posted June 02, 2007 07:17 PM         

*Walk the Line - reminds me of Johnny Cash, bit of a hero to me I have to say

It's a tough one isn't it? It kind of makes me think of advising our teenage daughters (you might agree with me here) You don't want them to make mistakes in the world but you know by not educating them they are more likely to face problems, so you give them the 'negative' information in the hope that they'll advoid the mistake - right?
Does that make sense?

posted June 02, 2007 07:21 PM         

I'll go check my emails. ...

posted June 02, 2007 07:28 PM         

http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001560.html

i need some enlightenment ~~ i realize that our thoughts create our reality, and i'm learning this more so every day...

yet ~~ how do i direct my thoughts and remain aware of what is real and happening in my world in this moment? there is much that is harsh and threatening in the atmosphere around me...i know this to be true. and i know that it must be surrounding me for a reason, but until i figure that out, and learn how to utilize my thoughts to create the reality i desire, how do i interact and use my senses and intuition to navigate the world i find myself in?

to clarify this conundrum, i'll illustrate by relating the ambiguity i'm experiencing in following the spiritual path i'm walking at the moment. on the one hand, i'm reading a buddhist book, start where you are, that encourages opening your heart to others so that you can 'be there for them' when their pain causes them to act negatively toward you. it's simply pain, and by being open to them, with an open heart, one exercises compassion and freedom.

on the other hand, i'm exploring the spiritual realm, and learning that negativity burdens and can be harmful to our physical space and bodies. so i'm also looking at forms of spiritual and psychic protection, because i feel this negativity in my atmosphere, and i feel that it severely affects my disposition.

so, i'm attempting to be more open, and at the same time focusing on protection and avoiding -- kind of like shielding, i guess.

can you do, or be, both? do these differing paths meet in the middle somewhere?

i'd like to keep my thoughts positive and all love and light, but when i perceive harmful intentions, should i not register them and seek to know their roots, and how to transcend them? i almost feel that thinking about them sends me into a negative state, whereby my thoughts simply create more of this unnecessary drama.....

gurus, and any others, welcome to offer thoughts, or even to share a cup o' tea, no related thoughts required.

posted June 02, 2007 07:35 PM         

What I do, is release the negative things done to me, immediately, that does not mean, you ignore it, and let people walk all over you, there are some people you just have to say things to. Then after saying what you needed to say,
you can ignore them, and move on, they are like vampire stalkers, hehe

posted June 02, 2007 08:00 PM         

You're right Lotus As a young person I was terrified of death and the end of the world etc. As I have opened up, I have seen things that increase my faith because I know now that there is life after death and there are spitiual beings and angels and more to this universe then I will ever understand, but for some reason this comforts me. I know that God wants more from me and more for me and that I am deserving of love and happiness, just as every other human being has the same 'free will' to make the choice to open themselves and accept that universal stream of light.

posted June 02, 2007 09:03 PM         

that is interesting what you said about Kaliyug and the Golden Age.

Lately, I have felt a rekindling of interest in my own religion. I am a Hindu, in spirit, though not in daily life (I somehow find it hard to believe in the rituals etc). I want to study Hinduism, but don't really know where to start, and how to separate fact from myth. I have read some books on it about 10 yrs before....started to read the Bhagwad Gita, (at that time i knew Sanskrit very well....which I think I have completely forgotten by now). What I want to know is where do you get your knowledge of Hinduism from. I want to glean the wisdom contained in our ancient texts, but take it all with a grain of salt.

Another thing is, I am an iconoclast. I read somewhere when just a kid (probably in Vivekanand's biography) that God does not like to change our inherent beliefs about Him. So if one does not believe in idol worship, He will present reality to them such that that belief if maintained. I hold this belief very close to my heart. So although I acknowledge the possibility of occurance or miracles from people's visits to some pilgrimage sites, I have difficulty grasping the idea that people were blessed just because they followed a certain ritual. My friends label me as an atheist, when in fact I have a deep faith in God, and yes I do have small miracles every now and then in my own life, that to me prove beyond a doubt that He is looking after me.

I would like to know what school of thought you belong to. What is your take on following rituals etc? Do you think that the mantras have an intrinsic power, or is it just the belief of the person performing them that makes them work?

ILWL

posted June 03, 2007 02:54 AM         

I am not a very religious person. I call myself 'spiritual but not religious'. I don't need a religion to define myself. When I said I am a Hindu, I meant that Hinduism is probably the religion that most jives with me. I believe in absorbing the essence of a religion, and not going by the specifics. Probably I understand and identify with the spirit of Hinduism the most. All religions contain pieces of the same truth scattered in them somewhere, one has to look for it.

My reason for studying Hindu texts is more for the reason of wanting to study esoteric subjects. I want to get my hand at the wisdom contained in them. They are by no means the only texts having them, but I'd say they are a good place to start.

I didn't understand that bit about being offended with the word Hindu. I am not very aware of the correct verbiage i guess !!

I like to go to church when there is no service going on. When I can sit there in peace and take in the good vibes of the place, something I find hard to do in temples, where there is always a crowd and no place to sit and just....be. I like the hymns too, I went to a catholic school while growing up, probably that's why.

I read life histories of Ramakrishna and Vivekanand when I was pretty young. Somewhere around the age of 6-7. condensed versions of course. But they had a profound effect on me and shaped my religious/spiritual beliefs. Another important factor was that my grandmother was a follower of Aryasamaj, so I was never forced to participate in pooja's or even to go to a temple. I have more faith in yagya and mantras than I have in ritualistic worship. (though I have issues with yagya, since it means burning a lot of wood...i am not ok with that).

I don't know whether I'd like to hear to spiritual discourses...I am very skeptical of spiritual speakers. You could even call me cynical in this regard. So often those people in white and saffron turn out to be after money or power, and misuse the trust placed in them by people. I guess I'd want 'first hand' information. I don't know how to go about gathering it though.

So that's about me

posted June 03, 2007 04:04 AM         

However, I do wonder if all of that is simply the creation of 'fear-mongers'. We all create our own reality. That we are living in the 'latter-days' may be very real in the minds of some...but is it....real? Who actually KNOWS what is really going to happen?

I'm sorry, but various prophecies are incredibly vague and open to a multitude of different interpretations!

THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WARS. THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN EARTHQUAKES. THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TERRIBLE DISEASES. AND NEW DISEASES. ETC, ETC.

I'm not getting angry with anyone. Don't get me wrong. Just trying to clarify things in my own, fragile, human mind....hehe

I think hundreds of years ago, people were saying the End Times were THEN.

I watched a program about Global Warming recently. It was about these top scientists who's own opinions on global warming were being hushed. The idea of global warming has become this huge, huge industry.

Anyway, what these scientists were saying was that there is no actual proof that there is any relation between CO2 and global warming. It was actually watching the program and seeing the details of the evidence right before my eyes which made me think. Global warming is surely happening, but for other reasons. I never thought I would ever say anything like that.

It is for our own sakes that we need to do something, of course- The Earth will always heal HerSelf. Nature is far more powerful than humanity- I think this is what scares us the most. This is why religion and science were invented....I am talking about organized religion, sacrifices, rituals, fear, blackmail and this sort of thing...I am not talking about pure spirituality itself which is innate in each and every one of us, though asleep in some. People want some sort of control over life, they feel. They are all battling for control. Only they are going about it in the wrong way (The Celestine Prophecy book/ film speaks of this).

We are living in a 'Savage Garden' right now. But perhaps we could live in another kind of garden?

Did anyone ever wonder about how everything...being made simply of energy...could be transformed, by a higher power? The combined power of each and every one of us that is WITHIN. Each person can do a little, make mini miracles. Think, then what we could do together.

Did anyone ever wonder that the image of the Lion and the Lamb....One day....could be REAL?!

Yes, REAL.

Because...mind= matter. And thought is energy. All matter consists of energy. It is as simple as that.

posted June 04, 2007 05:30 AM         

Having reflected on the subject some more, I realize that a global revolution just isn't going to happen- people just aren't united enough for that. Instead, we have to concentrate on working on ourselves as individuals, and in groups.

As for the future...I have to say...I'm really not so sure that ANYone can know. There are probabilities, possibilities.