AletheiaRivers

I really liked "Real Magic", by Wayne Dyer. I'm a big fan of Wayne Dyer and his methods, but I prefer to temper his stuff with Christian values (guilt, denial, sacrifice,etc). His stuff isn't anti-Christian or anything, it just focuses a lot on the magic of getting what you want.

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I used to really really like Wayne Dyer. Now I just sorta like him. I got a bit turned off when (it seemed to me) he started to focus more on getting what you want and less on spiritual ideas and God. It started to feel like "prosperity gospel" which makes my stomach turn. Many pagan authors are the same way, which is why I like Phyllis Curott.

As a Christian, should I be practicing manifestion/magic to get what I want? Just cause I can, does that mean I should?

When I used to "practice magic" it was understood that just because you affirm, envision, call forth or otherwise attempt to manifest your desires doesn't mean that it will happen. It's understood that (except for "high magic") it's not our will being done, but God/dess's. Phyllis Curott focuses on this point A LOT. Like I said, she is more spiritual in her approach and not so "gimme gimme" oriented (as some pop wiccan authors are).

For me - magic, ritual, incantations, meditation, prayer - are ways to help ME connect to the Divine.

There are other magical traditions that believe you can force God/dess or nature or whatever to bend to your will. High Magic traditions are more of this mindset (like Golden Dawn) and other hermetic lineages. I don't care for them much.

This girl wears her ovaries on the outside! 

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I asked my husband, but he doesn't know either, so I'll ask - "Could you 'splain Lucy? I don't get it."

Magick, to me, is one of those secret words that I'm afraid to say among my Christian friends (conservative or progressive), I see no difference in a good spell and a good prayer.

I'd highly recommend the book Witch Crafting (Click) by Phyllis Curott. I don't believe she's Wiccan, but I'm not sure. I do find her approach quite unique.

He rejects the idea of any transcendent power that intervenes......at all. He does believe in a type of energy (yet to be discovered by science) that can be altered by prayer.  He also has some belief in an offshoot of the collective unconscious that can be altered through prayer.  He calls it prayer, not meditation.

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He can call it prayer if he wants. He could even call it Ralph if he wants.

Personally, I'd call it magic (and I do).

If you pray, how and why?

My prayers are pretty informal. I usually pray before falling asleep at night and they are rather chat-like in nature.

I pray for wisdom, understanding, insight. I open myself to dreams and often pray for hints to come to me in that form.

Is prayer meaningless outside of supernatural theism?

I don't think so. If anything I think it might be more meaningful outside of supernatural theism in that I don't expect things from prayer that I did when I was of that mindset. I don't treat God like a waiter anymore.

Does prayer require a belief in God?

Um, yup, otherwise you're having a conversation with yourself. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Seriously, I do tarot readings on myself where I believe that is what I'm doing - talking to myself, delving into my subconcious. I don't call it prayer though. Meditation maybe?

I rarely post there, although I do read from time to time. Most of my posts are on the Progressive Christian forum.

I actually stopped posting there because I can't stand the interface. Supposedly they are updating the board software to something similar as TCPC this year.

At the very top of the screen you'll see "My Controls." Click on it to go into your control panel. Once you are in, you'll see options on the left of the page to add a signature, or post an avatar, or put in details about yourself.

You can upload a picture from your puter for an "avatar," (mine is 'Mnemosyne') or you can pick from among the generic (and cheesy) ones that the board offers you.

I find this board so much EASIER than bnet. The formatting tools are right there when you reply. No need to know HTML.

The one thing I find that many do, like in your post above, is to hit "Reply" rather than "Add reply." The former quotes everything, the latter quotes nothing. I'd rather cut and paste what I want rather than have the entire post I'm responding to show up in my reply.

The one thing I wish the board had was WYSIWYG editing.

In your control panel you can set it to send you emails when you get a reply to a thread you are subscribed to. You can sub or unsub from threads. I like avatars too, though not many on this board use them.

It's way different than bnet, but imo, much easier.

Hey Dave. It's great to have you here. I'm enjoying your input very much so far.

Thanks Dave. I'll check it out as well.

Good grief. My husband's name is Dave. How many of you are there?

Over on B'net, I go by Luthitarian also (so, my imagination is limited--sue me!)  

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I use AletheiaRivers all over the web. I like using the same name. It's like a footprint; clues to follow.

I didn't mention Spong, but now that you bring him up, he's a darn good one to read, too!

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Dang it! I meant Crossan. I had Crossan's face pictured in my mind when I wrote the reply. I don't know why I said Spong. Argh!

Perennialist?? Gee! I thought that had to do with flowers... rolleyes.gif

You and flowperson.

Another one worth mentioning, is a small book of prayers by (and inspired by) Rebbe (Rabbi) Nachman of Breslov who died in 1810 at the age of 38: The Gentle Weapon: Prayers for Everday and Not-So-Everday Moments. God is addressed in these prayers in almost mystical, impersonal ways, such as: "Eternal Companion", "Source of all the energy of life", "O LIfe of the World", "Source of all Sustenance", "God of Wholeness; God of Healing" and other such titles--sometime even simply "O God" or "Dear God"or "Master of the Universe" (To think there was a dorky kids' cartoon series that borrowed--unwittingly, I'm sure--for its title a classic Jewish title for God!).

LOL! The first time I read that I thought it said "The Gentile Weapon."

Oy!

For some time, I 've been a regular on the discussion boards on Beliefnet, and I like the diversity over there, but I hope to find much more in the way of Progressive Xianity here.

Would I recognize your handle from the Christian to Christian debate board? If you don't want to say what it is, I totally understand.

I've read just about everything from Borg. I haven't read anything from Spong. I think I'll give this book a try.

Okay, I'm a flaming panentheist who sees God as the ground of being moving in and through all of existence and all creation--right down to those funky little subatomic particles. ... To me, God ain't all that different from the Tao of Lao Tzu ...

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Way too cool!

Just call me the yin/yang gyre kid.

Wow! You'll fit in with our eclectic group just fine.

Unitutheran. LOL.

Welcome to TCPC.

Ahhh c'mon AR.

 

You're just very curious about how the other side thinks...heh,heh,heh...or doesn't

 

flow....

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Seriously, I like them. I do.

Cool, cool book! Hillman has made claim to be a Neo-Platonist, but I've never heard of him claiming to be a Gnostic.  He (as did Jung) seems to believe that the border between psychology and religion is worthy of much mining.  I think that he is right. 

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I was surprised to read in The Idiot's Guide that Plotinus was anti-gnostic. I guess it's a fine line between neo-platonism and gnosticism that Plotinus just didn't want to cross.

As an aside, while I was at B&N the other night, I had them search to see if there was an Idiot's or Dummies guide to Plato. No such luck. They had many good books on Plato, but I'd like something light (and easy) which is why I like the Stupid People books.

Presumably, translated into spiritual or religious terms, expressing the True Self would be the equivalent of the Gnostic "express what is inside you, and what is inside you will save you" (quoted badly from memory).

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I'd never thought of that gnostic passage in that way before. (Actually, I've never thought of that passage in any way before. )

Jung was deeply influenced by gnosticism, so it's not such a stretch.

Cool stuff. Keep the insights coming guys.

For example, Hinduism and Buddhism seem to me to have insights into the soul that you don't find in Christianity. 

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I think Thomas Moore (whom I'm quoting so much lately), a former Catholic monk, has the insight that he does into the soul, not only because of Jungian psychology, but because of his studies into eastern spirituality (zen).

It seems to me that in the gyre model, Knowing is really suspecting--or maybe intuiting. 

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I like that. "I suspect that God might be ..."

"But sacred ignorance teaches me that that which seems to the intellect to be nothing is the incomprehensible Maximum." - Nicolas of Cusa