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It's easy to answer this question because we can easily determine the answer  by how we spend our time. I just recently found yet another 160 page document in my file filled with my philosophy on the virtues.  I'm committed to understanding my self; where I fall short on certain virtues and where I excel on others and I spend a great amount of time reading, thinking, writing to find out. Then I'm committed to inspiring others to do the same for themselves. Understanding Self is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and then to society.  It changed my life in a way that I'm more skeptical of the tenets of the society.  I see through them - and when you see through the illusion, you have to re-write your rules of engagement.  Yet through it all  I've learned to be more compassionate and patient. 

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I'm devoted to seeking the truth, whether it makes me uncomfortable or not.  One truth i have learned early on is that the truth is evasive and  that constancy is a marker for the real truth.  I've also learned that seeking the truth calls for honesty on the part of the seeker and this creates  internal conflict and mixed emotions.  

 

The one thing that continues to stump me is whether religious beliefs are true.  Now more than ever, because i am daily bombarded with religious memes and prayer requests and testimonies  on FaceBook.  I don't have a problem accepting  that there is a higher intelligence and an almighty force of nature.  Whether or not  this power can be reduced to being a man who inspired other men to write a book of myth and fables,  is something i'm luke warm about . That's because the world shows very little benefit from religion because it is too often at the core of so much conflict, not to mention how much evil thrives. Plus, the bible  is so contradictory, alternating between forgiving  and punishing, between overlooking some despicable acts and  damning others, while portraying god as an egomaniac, condemning the free thinkers that he, himself, has created, relegating them to hell-fire for not accepting Jesus as his son.   I do find a little truth in the observation about the only thing being wrong with Christianity , is Christians.  Buddhism holds some appeal for me, however, because it more about getting in touch with your inner spirit.  

 

 Yet, millions are totally invested in religion, afflicted by blind faith.  Although i do not consider myself a hard core atheist, leaning  more toward Humanism or Pantheism, FaceBook has also introduced me to Atheism, and i must admit, its logic impresses me.    I do think its true that most people need something to believe in and to turn to for comfort during a time of need,   A simple phrase, like "it's god's will", apparently helps to bring closure for many. I ponder whether it could be true that humans are not only star children but are divine themselves, only needing to discover that what they attribute to a higher source is something they have extricated  from their inner power.  

 

in seeking the truth, i am a little troubled about what conclusions i've come to about my own race  and, in truth, some of these ideas undoubtedly have to do with my being assimilated and brainwashed by white values.   But i can truthfully say that i have never had to do a lot of soul searching when it comes to whether or not i would rather be white.  My answer is simply no.  And that's the truth.

 

I wish i could be a little less discriminating in my compassion.  i don't always feel sorry for people who probably deserve sympathy.  

 

"This above all, to thine ownself be true", is my mantra.

 

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I had a thought about beliefs. Lets say everyone is right. Most people that are religious or spiritual suspend logic. 

 

Maybe their situation is not one that invokes sympathy. Which comes back to agency. I feel sorry for Trump because he will have a very public fall. But he has earned it. And he will get what he deserves. Charlie Sheen being HIV+ doesn't warrant sympathy that he received. Since he continued to have unorotected sex after he knew he was positive. There a hero worship and hes just doing what boys do so its okay. Not to me. 

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I have two main interests since grammar school. Numbers/logic and 

mythology/symbolism/occult. The two branches are quite similar. 

 

Issac Newton was a scientist and a magician. It is no longer fashionable to be a serious thinker and be a magician. Although there have been a few recent exceptions. Albert Einsten comes to mind. 

 

The esoteric is an integral part of my goal to think in a full circle.

I am dedicated to learning, knowing and acceptance. Understanding isn't as important. For instance I know that fixed thinkers frustrate me. I need not know why.

 This is a page from my Book of Numbers. Its a project that i embarked on in 1997. A freind made the suggestion to include timing in my readings. So many research projects, a few hundred books, classes and thousands of hours later, there is still my work to be done.

It's amazing to sit with a stranger and assist them on understanding themselves and their situatuons. The feedback has been amazing.

20170817_181857.jpg

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Well you can see the output of my passion.  However, the site itself is actually not the passion in and of itself.  The underlying passion is striving for freedom, not just for myself but for anyone who wants it.

 

Cynique, it would seem illogical for all religions to be "true."  They certainly all can't be true. Most contradict each other and none of the world's major religions have been around very long--just a fraction of the time that Sapiens have walked the Earth.

 

But I don't think of it that way. Religions are all man made, but most I imagine started out attempting to enlighten people.  As you've pondered I believe the divine is within ourselves and there is more than one way to access it.  Different religion whether it is islam or buddhism are different ways of accessing it.  Del's numerology is another way, thought he may not think of it that way.

 

The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time.  

 

Luke 17:21 says, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”  Now depending upon the translation you use the words are slightly different than what I've quoted--so different in fact, the the meaning is different.  However, this quote taken out of content is probably the main idea of the whole book :)  It just that the versions we have today the leaders preaching the words don't do a very good job helping us discover this...  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 8/16/2017 at 4:41 PM, Cynique said:

I wish i could be a little less discriminating in my compassion.

 

@Cynique  ok this one got a me a bit... Since it's one of the virtue I thought I needed to work on (got up this morning and thought to myself I'm kind of mean so why fake it LOL)

So,  why do you believe you need feel sympathy?   

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4 hours ago, Troy said:

The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time.  

Luke 17:21 says, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

Thank you for bringing these quotes to my attention.  i find them very salient.  

 

1 hour ago, Mel Hopkins said:

So,  why do you believe you need feel sympathy?

I don't know.  I can't think of a good reason.  To ease a guilty conscience, I guess. :huh:

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23 minutes ago, Cynique said:

Thank you for bringing these quotes to my attention.  i find them very salient.  

 

I don't know.  I can't think of a good reason.  To ease a guilty conscience, I guess. :huh:

@Cynique , thank you for sharing :)  I think I had a  similar for reaction. 

When I thought of what I wrote about compassion... I realized I'd gone searching for compassion  because I was mean to others. But at the same time, I have (or had) this need for people to like me.   But then I realized I'm hard on others because I'm so hard on myself.  I beat myself up for falling short of my personal goals.   

I got it twisted.  Whereas I thought I was learning compassion for others, it hit me that I needed to learn to be compassionate with myself.  I think that is the key to being naturally easy with others.    

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Troy


Religions are all man made, but most I imagine started out attempting to enlighten people


I used to think this.

Now I'm beginning to believe that most religions in the past started off the same way most businesses are started today.....and for the same reasons.

One man either gets an idea of how to make some money, or he gets jealous of another man he's working with/for.....and he decides to branch off and do his own thing.

It's the same with most religions.
One man (usually a man for some reason....lol) gets an idea in his head and goes off to convincing others that it was divinely inspirted.
Or he's already a part of a religion and recognizes the racket going on and decides to branch off and do his OWN thing.

Either way, the man who starts the religion usually ends up with a lot of wealth, fame, and his share of women.


If you study many ancient societies........
Look at the priests in these societies and how they didn't have to do hard labor or risk death fighting like other men did.
All they had to do is sit up in cool temples studying and eating foods that people gave them.




The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time.


I think we have to be careful with this line of thinking.

It's similar to what Del and Mel were saying in the other thread about everyone having a talent or everyone can be great and exceptional if they work hard enough or put their minds to it.

After years of observing people, I just can't say that this is the case with EVERYONE.

Some people are just mediocre and others are simply below average and we have to accept them as that and most importantly they have to ACCEPT THEMSELVES as that.

There is a young man in my neighborhood right now who is below average in intelligence and has had all types of special education help in school and medication for his ADD and now he somehow made it in a community college and his family keeps urging him to get a degree and do this and that.....but he is clearly unhappy and having a hard time keeping up.

He's constantly coming to me for advice and I give him the best advice I can without hurting his feelings, but I'm on the verge of telling him to drop out and just get a simple job he can handle and don't have children because he won't be able to take care of them anyway.

But if I was to tell the boy something like that his mother and family probably never would forgive me and it may even hurt him more than he's being hurt now as he struggles to do something clearly beyond his capacity to do.

People should be taught how to be happy and satisfied with their own abilities no matter how limited.



Del


Most people that are religious or spiritual suspend logic.


I don't know about spiritual people, but I believe this is true with many if not most religious people to a certain extent.

If your religion teaches you that all you have to do to be successful in life is do "a b and c" and you do it and are NOT successful.....then you have to play mind games and explain why the method your religion prescribed isn't working.

You force yourself to believe in things you know in your heart aren't true.

You go into a state of what's called "cognative dissonance" believing contradicting ideas.

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6 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Troy


Religions are all man made, but most I imagine started out attempting to enlighten people


If you study many ancient societies........
Look at the priests in these societies and how they didn't have to do hard labor or risk death fighting like other men did.
All they had to do is sit up in cool temples studying and eating foods that people gave them.




The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time.


I think we have to be careful with this line of thinking.

But if I was to tell the boy something like that his mother and family probably never would forgive me and it may even hurt him more than he's being hurt now as he struggles to do something clearly beyond his capacity to do.

People should be taught how to be happy and satisfied with their own abilities no matter how limited.



Del


Most people that are religious or spiritual suspend logic.


I don't know about spiritual people, but I believe this is true with many if not most religious people to a certain extent.

If your religion teaches you that all you have to do to be successful in life is do "a b and c" and you do it and are NOT successful.....then you have to play mind games and explain why the method your religion prescribed isn't working.

You force yourself to believe in things you know in your heart aren't true.

You go into a state of what's called "cognitive dissonance" believing contradicting ideas.

Pioneer are all of the opinons you have espoused your own experience or do they have some basis in the external world.

 

In several countries the Astrologer was put to death if ineffective.

 

We don't need to be careful but you should be careful. I have stated based on my experiences with about 10,000 clients everyone has an ability. So you are not only confusing your specific experience with a global. You can't see how that is possible. I agree you  shouldn't be giving anyone advice unless they think like you do.

 

Religion and spirituality exist in a mutually exclusive fields. Logic has no place in spirituality or religion. You may want to look up the definition of cognitive dissonance. The whole idea of cognitive dissonance is that your beliefs are internally consistent they just don't match reality. So you changed your beliefs to match reality. It's a psychological term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a proper definition of cognitive dissonance. Notice there is no internal conflict in beliefs.

 

Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc.

 

 

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17 hours ago, Delano said:

Your beliefs effect how you see life, so if you persist with those beliefs perhaps the effect your afterlife .

 

@Del , this is my belief too - if consciousness survives - then it only stands to reason what we believe survives too.  In fact, when consciousness comes into question in tv/film dramas , this seems to be the trend as well. 

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The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time.  

Luke 17:21 says, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

On 8/18/2017 at 8:39 PM, Pioneer1 said:

 

I think we have to be careful with this line of thinking.

It's similar to what Del and Mel were saying in the other thread about everyone having a talent or everyone can be great and exceptional if they work hard enough or put their minds to it.

After years of observing people, I just can't say that this is the case with EVERYONE.

Some people are just mediocre and others are simply below average and we have to accept them as that and most importantly they have to ACCEPT THEMSELVES as that.

The god within you can just as easily be interpreted as being  the best representative of yourself; which is just another way of saying you have the ability within yourself to be the best that you are personally capable of being. This doesn't mean that you will  better than someone who has more talent or ability than you, it just means that you possess the power to reach your full potential.  

 

 

cognitive dissonance definition.jpg

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9 hours ago, Mel Hopkins said:

 

@Del , this is my belief too - if consciousness survives - then it only stands to reason what we believe survives too.  In fact, when consciousness comes into question in tv/film dramas , this seems to be the trend as well. 

Consciousness resides but is independent of the body. As the mind doesn't reside on the head. Which is why imagination is important. And why dreaming is discouraged, as is thinking. 

The reason teaching slaves to read wss against the law was to keep the mind enchained.  So even today most people carry their prison of fears with them. Very few escape and parole is not granted. 

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@Pioneer1, my quote, "The God we seek is within each of us, all matter, and all time." Is basically my way of saying God permeates everything.  

 

Of course we are all unique and have different abilities.  Most of these abilities have more or less value depending upon when you lived. Being able to throw ball throw a hoop was not a valuable skill 100 years ago.

 

The statements was not intended to to mean what you've described.

 

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