First thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday here on the thread and to bem who PM'd me (Sorry Dorothy, I can not reply back to you via PM).
CodeBlue, in my view Eckhart's book is one of the very best as far as helpful guidance. It's funny, when we get a glimpse of a more vast and wondrous nature of consciousness from the more contracted sense of before, attempts at speaking about it are very similar. Not to imply that I am a teacher as Eckhart Tolle is. I'm not a teacher; it's more I am just sharing glimpses of what I have discovered when looking under the rock of who we believe ourselves to be. I am not an authority. If what I share sounds crazy to you, then I am but a fool; and if anything I say has a ring of deeper significance to you, then, it is you who are the authority. It is your inner wisdom speaking to you.
As far as your question CodeBlue about being a Witness: I was raised in it, and after breaking away in my teens, returned in my twenties and was baptized. I was deeply programed and so ignored the uncomfortable feelings I had about the vengeful Jehovah. Then, one night while in a meeting with the elders I was ask to pray out-loud, and to everyones surprise (especially my own) discovered I could not pray anymore to the jehovah I had been taught to trust and believe in. By no means was I the most moral of people, yet it was extremely clear to me that I could and would no longer live a lie. I would not have prayed even had they pointed a gun to my head. After several nights meeting with no prayer uttered from me, I was disfellowshipped (their way of putting a gun to my head and pulling the trigger). I felt like shit. What was wrong with me? I knew of no other God than the one I just blatantly denied. I was certainly going to die at Armageddon. But I had to admit that death was more acceptable than showing love and respect towards a god I felt neither for.
Years went by and a hunger to know truth festered and burst, and i began to read everything I could get my hands on, and my believes evolved to no belief at all; but rather just seeing that the only separation or distance from the Divine is in our heads.
Craig and Ross, I agree with both of you. Non belief in their existence can be an excuse for not examining what they had to say; yet, belief in them can also detour inner investigation as many find the shallow levels of belief -- deep enough. Personally, it no longer matters to me if Jesus or Buddha ever existed. What is important is if there is a more significant truth within us than the fragile broken person we believe ourselves to be right here, right now? Not something to believe in, but rather live.
j
