Gives one a new respect for our hoofed friends.
Buffalo. King of the jungle.
Thanks for posting that.
j
I see a new Disney movie coming.
JamesThomas
JoinedPosts by JamesThomas
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5
ok, your youtube moment is in...
by stevenyc inhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu8ddyz68km.
spellbounding !.
enjoy!.
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27
The Eden Story
by choosing life inin the garden of eden, god supposedly didn't want adam and eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
he preferred they remain innocent and incapable of deciding for themselves what is right or wrong.. along comes satan who wants them to eat of this tree and says they will become like god, knowing good and bad for themselves.
he says they will be like god.. as we all know, they chose to eat and find out what they were missing.
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JamesThomas
Choosing life, you pretty much recapped what I was saying.
Interesting how many of the sacred scriptures of different religions have kernals of truth to be extracted.
Yes, perhaps at the core of all religious writings is hidden the same truth. However, I am no fan of the Bible as it seems 99.9% of the time it is a divisive trap which reinforces a sense of separate broken self, and so then prolongs the suffering of mankind. Yet, once you have seen the fallacy of the isolated-self, there can be seen glues within the Bible. In other words too often the Bible is a map whose roads are only visible once you have arrived at your destination. Such a map, if dry, is good for starting a fire.
Eckhart's book on the other hand, explains the goal, twist and turns of the journey as clear and precise as probably has ever been drawn out. I hope you enjoy it and come to see the treasures within yourself to which the book can only point the way.
j
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Evolution of Richie: Post JW
by RichieRich ini have many hopes for this post.
ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.
also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.
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JamesThomas
Richie:
What happens when I want out? I'm bound in the walls that I myself built.
I'm honestly not saying that what I do is entirely bad or wrong- but I try to understand why.
Richie, what you are experiencing is very profound. You are becoming aware of the walls that you built yourself. However, it wasn't really you that built them, so much as the mind's construction of "self", a false self, that is the ego.
The ego is nothing but a box full of beliefs, memories and pictures that the mind weaves into a "self", a "me". In support of the belief that our beloved box-hood is legitimate, the mind places everything and everyone else in a box: "See. my box called "me" is real, because you're a box too". Of course this is absurd. The existence of one lie does not prove another lie to be true.
Perhaps asking "why"? will only give the mind further opportunity to create a box-story to support the box-world. I have found that the house of cards collapses merely by nonjudgmentally (there are no enemies here) watching the dynamics of the mind and so seeing clearly the illusory aspects which we before thought were significant and real. Does this make sense? it's about being acutely aware of the mental commentaries and structuring that is going on; and it is in this sincere and open observing and witnessing that the answer is revealed by simply seeing there is no real problem other than we were ignorantly living a charade. It's that simple. Your awareness will reveal all.
Calmly watch the mind as it weaves the story of "me" and "other". Is that which is closest, the actual awareness of the story, in anyway truly part of the story? Do you see where we're going with this? We are using clear observation to uncover what you really are. Once this first and most important piece is in place, then the rest of the universe is seen through clear and true eyes. As long as we are behind the prison walls, in the box, looking through box-eyes, only a false box-world is seen. See true and clear and your prison walls evaporate, for both you and the universe around you......others may still see walls, but you unequivocally know they are unreal.
Continue to question and quietly observe.
j
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Spiritual Self-Assessment
by purplesofa inworth taking a look at:.
http://www.martycrouch.com/spiritualassessment.html.
spiritual self-assessment.
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JamesThomas
Terry:
Before I was born: WHERE WAS I? Who was I?
Now we're getting somewhere.
What is this "I" that does or does not do "spiritual" things? Right here, right now, who/what am I?
Is there to be found an "I", beyond the mind's definitions? Is what is aware of the mind's imagery and characterizations really and truly any of these things?
What the hell am I, really?
j
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37
Evolution of Richie: Post JW
by RichieRich ini have many hopes for this post.
ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.
also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.
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JamesThomas
Purps:
I am always amazed that you are 19.
Purps, I used to feel this way to.
No matter what temporality may say, I stopped labeling our dear Richie to an age. He exudes an ageless quality of intelligence and charm.
j
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37
Evolution of Richie: Post JW
by RichieRich ini have many hopes for this post.
ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.
also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.
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JamesThomas
You already knew it.
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37
Evolution of Richie: Post JW
by RichieRich ini have many hopes for this post.
ideally, it will be an eloquent explanation of my actions, more for myself than anyone else.
also, i hope that there are tons of others out there who have, or have had similar feelings and experiences who can contribute insight to the discussion.. as a witness, my mind was relatively closed.
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JamesThomas
As usual Richie, your post is eloquent.
I can only suggest that you continue to watch the mind -- in an open and nonjudgmental way -- as it labels and categorizes people. Just as labels and stories that people construct about you, Richie, are not you, neither are your stories and labels about others what they genuinely are. If we sincerely desire to live a life of integrity and honesty, then we need to step beyond this way of falsely isolating and categorizing people and things.
Not labeling and constructing mental stories about people allows us to simply be openly present with them and experience a deeper undefinable sense of what they truly are. Try it, you'll like it. This does not mean we necessarily enjoy the company of all people; certainly for some people it is healthier not to be around them...and most always these "toxic" people we can see are drowning in some outrageous story about themselves and others. Seeing this, rather than hate them, there is understanding and compassion...as you bid them sainara.
Not labeling and telling stories about people and life, opens the way to experience the genuine richness of life. It's a simple fact that many people never come to know. This glorious moment of conscious existence is always open and waiting for us to know.
j
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27
The Eden Story
by choosing life inin the garden of eden, god supposedly didn't want adam and eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
he preferred they remain innocent and incapable of deciding for themselves what is right or wrong.. along comes satan who wants them to eat of this tree and says they will become like god, knowing good and bad for themselves.
he says they will be like god.. as we all know, they chose to eat and find out what they were missing.
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JamesThomas
What if we look at the trees within the garden of Eden metaphorically; by bringing the story into our own life here and now? Is there a pertinent lesson here?
It can be said that when we awaken to Reality, there is realised a boundless oneness and wholeness of life in-which our fragmented and broken sense of isolated "self" is seen as illusory. This awakening could be symbolised as eating from the Tree of Life. So then eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil could then symbolize the unquestioning acceptance of -- and so identification with -- the ever-changing duality. Most of us eat from the good and evil Tree every moment of every day. Blind to our true nature we live the chaotic rhythms of good and bad, up and down, sick and well, etc. We see "self" as a mere object being tumbled about within a hostile and unforgiving universe.
Nature does manifest in rhythmic ways, but what is aware of the dual "good and evil" nature of things? Does IT change? What/who is the foundational Self, really?
As far as the two angels and spinning sword back into Eden that we may eat from the Tree of Life, as far as my own journey I would say this implies that we must die of all we believe our-self and existence to be. Everything false must be let go, that what is True be lived and breathed.
j
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"There's nothing else out there"
by yaddayadda ina friend of mine is returning to the meetings.
his reason is "there's nothing else out there" (meaning out in the world).
if i had a dollar for every time i've heard a jw say this.
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JamesThomas
My dad used to ask me: "Jimmy, what day was it you planted your head three feet up your ass which places where it is now?"
I never could recalled exactly what day.
j
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"There's nothing else out there"
by yaddayadda ina friend of mine is returning to the meetings.
his reason is "there's nothing else out there" (meaning out in the world).
if i had a dollar for every time i've heard a jw say this.
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JamesThomas
What's "out there" is an INFINITE expression of life and universe that does not give witness to a nonsensical tribal deity as its Source. An overwhelmingly threatening atmosphere for nonsensical deity worshippers, who probably have not a genuine clue as to why they race to plant there head back into the sand.
j
