"The mystery of life is beyond all human conception. Everything we know is within the terminology of the concepts of being and not being, many and single, true and untrue. We always think in terms of opposites. But god, the ultimate, is beyond the pairs of opposites, that is all there is To it."
"why do we think in terms of opposites"
"because we can't think otherwise"
"that's the nature of reality in our time"
" that's the nature of our experience of reality"
"man-woman, life-death, good-evil"
"I & you, this & that, true & untrue-- every one of them has it's opposite. But mythology suggests that behind that duality there is a singularity over which this plays like a shadow game. *eternity is in love with the productions of time* says the poet Blake.
"what does that mean, *eternity is in love with the productions of time*"
"the source of temporal life is eternity. Eternity pours itself into the world. It is a basic mythic idea of the god who becomes in many of us. In India, the god who lies in me is called the *inhabitant* of the body. TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT DEVINE, IMMORTAL ASPECT OF YOURSELF IS TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH DIVINITY"
This came out of a conversation between Campbell and moyers. If you took the time to read this, thank you.
*WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS?*
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sober: showing no excessive or extreme qualities of fancy, emotion, or prejudice
Oh Ruhig, .... You have a way about you that leads to very deep 'thought provoking' issues ... WOW ... Is this where your mind is really going tonight ??? ... This is soooo deep, that I need to stand tippy-toed to get some air ...
Speaking for myself, this is very much a spiritual issue ... and I am aware that our backgrounds are such that your 'higher power' is not likely to be the same as my 'higher power' ... (I have a friend that is Hindu and they regard cows sacred in some fashion or another, so I'm at a loss when we try to talk about our religious views, and they have also tried to explain the different class structure of the Hindus, very confusing to me ...) ... I refer to my 'higher power' as God Almighty ... the God of Abraham, Isaac, etc. ... the Father of the Son Jesus ... and together with the Holy Spirit, form the Trinity ... Three separate spirits, yet one in the same ... The one that told Moses I AM THAT I AM ... He/She who has always been and will always be ... God is the Great Spirit who is neither male nor female ... non-gender ... A spirit whom can appear to us as anyone He chooses ... He can be the guy next door, the bum on the street corner, the nurse in the hospital, the girl down the road, the old lady across the street, ad infinum ...
To continue, I believe We were all made in God's image and are therefore His children ... He gave us the Bible which outlines His will for us in all areas of life .... If you believe and trust in the AA BB, then you find a lot of similarities in the 'Good Book' as Dr. Bob called the Bible ... Check it out for yourself, you may be surprised ...
Just as 'darkness' is simply the 'absence' of light ... and 'cold' is the absence of 'heat' ... 'evil' in this world is nothing more than what you have when there is an absence of 'God', for God IS LOVE ...
Now let's see if that'll keep you up all night ... LOL
Love Ya and God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Yes. This is where my brain has been all week. Infact, this book also references the "if you know, then you don't know. If you don't know, then you know" in the preceeding paragraphs. And I honestly have to say that I'm going to try to explore non-Christian based myths for quite some time before I try the bible again. I know there are good stories in there, but I believe I am too stuck on the sociological aspect of those myths that I end up with my shorts in a bunch and completely missing any and all spiritual enlightenment the book has to offer. After this and a period of studying other religious/spiritual myths, I'm going to attempt the book by Carl Jung you mentioned a few posts ago.
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sober: showing no excessive or extreme qualities of fancy, emotion, or prejudice
Great thread guys, thanks. My perspective hasn't change on bit, but my introspection or internal perception has. I'm no longer bound by certain mythological beliefs -real or fictional, and I'm not interested in vain deceptions either, but what does interest me today has nothing to do with faith or fortune but sober living. And I mean 'sober' living. If I'm able to carry this message to the next suffering alcoholic, than I've done my job. And believe you me, that's all I'll ever need.
For me it's that we are drops of water in a vast ocean: that is that we are, always will be, and always have been connected to the universe in its entirety. I think that the soul (however you imagine it) constantly strives to harmonise with the universe, its creator, but the clutter and confusion of the flesh inhibit that.
I see this program as being one part of the Universal Truth. One path to that harmony. In many, many other religious, spiritual and wise teachings come the same thoughts about freeing the mind from the selfish needs of the moment to let the soul be all that it can. I think that if this program (or similar teachings) is followed thoroughly then a state of grace can be achieved whereby the soul does connect with the universe and fear, anger, sadness, uncertainty, pain etc drop away because without knowing (intellectually) what is happening you know (spiritually) that all is well and all will always be well. How can it not? The universe is unfolding exactly as should and you are a part of that wonder.
I can get there sometimes. Briefly usually but sometimes for days, and other times it feels as distant as it used to be. I can never quite remember how I got there when I do but I know that applying the steps is the key. It is the most pleasing thing I've ever experienced by someway and I feel a slight sadness at the loss when it is not there.
I don't know anything more than that. Afterlife? I don't know if Frodo the entity will exist after the matter has died but I suspect that my soul will rejoin and delight in being part of the universe again, so that matters not at all to me. I have no real concept of the Ultimate Creator except that I am sure that harmony and serenity come from them, and that all evils and troubles are purely man made.
Not bad for a man that would have laughed at mumbo jumbo stuff like this a short year and a bit ago.
God is within all of us, and there is no actual us vs. them or you vs. me ... we really are all one. In Hinduism, they say "Namaste" - which is a shorthand way of saying "the god within me sees the god that is within you." When we can transcend the artificial dualities - the either/or, seeing the other person as distinct from us, or in program language, when we identify instead of comparing, we move that much closer to pure joy, which I believe is internal and not created by anything outside of ourselves.
