soma

I think a conference would be great. I also think inviting guest speakers to the church would spark interest. The people who post here are so articulate I am sure some are authors or public speakers.

Thank you for this thread, Mysticism is so important because the mind is tender and is easily harassed in the noisy confusion of life so we need to discipline our minds to keep peace with our soul. In this way we can continue to wonder and see beauty in the world even with its fraud, strife and broken dreams. The person who does not recognize his soul, who does not commune spiritually is but a pair of glasses without an eye, a person with an intellect who is not aware of spirituality knows all the prices, but not the value of life.

Great question about Jesus. I feel Jesus worshiped God in everything because God is everything. The realization of God is in the soul, this Christ consciousness is what gave Jesus his miraculous power. He saw pure consciousness in man so was able to balance the personal and the impersonal aspects of God by serving man. He took the time and the troubles to detect the deceiving projections of the mind and dealt with them to become individually turned to the One Pure Consciousness of God. He placed God at the center of his own being and obeyed His will. Jesus controlled his thought processes and brought them into line with pure consciousness so he did not see the universe divided against itself with difference, dissension and division, but as one in harmony with itself. This gave Jesus an approving mind that was stable and positive, and above all else a unity with everyone and everything in Christ consciousness.

Some people see God as a person or diety that they can love and cherish and some see God as abstract which takes more of the intellect. Others want to serve God by serving humanity and all is good. I think it is best to know oneself. Then the type of God one chooses is more suitable and will make that person a better person. God is all encompassing so there are different ways to communicate. Aletheia your questions are great. It looks like your path is knowledge. Your questions will lead you and others to the prize.

For businessmen the main purpose of life might be to be efficient and profitable while for the working man it could be to bring home enough money to survive, but the real purpose in life is to attain a consciousness where we are happy in just being alive. How can we stand the tension of feeling happy in just being alive, knowing that we are just earthly mammals while at the same time considering we are one with the whole universe? If we do feel ourselves to be a part of something much greater, how can we keep our feet on the ground? It is very difficult to keep these inner opposites united without going from one extreme into another extreme. We have to work and earn an honest living, and we have to be warm-hearted to our family and friends. We also have to deal with others in the commercial world where jostling and shoving are the rules, but in all these experiences there is an inner life of peaceful enjoyment. This consciousness pervades the body and the mind and can be the center for our relationships in this world where significant realities are interwoven. Each reality pertains to a certain part of the mind and its function in this world. If we look at each part of the mind separately, we can gain an understanding of who we are and our relationships on earth, but God/ess is beyond the mind where everything is united or one. We can realize how we are made in the image and likeness of God by expanding our consciousness seeing ourselves united to the parents who's son was killed in Iraq or doesn't have enough food to feed the children. In duality there is more than one subject, but in God there is only one subject. "The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you............ Split a piece of wood and I am there; lift a stone and you will find me." Thomas 3;77

God loves me. God is the subject and me is the object. I love God. I is the subject and God is the object. The difference is that God's love is complete. He loves me competely because he knows me in my totality. I am within Him so He knows me inside and out. I love God is not a complete subject because I don't know God in His totality, but with Christ as an example when he said, "Let Thy will be done." When we are trying to bring balance in our lives, trying to solve problems, we can get positive results by thinking of Christ and his consciousness. He said, “Lord let thy will be done.” Let pure consciousness flow through my mind in the form of ideas, feelings and insights, and let the divine results appear. I love God in this instance would be a complete subject. Jesus said, "I and the Father are One."This attitude is healthy and much more relaxing than rushing about trying to force people, things and situations our way. God can only do for us what He can do through us, we our just a part of His divine plan. God’s intelligence will work out the details and work through us for our success, if we let Him. Once the ego is set aside, not annilhilated, unity is powerful because it gives us a positive attitude, the sense of peace in the midst of chaos and access to everything that is good. Health, happiness and prosperity come easily to one who knows that God's pure consciousness is operating through him. This person believes that he is not limited by anything that has happened or is happening at the moment, which gives this person the feeling of security and the ability to do anything that needs to be done.

We get high because the highest exercise of our intellect knows the purpose of our existence and can proceed to live intelligently according to it, if we direct our physical and mental activities to the pure consciousness of God. We know we are on the right path and the theory is correct because pure consciousness makes cheerful every action and person contacted.

God the Father is the subject. The Holy Ghost the verb as stated in the Trinity before. Jesus is the object that is linked to the subject and we are the object that can learn from Jesus to link to the subject. Jesus said, "I and the Father are One."

There is one subject, one value and it is reality. It is and includes the universe, but also transcends it. Creation is not an illusion as stated, but is absolutely real and part of God. God or pure consciusness is in the one and the many. Yes, we can love and can love with even more intesity, if we see God in all things. You will serve family members, co-workers and the needy with love and respect when one thinks God is dwelling in them. "Cloth me when I am naked, Feed me when I am hungry." Love is the key to expand the consciousness to supreme perfection. one One ONe ONE

Thank you for the link. It was enlightening. I could lable myself as a Christian Universal Dialectic. Here is why: The Christian symbol of the Trinity is used to bring us above reason to a nonlinear experience. It serves as an exit point from the physical world of parts to the interrelated multidimensional world of consciousness. It is not possible to govern at the same time all the diverse systems of the universe with only one component so Christians show God as a Trinity. God is represented as the Father, the Creator and the all-pervading consciousness from which everything comes forth. He is revealed in human life by the Son, the individual consciousness and is forever at work in nature through the Holy Ghost. God the Father is the subject. The Holy Ghost is the verb and the force that brings about creation. Whatever the Holy Ghost does is usually known as nature, but it is not nature. Nature is the property of the force of the Holy Ghost. God the Father is only consciousness, but He is the all-knowing entity and witnesses what the Holy Ghost does. The Holy Ghost is only suspended within the all-pervading consciousness of the Father. "And God said, Let there be light and there was light." In the beginning if there is only God, then whom is He commanding to let there be light? Remember when we talked about the primordial ocean of pure consciousness? The Holy Ghost is permitted to super-impose vibrations on the pure consciousness, it is the force that froze the water to make ice. We can say that one part of pure consciousness is directing another part to create as the subject permits the verb to act in the sentence. Now, in our sentence we have the subject and the verb, so the third part of the Trinity is the object. This is the Son. The Holy Ghost is sent forth from the Father, but the Son comes from the Father, and is made of the same material, pure consciousness. The relationship of the son and the Father is the same as between you and your hand as the microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm. This relationship in consciousness cannot create more consciousness; therefore the goal of the object is to know the subject. The Son and the Father correspond, but they are not equal. The Father is one and is united with everything. This principle of unity is ever active in the Son, but the Son must become aware of it, and become what He was before time. Our minds are just dots in this vast universe of pure consciousness so we cannot grasp it, but must sense this union with everything.

There is only one God that is composed of everything. Having said that He is omnipresent and sees everything within, but also without through us. He sees everything within and the duality without through our mind which can't grasp the immensity. Our eyes can't see something that is too small or too big, but do we have to see the sun or the electron to say it exist. We see a road and say it has a beginning and an end because we see one or the other, but if you see both ends simutaneously we see only one. God is everything on the table. We see a fork and think there is duality because we can't see the whole table. I said reduce everything to one, but it seems we are expanding our consciousness to one.

We take in the theories and get high. It's all good.

Lao Tze a taoist poet reads like a zen koan that snaps the mind to a parrellel universe where all is united. All religions trying to describe what cannot be described with words. We are in the matrix.

I went to India and lived as a monk, not buddhist, but I enjoyed the movie because it brought back memories of the older monks who taught and guided me with patience.

In my statement everything is one. God is everything. The water in the ocean is the collective unconscious as Jung would say I like to call it God's consciousness. The icebergs in the ocean of pure consciousness is also water so it is also pure consciousness in another form which can communicate and become one with the pure consciousness of one. Jesus said, " I and the Father are One." Nirvana the sanskrit term for enlightenment means without form (pure consciousness) . The small whirpool merges with other whirpools until there is only one. We are on the tip or crest of the wave so we wave and talk and think that there are two of us, but if we go deeper into ourselves, Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within" We go deeper and deeper in the wave until we are connected in the ocean of pure consciousness. Everything affects everything because it is connected. God is among us within and beyond our unit mind.

I feel the trinity is a way to talk about one universal consciousness with a mind that sees duality. It is like a music chord where three notes vibrate tobether to make one Chord or sound, universe ( uni or one verse). God Generator=God Operator= The Holy Ghost Destroyer= Jesus who came here to bring us away from the ego to focus on a broader focus, the all pervading pure consciousness of God.

A simple view is to reduce everything down or up to one. The infinite is everything because everything is within it, but if we look at the word infinite we see that the infinite is in the finite (in-finite). Another way to explain this would be the infinite is an ocean of pure consciousness and creation or finite are ice burgs in that ocean of pure consciousness. Both are pure consciousness as h20 is in both the ocean and the ice. I don't know which ism this relates to, but I feel it can be explained with science and metaphysics. Iinteresting web sites can be viewed at: http://www.geocities.com/trinitypublishing2004/ http://www.geocities.com/trinitypublishing..._evolution.html

I feel the theories of God and His revelation can be explained in modern terms and with rational, scientific explanations to satisfy the intellect. Once the inttect is satisfied we can go beyond it and feel Christ consciousness as we are lead through intuition and inspiration to a higher consciousness that is closer to God the Father or Pure consciousness. If I am becomming a better person and closer to God I have no fear and will not be intimidated by people who are afraid to shift their position to higher ground. Many people who are not haveing a spiritual experience condemn the practise because they are grounded in materialism. I think that is why Jesus was orinigally condemned and cruxcified.

I like God/dess I will try to use this term more often. Wouldn't it be nice if we thought of God/dess as an all pervading consciousness that permeates everything (impersonal), but is in all the people we know and don't know (personal) so by serving them we are serving God/dess.

Jesus is helping us be alert to our habitual thought patterns, which will make us aware to what causes us to think in negative patterns and what causes positive thoughts. The truth will help us to change our negative thoughts into positive ones so we can observe the presence and power of God everywhere and become aware that we are a part of the great unity expressed in God's pure consciousness.

Your poster sums up everything we are trying to say. I use to think I was a body with a soul so that poster would be scary, but now I know I am a soul with a body and can appreciate your keen sense of humor. Thanks to TheMeekShall

I just read and enjoyed this thread. You are all right, Jesus has been kidnapped by the right, and there is a need to claim Christianity because it too has been hijacked. The best tools are humor and love to counter their intolerance and hatred. I don't think we can define one personal relationship with Jesus as what Jesus is, but welcome all descriptions. We are all on different roads going through different things at different times. Some are organizers, some social workers, some philosophers or intellectuals debating philosophy, but if Christ is in their heart they are doing his work. Jesus is loving when we need love and stern when we need to stiffen up a bit. The relationship changes and progresses as we get closer. Every social movement starts with consciousness so when we raise our consciousness the people around us are affected. All boats rise with the tide. The right's weapon of mass desception will have no effect on our Chrisitaniy if we keep the values we hold dear in Christianity and Christ close to our hearts and follow that inner guide. We don't have to define but live the word and the light will be passed on. The right can only pee on a person's leg and tell them it is raining for a short time before they change position.

Hi, The author of the following book is a Catholic who lived as a monk teaching yoga and meditation. He wrote the book using Christian terms to express the mystical experience.The author lived as a monk and has some refreshing ideas on Christianity.The book is appealing in particular because it explains the Christian mysteries so everyone can understand them. The book evolves in stages as the reader is taken on a transforming journey through the layers of the mind, the parts of the mind and evolution. Among the themes explored are: Christ Consciousness, Trinity, and the Soul. It answered many questions that I had and it leads one to Christian Mysticism. I would recommend Evolution of Consciousness as a resource for spiritual renewal because the book outlines, with specific and practical guidelines, a life any person in the world—no matter their station—might adopt with great benefit. Here is ancient Christian wisdom written so contemporary Christians may understand. The web site is http://geocities.com/trinitypublishing2004/ http://geocities.com/trinitypublishing2004...4/artpage1.html

At this time I can't use any of it, but I think they will let me use the "other religions" after a suspension, but I am banned forever from Christianity. Good thing Jesus is in my heart. I think it is terrible that they have to protect Christians from thoughts, ideas even if they are provocative. I feel Christians can think and think of the Almighty God in many ways.

I lived as a monk for awhile. Here is a story that I enjoyed very much. I hope it helps. Two monks are walking and talking down by the river, when they come across a pretty woman who is having difficulty crossing the river. One monk picks up the woman without saying a word and carries her to the other side. The two monks walk for another two hours without saying a word, when the second monk says, "You picked that pretty woman up and carried her across the river." The first monk replies," I picked her up and carried her to the other side and put her down, but I see you have been carrying her for two hours."