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Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 13, 12:39 PM: |
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Is there a God in your life? |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?openarms said Jan 14, 5:11 AM: |
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i took a picture of a the crows sitting in the pine tree outside my house yesterday. they weren't particularly beautiful.. but i felt that they embodied this miraculous energy; i wanted to capture it… |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 10:08 AM: |
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Charetta, |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 14, 9:51 AM: |
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…hmm…. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 10:13 AM: |
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Christine, |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 10:49 AM: |
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Rambling, I suppose: |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?~KES said Jan 14, 11:48 AM: |
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When I read the book Science of Survival I learned more about and believe in a Supreme Being. A culture is as rich and as capable of surviving as it has imaginative artists, skilled men of science, a high ethic level, workable government, land and natural resources, in about that order of importance. One might postulate two more realities. The first is that of the Supreme Being. no culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being. It is an empirical observation that men without a strong and lasting faith in a Supreme Being are less capable, less ethical and less valuable to themselves and society. A government wishing to deprave its people to the point where they will accept the most perfidious and rotten acts, abolishes first the concept of God. And in the wake of that, destroys the family with free Love, the intellectual with police-enforced idiocies, and o reduces a whole population to the estate somewhat below that of dogs. A man without an abiding faith is, by observation alone, more of a thing than a man. Modern science, producing weapons for the annihilation of men, women and children in wholesale lots, has solidly run itself aground on the reef of godlessness. Modern science has gone so far as to advocate the rise of Man from mud and clay alone, has denied to him even a semblance of a soul and so has not only solved more of the problems of the humanities, but has aided and abetted a godless, totalitarian government which seeks nothing less than the engulfment and enslavement of all men and the extinguishment of every spark of decency in the breast of every human being. These two tracks which led away from the affirmation of the existence of a Supreme Being (modern science and totalitarianism) are both bring Man into a machinelike state of being, where the ideal has become a lump of muscle, greasy with sweat, or a grimy mechanic serving a howling monster of steel. The arts, the humanities and the decencies are fallen away from until they are like tiny stars shining across a great, black void. The abandonment of the admission of a Supreme Being, as a reality intimate to the life of Man, makes prostitution the ideal conduct of a woman, perfidy and betrayal the highest ethic level attainable by a man, the obliteration by treachery, bomb and gun the highest goal attainable by a culture. Thus, there is no great argument about the reality of a Supreme Being, since one sees in the failure to countenance that reality, a slimy and loathsome trail downward into the most vicious depths. The spiritual universe is a postulated reality for which there exists much evidence. You can draw a diagram of a triangle–in one corner is the Supreme Being, next corner is the Physical Universe and the third corner is the Spiritual Universe. Assumption of this reality is solving some of the major problems of the humanities. It has long been considered beneficial in psychotherapies for a person to be able to face reality. However, none defined what reality was and so the individual found this rather difficult. There would be two realities with which the individual was most intimately concerned: the internal reality of his own existence and past and the external reality of his present time environment. To this could be added, of course, his future reality. The book shows reality down to cellular life and from reading about that and the perceptions and tones to perceive and observe, we create miracles daily ourselves and with the belief in the Supreme Being whenever we need it. I have found for myself as an artist and running my own business in making documentaries, paying rents on my studio and home that my belief in and thank God and running things by pure postulate at times and making that stick, has gotten me through the tough times.  |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 1:14 PM: |
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Kathy … :O) … the problem is adults whose cognition is developmentally arrested in Concrete Operations. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?~KES said Jan 14, 1:32 PM: |
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I should delete? I don't understand. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 7:12 PM: |
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No. Don't delete, Kathy! |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 15, 4:04 PM: |
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hi Kathy…. third time responding… this time - writing offline and pasting… I want to spend a couple of minutes responding because i had a reaction to your post - and wanted to explore what that meant for me. So, i think the crux of it is, for me, that i don't actually think that faith in a Supreme Being is related to healthy compassionate living… and the lack of belief in a Supreme Being does not breed depravity. Rather, i believe the most vibrant societies come from a sense that each individual is part of a much greater continuum… and that encourages individuals to see past their own story, their own salvation. - interestingly - in this circumstance , in the letting go of personal salvation - one is saved. As you know, some the most depraved actions …. have been in the name of a Supreme Being… so faith in God does not render a culture impervious to hideous deeds. I am thinking of the slaughter in south and central america of the indigenous peoples there - within an amazing short period of time… by europeans… partially in search of gold to finance the Crusades…. and colonization in general throughout the world by europeans… bolstered by their version of religion and notion of being “an advanced” society and race… and especially i am thinking of a place i have been to - about 12 years ago now - where there is no faith in a Supreme Being, but there is enormous faith in compassion…. a place where culture, art, religion is so integrated in everyday living that it is quite astonishing… where the guiding principle of the monarchy government (who only just had their first democratic election) is GNH - Gross National Happiness. This is the Vajrayana country of Bhutan. When i was there - there was no crime, no bitterness, no desparation. People lived simply for sure… in the village near to where we were every family had a plot of land and they worked hard growing food… and they traded with other people at different elevations so they could have everything they needed… no electricity, no heating - except the cooking fires inside the houses (we were at about 10,000 feet). Maybe people had one or two changes of clothes and socks were a symbol of wealth. There was a cow to milk - for cheese… and even in monsoon season, where there were water borne enteric illnesses - it was seen as an opportunity to cleanse (internally)… I don't mean to paint an unrealistic picture here - because Bhutan has it's fair share of challenges and difficulties - politically and otherwise - but i merely point out that these people - who quick to laugh and sing, to spontaneously start praying and reciting mantras… they are doing quite alright - without the Supreme Being…. (they call us butter people - because we are so physically soft) so - the only other thing i would like to say Kathy is that i trust you will not take offense because i disagree with you. I really enjoy your energy here and all the great contributions you make warm regards arpita |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 15, 7:33 PM: |
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…oh…. never mind the point about the quest for gold to finance the crusades…. sounds good - but there is a few hundred year disrepency there…. don't remember where i read that - but doesn't make much sense looking at historical timelines… regardless though, the europeans desimated entire cultures in short order. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?~KES said Jan 15, 7:56 PM: |
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Hi arpita, I see the difference and I don't feel we have any sort of disagreement but we have different viewpoints. To be honest with you from my own experience, when I play in the aesthetic band with any form of art and when I am operating the pod I cultivate called Dreams of Artists I feel very much like the culture you describe. When I am in aesthetics I find its easier to reach God or the Supreme Being. One of the reasons I use Supreme Being is that it also refers to people that I feel do stellar work. People are trying to control actions of others and cut down their self-determinism by using the thread and potentials of God – well, that has to be undone, cuz it makes one not even understand the subject of a Supreme Being. The way to undo it is to find who was trying to control him/her by using God as some threat. Its not OK and I know we can both agree on that. We had a huge thread on Economics in my other Pod that was about 128 comments. You don't have to read the whole thread but the parts on Bhutan and Gross National Happiness became a very HOT part of the discussion. I would love if you could post after the picture of the king or my last speech on happiness. I was dragged through the dirt on that discussion but persisted to show that happiness RULES along with attitude. Regarding just the word “faith”. I never tell anyone but I will now. I feel we are faith. Thanks for taking the time to read my comment. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Kevin said Jan 14, 3:56 PM: |
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to me the nature of the universe is dichotomous. So there always is and is not a “god” in my life hehe. Can “god” materialize on any plane in a specific, separate form? Or is “god” an energy that flows through everything? These seem to be the two options that most people I know struggle with. Wouldn't it make since, in this dichotomous universe if God was one thing and all things? But it is not significant in this present moment to know what exactly god is. The only thing that we need to know is that there is something there. There is something connecting all energies. There is something that is more powerful and spiritual than anything else humans can experience and that is love; compassion. We'll find out later if there is a god and what exactly that means haha, or we will die and nothing will happen, what evs! hehe. Me personally though, I feel non-it all of the time surging out of the deepest part of my being. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 7:14 PM: |
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So many people love you, Kevin! |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?openarms said Jan 15, 1:43 AM: |
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Can “god” materialize on any plane in a specific, separate form? Or is “god” an energy that flows through everything? |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 14, 6:38 PM: |
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weird… i replied twice to this post - both times it disappeared just as i was finishing… i guess i will just sit with this post a bit longer and just see how it feels later. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 14, 6:39 PM: |
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i was replying to Kathy's lengthy post… |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 14, 7:15 PM: |
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Christine, |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 15, 10:29 AM: |
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bump |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 15, 4:12 PM: |
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hi - i replied to Kathy's post finally - just want to direct you - it is up the thread a ways… i find when i post in the middle of a thread - sometimes it gets missed. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 15, 5:46 PM: |
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yes, it's a problem |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?~KES said Jan 15, 7:57 PM: |
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Thanks both of you… I answered just below your new post. whew… Let me know your take. Thanks!! Group hug here. Kathy
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Re: Is there a God in your life?arpita said Jan 15, 8:29 PM: |
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haha - yeah… i definitely won't be reading that entire Economics thread… |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 16, 12:22 AM: |
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bump |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?~KES said Jan 16, 9:48 AM: |
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About: “we are faith”. There was a man who sailed with Columbus, and used the Supreme Being to achieve incredible feats of danger and adventure, making his postulates and dreams come true in discovering America and from a story I read of that discovery made me come to that conclusion. We also “have faith” but there are times we can come up with examples in our life of overcoming obstacles toward goals that we are. We can discuss further when I return from the weekend trip.I put Keith's post here on Bhutan on GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Tharlam said Jan 16, 1:07 AM: |
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Hey ST.
Y'know - I am so going to buy you a helmet for your Birthday. I worry about those brain cells the way you keep bump-ing into things! - As for: Is there a God in your life? Well. As someone pointed out above, the word God is debilitating and unworthy when it comes to the indescribable. It is the same with all such words and concepts and brightly colored poetic renderings. The only hope we can truly derive from such notions is the knowledge that they are all pointing to -ultimately- the same 'thing'. God. Mind. Consciousness. Reality. Insert buzz word here. |
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Re: Is there a God in your life?Silent Temple said Jan 16, 9:30 PM: |
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LOL |
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Here is the link to the Gross National Happiness website.
If we could only model happiness perhaps one day everyone would actually feel it!
Gross National Happiness???!!!!
OMG, one of my early blogs, I asked (mused really, lol)…about how come a Nation wasn’t recognized by how happy its people are…for there is the real Greatness of a Nation! The Contentment of the People! =)
Fantabulous blog, very nice to see it is REALITY!!!
Muahhhs~~<3
Gross National Happiness is an approach to development unique to Bhutan. While conventional development stresses economic growth as the ultimate objective, GNH is based on the premise that true development takes place only when material and spiritual development occur side by side. For GNH to grow, government must concentrate on four key areas:
– Promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development
– Preservation and promotion of cultural values
– Conservation of the environment
– Good government
In a bid to popularize the concept internationally, the Bhutanese government is devising a GNH index that is expected to be ready as early as the end of the year. Unlike the gross domestic product index, however, a GNH index measures the quality of life based on 72 standards. “We’ve been chasing gross domestic product for decades, and now societies are starting to say we need to look beyond GDP and start measuring well-being,” said Jon Hall, a project leader at the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Isn’t this … like … past due?
Past due for sure, Keith :)
This is a great post and thank you for sharing it. I wonder if our shiny, new president will institute something like this? We should all get on his website and let him know about this if he doesn’t know already. I’ll bet Dennis Kucinich could head the department!
Yes, appears we’re heading in this direction, although under a different name/title.
{{{{BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR}}}}
Excellent post Keith! I recently read an article in which the results of a study found that money only accounts for about 12% of our happiness… how peculiar it is that our society bases the greatness of a nation on a matter that excludes 88% of the cause of our happiness. I truly look forward to the new America which will almost certainly take into account happiness as a factor of how great this nation is!
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/060629_money_happiness.html