soma

A Prayer of Thanksgiving ( http://www.angelfire.com/md/elanmichaels/thanksgiving.html) Thanksgiving Prayer We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children. Iroquois Prayer, adapted (Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace)

Bill thanks for making me think. Pluralism tells me that isolation in the flavor of an ideal is no longer a possibility. For me to have a deeper commitment to the Christian faith and to be in Christ in my own experience I need other people, different ideas, theologies and beliefs. I see the buffet of differences as opportunities given by God. I see spirituality collapsing the old forces of domination. I was captured and enclosed in the old forces of domination like most people in Christianity. It was the first level of my spiritual experience so I had to break out with mythology of expression, which is nonverbal, I then saw the Bible in a different light cast as a myth in the form of narrative. Mythos brought me to the logos in the uttered word and the word remaining within. Now, I had to analyze other mythologies in my culture and religion and in others. This relativism of differences lay bare the roots in my experience and the differing truth claims of others. Traveling I saw that most values are specific to a person’s culture so I had no right to impose the values from my culture onto any other culture or person. In my relativism I could not tell anybody or any culture that their traditional values were false. I saw that the cultures, religions and philosophies that had imprisoned me regarded themselves as the chosen people, the real people, and referred to everyone else as wicked, miserable, treacherous or sub-human. In silence I found the answer to the question I was looking for in dialogue. This silence was not a state of emptiness, but the fruit of my dialogue in which a fresh awareness of the presence of God sharpened and focused the similarities clarifying the common aspirations and common origin in the one God. The differences were not dissolved, but regarded as a mutual good, something necessary for me to experience the here-and-now in the absolute God of my life. I cannot love my neighbor as myself if I make my place higher. God is the unique place where my neighbor and I have common characteristics, consequently the one place that enables me to love my neighbor as God loves without any attempt at molding him.

Thank you all and may we all enjoy the gift of a simple Thanks and giving that comes with dinner.

Paul salutations to the God, Divinity within you, Great question. I feel God is in the physical and in the non-physical so contemplation helps me to quiet or silence my mind to feel a medium permeating everything including myself. I like to call it an ocean of pure consciousness then when I open my eyes I feel that same presence permeating the solid and mental states. A mirror 360 degrees smiling and grinding my rough edges so the medium has no barrier. God is all round and inside so I only need to witness grace removing the barriers that keeps the medium from my consciousness. "Love your neighbor as yourself." I think Jesus was saying for some it is good to start with one's self and when you see God in you then you can love and see it in others. Spiritual practice is seeing the medium, God in your wife, boss, the people who annoy you and just be. There is no where to go to be in God because we are already there so we just love.

Scientist are zeroing in on the God particle. The preferred name for the God particle among physicists is the Higgs boson, or the Higgs particle in honor of the physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed it more than 40 years ago. They are colliding sub particles from the atom to discover it. Scientist are developing their brains uniting both hemispheres to acknowledge that the universe is one vibration or uni-verse. We have the String Theory, but the discovery of the God particle can merge theology and science in unity. I will change science as we know it.

Peaceofmind, Thanks what a lovely way to introduce yourself and welcome.

nice biography, to the point

I enjoyed it. Thank you

Nick, Thank you that clip was witty and funny. I read that many conservatives are fans of Colbert because they really believe what he is saying and think he is a real conservative.

Great read these biographies! They are like Zen koans. My life keeps changing so I have two more biographies. 1. Already been on all the rides. 2. Mystic fool gaining confidence in nonsense.

I remembered who I was Spirit. Soma It is assumed that Hemingway started this with his own biography. I guess he wrote, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Please write yours if moved to do so.

I believe in universalism. I feel some in the world today have forgotten their true nature and have tumbled into chaos. This fall is nothing but the conscious separation of the microcosm from the macrocosm. For me the fall of Adam and Eve symbolizes the looking only at the external forms of creation. This fall for me symbolizes the world as an independent reality different from the Father's. I feel the pain comes from seeing many different things separated from God instead of one ocean of consciousness united in God. When we lose the inner communion with all that there is, we are thrown out to endure the pain and suffering of the external world until once again we return to inner peace. The personal story of Adam and Eve explains the tendency within the universe to disperse. A centrifugal motion radiating from the nucleus is what causes the worldly consciousness to appear to separate from God. In my universalism I feel the world in itself has no reality at all because it is in perpetual change without much meaning or consistency. The objects and things existing in it are separated in time and space and are changing from one moment to the next. Therefore, the microcosm apart from the macrocosm is nothing, but when it knows the macrocosm, it is reality itself, constant and full of being. The feeling that we fell from pure consciousness and loss bliss is due to the separation from our internal existence. This has caused the present era of confusion where everything is divided, not centered, and separated from the whole or pure consciousness. I relate this to the story of Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden or the unit consciousness separating from pure consciousness. Great thread, I really enjoy the different views expressed.

spiritseeker, I am glad you came back so we can learn from each other. Soma

Dutch, have a great trip. I am sure many thoughts will pass through you. I just returned from San Francisco where I took my son and my wife's niece to the play Peter Pan. I saw it in the 70,s in London, but now it is even more creative with all the new technology. My son is doing a residency at the hospital there and has just become independent from me financially. I am really impressed how he has grown and evolved. When I am with him now, I observe and witness God's work through him. He is not interested in spirituality at this time, but I see he is developing his consciousness so we just hang out. It is not the time to talk about such things at this time, but I still enjoy him spiritually.

Nivanna, you are right it would be nice to have a stronger female voice. I am concerned with all those issues, but will be leaving every thought behind as I go to my son's graduation from pharmacy school. It will be 4 days devoted to my sons and wife. This is a retreat where I will see and serve the Divine in them.

I am going to go outside and meditate and then work in my garden. They seem to be the same thing, but I need to sit first and work second.

Jake good luck with your fast. I know fasting alters one's consciousness so I hope you have many deep thoughts and are not affected by the negativity around you since you are going out.

The group is called Masters of Chant. They sing modern pop songs in a Gregorian Chant mode. Traditional Gregorian Chant is also nice if you like that kind of thing.

I feel everyone has some talent to offer the world and their unique purpose is an agreement with their soul. They come to earth to heal, but also to contribute in specific ways. It might be to help people that were in similar situations as themselves, start a business, raise a family, or just be a friend in need. When the soul succeeds in reaching a goal the person is empowered and fulfilled. When we don't follow the soul, I feel we become confused and try to fill the void with a physical power that usually gets us in trouble. I feel eventually people hunger for the energy of their soul, the fulfillment and joy of the path or special agreement with their spirit. The people engaged with their soul mentality and work agreement have an energy and love that is positive. They delight in their work and it is contagious bringing an awareness to the special purpose and meaning in others. I don't think the soul awareness is easy as we have to face our demons and fears, dealing with sexual predator might be one of them. Moving through our experiences we grow and develop only to grow closer to our soul and the numerous paths and choices that have to be made for fulfillment. I feel we know those who are sincere and need our encouragement and those who will ignore our help at a certain time. I feel when Jesus said, "Don't cast your pearls before the swine," he was saying give your energy to those who will appreciate, use it, and enact their own purpose with awareness and optimal efficiency. No one can help and individual that doesn't want to be helped. The downtrodden are usually open for change because they have been broken by society while the arrogant might need a few more physical experiences to make them more aware of what is available spiritually.

People commit sexual crimes because they are troubled. I feel some people want to serve, counsel and help these individuals so they may progress to a better place. They should be given the opportunity to change their lives and be accepted if they show a sincere effort to understand and change a behavior that is harmful to others. People in the general population who might have had an experience as a victim might be traumatized by their presence. They have a right to progress and forgive at a safe place without being forced to accept something before its time. I think a medium can be worked out in acceptance to both situations. When I was young I taught meditation and philosophy at a prison. The members of the class when they came up for parole had no one to support them. I had a business so I set up a half way house so they were released to me and I gave them a job. I could only afford to hire them for a month then they had to find other employment. I did set up a house for their living needs. It was a small number, but most became productive citizens. I have to admit that most were in prison for drugs, but they did rehabilitate. I found that when they were released they mentally were still in prison because they had a complex and a record so it was hard for them to find a job. It was a severe test that most without support fail because they feel they are outsiders. I lived in the house with them and we set up a schedule that was strict with two group meditations daily. They even did community service by attending classes and giving classes at the mental hospital. I learned from them. They changed and helped me change too. In the prison class there was a man who murdered his wife and he was becoming very devout, but he was in a more structure situation of prison and was not going to be release. I watched one native American who was in prison for a minor crime of stealing the American flag from a sheriff's office. It was the sixties. He was very sensitive and didn't belong there. At one point he had to go to a holding tank with other hardened criminals for defiance and when he returned he had a hard shell that was hard to break through. People can change and deserve a chance, but people who are not ready to accept them need respect too and the time away from them to change their attitude.

Thanks for the recommendation. The music is inspirational.

Dutch good to see you have your sea legs and are on board again.