible. We struck up a little conversation, him and me. As we were leaving he asked me if I enjoyed the food, i said yes, and he said he did as well. And then he said nice meeting you, and wished me. That connection was spontaneous. For me that was a spiritual connection that is true. It may not seem that way to someone else. To a large part it is what we are attuned to.
True enough it's hard for anyone to call anything a spiritual experience when one doesn't view all such experiences from a spiritual point of view, but this should not cause anyone to discount alternative points of view as somehow less meaningful. I too had a wonderful experience yesterday celebrating mother's day with my wife and our kids. Beyond words wonderful actually. That you always want to suggest your experiences along these lines are any more special or divine or "attuned" is what suggests the need for a bit more humility if you ask me.
Here's another quote you have no doubt seen me post before, Phet, that I recall you didn't agree with entirely, but such as it is anyway. This describes more in the way of principle that I always strive to apply, though I will readily admit when and how some people cause me to falter along these lines...
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
Maybe sometimes I have to conclude that some people are simply not capable of becoming any better, or maybe it's just a matter of having better patience. I'm not really sure.
Yes, but it becomes problematic when various religions try to claim it as their own, rather than seeing that it is/was a broad principle over many cultures.
I've posted this a few times, but it never hurts to review it again. I think it fits the thread in that it seems to be an almost universal principle. It is interesting to reflect on the various nuances within each version.
I thought so. My old priest at the last church I attended had one like this posted on the door to his office at the church. To me, it reminds us that that we'd be better served by focusing on what we have in common rather than our differences.
I've posted this a few times, but it never hurts to review it again. I think it fits the thread in that it seems to be an almost universal principle. It is interesting to reflect on the various nuances within each version.
Sure fits with my comment #51. Don't you think? Thanks!
another principle that is a common element in most (all?) paths of religion and spirituality
is continuation after death of the physical body occurs, whether that is afterlife, soul, rebirth, reincarnation, spirit.
the principle that death is not the end, that we are "more than" just a physical body and our existence continues.
that too is a principle that paths of religion and spirituality have in common.
"The idea dates at least to the early Confucian times (551–479 BCE), according to Rushworth Kidder, who identifies the concept appearing prominently in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and "the rest of the world's major religions". 143 leaders of the world's major faiths endorsed the Golden Rule as part of the 1993 "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic". According to Greg M. Epstein, it is "a concept that essentially no religion misses entirely", but belief in God is not necessary to endorse it. Simon Blackburn also states that the Golden Rule can be "found in some form in almost every ethical tradition". -- Wikipedia
So a little more than just about stealing a purse in any case, and what I was getting at with my comment #51...
True enough it's hard for anyone to call anything a spiritual experience when one doesn't view all such experiences from a spiritual point of view, but this should not cause anyone to discount alternative points of view as somehow less meaningful. I too had a wonderful experience yesterday celebrating mother's day with my wife and our kids. Beyond words wonderful actually. That you always want to suggest your experiences along these lines are any more special or divine or "attuned" is what suggests the need for a bit more humility if you ask me.
i think it requires you not to gaslight others experience and thus the meaning that accrues to it. that you don’t have such depth of experience is a pity because it is available to everyone who is attuned to what exists. i think you feel a bit cheated so this need for gaslights.
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