Monday, November 29, 2021

I have told Christians that God has as many names as there are stars in the heavens

The Seven Sisters (Pleiades)

Before being relocated by Something to Key West in late 2000, and slowly but inexorably immersed and then drenched in local politics, which I found bizarre (to avoid more severe adjectives), I had other interests entirely, after being rigorously trained by what I knew was not of this world to have such interests.

From time to time in Key West, I shared some of my not of this world experiences with people I met, and later on blogs I created, and on other local social media. I saw very little interest and garnered plenty of retorts that I was crazy, using psychedelic drugs, should shut up and go away, and such. I never used psychedelics. A few people sided with me, which perhaps kept me from going batshit crazy from loneliness.

Not long ago, I learned of online social media forums for free and open discussion in what I used to be deeply immersed. I joined in those discussions and shared some of my and other people's experiences with not of this world influences. So far, I have not been accused in those forums of being crazy, but hope springs eternal 😎.

Below are comments under yesterday's If God really existed, would there only be one religion? post at this blog, which I reposted in one of those forums:

Hard
All true spiritual paths lead to the same destination, and they can be in different forms. Everyone's path is their own and unique.

Me
Agreed, but it seems religions, in the main, have a one size fits all perspective and approach and try to turn out robots.

Chick
that reminds me of a hindu verse from bhagavat gita BG 4.11: In whatever way people surrender unto me, I reciprocate with them accordingly. Everyone follows my path, knowingly or unknowingly, O son of Pritha.

Me
And people who do not surrender have their own path, too; and, I think, what matters in either approach is how people live and relate to other people and what life serves them.

Chick
yes, that is also explained in the scripture as well paths, it even means an atheist/not spiritual person is following their own path too. overall though within this text it says love is the easiest path so it tends to focus on surrender that’s why it said the surrender thing that even not surrendering is valid. It’s just the religion views everything as divine so ultimately everything can become surrender

Me
I agree that surrender to what I grew up calling God, which has many names on this world and elsewhere. A lot of people surrender to something else.

Chick
sometimes strict guidances also gives people comfort and that’s fine! Not everyone resonates with being able to choose like that.

Me
I ignore or trample my training and guidance, I get seriously roughed up. I have known a few people in similar "predicament". I am pretty sure, if that "method" was imposed on everyone, humanity would be very different. However, I do think either great desperation or great longing to be handled in that way may be needed for a person to have that experience. I do not see it being forced on anyone, although there are places in the Bible where it was forced on someone.

Not
Lots of assumptions in this conversation. Most coming from religious traditions. So this reads kind of like a comparative religion essay.
Every major religion seems to come to the conclusion that theirs is the one true god. I call that hubris. It's what humans do when they get full of themselves.
The human mind is a story teller. Stories have to fit the models in our heads, or they get revised. This is what I think happens to a lot of our first hand spiritual experiences; we stop the experience until we can analyze it into one of our existing models.
Spiritual experience is more meaningful than analyzing the possible structures of spirit. The logic on language is one bias on such an analysis, and there's always missing data. IMHO it's better to have an experience that you cannot explain than to have a rational guide to all of existence but no experience.

Me
I have experiences ongoing that I can explain, and often do explain, but a receptive audience is small.
I came up through Judeo-Christianity, then went through the New Age fairly fast, and looked at some other traditions, and then figured out I had failed real good, had no more bright ideas, and in that state, prayed. "Dear God, I do not wish to die like this, failed." Pause. "I offer my life to human service." I went on about my day. About 10 days later, in the wee hours, I woke up to see two etheric beings hovering above me in the darkness. White, with tint of blue, shaped like shifts. Although I saw no wings, I thought they were angels. I heard clearly, but not with my ears, "This will push you to your limits, but you asked for it (I remembered the payer) and we are going to give it to you." I saw a white flash as my body was jolted by something electrical. That happened two more times in quick succession. The beings dissolved. It had begun.
What a trip. Still in progress. Can't prove it happened, nor anything else that happened. But it happened. My eyes, ears, internal organs, feelings, thoughts, dreams, visions, odd not usually pleasant body sensations when I went astray were proof enough for me it was all too real. As was being corrected, rebuked and redirected ongoing. I was taken back into Judeo-Christianity and deep into it and through it. I was given views of some Bible passages that did not agree with mainstream Christendom. I was taken beyond the religion. Church going no longer fitted me. I was in church all the time.
My brother in law was sort of a soldier of fortune some of the time. He sometimes left on secret missions. He told me of being in Beirut, Lebanon, walking down a road in a bombed out section of the city. They saw a building with an open door, which they entered and it went into a basement. There sat an old man at a table with three chairs. On the table was a tea pot and three cups. He invited them to join him. After they chatted and drank the tea and they were about to leave, he told them, "There is only one God." They left, walked a little ways and decided to go back. When they reentered the basement, the man, table, tea pot, cups and chairs were not there.

Not
Oh I like the Beirut story.
I was given the assignment in one of my clairvoyant training classes to take the supreme being out for a beer. Stop laughing! That was really the assignment.
I'm walking home after class and there's this neighborhood bar that I always pass but have never been in. I go in.
It's dark and loud and crowded. I'm about to leave when I see two empty stools at the end of the bar. I take the one near the corner of the bar and leave the one next to the wall empty. I'm as embarrassed as I've ever been in my life, but the bartender finally interrupts my thoughts and I place my order: "Two beers, please."
A few minutes later, he places two coasters on the counter, one in front of me and the other in front of the empty stool. Then he places these tall, frozen glasses of beer on the coasters, and walks away.
I'm laughing at myself to break the tension. I sip my beer; wow is it good. I'm staring at the empty stool and the second beer, the foam now dripping over the rim of the glass and running down the side. I take another sip and think I hear my name being called in the crowd to my left. I turn my head, see no one I recognize, don't hear my name again, and look back in front of me. It was only a moment.
That's when I notice half the beer in the other glass is gone. There's no one behind me or behind the bar in front of me. I hear loud laughter, but everywhere I look I see only conversations drowned out by the loud jukebox.
I finish my beer, leave a good tip, and thank the SB for showing up and having a beer!
Yeah, your brother in law will get a kick out of that one.

Me
My brother in law crossed over some years ago, but where he is, perhaps he's drinking a beer with you, as he did like that pastime. I very much like your report. I can imagine you could get some looks and some smiles if you tell that story face to face.

Chick
This whole post is from an extremely dualistic religion perspective. What my tradition growing up said was that every single person will have their own unique understanding of the infinite consciousness (Brahman) the divinity that pervades everything. Religion is just the ancient people’s trying to understand this divinity and they may have even channeled information from divine beings. I think there would be one religion if we were all the same! In my families religion(hinduism) there is so many spiritual paths and we get to pick which one we like and many scriptures that we are allowed to believe in or reject, but ultimately everyone believes in Brahman, karma, and reincarnation but we all have different beliefs on how to experience and realize the Self/Brahman via our individual paths. That’s why this religion is not really congressional because it can’t be because we all have our own sadhanas (individual spiritual practices) so it can get lonely at times so that’s why i learned to respect the other religions that aren’t as individualistic because some people may like the strict guidance and community it may also help with mental health if someone has a solid foundation etc

Me
I have told Christians God has as many names as there are stars in the heavens. I have known a number of Americans who felt they found in India what they they were unable to find in America. I have known Americans that felt they found in Sufism what they were not able to find in America, and in Taoism, Buddhism and Arcane systems, and Native American, and in South American and African shamanism. I myself had a profound dreamtime experience in1995 in the Australian outback with a male and female aborigine in still intact tribe not polluted by civilization.
In 2002, a woman I loved told me in a dream that I had married Kali! I woke in shock. I viewed Kali as the Hindu Goddess of Destruction and Transformation. The art of Kali standing with one foot on Shiva's chest, holding a crescent sword in one hand and a severed man's head in another hand, wearing a necklace of severed men's heads, left me thinking she did not care for how men think. After hearing of that dream, I was roughed up pretty good when I didn't relate well to women or the feminine. I dreamed of Kali from time to time. She looked nothing like that art I described. But she sure let me know when I had displeased her.
I think reincarnation is perceived as a lethal threat by Christendom, which, in the main, has the die and go to heaven or hell forever view - even though Jesus and his disciples discussed reincarnation in the Gospels😎. I do think, though, that knowing of reincarnation can be used to slack off or go off the reservation knowing there are more chances. Me, I don't like the ideal of creating karma that will come back and bite me in the ass in this or a later life. I hope, as if that matters, this is my last trip to this dimension on this planet. I'll learn about that in the afterlife.

Hard
I think we have many different religions because humans have free will and are always persuaded by things that stroke their ego. Religion can and has also been used as a tool to control the masses. I don't think that's proof to say there isn't one god, or one creator above everything. I know its not a warm view point but I do feel like life is somewhat of a test to see if we can honor our intuition and grow discernment for truth or if we choose our ego and imagination.

Me
I think you summed it up well. Although, free will is not particularly free, if we consider that the conscious mind is maybe 10 percent of the total conscious we have but are not aware of, also called the subconscious, which is always working on something of which we are not particularly or at all aware; and there is all the childhood family, church, social and educational programming (brainwashing) and soul-wounding that also is working hard within us, and has us convinced we are on top of things, when we are a bit out of touch with a lot of what is happening because of the aforementioned programs running hard in us. So, we need a hacker or a virus maker to help us debug ourselves? I certainly needed that, and still need it. And, I can say I never knew anyone who didn't need that kind of help to wake up, so to speak😎.

sloanbashinsky@yahoo.com

No comments: