Mike, probably not. I wish I could say, yes., but this aspect of things is so completely individualized and dependent on so many variables that I can’t say, yeah, it is. I have been told that even for people with these abilities that sometimes they are blocked for reasons the practitioners can’t understand.
All I can say is, as a skeptic, I promised myself I would follow the evidence whereever it would lead me, even if it was just experiential.
Welcome to the island of enlightenment. You are neither here nor there. But still highly visible and judged from all.
Everyone can have their own opinon. But aetheist and agnostic beliefs have more fear in them then they want to believe. They cling to thier beliefs that they are right in being alone, just like a christian will cling to the rightousness that they are not. Neither is mentally able to admit the opposite is true or they face a complete breakdown of reason, purpose, understanding. If they only realized how similar they really are in how they handle themselves.
Realize this when you are attacked for your choices and current path. Blessed be…
Silver: It is symbolic of some protective energy.
It signifies tranquility and understated confidence.
A single rose in any color is also symbolic of gratitude and simplicity. To concentrate all emotions on a single object, and tries to express a single affection in greater depth.
Interesting food for thought. Looks like you are on the right path.
Thanks, Rachel. I have been attacked for my beliefs for so long that for me it’s really nothing special anymore. And I’ve done my share of attacking too in the past. If it were not for my experience I would be calling myself crazy. Hah.
When I came to realize a whole lot of things, I took that new information (similar to what you are experiencing) and re-read the Bible and it did not contradict my knew knowledge but, instead, enhanced it. I mostly concentrated on the NT and I, too, have no fear. I am with you on your journey.
#10 written by James Pate
October 30, 2009 - 12:20 pm
I’ve never had peach bread pudding!
Your post reminds me of a sermon Jonathan Edwards gave on I Corinthians 13. He cited the same passage you have in your post. His point was that, even if a person had miraculous gifts, if he didn’t have love or use them to help others, what was the point of having them? They’re useless. I liked his way of putting that because it was a way for me to see why I Corinthians 13 was making a valuable point, rather than just accepting it as authoritative because I had to.
#11 written by Questeruk
October 30, 2009 - 5:50 pm
Hi, hope all is going well.
I followed through from your previous site. It’s amazing what a couple of months can do!
I have great respect for what you are doing, and I am also sure that you are the sort of person who will take things a step at a time, and evaluate things as you go.
Interesting how you now feel about PZ Myers & co, and what I tended to label ‘evangelical atheism’.
I am sure Mr Myers is convinced of his absolute belief of ‘no god’, which is fair enough. However it gets unreasonable, and very frustrating, when anyone not sharing his belief is ridiculed, and treated as mentally unstable, or deficient.
Belief OR non-belief in some sort of higher power, whatever you want to call it, is a faith position, either way.
In fact refusing to even entertain the possibility of existence of some sort of god, or spirit beings, either good or bad, effectively means that whole areas of explanation are then not considered, or completely ignored.
To me that doesn’t seem to fit in with science considering all possibilities.
In the defence of “evangelical atheists”, the idea of there being a “spirit world”, etc., really has nothing to be said of it that would direct science towards considering it a real possibility. I’m sure that most would actually consider it as a possibility if there were repeatable evidence in its favor – repeatable in the sense that it can be reliable and witnessed by third disinterested parties. There is no aspect of spirituality that can credibly claim this. Atheism is a reasonable belief system for this reason, and until science can prove, and more accurately, demonstrate the existence of some other realm or what-not, it deserves to be relegated to the realm of faith or belief, even if a person can actually prove it for themselves. I hold nothing against aheists in this regard.
I only don’t like the way they say “I haven’t seen it, there is no evidence, so it can’t exist. By its very nature, there is no evidence either for or against, other than the fact that no one’s been able to credibly demonstrate it. At that point it ceases to be science, because the mind is no longer open.
Contrast this to young earth creationism. The evidence against is overwhelming – not only against, but directly against – meaning disproving.
If someone were to somehow conclusively prove that everything I’ve begun to believe is wrong and it’s a trick of the mind, I’ll stop believing it. I am also not holding my breath. It’s about as likely to happen as proving it does. I have a feeling some day science will detect this realm – and when it does things are going to be stood on their head, and at that point the Source will pretty much have no choice but to directly intervene…
Yes, metaphor therapy DOES work. It worked for me and still does. I wrote some of them down in the first metaphors but then, as they got a little more complex, I just remembered them and reaped the benefits. It’s easy to do when I am stressed.
David Grove is the author of metaphor therapy and I even talked to him on the phone once because I was so impressed.
Anyway, yes, you are definitely on your way to a more enlightened, healed, and fulfilled life.
You say, “But religions don’t get the message. Not even evangelicals, in fact, they’re the worst at not understanding the plain message of the Bible. They take the spiritual message of the second half, which is, plainly, that God is available to every single one of us, that all we have to do is listen, and that once we get in touch with that spark of divinity within us, we are protected and guided, and they turn it into a set of rules, a set of laws. Might as well not even bother with the New Testament, because that’s utterly NOT THE POINT.”
hmmm. I’d like to talk about this with you when you visit if you are up to it.
Sure… I’m referring to those kinds who do the “love bombing” and “just accept jesus, say the words” and all that stuff, by the way. not the kinds who truly try to live it. They’re the vast minority, of course.
I call Paul “The Apostle of the Hearts Set Free,” because of the things you said above.
Think of the things he wrote. He said this, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1) And this, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Gal 5:13) And this, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2Cor 3:17)
And he wrote those incredible words from 1Cor 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”
I’m with you, Russell. I think he is misunderstood and gets a bad rap from people who have not read him within the context of the culture from which he wrote.
Hello Russell and Mark,
You are both “right on” in my understanding. I began practicing what you described above in a small way by interacting with those that I live with both before and now, keeping in mind what you both just talked about. It is amazing how people are drawn to “The Source” when they see Him shining out of you (I had a Wiccan tell me that I had a literal white glow around me and she knew instantly that she could trust me) When one comes to this knowledge, it does indeed give you freedom – a freedom that cannot be duplicated.
I love reading your thoughts. It is the highlight of my day.
I am starting to think that Saul/Paul had a rather involuntary awakening on that road… maybe a chakra awakening, maybe a literal calling, who knows, I think to a degree they come down to nearly the same thing. But based on his writings he was one of the more spiritually aware people to have ever existed.
What you said about the wiccan makes perfect sense. Such a white glow is dangerous, from what I understand, if you try to project it yourself – it has the potential to overload your aura. But if it comes from something else, the Source, for example, well, that’s another strong data point towards what I’ve come to believe.
That brings to mind how, during extreme abuse, the person being abused develops a method of disassociation to deal with what is going on at the time – in essence, going someplace else. It works. I used it many, many times during my childhood and became quite adept at self-hypnosis. I wasn’t trained to do that, I just learned to do that out of necessity and survival.
I have had dreams where it was so real, upon waking, I thought it really did happen. I’m beginning to think that maybe it really DID happen. I really don’t know, but these dreams/visions/whatever changed my life. They all had a “point” to make.
It’s similar, I guess, but also very different. It’s not a dissociation, it’s more of a rejection of foreign energy.
I didn’t tell you the other thing that happened… ten minutes later a guy who never apologizes for anything apologized to me (and the other guys in the room) for something. And another coworker remarked as to how the whole environment changed. One little exercise made a rather disproportionate difference, and it *worked*.
Hmmmm. In metaphor therapy it’s getting rid of very negative emotion such as fear, anger, hatred, etc. by visualizing it away and replacing it with a more positive outcome. If I replace the words “fear, anger, hatred” with “negative energy”, I am in essence getting rid of the negative energy and replacing it with positive energy.
The dissociation part, for me, comes in when I leave and go someplace else – in essence, fleeing the scene. My body is still there, but my mind is someplace else. People do that when they daydream, but in my case it was much more profound and deliberate.
I would like to learn more about rejecting “foreign” energy. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Understanding what you’ve just stated gives one profound peace, doesn’t it? The thing that I’ve come to really appreciate is, not only does evil have no power over me, I can bask in the love from the Source. I’ve never really felt loved before I felt the love from Him. Once I experienced that, I felt safe, secure, and yes, loved.
The unpleasant feelings you mention remind me of some of the side effects of emdr therapy, it unleashed plenty of unexpected and strong feelings. Sure is good to have those out of me.
I do understand what you are saying, very much so. And there is a saying that goes along with this kind of healing and that is “it gets worse before it gets better, but when it gets better, it’s great!” and I can personally verify that as I have experienced it. When I was in the middle of healing, there were days that I just didn’t know what to do – I would go into a kind of panic attack where my mind was racing and I couldn’t stop it. But as it all exited my body, mind and spirit, I was ultimately a new person.
Hang in there, Russell. This, too, shall pass and you won’t believe how much better you feel after it’s all over with. And congrats on allowing it to happen.
October 24, 2009 - 3:46 pm
As a skeptic myself, I wondering if this experience you’ve had is repeatable. Is this a candidate for the James Randi challenge?
October 24, 2009 - 3:51 pm
Mike, probably not. I wish I could say, yes., but this aspect of things is so completely individualized and dependent on so many variables that I can’t say, yeah, it is. I have been told that even for people with these abilities that sometimes they are blocked for reasons the practitioners can’t understand.
All I can say is, as a skeptic, I promised myself I would follow the evidence whereever it would lead me, even if it was just experiential.
October 24, 2009 - 8:08 pm
Welcome to the island of enlightenment. You are neither here nor there. But still highly visible and judged from all.
Everyone can have their own opinon. But aetheist and agnostic beliefs have more fear in them then they want to believe. They cling to thier beliefs that they are right in being alone, just like a christian will cling to the rightousness that they are not. Neither is mentally able to admit the opposite is true or they face a complete breakdown of reason, purpose, understanding. If they only realized how similar they really are in how they handle themselves.
Realize this when you are attacked for your choices and current path. Blessed be…
October 24, 2009 - 8:21 pm
Silver: It is symbolic of some protective energy.
It signifies tranquility and understated confidence.
A single rose in any color is also symbolic of gratitude and simplicity. To concentrate all emotions on a single object, and tries to express a single affection in greater depth.
Interesting food for thought. Looks like you are on the right path.
October 24, 2009 - 8:24 pm
Thanks, Rachel. I have been attacked for my beliefs for so long that for me it’s really nothing special anymore. And I’ve done my share of attacking too in the past. If it were not for my experience I would be calling myself crazy. Hah.
October 25, 2009 - 7:41 am
You check out the Quakers yet? They use “experiential” a lot in their literature too.
October 25, 2009 - 8:34 am
No. Ill check them out but I’m not entirely sure they’re in the direction I need to go.
October 26, 2009 - 9:25 am
When I came to realize a whole lot of things, I took that new information (similar to what you are experiencing) and re-read the Bible and it did not contradict my knew knowledge but, instead, enhanced it. I mostly concentrated on the NT and I, too, have no fear. I am with you on your journey.
October 28, 2009 - 7:43 pm
Yep! Exactly!
October 30, 2009 - 12:20 pm
I’ve never had peach bread pudding!
Your post reminds me of a sermon Jonathan Edwards gave on I Corinthians 13. He cited the same passage you have in your post. His point was that, even if a person had miraculous gifts, if he didn’t have love or use them to help others, what was the point of having them? They’re useless. I liked his way of putting that because it was a way for me to see why I Corinthians 13 was making a valuable point, rather than just accepting it as authoritative because I had to.
October 30, 2009 - 5:50 pm
Hi, hope all is going well.
I followed through from your previous site. It’s amazing what a couple of months can do!
I have great respect for what you are doing, and I am also sure that you are the sort of person who will take things a step at a time, and evaluate things as you go.
Interesting how you now feel about PZ Myers & co, and what I tended to label ‘evangelical atheism’.
I am sure Mr Myers is convinced of his absolute belief of ‘no god’, which is fair enough. However it gets unreasonable, and very frustrating, when anyone not sharing his belief is ridiculed, and treated as mentally unstable, or deficient.
Belief OR non-belief in some sort of higher power, whatever you want to call it, is a faith position, either way.
In fact refusing to even entertain the possibility of existence of some sort of god, or spirit beings, either good or bad, effectively means that whole areas of explanation are then not considered, or completely ignored.
To me that doesn’t seem to fit in with science considering all possibilities.
October 30, 2009 - 6:02 pm
In the defence of “evangelical atheists”, the idea of there being a “spirit world”, etc., really has nothing to be said of it that would direct science towards considering it a real possibility. I’m sure that most would actually consider it as a possibility if there were repeatable evidence in its favor – repeatable in the sense that it can be reliable and witnessed by third disinterested parties. There is no aspect of spirituality that can credibly claim this. Atheism is a reasonable belief system for this reason, and until science can prove, and more accurately, demonstrate the existence of some other realm or what-not, it deserves to be relegated to the realm of faith or belief, even if a person can actually prove it for themselves. I hold nothing against aheists in this regard.
I only don’t like the way they say “I haven’t seen it, there is no evidence, so it can’t exist. By its very nature, there is no evidence either for or against, other than the fact that no one’s been able to credibly demonstrate it. At that point it ceases to be science, because the mind is no longer open.
Contrast this to young earth creationism. The evidence against is overwhelming – not only against, but directly against – meaning disproving.
If someone were to somehow conclusively prove that everything I’ve begun to believe is wrong and it’s a trick of the mind, I’ll stop believing it. I am also not holding my breath. It’s about as likely to happen as proving it does. I have a feeling some day science will detect this realm – and when it does things are going to be stood on their head, and at that point the Source will pretty much have no choice but to directly intervene…
November 6, 2009 - 7:24 am
Yes, metaphor therapy DOES work. It worked for me and still does. I wrote some of them down in the first metaphors but then, as they got a little more complex, I just remembered them and reaped the benefits. It’s easy to do when I am stressed.
David Grove is the author of metaphor therapy and I even talked to him on the phone once because I was so impressed.
Anyway, yes, you are definitely on your way to a more enlightened, healed, and fulfilled life.
Namaste.
November 8, 2009 - 4:36 pm
You say, “But religions don’t get the message. Not even evangelicals, in fact, they’re the worst at not understanding the plain message of the Bible. They take the spiritual message of the second half, which is, plainly, that God is available to every single one of us, that all we have to do is listen, and that once we get in touch with that spark of divinity within us, we are protected and guided, and they turn it into a set of rules, a set of laws. Might as well not even bother with the New Testament, because that’s utterly NOT THE POINT.”
hmmm. I’d like to talk about this with you when you visit if you are up to it.
November 8, 2009 - 4:46 pm
Sure… I’m referring to those kinds who do the “love bombing” and “just accept jesus, say the words” and all that stuff, by the way. not the kinds who truly try to live it. They’re the vast minority, of course.
November 9, 2009 - 10:10 pm
I call Paul “The Apostle of the Hearts Set Free,” because of the things you said above.
Think of the things he wrote. He said this, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1) And this, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Gal 5:13) And this, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2Cor 3:17)
And he wrote those incredible words from 1Cor 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”
I’m with you, Russell. I think he is misunderstood and gets a bad rap from people who have not read him within the context of the culture from which he wrote.
November 10, 2009 - 6:51 am
Hello Russell and Mark,
You are both “right on” in my understanding. I began practicing what you described above in a small way by interacting with those that I live with both before and now, keeping in mind what you both just talked about. It is amazing how people are drawn to “The Source” when they see Him shining out of you (I had a Wiccan tell me that I had a literal white glow around me and she knew instantly that she could trust me) When one comes to this knowledge, it does indeed give you freedom – a freedom that cannot be duplicated.
I love reading your thoughts. It is the highlight of my day.
November 10, 2009 - 7:10 am
I am starting to think that Saul/Paul had a rather involuntary awakening on that road… maybe a chakra awakening, maybe a literal calling, who knows, I think to a degree they come down to nearly the same thing. But based on his writings he was one of the more spiritually aware people to have ever existed.
November 10, 2009 - 7:21 am
What you said about the wiccan makes perfect sense. Such a white glow is dangerous, from what I understand, if you try to project it yourself – it has the potential to overload your aura. But if it comes from something else, the Source, for example, well, that’s another strong data point towards what I’ve come to believe.
November 11, 2009 - 10:37 am
That brings to mind how, during extreme abuse, the person being abused develops a method of disassociation to deal with what is going on at the time – in essence, going someplace else. It works. I used it many, many times during my childhood and became quite adept at self-hypnosis. I wasn’t trained to do that, I just learned to do that out of necessity and survival.
I have had dreams where it was so real, upon waking, I thought it really did happen. I’m beginning to think that maybe it really DID happen. I really don’t know, but these dreams/visions/whatever changed my life. They all had a “point” to make.
November 11, 2009 - 8:48 pm
It’s similar, I guess, but also very different. It’s not a dissociation, it’s more of a rejection of foreign energy.
I didn’t tell you the other thing that happened… ten minutes later a guy who never apologizes for anything apologized to me (and the other guys in the room) for something. And another coworker remarked as to how the whole environment changed. One little exercise made a rather disproportionate difference, and it *worked*.
November 12, 2009 - 6:06 am
Hmmmm. In metaphor therapy it’s getting rid of very negative emotion such as fear, anger, hatred, etc. by visualizing it away and replacing it with a more positive outcome. If I replace the words “fear, anger, hatred” with “negative energy”, I am in essence getting rid of the negative energy and replacing it with positive energy.
The dissociation part, for me, comes in when I leave and go someplace else – in essence, fleeing the scene. My body is still there, but my mind is someplace else. People do that when they daydream, but in my case it was much more profound and deliberate.
I would like to learn more about rejecting “foreign” energy. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
November 16, 2009 - 5:34 am
Understanding what you’ve just stated gives one profound peace, doesn’t it? The thing that I’ve come to really appreciate is, not only does evil have no power over me, I can bask in the love from the Source. I’ve never really felt loved before I felt the love from Him. Once I experienced that, I felt safe, secure, and yes, loved.
November 21, 2009 - 6:06 pm
The unpleasant feelings you mention remind me of some of the side effects of emdr therapy, it unleashed plenty of unexpected and strong feelings. Sure is good to have those out of me.
November 22, 2009 - 1:51 am
I do understand what you are saying, very much so. And there is a saying that goes along with this kind of healing and that is “it gets worse before it gets better, but when it gets better, it’s great!” and I can personally verify that as I have experienced it. When I was in the middle of healing, there were days that I just didn’t know what to do – I would go into a kind of panic attack where my mind was racing and I couldn’t stop it. But as it all exited my body, mind and spirit, I was ultimately a new person.
Hang in there, Russell. This, too, shall pass and you won’t believe how much better you feel after it’s all over with. And congrats on allowing it to happen.