posted September 10, 2007 07:46 AM         

I have begun to believe that: No higher power will help you if you do not first help yourself. This I have proven with my own life experiences... and therefore, there really is no higher power but yourself. The rest is just sheer luck and a series of fortunate or unfortunate coincidences.

posted September 14, 2007 01:07 AM         

i remember being inconsolable as a child because sister christina, one of my grade school teachers, told us very seriously that those who do not receive communion go directly to hell.

my father never received communion the entire time we attended church, which was every sunday, without fail.

the altar in my room held a prayer book, a rosary, an ornate bronze cross, religious pictures, and holy water. not too unlike altars currently in my room.

these days i favor candles and incense, still prefer the fankincense and myrhh in a censer, like the priest would waft throughout the church during mass.

i love the way Linda Goodman explained the esoteric side of Jesus, his life, the true meaning of his message, and the way in which astrology fits in with these. also showing us how his life ties in with the egyptian mysteries.

posted September 14, 2007 02:36 AM         

The Use of Incense
"Our Holy Church has always recognized the value of rites and ceremonial observances, not only for increasing the solemnity of her services but for arousing a spirit of devotion in those who minister at them and those who attend them.

And because a religious practice happened to be of Jewish origin or had been used in the rites of [ancient peoples], the Church does not therefore look upon it as something to be necessarily condemned or forbidden. She has taken some of the details of her liturgy not only from the ceremonial law of Moses, but even from [pre-Christian] worship....

Expressing Homage to the Deity.
The Catholic Church knows that in every form of worship, in every effort of man to do homage to his concept of the Deity, there are many practices that are commendable, inasmuch as they are a good expression of religious sentiment, and she has adapted the best of these to the requirements of her ritual. Thus, for instance, we find in Catholic worship the use of holy water, which was not only a Jewish but a pagan practice; the wearing of medals..., common to all the religions of antiquity; and the use of incense at religious functions...

The Incense and the Censer.
What is incense? It is a granulated aromatic resin, obtained from certain trees in Eastern and tropical countries, especially from those of the terebinth family. When sprinkled upon a glowing coal in the "censer", it burns freely and emits an abundant white smoke of very fragrant odor. Various spices are sometimes mixed with the resin to increase its fragrance.

The censer is a vessel in the form of a bowl, provided with a cover, the whole being generally adorned with gilding and ornaments and suspended from chains, so that it may be swung to and fro for the better diffusion of the sweet odor. It is held in both hands when being used, elevated to the height of the eyes, while the left hand holds the ends of the chains against the breast. The censer is swung forward toward the person or thing to be incensed, once or oftener, according to the requirements of the rubrics.

The incense is kept in a vessel known as a "boat," from its peculiar shape, and is transferred to the censer by means of a small spoon. [The censer is also called a thurible.]

Of Ancient Origin.
'What is the history of incense? First of all, we find in the Scriptures many references to its use in Jewish worship. In the sanctuary of the Tabernacle of God an altar was provided for the burning of incense, morning and night [CCC 2581]. It is thus described in the ritual which Moses gave to the Israelites, in the book of Exodus: "Take unto thee spices . . . of sweet savor and the clearest frankincense . . . and when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the Tabernacle. Most holy shall this incense be unto you."[Ex. 30:4-38.] It is also mentioned in the Psalms and by the prophets Isaias, Jeremias and Malachias, as well as in the Gospel account of the vision of Zacharias, the aged priest, who was "offering incense in the temple of the Lord" when he received the promise of God that a son would be given to him. [Luke 1:8-11.] [For a serch of New Testament instances of the word "incense" in the NIV, click here.]

In the ceremonies of [pre-christian religion] incense had an important part. Its use is mentioned by Ovid and Virgil as a feature of the rites of Roman worship, being probably adopted from the Eastern nations with whom the Romans had come into contact. Among these, especially the Assyrians and Egyptians, it has been known almost from the dawn of history. The carvings of the tombs and temples of Egypt represent kings offering homage to the gods by burning incense in censers much like those used in our Catholic churches at the present day.

[The religion of ancient Egypt used incense frequently during temple worship, and when the idol would be moved in procession. In pagan Rome, incense was also used at funerals. See Myrrh.]
In Catholic Worship.
When did the Church begin to use it? We do not know exactly. There is no evidence that it was employed in Christian worship until about the fifth century, although when we consider to what an extent it was used in the rites of Judaism and how many times it is mentioned in the Scriptures, it seems probable that incensing, as a part of the Catholic ceremonial, goes back to an earlier day. It came into use in the East before the Western or Latin Church adopted it, for the Orientals in the early centuries had a much more elaborate ritual than did the Roman Church. Incense was used at first at the Gospel of the Mass only, but in succeeding centuries other incensations were introduced, not only at the Mass but at other services of the Church.

At the present day the use of incense forms a rather prominent feature of the more solemn services of our Church.

posted September 14, 2007 04:53 PM         

1. I believe there is only one thing;
There is one spirit and one substance;
Everything in creation is interdependent,
And, at the deepest level, indivisible;
All is One.

2. I believe this one thing is uncreated and eternal.

3. I do not know if this one thing is possessed of a personal consciousness,
or if it is conscious of itself,
but I believe that it is of one mind,
and that it does not deliberate.

4. Everything in creation conforms to a complex hierarchy of spiritual, cosmic, and terrestrial laws;
Nothing happens which is not in perfect synchronicity with the whole.
Patterns are everywhere. Mathematics is fundamental.

5. Spirit is subtle energy.

6. Matter is energy vibrating at a slower rate than Spirit.

7. Matter is a conductor of Spirit.

8. Matter conducts Spirit because it is denser than Spirit.

9. Matter is the expression of Spirit;
Everything in the material world began in the realm of Spirit
and exists as the practical realization of a spiritual idea.
In this sense, it may be said that there is a Mind,
or something from which the ideas originate.
And if there is a Mind, we may call it the "Mind of God",
without thereby infering that it is self-conscious.
And because it works according to laws,
we may call it logical, though its purposes are unknown.

10. Matter is Spirit at its highest peak.
Only the most emphatic concentrations of spiritual energy
even begin to manifest on the material plane.

11. Spirit is eternally flowing into Matter.

12. Spirit manifests in cycles;
when ideas take form in the material world,
they are born, they live, die, and are reborn in another form.

13. As Spirit manifest, it evolves;
Each successive cycle is a higher expression of the last;
each form is a higher and more complete expression of the original idea.

14. We are the personifications of spiritual ideas.

15. Reincarnation is the cycle of rebirths through which each soul must pass
before attaining its peak expression.

15. Karma is the law governing reincarnation.
Karma describes the manner by which the excesses and deficiencies of past incarnations
are compensated for and corrected in present and future incarnations.

16. The law of karma is not subject to our wills,
but our wills are subject to the law of karma;
We cannot earn "rewards" or deserve "punishments" by any means;
fortunes and misfortunes will be accorded to us solely according to the natural laws of karmic compensation.

17. Good fortune is an adjunct of Righteousness,
and Bad Fortune is an adjunct of Infirmity.
The higher the soul's expression of the spiritual idea,
the more completely will it reflect the characteristics of righteousness and good fortune.

18. Underlying the various ideas which proceed from the spiritual realm,
there is a single motivating force which unites them all,
and of which they are, like the material forms that express them, secondary expressions;
Just as the forms evolve to express the ideas,
so, the ideas evolve to express this underlying force.

19. The ultimate motivating force underlying all material forms and all spiritual ideas is Love.

20. The perfection of a soul may be approximately measured by its ability to perceive, receive, concieve, and express Love.

[20's a round number, so I'll stop there.]

I also agree with everything naiad wrote on page 1.

posted September 14, 2007 05:00 PM         

quote:

---

Also, incense has been shown in tests to influence brainwave patterns,
significantly promoting the experience of meditative states of awareness.

---

posted September 15, 2007 12:38 PM         

===========================================
DON'T believe in religions, there are no religions in the EAST. Religion is all bout Mind Control .Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other estoric disciplines are expressly pronounced as Pagan by the Vatican because===
there is no Dogma. No rules , no possibility to control the masses. I am a great admirer in Christ , as i am a reiki healer, but i dont buy the Bible version of his life, which infact has been altered over 2000 years to suit the whims and agenda of the powers incharge.Paul , who hated Christ and foulmouthed him initially, went all the way to Jerusalrem to bismirch his followers , a century after he died. Suddenly when he met these followers , he was struck by the potential behind a genuine humanitarian such as christ.And he established his Church, he manipulated the teachings of Christ who was an Essene , to suit his power needs.The Bible, all the codes of conduct , the dogma of Christ as a figurehead, women being devil"s accomplice, degradation and fall from heaven by sexuality, was all manipulated by Paul ( A frustrated homosexual himself) . if the christions and catholics have to be honest what they are followin is Paulianity. PERIOD.
personally i was born a Jain. but am following Tantra, which is a Science.
try this to understand better. www.shivashakti.com

posted September 15, 2007 12:40 PM         

======================================

the origin of REIKI as follows..............

DR. USUI who was the first reiki master was a christian minister in a japanese university.one of his students asked him to explain how CHRIST healed people.as he had no answer, USUI left the job, n set out to seek the answer to this question.this led him to christian institutions in AMERICA, EUROPE et al, with no consequences. then he heard about the stories in buddhist tradition about the healing powers of BUDDHA that had many parallels with the biblical accounts. this led him to BENARAS ,the oldest city in INDIA which has monasteries of every religious tradition that exists in INDIA.here he discovered that CHRIST himself had spent 11 of his 18 missing years, that the BIBLE just pretends not to notice. the monks at the monastry in response to his pleas let him examine several manuscripts that they had been unable to decipher anyway. this is when he stumbled on the HOLY GRAIL!!!!
even though he could read SANSKRIT, the incantations, were not followed by instructions, he had to work out the method of using the energies for healing purposes on his own.he took the information with him, back to JAPAN, and proceede, to meditate for 21 days on a mountain, when atlast the technique finally dawned upon him, this is the REIKI doctrine that is taught by REIKI masters

as for the religion versus spiritual question,

CHRIST was definitely a REIKI master of the highest caliber. read " JESUS LIVED IN INDIA " to see how the 2 stories fit like a glove, he was a definite HEALER, and all instances of miraculous healing in the BIBLE are true.read the LOTUS SUTRA in the BUDDHIST DOCTRINE, he was initiated into healing by the buddhist monks he congregated with in INDIA.
THE REIKI energy is neither CHRISTIAN nor BUDDHIST, the energy that flows through the healer flows from his or her HIGHER SELF

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posted September 18, 2007 01:20 PM         

I don't believe in God. He/She/They never answers me. Plus the world is a mess. It allows people to suffer.

I do not follow false Gods.