I would agree. Life as we see it is ever new. To be open to the changing expression of life and accepting it as it is, is to flow with life. To resist it is to cling to some idea of how things "should" be based on something in the past, something which is "old". To favor what is "old"/past is to miss life as it is right now in this very moment.
poppers
JoinedPosts by poppers
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11
Newness
by joelbear inlife is about newness, without it we would wither, it is the core purpose of life.
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59
Jehovah KILLED Jesus before he came to earth
by VM44 inin another thread the question of a person's memories being placed within a re-created body has been discussed.
the possibility was raised that what if two bodies were created, and the person's memories were placed in both bodies?
which re-created person would be the continuation of the original person?.
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poppers
Navigator said, "What if the Hindus are correct and all of this is "Maya", Illusion? According to Hindu theology, and also "A Course in Miracles" we have never left our home in heaven. We are only dreaming a lucid dream of separation that never really happened. The concept of memories only becomes important if you believe that life is in the body. According to the mystic Joel Goldsmith, there is only one body and that body is immortal and eternal. This thing we have on earth that ages and dies, gets sick, and suffers all manner of distress is merely a "concept of body".
I would add to this that the dream becomes lucid only after waking up to what you really are; until then, the dream seems very real indeed. Just as when dreaming at night there exists the belief that it is real, this life we are living seems very real. When there comes an awakening within the night time dream, when the dream becomes lucid, the dream continues but there is no more investment in believing in it as real. Similarly, when one wakes up to what one really is (pure consciousness), the dream continues but it is now "lucid" - there is no more getting caught up in the dream itself because the "dream character" (ego) is directly seen to be illusory. This is the "liberation" that Buddha and other awakened ones have been pointing to.
There is only one "life" and You are it. That "life" is pure consciousness; how that life expresses itself is nearly infinite in nature. The forms of that expression come and go, and the 'you' that you believe yourself to be is just one of those forms. As the form changes and seemingly disappears, life, the real You, continues expressing. In this sense, the world as we see it is illusory because it comes and goes, but You as consciousness remain unaffected, unchanging, and eternal. There is no death, only the changing forms of the expression of pure consciousness/You. "Heaven", therefore, is all around you right now.
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How complete are you?
by funkyderek ini have the full complement of body parts and organs including my tonsils, appendix, foreskin and 32 teeth.. is anybody else as complete as me?
any funny stories on missing body parts?
exploding appendix, foreskin stuck in a zipper etc.....
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poppers
Don't think that having the foreskin removed will prevent your "willy" from being bitten by the zipper monster - it has happened to me a couple of times when I was in boot camp as I hurridly zipped up. I blame it on the skivvy drawers with their large openings, inviting "willy" to poke his head out and look around. And yes, it is painful!
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What do you believe now?
by NowImFree ini have been out of the jws officially for over 3 years now, since disassociating.
after researching the history of the organization and reading the bible (without) the watchtower, i am now a christian.
i am just curious what happens to most ex-jws as far as their beliefs go, after they leave the organization.
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poppers
daystar said, "I have a hard time with it sometimes, but I don't think I really need a religious identity in order to be whole."You are onto something profound here, daystar. As we accumulate more beliefs and ideas we move further away from realizing our inherent wholeness. We are already whole, yet we don't realize it because we cling to ideas and identify with concepts of wholeness, or concepts which promise to lead to wholeness as found in religion and philosophy. Drop every idea of self, god, wholeness, separateness, and everything else and remain present with what is right in front of you. Rest in and as that which never changes, that which watches everything else without judgment or label and you will dis-cover your inherent wholeness.
A word to the wise - a dollup of JamesThomas goes a long way.
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How do you choose......
by EC ini was born and raised a jw.... right now i know i am still going through the deprogramming, but in the pit of my stomach i so want to believe in something.
i don't know if it is because i always have had a regular "schedule" with god, but to leave and not believe anymore to me is very lonely.
where do you start?
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poppers
When you look into your children's eyes, see the innocence streaming forth - that innocence is the reflection of your true nature. You will recognize that innocence because it is not other than what you are in actuality, though you may have forgotten this. See yourself and all else with that same innocence - your children's eyes are the mirrors which reflect back to you what you really are. There is the peace you seek, there is the grace which is sought - you are it! This can only be seen right now. There is nothing to choose, nothing to follow, nothing to invest belief in, no past to feel guilty about, no future to be anxious about - there is just the open innocent awareness of what you really are right this very moment, and the manifested universe playing out on the "canvas" of that awareness.
poppers
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Can you make ANYTHING dirty?
by mkr32208 indiscussing this the other day with wife and best friend.
can you make anything dirty by adding the expression "i got your" to the beginning and a "right here" to the end?.
are you an apostate?.
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poppers
Hey guys, thanks for the laugh. I've got people staring at me now.
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33
How do you choose......
by EC ini was born and raised a jw.... right now i know i am still going through the deprogramming, but in the pit of my stomach i so want to believe in something.
i don't know if it is because i always have had a regular "schedule" with god, but to leave and not believe anymore to me is very lonely.
where do you start?
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poppers
"Where do you start? How do you just "allow" grace, or whatever, to just happen?"
What a beautiful question, what sincerity. Take a deep breath, release it, and look around at everything as if seeing it for the first time - it would be helpful if you could do this outside if possible, but it's not really necessary. No need to think about anything, label anything, judge anything, compare anything. Just look and just listen with open innocent awareness. Any ideas which arise about anything which is seen or heard are just that, ideas - there is no need to believe any of them. Keep returning to this very moment because this very moment is all there is. When you find yourself thinking about the past or the future return to the immediacy of your environment - this is where "grace" abides, and this grace just happens because it cannot be any other way. Your very nature, the "core" of "you" (what you really are) is grace itself - nothing has to be done to get it, because you are it - just see it for yourself.
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Do you join other religions to fill a void, or is it real to you?
by free2beme ini think this is a realistic question, as we were all so into the witness religion, in every part of our lives.
i can see where people would feel the need to replace that with something, as they would need to complete the missing pieces of their life.
i admit, when i first left the religion, i started attending local churches and even went to a bible study from other churches.
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poppers
"...During that time, I studied a great deal on my own, read many books on a wide variety of topics, and decided what my own personal beliefs were."
I think that this is fairly common for someone who is honestly searching. But, in the end, what has really been accomplished except to take on board another set of beliefs, even if they are "original" with you. Why is it that people, for the most part, feel that they MUST have a set of beliefs? If one were truly courageous and honest in their investigation of what "god" is, then they perhaps may see what happens when ALL beliefs and ALL religions are left behind. Beliefs are imaginary only, created and sustained by the mind, and for the most part blindly followed. Is there "something" that lies beyond the mind, beyond that which would entertain any belief whatsoever? Isn't this worth investigating directly for oneself? A belief arises within "something", yet this "something" usually gets ignored or glossed over as not worthy of attention. This "container" of belief must have some value worth investigation.
Without "beliefs" one is left with nothing to depend on except one's direct experience of what is unfolding right now in this very moment. Without beliefs clouding up the landscape, one is left with no support in interpreting anything at all - instead, one will be left with the "isness" of this very moment, with the "isness" of one's very existence being reflected in the "isness" of the entire creation. In this there is peace, there is contentment, there is fulfilment, and there is the oneness with all that is.
Why are most not willing to entertain such an investigation? Fear; fear that has arisen as a result of past belief systems, and ultimately, a fear of discovering what one really is because that discovery cannot be put into words because it lies beyond the mind. The human mind cannot conceive of an existence which is not mind-based, and as a result, those who are trapped in their minds will continue to ping pong back and forth from one set of beliefs to another, or stubbornly cling to one set. They will continue to be exposed to the dualism of the mind dominated world, ignorant of the unity of all creation, ignorant of their true nature, and ignorant of their wholeness. -
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If you were God, would you want to be worshipped?
by rebel8 inif i was the god of the bible, i think my priorities would be to set the ground rules of life and manage the planet, ensuring life is good.
i cannot envision any reason to desire worship.
appreciation, yes.
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poppers
The way the question is framed supposes/assumes that "god" will have "wants". Isn't this making "god" into man's image, or man's IDEA of what the word g-o-d points to? Making such a "god" out of an image in the mind can only result in the projection, sustaining, and manipulation of that mental image. Instead, why not investigate the "beingness" out of which your question arose; find out what is right here right now prior to the arising of any question, find out what the very core of "you" is before it gets overlaid with mental imaginings. Then there is the possibility of realizing what lies beyond the mind and its propensity for creating and believing the ideas which arise within it. What the word "god" points to exists in its most pure and uncontaminated form when it's not clouded over by thinking - then see if there exists any ideas at all, including what the mind labels as "wants".
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Where are all you disco dancers?
by IronClaw indoes anybody else out there in apostaland like the 70's music, esspecially the disco era?
i used to be a dj back in the day.
i worked at a rollerskating rink when disco was king and did private gigs as well.
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poppers
Disco music? You're kidding, right? A blight upon the ears! A wasteland of "musical notes". I understand the love of dancing; surely you could have enjoyed doing that without subjecting yourself to disco.