gareth knight (real name basil wilby) is an author who i respect.
i have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism".
Simon
Authors don't work for a living? Despite your misgivings, Gareth Knight produced a well researched book which is still studied today in university theology courses. It offers in depth interpretation of the Jewish Qabalah from a Western Mystery Tradition standpoint.
Of course, what you do for a living is way more influential and important
Sirona
gareth knight (real name basil wilby) is an author who i respect.
i have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism".
Gill
Thanks for the book reference. I've been looking for something else to read (apart from parenting books!). I will order it.
Your experiences highlight something important. We have extra-sensory capabilities and there must be a scientific explanation for such things.
I've mentioned before on this forum studies which have been done which show a *significant* result for communication over long distances - by the mind. Participants are several miles apart, both in sealed rooms, with no known method of communication with each other. They still produce results which show that they are somehow communicating and the results are beyond mere chance.
Of course people keep ignoring these experimental results because this sort of thing disrupts their worldview.
Mystical experiences also must have a scientific explanation and in particular I refer to not just altered states of awareness but these other "communication" type experiences.
We already know that particles can communicate on a quantum level no matter what the distance between them. How is it so difficult for the scientists on here to grasp that ESP or "consciousness" communication can exist?
Sirona
gareth knight (real name basil wilby) is an author who i respect.
i have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism".
Hi Simon
Sirona. I could tiptoe all around it but it comes down to someone being an idiot and it isn't me.
Well since you say so, that must be true.
For the record, I didn't call you an idiot, but you seem to want to call me an idiot.
Whatever makes you feel better.
I can see your point regarding the quotation. I didn't see it as "you're a fool because you don't believe in mystical things" I saw it as "if you refuse to *try* a method to produce a mystical experience, how can you say they don't exist?". He simply said that he, as someone who believes he has had mystical experiences, would be willing to tell others what methods he used. If someone says his methods would not work (to induce such an experience) he was challenging them to follow the method for themselves before concluding it all doesn't exist.
Sirona
gareth knight (real name basil wilby) is an author who i respect.
i have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism".
Wow some interesting viewpoints.
Especially Simon, who likes to call people "an idiot", which is slightly amusing since I don't see him writing countless well respected books on any subject. It could be accurate to state that the author is mislead or deluded, but an idiot he is not.
The inference by extension is that I am also an idiot, for having any respect for the author. What a shame that Simon once again reduces himself to name calling to try and elevate his own opinion!
Many of the points made by Terry I would agree with. The difference is that, like Dion Fortune, I don't see the imagination as less "real". Therefore what I can imagine has some reality for me yet I know its of my own creation.
This use of the imagination is recognised by science as beneficial. In particular people are able to aid their own healing by "imagining" the body fighting the illness, for example. Our imagination directly affects our external reality.
As for mystical experiences not existing - I find it odd that scientific types deny this. "Mystical experiences" can be induced using chemicals. Hypnosis induces altered states of awareness. I'm simply asserting that in this altered state we are able to perceive things which we wouldn't perceive in our ordinary state of consciousness. Gill touched upon this with her comments regarding quantum physics. The world of the quantum is strange indeed and we know it exists despite the extreme difficulty of experiencing it for ourselves.
Occultists assert that their practice simply allows them to experience realms and phenomena which are not currently accepted by science. Most occultists would accept that eventually science will explain these things. Dion Fortune went into great detail regarding the "scientific" process of a soul inhabiting a human body, and what processes occur at death to eventually separate that consciousness from its physical body.
I have been involved in mediumship these past months - which of course involves communicating with those who have left their physical bodies. I am aware of the critisisms levelled at mediums. My experience has been one which has shocked me. Over and over again have I passed on messages which were very accurate, providing always a description of the deceased, what they died of, often their profession or hobbies, their personality and other information which proves to be correct, including names and other details. To do this once I could put down to chance guessing. To do this lots of times - well I have to accept that I'm "receiving" information.
I know that the "it has to be proven in a lab" brigade will jump on me for this assertion. I'm simply relaying what has happened and too many things have happened to me to put it down to imagination or chance.
Sirona
Food in the USA is better?
Hey! Wha Happened....what the hell is wrong with brits?
i am really feeling depressed.
my relationship with my jw mother is deteriorating rapidly.
i can't even look at her sometimes.
Hugs
Sorry you're feeling this way.
I would say that going on the cruise would probably be a good idea. Just speak to your mother first and have a rule where religion isn't discussed. Say you won't make negative comments as long as she doesn't mention it - so you can all have a good time.
As for your sister, simply encourage her to look at both sides of the story. Don't be too negative, just remind her that the "truth" should be able to stand up to scrutiny and alternative views and if she still decides to return you will accept her decision.
As for suicide, I would strongly suggest speaking to someone about your feelings. A counsellor can help you talk without judgement and simply "get it all out". I see a counsellor and I think its a great thing to do.
Sirona
since my company is sponsoring the event, i get free tickets.
isn't the #4 talk about not forsaking our meetings?
however, i heard that the wtbts is sponsoring the #607 and #1914 cars.
I'd rather stay home and wax my armpits than go to a meeting
so do whats most fun!
Sirona
gareth knight (real name basil wilby) is an author who i respect.
i have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism".
Gareth Knight (real name Basil Wilby) is an author who I respect. I have met him - he is getting old now but he's no less intelligent or fascinating.
Some 40 years ago he wrote a well respected book called "A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism". In this book he says the following regarding mystical experiences:
"To try to describe a mystical experience is like trying to describe the scent of a flower; one cannot do it. The best on can do is tell the enquirer how best he can obtain the particular flower so that he can smell it for himself. If he cannot be bothered to follow your directions or flatly refuses to believe that the flower exists there is nothing one can do about it"
If you have had a mystical experience do you agree with this comment?
If you have not had a mystical experience, what do you think of this comment?
Sirona
where to start?.
i thought about typing out a nutshelled life history but changed my mind.
suffice it to say, i was born into "the truth," attempted suicide at 14, "lost my faith" at this time, beat into submission into carrying on as usual, endured a horrible marriage and equally horrible divorce, and am more or less still in it (appearances only!
Welcome!!
What I don't understand is how someone so intelligent and highly educated could give up their LIFE so their father could be an elder.
It is a horrible waste IMHO
Sirona
