Hey Doug. Ten years ago I died and then revived. Having had a Near Death Experience changed the way I viewed life and our limited ability to perceive reality. It's not that it's inadequate, life is so wonderful and exhilarating. It's that it's an incomplete view of the greater reality.
your pier, very sorry for that series of unfortunate events, I sincerely mean that. There are many days I fear. None of those related to my personal mortality, I truly fear losing my loved ones. I don't have a set in stone theory, but I have a few central precepts to my worldview, among them: the universe/nature is somehow minded(beyond our comprehension imo), all life shares the same life force and is holy, I do believe in some type of post-corporeal existence, and sometimes I think we can create it here... Also, tryptamines are the truth. Look into the Johns Hopkins studies with psilocybin(there are other out there, but with different purpose)...link to one article...http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/single_dose_of_hallucinogen_may_create_lasting_personality_change Also, Ryan...what you said really reminded me of Cactus Ed...'One life at a time, please'...
Our senses are extremely limited... we only hear, see, taste, smell, and feel a tiny fraction of what there is to sense. Scientific instruments only serve to extend those senses beyond our human limits. So it's not that far a stretch to assume that reality extends far beyond what we believe our universe is.
Fo shizzle...let me get some work done as I've already killed an hour...maybe we discuss pm so no youths get offended.
+1000 Not to perseverate. But man, that message really gets sent home when the floodgates are open. Amazing how much sensory information our brain filters out for day to day functioning.
FWIW I have no idea what happens when your own lights go out nor do I think that my silly little mind has even the remotest chance or ability of fathoming what, if anything, happens. "Humanists try to behave decently and honourably without any expectation of rewards or punishments in an afterlife. And, since the creator of the universe is to them unknowable so far, they serve as best can the highest abstraction of which they have some understanding, which is their community." Kurt Vonnegut My last thought on this somewhat existential thread is: Its probably best to treat life like a really ripe and delicious orange - to try and get every single little last drop of goodness out of it before its just skin. And that means to go surfing as much as you possibly can, because the couch will kill you.
@RyanM, I appreciate your perspective, as there are many common aspects to “world religions”, and the fact that hypocrites that infiltrate any group can obfuscate what may be good and genuine. In fact, when Jesus walked the earth he took issue with and had great angst towards the religious hypocrites (who malign the path) and not the “wayward sinner”. It is unfortunate when people have fear as their primary motivation, and when fear energizes zealots, as we have evidenced in history and even see in current events, it is far from a good thing. If anyone wants to be zealous about anything, it should be motivated by a love and compassion for their fellow human. I find it most unfortunate that the distinctive feature of Christianity (grace and love) often gets ignored or diminished by those that claim to be proponents. This one of the reasons it is misunderstood and disdained by many. -- I found this from http://www.graceguy.org/graceguys-blog/whats-so-unique-about-christianity-cs-lewis-answers interesting. Enjoy: During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods' appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace." After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law -- each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional. Aware of our inbuilt resistance to grace, Jesus talked about it often. He described a world suffused with God's grace: where the sun shines on people good and bad; where birds gather seeds gratis, neither plowing nor harvesting to earn them; where untended wildflowers burst into bloom on the rocky hillsides. Like a visitor from a foreign country who notices what the natives overlook, Jesus saw grace everywhere. Yet he never analyzed or defined grace, and almost never used the word. Instead, he communicated grace through stories we know as parables. [Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing About Grace?, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 45.]
ccdog, Martin Luther ruined it...even worse than the catholics...if you can believe it grace by faith? what a crock grace by works makes more sense, but thats the path of selling indulgences ever been to an eastern orthodox service? that feels good all the new agey protestant stuff SUCKS and Lipsmacker, sit back and let me tell you a tale the first hit throws you against the bongo drum membrane (more hits help you rupture it), second hit...I couldn't make my hands function to flick the lighter, amazing, not completely disassociated, but, well enough, after 2 decades of exploration, this was the pinnacle. The only way I knew what was real was my dog was on my lap and I felt his soft goodness. I saw the clown on the conveyer belt (an elf?) and everything was encrusted in jewels, the night sky started to fade and became spinning jewels, this world is for us, but we HAVE NO CLUE what to do here. this place is for us and we come from someplace different. the two places are different. it was amazing...ever wake up out of a heavy dream and your body feels dreamy? its like that, the dream feeling before and after...... 17 minutes later I was fine. the second two dabbles were uneventful, sparkly and 15 minutes the 4th was a reptilian bear hug of despair...what are we doing here, none of us have any business on this plane of existence, this is game and we are losing. there are entities who dont want us to love, who cant love the 1st and 4th were different sides of the same coin, amazing awe and great despair. Both are truth what. a. mindjob.
Not to worry BuBo, keep in mind that energy never dies it only gets transferred. We are all here for only short time and I think it is a rare opportunity to be here on Earth all together in such a strange form of life. I think for the most part our energy usually gets to travel more freely in the universe but here in this bizarre existence we get to be challenged in a unique way. It is a test to explore what your soul is capable of learning in such a confined being…its not supposed to be easy.
If string theory is more than a theory, We are all living and dying infinite lives for infinity. For every wave hold down we survive, we've died a million times, and for every wave we've missed we've caught the same wave a billion times. Can you imagine not being alive? Not just your absence; just not existing. Can you remember not being alive?
Grace by works makes little sense, for if you need to earn it, how then is it unmerited favor? And as you rightfully say, it is puts us on a path of many pride filled (and fueled) ills that results in things such as selling indulgences, and not one of humility. Grace is hard for us to often accept or understand. It rails against our pride and quest for independence, accomplishment, or self sufficiency. We want to be the masters of our own domain. And "grace by faith" is indeed an over simplification, and not the whole story. Whether a person "believes" or not, they still are the recipients of "common grace", the most obvious is the gift of their existence, followed by their first and subsequent breaths. There is indeed an aspect of "grace" one can enter into via relating to an accepting, loving, gracious creator. Thus, this should foster humility, concern, and grace towards others, and not some of the ills that pride and selfishness manifest. So, since none of us is a "self made human", and life is indeed a gift, live and love life to the fullest, and as Manisses suggests, get every drop of juice out of that orange.
Wayne, About 2 thousand years ago our human ancestors who were basically cavemen came up with a number of lies, stories, and some existing, even older gibberish that made them feel better about their fear of the dark and their questions regarding existence. These lies, stories, and gibberish were then adopted and changed by the ruling class and by the church itself as a means of controlling people and taking from them their wealth. The church evolved into one of the most well run, long lasting businesses that the world has ever, and likely, will ever see. As far as a business plan goes, its a grand slam. Take away peoples fear, give them simple answers to the most complex questions, make them feel that through franchised routine (attending church, repeating prayer) they achieve a closeness to God, and ask them only for money in return. Add in a little fear of hell and some good old fashioned guilt and you have - a growing, massive, fearful flock very willing to throw huge amounts of money at a franchise to not have to think or worry about god or death or 'why' for themselves. And its STILL working. However, Wayne, you can fool some people sometimes, but you cant fool all the people all the time. Here on earth, virgins don't give birth. Snakes don't slither up behind humans to shield them from the rain. The earth, at least from what Nasa is telling us, is not resting on the back of a turtle. [video=youtube;IPVd5koCkTQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPVd5koCkTQ[/video]
I would choose my own religion and worship my own spirit but if he ever preached to me I wouldn’t want to hear it I’d drop him, a forgotten god, languishing in shame and then if I hit stormy seas I’d have myself to blame
