nativeastral
fluffy future
l second that GK nice to hear from you, headnheart combined
Spiritual Free Will
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PandaMentionalBeing
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Almost like my previous post in this thread, I used to take deja vu as encouragement of a solidifying notion. Saying that I was on the right track, and things are happening as they were infinitely supposed to. Similarly, the more mindful I became, the less and less I had deja vu. Now it is a rare occasion, and when it does happen, its not even the same type of deja vu as when I was younger, but a more relaxed euphoric high sort of feeling. It's almost as if when it reaches you at that point of mindfulness, you almost overdose on reality.
immortalitylost
Say Meow.
Hm, I've always taken odd coincidences to be encouragement, Or kinda just a nod saying that everything is alright. Other times something bad will happen, and a funny, or odd coincidence will kinda poke me, shake me up, and remind me to learn from the hardships in my life. After that things just don't seem as bad because as bad as it is, things are just as they should be, and are going according to plan.
Deja vu was always just kinda weird for me. I never really read anything else into it. But coincidences...ah, well, to each their own...
Deja vu was always just kinda weird for me. I never really read anything else into it. But coincidences...ah, well, to each their own...
shawn
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Synchronicity is a good indicator, a feedback mechanism (like a dashpanel gauge), but there is no use trying to explain it to people who do not experience it.
Kind of like trying to explain color to the blind.
Kind of like trying to explain color to the blind.
citizenzen
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This I just do not get. Things are going according to plan? And this is supposed to make you feel good? I'd suggest that you "feel good" about this plan because you live in relative comfort and safety. Others aren't so lucky. I wonder what they think of your plan?
May I remind you of a few facts according to Bread for the World?
• 963 million people across the world are hungry.
• Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.
• Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
• The United States is a part of the high-income group of nations, which consists of about 65 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population.
• In contrast, approximately 5.6 billion people live in low and lower-middle income economies. This world, earning under $3,705 GNI per capita, is made up of about 103 low and middle income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.
• In 2006, about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occured in developing countries, 4/5 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition.
• Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.
• Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
• The United States is a part of the high-income group of nations, which consists of about 65 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population.
• In contrast, approximately 5.6 billion people live in low and lower-middle income economies. This world, earning under $3,705 GNI per capita, is made up of about 103 low and middle income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.
• In 2006, about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occured in developing countries, 4/5 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition.
On another front, I know that you are an animal lover. You may know that according to the American Humane Association, over 9 million animals are euthanized each year. That's a pretty lousy plan if you ask me.
immortalitylost
Say Meow.
I would agree that I am not starving. But I do have a fair few ailments, many of them quite painful. Among other medical concerns. My life aint all roses and sunshine, but there are many many people who's lives are much much worse than mine. I understand that, and the fact disturbs me just as much as anyone.
But at some point in my existence, I believe that I will be one of those starving children, or one of the unwanted and unloved pets put down. Reincarnation into every form possible, to learn all that there is to know of this world. In my views, I will have to experience it all, Good and bad. And learn from it.
There are terrible things that go on in the world. But there are also beautiful things. There is a balance. And it is terrible to be on the bad end of that balance. But good comes out of the bad.
I'm kind of just being a realist. We have been trying to make the bad go away in this world as a species for a while now. And it doesn't work. At least it hasn't yet. I see that, and I say of course it hasn't. Life itself is a violent terrifying, beautiful and wondrous thing and has been before humans came on the scene.
I'm not saying that I love the fact that there is evil in the world. I just understand that it has a purpose, and is not just some random destructive thing. That is why I feel better about it. Because it has a purpose. Because it's not just there for no reason, and because it can lead to some good. I've seen it happen.
People can still do good. I love Good. But there will always be evil in some form. I don't like it. I can try to do as much as possible to lessen it. But I accept it. It's not going away.
And in my views it's God's plan, not mine, so take it up with him. If yer not too chicken...lol, j/k.
But at some point in my existence, I believe that I will be one of those starving children, or one of the unwanted and unloved pets put down. Reincarnation into every form possible, to learn all that there is to know of this world. In my views, I will have to experience it all, Good and bad. And learn from it.
There are terrible things that go on in the world. But there are also beautiful things. There is a balance. And it is terrible to be on the bad end of that balance. But good comes out of the bad.
I'm kind of just being a realist. We have been trying to make the bad go away in this world as a species for a while now. And it doesn't work. At least it hasn't yet. I see that, and I say of course it hasn't. Life itself is a violent terrifying, beautiful and wondrous thing and has been before humans came on the scene.
I'm not saying that I love the fact that there is evil in the world. I just understand that it has a purpose, and is not just some random destructive thing. That is why I feel better about it. Because it has a purpose. Because it's not just there for no reason, and because it can lead to some good. I've seen it happen.
People can still do good. I love Good. But there will always be evil in some form. I don't like it. I can try to do as much as possible to lessen it. But I accept it. It's not going away.
And in my views it's God's plan, not mine, so take it up with him. If yer not too chicken...lol, j/k.
citizenzen
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And in my views it's God's plan, not mine, so take it up with him. If yer not too chicken...lol, j/k.
Here's my view of "God's" plan...
According to Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."
Now I happen to be the cook in the family, and when I make my wife's favorite tomato vegetable soup, I know how to make it "good". I put in all the ingredients, not by measure, but by feel. I don't control the preparation down to the last detail... sometimes it's a little more of this... or a little more of that. I stir the pot, but I don't care about the molecules. And in the end, it's one good pot of tomato vegetable soup.
That's how I see God's plan. He's working on the macro level while we're the tiniest molecules in the mix. He's mixing a pot of soup, absolutely unaware about what's happening on our level, but stirring up a tasty dish none the less. That's why so much crap seems to be happening on our end. We're just a bunch of proteins and sugars breaking down, getting heated up, getting tossed around... never fully realizing that the soup that we're part of is one damn fine soup indeed.
immortalitylost
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God is gonna eat us?!!!
lol, I couldn't helps myself...
Nice analogy with the soup and everything. Can I be part of a soup other than tomato? I dun like cooked tomatoes...
But seriously. Um, you probably already know this, but I can't agree with that. God has made such intricate and complex things that I'd find it impossible to believe that he is only workin with the big stuff.
Am I correct in assuming that You don't believe God created the universe, but only kinda directs it as he found it a little bit this way and that?
Because if he created it, and he is the three O's, then I'd think it'd get a bit more complicated, and be messed up a whole lot more if he wasn't intimately familiar with every particle that he put together. Of course that was when he started it off. Now that it's been created, it is simply unfolding, and God has no need to "Stir the pot" He can add a bit of spice now and again, but he knows the precise time to add it, and exactly what it will do to the whole on an atomic level even, and that too was most likely factored in at the start of all of it. Of course, he most likely sees time simultaneously, so he knows exactly how the "soup" will turn out in the end, and did when he created it. Before even.
So, in my opinion, God is not like a human making soup. But that's just my opinion. And it's always good to hear yours.
lol, I couldn't helps myself...
Nice analogy with the soup and everything. Can I be part of a soup other than tomato? I dun like cooked tomatoes...
But seriously. Um, you probably already know this, but I can't agree with that. God has made such intricate and complex things that I'd find it impossible to believe that he is only workin with the big stuff.
Am I correct in assuming that You don't believe God created the universe, but only kinda directs it as he found it a little bit this way and that?
Because if he created it, and he is the three O's, then I'd think it'd get a bit more complicated, and be messed up a whole lot more if he wasn't intimately familiar with every particle that he put together. Of course that was when he started it off. Now that it's been created, it is simply unfolding, and God has no need to "Stir the pot" He can add a bit of spice now and again, but he knows the precise time to add it, and exactly what it will do to the whole on an atomic level even, and that too was most likely factored in at the start of all of it. Of course, he most likely sees time simultaneously, so he knows exactly how the "soup" will turn out in the end, and did when he created it. Before even.
So, in my opinion, God is not like a human making soup. But that's just my opinion. And it's always good to hear yours.
immortalitylost
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I reread my post and you can feel free to ignore that part about you not believing God created the universe. I don't even know how I came to that conclusion through your post. Though in my defense I was hungry, and you made a soup analogy. So I may have been distracted. Sry bout that anyways....
citizenzen
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I don't believe that God created the universe. If anything, I believe that "God" is a byproduct or part of the universe.
There's quite the interesting dilemma behind this discussion. On one hand people want to believe that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, but when you break down some of what the Bible says, that perspective just doesn't make sense.
So in the thread Identity if the serpent in Genesis (2) you get Soleil10 (a Bible believer if I ever saw one) describing a God tragically incapable of saving his newly created Adam and Eve. Incapable? Tragically? Is God all-powerful or not? I guess He isn't.
immortalitylost
Say Meow.
Well, I guess I stand corrected of my self correction. Confused, and a bit dizzy, but at least with correct knowledge. At last...
As far as all this Bible stuff, I tend rather to see it that the Bible isn't perfect. It's made by humans. Therefore it can only be as perfect as the humans who created it. And it can only be written with the knowledge that those humans had at the time that it was written. I by no means think that God personally penned the Bible. In fact, since the only God that I can see as believable doesn't endorse one particular religion over another as he meant for all of them to be, I only see the bible as a religious text in the context that it is the text of one religion. Out of many. And I don't really prefer any one over any other. They all have their strong and weak points in my mind. And they all are responsible for great amounts of good works.
I don't understand either, how Christians who believe that the Bible contains nothing but truth can call the god within it's pages any of the three O's. Maybe a very limited version of omnipresence. That's about it.
Therefore, when seeing this lessened version of God within the pages of the Bible, I tend not to conclude that God is less because of the evidence in the texts, but that the text misrepresents him, however unintentional that misrepresentation may be.
I think this way because I cannot see a God that created the universe as anything less than the three O's in their very highest and most literal form.
I other words, I believe in the infallibility of God more than the infallibility of Christian scripture.
This discussion is quite the interesting dilemma, I quite agree. And I'm rather enjoying it. Nice thread CZ! Two thumbs up.
As far as all this Bible stuff, I tend rather to see it that the Bible isn't perfect. It's made by humans. Therefore it can only be as perfect as the humans who created it. And it can only be written with the knowledge that those humans had at the time that it was written. I by no means think that God personally penned the Bible. In fact, since the only God that I can see as believable doesn't endorse one particular religion over another as he meant for all of them to be, I only see the bible as a religious text in the context that it is the text of one religion. Out of many. And I don't really prefer any one over any other. They all have their strong and weak points in my mind. And they all are responsible for great amounts of good works.
I don't understand either, how Christians who believe that the Bible contains nothing but truth can call the god within it's pages any of the three O's. Maybe a very limited version of omnipresence. That's about it.
Therefore, when seeing this lessened version of God within the pages of the Bible, I tend not to conclude that God is less because of the evidence in the texts, but that the text misrepresents him, however unintentional that misrepresentation may be.
I think this way because I cannot see a God that created the universe as anything less than the three O's in their very highest and most literal form.
I other words, I believe in the infallibility of God more than the infallibility of Christian scripture.
This discussion is quite the interesting dilemma, I quite agree.
And I'm rather enjoying it. Nice thread CZ! Two thumbs up.
immortalitylost
Say Meow.
My holy pumpkin I got completely turned around and thought I was in deconstructing Genesis for some reason. Umm, nice thread jacking CZ! Nice thread Brian .... I'll just shut up now and get lost somewhere else...
Nice thread Brian .... I'll just shut up now and get lost somewhere else...