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enlightenment
November 2008 
Proof of God
yaffie
This was my friend Carina's final assignment for philosophy. The assignment to the class was to Prove the existence of God. She is not fluent in english but in spanish and hebrew. I was fortunate in that no one understood her ideas in college so completely as I did and so I have the priviledge to write her work and to translate her ideas; she has received every honor in the department of psychology for her graduating class, she is a brilliant thinker and i will also write a book with her soon.. Enjoy!
Descartes ideas on the subject of knowledge, reason and truth initiate the path for a scientific discourse. Science, however, has not always existed in culture. I consider the ego of the individual not as a subject of knowledge, but a subject of the unconscious mind. Both Pascal and William James argue that there is a truth that transcends the limit of the human being and therefore individuals have the proclivity or inclination to seek truth outside of themselves.
Despite the similar stands against Descartes ideas, Pascal and James have different perspectives of human existence. Pascal believes in a transcendent God, thus truth for him is on a spiritual level. The deity transcends or goes beyond human limitation. Pascal understood that there are two categories of individuals: the believers and the non- believers. It is my understanding however, that both believers and non-believers are in the same positions in that they all believe in something. Debates exist as to the ultimate reality or truth being in reason, like science is on logical thinking and reason, and psychoanalysis is in the will and the unconscious, as James believes-- or in God. I believe one day in the future, mankind will have an elevation and have access to illumination through integration of science and religion, and this will be real wisdom and true, complete knowledge, because wisdom on the level of logical argumentation is very limited.
This I believe is the idea of William James.
According to James: "We find ourselves believing we hardly know how or why... Our
faith stems from the teachings of others and their faith becomes ours to whatever degree we can relate, be motivated and stimulated by, identify with, and access tools for expansion towards growth, therefore it is faith in someone else's faith and in the greatest matters this is mostly the case. Our belief in truth itself, for instance, is that there is a truth and that our minds and it are made for each other. "(585) Human beliefs are a matter of will. There is an expression of free will through belief in God, interactions with others and expressions of feeling. However, belief in a higher power escapes reason. A person chooses to possess faith in God, believing that God is so much greater and chooses to follow the guidelines of a particular faith to grow and become bigger. His or her values are not determined by other individuals. Meanwhile, science advances supposing that it discovers but what science does not know is that it does not discover anything, it only invents. Science does not know the reaches that knowledge has when ignited by the generator of faith; for this reason Lacan says that the scientist doesn't know what he is doing. I believe this is true because the scientist has no conscious understanding, no awareness, that any higher knowledge he has access to or is privy to-- exists on the level of spirit and is innate in his soul. If he doesn't believe in a higher level of existence, his wisdom is limited and his work is stymied by his own blindness.
If we have no faith, we can not know for certain whether or not God exists. However, faith gives limitation wings and empowers one to access higher levels of wisdom, fulfillment of higher wisdom, increases potential, knowledge, thought and action. There are things we can never know and it will be very interesting for me -- if in the future - reason and faith will be integrated harmoniously as they co-exist together to manifest in higher levels of empowerment when man will discover and live according to these loftier ideals and levels of essence of being. It is my further opinion that ultimate reality will come about through maturation of spiritual understanding, also from our reasoning ability as long as we don't close the door to spirit, because when we close the door to our spirit, the door to wisdom also closes along with it, and likewise ultimately the door to our greater ability to deduce logic and reason. The greatest of all thinkers and the most brilliant contributors to history, culture, and philosophy are those with a spiritual ‘savvy,' those with a higher regard for a higher power, they have maturity of soul, whether they attribute their beliefs, knowledge, intelligence and wisdom to faith or not, themselves or not, the highest levels of knowledge, truth and wisdom can only be found in God.
Our knowledge from mind or brain without the power of a developed spiritual base from the source of soul goes only so far, and science is limited while it denies the existence of the spiritual and prefers to count only reason in its calculations.
I am not speaking now about RELIGION because religion in this world results in creating dichotomies far too often, whereas, the subject of God has nothing to do with religion but more so has to do with creation and how the created has the ability and the power to manipulate the universe through wisdom and knowledge to make the world a better place to live. There are hardly two people in the world who will both agree in terms of belief regarding God in their understanding of their own religious dogma. Rather I prefer to transcend this idea to continue on in the higher realms of understanding to discuss and present the idea of spiritual union in the arena of faith and unification.
Ultimately faith in God amongst mature individuals will manifest in a unification of wisdom, spirit, reason, knowledge, and then the final goal and purpose of the universe and its individuals is to interact with God with all respect and sensitivity to Gods creation and everything in it; that including plant, animal, and mankind. A person who has respect for God and this creation will spend his/her life living in a way that adds to, that nurtures and gives back to God, man and the universe and everything that that involves-will join forces with mankind to help in the perfecting of this universe rather than only taking from it, to cultivate good and to leave the world a better place. In the bible there is a concept written in Hebrew called "Yireh shamayim," to have awe and respect for God and heaven, which includes all of his creation, both the physical and spiritual universes, and all created beings.
It is my understanding that nothing happens, nothing is-- coincidence. It is not any coincidence that we are in this world together now. There must be a reason and an ultimate purpose, a cause, and an ultimate reality; that the intent of our Creator was to allow us to fulfill both his and our own individual potential, (which is really one and the same because his design for our ultimate good and highest potential) and a joint purpose on earth, for this reason we have a soul, (mind, heart and spirit), which the creator expects us to elevate and to use towards achieving loftier ultimate goals for ourselves as well as to use our energies, our very breath, to work towards reaching the fulfillment of our own perfection as well as our friends, neighbors and all humanity; and again, which also includes the physical universe and the whole of creation.
It is my further understanding that we are not here to enjoy only the pleasure of the material world or of the flesh, as I don't believe the creator is limited to this kind of shallowness. And as wonderful as pleasure is, I believe that there must be a cause and finality about why we are here at this time jointly sharing our lives together in the universe. There is an understanding in theological thought that every life that we connect with in this lifetime has been in our past previous lives and that we meet again to perfect or to fix that which was left unfixed, wronged, or undone, so I don't believe in coincidence, but rather I believe in the idea as Aristotle does, that there is divine intervention or providence, and Aristotle called this divine providence and divine intervention, "final purpose."
Now it is my belief that the most brilliant and mature of all whom we have studied are Pascal and Anselm. I will address the argumentation that brought us these greatest of thinkers.
There is only one creator, one source. There is only one source that we call on to get a job done, so it is the same no matter what name we use and that sole source is the motor that energizes and generates all of life, both in the physical-- material, and spiritual realms. The soul existed long before the created human being became flesh and therefore every human being can recognize of existence of God, from where its soul emanated. Of course they are those that deny the existence of God as we well know, however those people also deny then their own godliness, thus they do not live in total truth, as they will not admit that there must be a generator, a source, that has produced life from the beginning of inception and a cause.
To admit having a creator is to be responsible for having received life and to be in charge of that life with a certain respect and dignity towards human issues. If we believe that we are not the "ultimate captain of our ship and the ultimate master of our soul," then we will manifest in our lives respect for one another, appreciation for, the created and the creation, as the gift is a gift that we have are not able to generate ourselves, but this gift that we have been given is to add to humanity and to add to the quality of human life, which also includes animals and all of the rest of the physical creation, and to be a source of goodness that both the source, the giver, and all humankind benefits from. For this reason, our bodies are insignificant; it is only our soul that has any kind of significance whatsoever, we are not defined by body type, except on the most impoverished levels of shallow thought.
God is perfection and the intent of God is always to create goodness, therefore since God is the highest level of good and perfection then the cause of God can only be good and not bad. Since we are created body and soul, this dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual does exist, and as Plato said: "there isn't a way that both can govern -- either one or the other must rule, and the only thing that should govern and be accountable is the soul, and that is the only thing that does count. If we take the time to observe the beautiful and perfect functioning of our mind and body we cannot but come away with the understanding that this could not possibly be simple happenstance, certainly no accident here, rather an obvious intention from a higher source designed this perfection and its magnificence. How can we possibly think this perfection just occurred, that it came from nothing, when our brain is more complex and perfect than the most complex computer technology? This alone is evidence that a kind of perfection and higher power does exist that is responsible for creating our perfect brain and bodily functions as they have continued to function and that life continues to exist generation after generation; each seed reproducing after its own kind.
I agree to varying degrees with all of the greatest philosophers who wanted to show and prove the existence of God. I believe that the work and arguments that both Pascal and Anselm present are brilliant with regards to proof that God does exist and that their efforts to demonstrate these proofs to man of Gods existence has therefore fostered faith and good will, encouragement to good works and hope for the future to humanity.
from the archives of FAU.. Thesis course work...do not use without authors permission..c.cohen (translator y. liebowitz)
Access: Public
I think she was pretty accurate in her words here. I especially like her take on the word: religion, which can be, to me, the antithesis of God. God, to me is all loving and nonjudging. God exists in us and through us we are the embodiments of the sacred.
It is true that religion and politics create great schisms in the world.
For me, I need no “proof” God exists any more than I need proof that I am now living…it is not an arguable truth.
Perhaps what we all need to do, is think less and feel more, allowing our sixth sense to guide us in life. For although I am a thinker by vocation, I am an intuitive by avocation.
Blessings,
Aley
Thank you Aley,
I appreciate your comments altho I don't think that is what she is saying in total. She has a high regard for observance of Gods commandments as a blueprint for behavior..Yes, she would agree that religion CAN be the antithesis of God, and not even religion, but mans inablility to discern or to divide rightly the word of God as written in the Torah… but she does beleive that God is just and of course there must be justice to have balance. So, without justice evil would rule the world..left to our own devices and without a blueprint for living, who knows what we would become…we have God in the world, and we only need to look up at the stars and the skies to know that there is something to the symmetry and harmony of the elements. why don't clouds fall on our heads, or rain strike us down with its downpour and more force? Where did gravity come from??
Where did the power of intelligence originate? The spark of God within us to choose higher levels of behavior and values?
Whereas, we have the teachings of how to treat one another from the torah. There is no question about that…Too much love is sloppy and lacks discernment and judgement, no balance there…becasue no borders…
Too much severity is restrictive and stifles love and creativity, no balance there..but a proper balance of contraction –ie, strength, discipline, borders, mediated by kindness when and if appropriate manifests in harmony, symmetry and balance..
We need borders and boundaries…take a look around, there are hardly any borders left nowadays with regards to dress, sexuality, speech, its a free for all, and look what we have…a degenerating society.
Hi Yaffie
This is indeed the writing of a brilliant thinker,
I was deeply inspired and enlightened by this post, it did contain wisdom which resonated with me.
I particularly liked the part
'' Faith gives limitation wings and empowers one to access higher levels of wisdom ''
I do believe this to be so true, when we may experience doubt, fear and conflicting ideas in society, cultures and systems it is only through our deepest connection and knowing that we find a return to balance..
A knowing and awareness of God undoubtibly dwells within the soul, as mentioned perhaps each souls incarnation and experience here wether denial or knowing of God is part of the previous incarnation and process of evolution,
after all we must know what we are not, before discovering who we realy are..
I do know for myself that in discovering me and taking the responsibility ( which is always happening) I come to know God more in each moment, and yet how can I ever know that which is beyond my present comprehension, for such wonder and magnigicance I could never confine in my own expression, I might only hope to have a slight glimpse…
That which I am does have an awareness and knowing and as so elequantly expressed in the writing,
I am limited if I only look to my brain, calculation and logic for understanding and reason, something which I find I can no longer continue to do
'' Belief in a higher power escapes reason''
One cannot easily express with language, words and human ability ones higher knowing and connection, like the asking the fish to describe the water its swimming in!
And I am aware that some are far more gifted, poetic and delicate allowing us all the beautiful glimpse of creative expression, such works have gifted us with greater insight and profound knowing in times of deep searching and uncertainty.
The writings and insights once again are not co-incidences rather God-incidences all playing the wonderful parts on the path.
'' The cause of God can only be good and not bad ''
Therefore all that we see in the world from our human perception, that is of good,
we are taught, conditioned to see the oppisite as bad,
however the soul knows this as illusion, all part of one's experience and in seeing God in all things we come to bridge the dichotomy,
knowing that as God is in all things, all experiences result in the eye of the beholder..
When we experience pain, suffering, struggle we react and respond, sometimes ignoring our emotional guidance systems and perceive a greater seperation from all that is good,
when in truth we can never seperate from that which we are at one with..
I find it is in these moments that our connection seeks that of itself, as if in an illusion of seperation must reach to realign and know always the gift of balance..
Perhaps we must look for and see the balance, even better we may be the balance or at least aim for it in each gesture, word and experience, for as we have awareness of God then we surely love to be like God…
Thank you for sharing this wonderful post..
Ange, thank you for your thoughtful and perceptive, intelligent, comments. What a breath of fresh air..
Yes, what we see as bad, is illusion and is all for the purpose of good, rightly said. For we do not see as God sees, know as God knows what test and trial will perfect us and create in us expansion!! I would have liked to see this on the discussion board, the God Pod, can you please copy paste it there, and it will be easier for me to respond and your comments will bring light and pleasure to that discussion. I am exhausted from todays discussion!! lol..
yaffa
Dear Yaffa, hope you are refreshed today! Thanks for this discussion here and also in the
God Pod
Dear Yaffa, hope you are refreshed today! Thanks for this discussion here and also in the
God Pod
i wrote a twenty page thesis on wm james' views on this subject, and didn't really scratch the surface of what he said. but i'm going to attempt to sum it up here real short for ya.
“faith stems from the teachings of other”
this statement has been taken way out of context. James perspective on religion was that belief in God [sic] was based upon personal, subjective, spiritual experiences. Such experiences, being totally subjective, cannot be proven objectively. No proof is needed for the subject, as such experiences are self-validating. this is discussed in great detail in The Varieties of Religious Experience.
We choose to believe that our subjective truths apply objectively to other's experiences as well because it is useful to do so (see The Will to Believe and other Essays), but we are making an empirical error (see Radical Empiricism) when we make such assumptions. He calls this the Psychologist's Fallacy. this is discussed in Principles of Psychology. (that's a huge volume, my copy is over 1500 pages. i think this bit can be found in chapters four and five, if i am not mistaken. I can go check if you want.)
so in my own words… i believe in gods because i have personally had experience of such indescribable things that i cannot explain to anyone who has not shared similar such experiences. these gods are true for me. period. the experience itself proves it beyond any shadow of doubt. but it is my subjective, personal experience, and does not necessarily objectively apply to anyone else's subjective experience. what i experience is real, doesn't have to be real for anyone else for me to believe it. likewise, other people's experiences are just as real as mine, even if they do not apply to my reality. what other people believe is true makes no difference one way or the other. it's all subjective.
hi, please come look at the God Pod portion, I will add there, Nicole and boogie, et all..
Hey boogie,Thanks for your input….
I am not sure she said anything differently than that. did you read it correctly?? I bleeive we have said the same thing in a different light.
yaffa
I think this thread is wonderful, but I do not feel philosophically astute enough to “argue” any of the points here…so I will listen and learn…and not feel too bad if I do not say much…
:)
Aley, thank you…I am sure you will have your chance….you are astute enough for us~
Hey boogie, thank you for your feedback. I am not sure if we differ but one thing i do know..
There is only ONE God whatever you choose to call him. However, i don't know how that works if you don't call him accurately by at least one of those names that GOD really does go by!! For instance, if you would call on buddah, well, buddah is dead…so i don't know how much he could help..
Some people might call God by another name, but God has specific names and we must know with whom we are speaking. I hope when you are understanding that there is only ONE GOD, whether we like it or not, that in order to know who answers us, we would have to call by the appropriate name, whether, Ad-nai, or Elokim, GOD has many names in the bible…but even GOD will do!! And yes, I share with you in those experiences you have had that you know that it is not possible that the manifestation was from anything but certainly, THE GOD of the universe, the ONE and ONLY GOD! Good for you!! You are doing something right~
Having said that, I will also say that it is known and written that we can hear from other spirits, in judaism they are called demon spirits…they too have power, the power of evil…and obviously cults and demonizers, satanists call them gods, but they come from the spiritual side of (hebrew: tumah,) or impurity.. it is known that people who channel or give 'psychic' readings might inadvertently connect with these spirits because they are misguided and not in communion with the GOD of light and truth in the universe. There is an account of this written in the bible, and therefore we have the commandment to have no gods before God and not to enter into idolatries…but this is another story….!!!
yaffa
you are coming from a viewpoint of religious exclusivism, as is your friend who wrote the essay. william james (and myself) would argue against the notion of an objective Absolute Truth (God) which applies to all people. Descartes would, too, for that matter. All we have is our subjective personal experience, which is never exactly the same as anyone else's subjective experience.
Your God does not explain my personal subjective spiritual experiences. It doesn't have to. Your God may very well be true for you, but it is not true for me. And that's okay, because it's all subjective and we don't have to agree. The problem i have with what you are saying, what your friend is saying, and what Pascal said, is that you are trying to tell me that what i believe to be true is the same as what you believe, that your subjective beliefs reflect some sort of objective Truth with a capital T, and that my subjective beliefs also reflect this same objective truth (that i don't even believe in!). you do not share my personal experience. each person has their own unique experience and their own unique perspective on that experience. Truth does not depend upon how many people share the same belief, truth is only dependent upon each person's unique experience. You do not know what is in my head. You cannot define truth for anyone but yourself. it's all subjective. there very well may not exist any sort of OBJECTIVE ABSOLUTE TRUTH. even if any such objective thing does exist, belief in that relies upon a leap of faith. such leaps of faith are never logically nor empirically provable. the only people who will agree with your arguments in such attempts at “proof” are those who agree with the initial premise, that leap of faith, the desire to believe that there does exist something objective that corresponds to our subjective perceptions of it. so you're only preaching to the choir. they already share your belief, so where's the proof there?
coming back for an edit…
the dominant religions in the world have always villified any beliefs that disagreed with the notion of One Truth that applies to ALL people. And they use FEAR to control the people their religions are supposed to serve. Plato explained in The Republic how the notion of Evil must be invented by the ruling class to prevent the workers from revolting and overthrowing the government. Control through fear and abuse. It's nothing new. Prevent people from looking within for their answers by giving them an unquestionable (or else horrible things will happen to you) objective Absolute God, complete with a set of Rules chiseled in stone. Anyone who questions any of it, or tries to find their own answers, will suffer eternal consequences! Threats. Fear. Domination. Control.
It's genocide. and it's still happening to my relatives. and it's being perpetrated by the same people who suffered the same abuses in their own histories. we do not have to believe in your god. we have our own. and it's just as true for us as yours is for you. only difference is we don't try to make you believe in ours.
for the record, “Elohim” is plural.
A great discussion yaffy
The question of proof..How does one prove how much they love?
Can it only be words, deeds, explanation, comparison, length, width, weight, etc, or if we weigh time what shall the result be?
Can we?
In the scientific arena proof, results, dicsovery, all the result of brains alone?
Can we find God if we really believe God does not exist?
And if God is in everything then perhaps the I am, that I am is without doubt aware of itself…
This is one I have enjoyed following, I am unable to copy and paste to the pod as my web browser not compatible?
I am grateful for the oppurtunity to be part of this wonderful blog, I shall follow and learn here and the God pod..
Thank you!
yes, ange, your comments are thoughtful and your questions intelligent…it is amazing how we have the ability to con ourselves; to deceive ourselves…I did this years ago when I was 9 or ten years old…I thought, I don't need God, and went about my business of living without any acknowlegement of God in my life…that was a 9 year old position, a position made by a dissapointed child. i beleive many people go through this at times in their lives, and some of them perhaps, even here on this blog, like me, fell into this idea that God isn't. I fell into this again after my husband was killed. We can certianly force ourselves into a position to satisfy our own confusion in spite of our true core knowing….after all, one need only to see the constellations in the skies and the beauty of the earth to know that there must be God. There has to be a much higher intelligence. One has only to think about the brain and what its capable of to know that there is an order and symmetry that is evident in all of creation, this is no accident! Why do we have the need to deny it?? I don't know, anger, arrogance, naviety, influences, indoctrination??
By beleiving what is convenient or not beleiving what is difficult will only stunt our own growth…because if I don't beleive then I cannot even aspire to that which I cannot see……as you so rightly said…
some people need proof for what they find difficult to accept, others accept blindly. ..others want to Be GOD, and this, what a disapointment. For me, I know that without seeking and doing, striving for that highest level of learning and perfection, we are lacking and can accomplish little of what our potential really is…in intelligence, understanding, kindness, strength, courage, knowledge, loving or englightment.. We simply have the raw material without a blueprint to get to our potential…Thats what i know..like being blind with two good eyes..
No one can force a person towards permanent and creative learning, he will learn only if he wills to…this is the key…whoever doesn't, well, its their own loss and that is why we have free choice..to choose…i for one, am not interested in the person with two good eyes who refuses to see or the blind man who refuses to hear..I am only interested in pouring forth whatever God I have in me to those vessels that are on my level spiritually and who can benefit…for Good…not for evil…
And with that, I will add this:
enjoy!
My Muse
My muse is beyond beautiful, splendorous or magnificent
These words while descriptive oft seem trite
Cause I am unable to express or to fathom,
Or describe this muse in all depth and height.
Loyal and devoted twenty- four seven
Demanding and confrontational it seems
My muse stirs me while I sleep and speaks to me in dreams…
In every endeavor to exact the best from me.
Regardless of self proclaimed inadequacy
It continues its gracious and loyal devotion to me
Teaching that borders are generous indeed
Just look at the ocean and then pay heed.
The paradigm of loving kindness in literary form
Is every word that God has spoken
Every scripture I've ever learned and incorporated,
All the myriad verses I've understood
Every psalm I've every sung and every hymn I've ever written.
My muse is my constant friend
A never ceasing gentle persuasion
That encourages my soul with constant prodding
That keeps me nightly and sleeps me gently
Loves me in all tenderness
While yet ruthless in its insistence
To take charge over me for my good
Woos and stirs my hearts desires
Fans and flames my spirit fire
Encourages me to be bright and vibrant
My Muse is always God, His spirit alive in me.
© 8-7-2005
What is in a name? One thing I love about Gaia is the acceptance of so many different beliefs, around God, that is love, real love. Love is the road to God and there are many routes to God, the love and indescribable genious behind creation. Love does not need to be right or wrong it just Is. Aley and Boogie, you are right to trust your inner sixth sense and your experience, it is valid, you are loving ,.As God is Love Incarnate how can that be wrong?
zephyr, that's beautiful! yes, the diversity is great. ange, look forward to seeing you on the God Pod!
zephyr, everything is in a name!! by the hebrew letters we know exactly what the essence of a person is, what their character is, their nature. every letter in the hebrew alphabet has power and is revealing as to its nature. For instance, here is the yud, or y..
The letter yud, a small suspended point, reveals the spark of essential good hidden within the letter tet, or T. Subsequent to the initial tzimtzum, the contraction of G-d's Infinite light in order to make “place” for Creation, there remained within the empty void a single, potential point or “impression.” The secret of this point is the power of the Infinite to contain finite phenomena within Himself and express them to apparent external reality. Finite manifestation begins from a zero-dimensional point, thereafter developing into a one-dimensional line and two-dimensional surface. This is alluded to in the full spelling of the letter yud (yud-vav-dalet): “point” (yud), “line” (vav), “surface” (dalet). These three stages correspond in Kabbalah to: “point” (nekudah), “spectrum” (sefirah), “figure” (partzuf). The initial point, the essential power of the yud, is the “little that holds much.” The “much” refers to the simple Infinity of G-d hidden within the initial point of revelation, which reflects itself as the Infinite potential of the point to develop and express itself in all the manifold finite phenomena of time and space.
Before the tzimtzum, the power of limitation was hidden, latent within G-d's Infinite Essence. Following the tzimtzum, this power of limitation became revealed, and paradoxically the Infinite Essence of G-d that originally “hid” the power of limitation now Itself became hidden (not in truth, but only from our limited human perspective) within the point of contracted light.
From within this point of limitation is revealed the secret of the ten sefirot, the Divine channels of light through which G-d continually brings His world into being. Ten, the numerical value of the yud, is also the number of commandments (literally “statements”) revealed by G-d to His People Israel at Sinai. All the commandments, and in fact every letter of Torah, possess the power of the “little that holds much”; each is a channel for the revelation of G-d's Infinite Light in finite reality.
thank you ladies…diversity is good, I personally am a diverse person..however that doesn't mean that we cheat on our husbands, does it?? God forbid!!
blessings…
i find the concept of the sefirot fascinating… and no, we can definitely be diverse and faithful lol!
yes, i am glad to hear that you agree nicole, because if you think about it, many people do have that mentality…that they want to be 'diverse' do their own thing it was called in the last generation, and of course that funnels everywhere, including lack of loyalty..it scares me somewhat when i hear people say diversity is great, it makes me wonder how many gods one can have, how many partners, how many divorces, etc….how many kids from how many women, lol…its always about borders…..always boils down to knowing whats appropriate to keep balanced..
indeed, balance is crucial… sometimes though divorce is necessary. you were blessed with a prince of a husband. i got to the point where i became afraid that mine would get so angry he would throw one of our kids at a wall so I left before he could hurt us.
oh no nicole, i am so sorry to hear that you had to endure that……:( how long did you live with that ? And certainly it took courage to leave, i hope he and you and your children will truly heal…i wasn't even thinking about divorce, of course sometimes divorce is necessary…i was only referring to people who are non committed and therefore hide under the guise of 'diversity,' lolol…
You know what nicole, i too was a devoted and loyal wife…he had no choice but to love me!! lol…i created that!!
blessings to you girl, I wish for you a prince now…create that in your life~~search a man out first nicole, there are not a lot of good ones, but they are there…and we can create an even better one if he is open and kind…
no, it's ok… as i said it never reached the point of physical violence just a lot of emottional nastiness and physical alienation (we basically lived almost as separated within the same house for over half of our marriage). It is 10 years behind me now and we are able to be civil most of the time when we have to discuss something to do with the children.
i am certainly open, certainly looking for someone whom i can love unconditionally, who loves me that way. but it cannot be the focus of my life right now. i am in an intense phase of my professional life, my children still need my time and attention to some extent, and I am enjoying my friends on Gaia almost all of whom are just friends with no potential to become more. i'm almost sure that the close friend i have here on Gaia will not turn out to be anything more than that, for a number of good reasons, so i expect to go back to the drawing board soon. in the meantime i am waiting to see how things turn out, i will be seeing him for the first time in person in August.
hhhmmmm…a close 'friend'…….
Did you know Nicole that there is no such thing as a 'close' friend between a man and a woman that doesn't have a potential for intimacy and more?? There is no such thing!!
well, when you get a look at each other……you will know….eh???
if you are close now already……it can surely be more, if that's what you choose…both of you..if not, move on, nicole, don't get into it…period…just move on..
but don't play house and don't get hurt…spend quality time without physicality, giving each other a real look at what you have in potential and don't touch before a committment…otherwise your heart will be broken…once emotions take over and intimacy…neither of you will be able to make an intelligent and honest decision..don't get caught, no, you be wise and be careful..keep your head, if you want each other commit to marriage and then go for it!!
THAT my friend will work,….but you make sure you know where he stands on all that is important and no holes barred…….you check him out!! and keep your kids out of the picture unless you decide to marry him!
That's my mllion dollar wisdom…
HATZLACHA!! be successful! no broken hearts no broken relationships, no, oh i thought…stay focused and keep your head!!
that is indeed what i will do! no interest in heartbreak , my dear…
Than you are wise, indeed…nicolejee~Good LUCK and have fun!!
i will indeed! lots of shows to attend and other friends to visit. no time for wallowing in anything negative or intense.
excellent thesis…enjoyed reading it, thank you for sharing it…always, star…
i loved all of it, but esp. this…
I believe one day in the future, mankind will have an elevation and have access to illumination through integration of science and religion, and this will be real wisdom and true, complete knowledge, because wisdom on the level of logical argumentation is very limited.
Yes, I thought to send julian this thesis but i am sure he is too arrogant to read or comment or learn from it..
i think we have all appeared arrogant at one time or another; i know i have…our passions can prevent us from being open to the all that is…we can be limited by that, and that prevents us from thinking outside of our own box…and knowing fully, our own true nature…
if and when we are able to see that within ourselves…we are then freed of it…
much love, star…
btw…julian is very intelligent, and i am certain that he has read all about those authors views already…but i could be mistaken on that…the lessons that j has to learn are his own…just as the ones you and i face…are our own…since our true nature is infinite in it's very being…our lessons are too…
oh for sure, star, but he couldn't have read them anywhere but here, I basically wrote those papers for her, she isn't fluent in english, and they are in my possession or fau…
they were never on the web..or published before..intelligence is great and necessary but the highest of truths are unprovable, and the highest of intelligence is in the soul which is God…I don't know if he beleives in 'god.' but then I would ask, how can they have it both ways, wilber believes he is god…well, that is a small game, because he didn't create creation…so what is this argument at all? they are out of the ball park, if you don't beleive in god then you cannot be god to any degree…you can't have it both way…
The soul existed long before the created human being became flesh and therefore every human being can recognize of existence of God, from where its soul emanated. Of course they are those that deny the existence of God as we well know, however those people also deny then their own godliness, thus they do not live in total truth, as they will not admit that there must be a generator, a source, that has produced life from the beginning of inception and a cause.
there are those that claim to believe in God, and yet their very life speaks contrary to what they claim to believe…then there are those that claim not to believe in God, whose very life speaks contrary to what they claim to believe…
our beliefs are in our head…the life that we live and experience, and how we do that each moment, is the true testiment of our own true nature and how it reveals itself…
example:
how can a nation who swares it's belief in a God of love, swares allegience to the ten commandments, one of which is thou shalt not kill…or steal…yet goes around blowing up innocents, killing and stealing all that they can…in the name of God and Jesus…hiding behind a flag that screams justice for all…all are created equal…etc. etc…blah, blah, blah.
it is no surprise to me, that many of our more intelligent, are passionate about changing this misperception of God…and the abuse of God's power…
appearing as an angel of light…defender of democracy, our armies march into war zones…
if you look at the old testament, you have the same exact thing…look at Joshua…his army not only killed innocent woman and children…but also animals…and then God's so-called people, stole their lands…this is the 'Jewish' God…
i have no confidence in this God…
you only have to look at the holocaust to see the devastation of the so-called 'Christian' God…and of course the Catholics demolition period of death and war, especially on gnostics and woman…and now America in the name of the same…off to do what it is called to do…where the f**k is Jesus or God in all of that? not to mention the way this land was stolen from the American Indians…oh, and the abuse of African Americans, whose very backs and blood built this country…don't get me started…lol
i have no confidence in this God…
now, jews and christians are up in arms against Islam…and now Islam's God has and continues to reek terror on what it believes to be God's will…
i have no confidence in this God…
and have concluded that it is all such…
bulls**t…
so, it does not surprise me that intelligent people everywhere are looking for new ways to solve the oldest of problems…
i would prescribe the actual teachings of jesus…but then what do i know? and who wants to sell all their riches and give to the poor anyways? everybody wants to be rich, right? everybody wants to get to heaven…but if they really wanted heaven…they could have it right now…we could have it as a world…
ok, that is my rant for today…
lots of love and joy to you, always, star…
btw…you missed my point on j…i did not mean that he had read your friends article, but i think he is probably familiar with the authors writings that it was based on…that is what i meant…if you do not mind me saying so, all of us, even you and me, appear to be arrogant in our beliefs…that the other point that i was trying to make…sometimes i am too flowery…but i am working on that…haha…
one very wonderful thing that movements such as this Integral one is doing, is pushing religious people everywhere to have conversations such as this…
without j's thread, this back and forth that we are having, would not have happened…
hopefully, this will make believers everywhere, question what they believe, and in turn what they stand for…maybe this can create real change for the better…cause hey, if we are still bombing and blowing everything up in the name of God…which we are…we have not come very far from that desert that Abraham was in…nor have we come far from the cross that jesus died on…it is time for the world to wake up to the one true God…and i am not talking here about any religious God, not Buddhism or Hinduism…didn't mean to leave those out in the previous posts, but did not find it necessary to go into detail at that time…
our beliefs about God are defined by religions…the very word religion means to bind…should not our beliefs in God have no limits? does God have limits? he/she is described as being the first and the last…all knowing…omnipresent…God of light…God of love…does love have boundaries? only the ones we give it…
always, star.
Ok, first of all star Its nobodys 'god' that is doing these wars..people are having wars. There is only ONE GOD that is for sure. And in case you didn't know it, freedom is not free, someone had to pay for freedom. But I do not know and no one does, what the absolute truths are ever, about war, about politics, about the news, we only know what we are told, only the propaganda. and we can never trust the word of man in gereral, because every man's thinking is has some sujectivity, hence there can be no man who equals God or omniscience… no one has it all, no one is finite in understanding, desire, or purity. (and again I say, doing away with the word God is the agenda to remove any form of godliness in the world, it is the precursor to atheism. Mark my words in about 10 to 20 years…) especially those who are 'leaders' or wanna be leaders..We should trust NO MAN…
As far as limits yes love does have borders and barriers if love is to be love and in balance. …will you love a drug addict so much that you will give him drugs? of course we don't love without barriers..barriers are part of love…there is a proper balance which i wrote about between the energies, powers of gevurah, restraint, and chesed, love and kindness; expansion…please don't make me teach this again…see the blogs, the explanation is all there..
I will tell you an insight for me that is part of my book in progress which in fact I just finished discussing with my friend over dinner this evening before i arrived home. she is a professor of psychology from colorado and is reading and making comments: In fact, the book so far is much to her liking..
Chapter 1
I was lying in bed. It was Shabbat evening. I believe it was between nine and ten o'clock. I wasn't tired. There was no service tonight at the Seed of Abraham “Messianic Synagogue.” I supposed that Avram and Rivka were at home finishing up their Shabbat dinner. Perhaps they had company tonight. I had no place to go at this hour and nothing to do. But I had too much energy to sleep. I thought about the homework I had that would be due this week. Sitting up in bed, I decided it was the perfect time to take on this project that I wanted nothing to do with. Rivka had given us as an assignment for our course in Basic Messianic Judaism, the reading of the 613 commandments. I hadn't even looked at the assignment and it had been given two months ago. Furthermore, I kept putting it off. I was not interested and more than that, I resented the fact that she had given it. I wondered what she was trying to prove. Why give us this assignment? We were not Jews. We were Christians, walking in the light of the “Mashiach.” What was she doing, Judaizing, again? “Why,” I wondered. Why insist that we learn this stuff. Why introduce us to something that is antiquated and cumbersome? Why does she insist on teaching this stuff? We already knew that “Yeshua” came to redeem us from the law. Why, I had learned that even G-D Himself did away with it because no man could ever fulfill it. It was something strange, and something that was alien to me. I had no framework for this knowledge nor would I understand what I would read. Why put us through this unnecessarily? I would have to grit my teeth and do hours of research into verses that I did not, could not, understand.
The whole book of Devarim was dreadful study for me. Leviticus was worse. I cried over and over again through it, I never understood it; I found it boring, cumbersome and exhausting. I had begged for forgiveness because I dreaded it so, yet I loved G-D. How could I justify my attitude? I asked over and over for Him to give me revelation in my study, I knew that no matter how much of the Tanach I knew, I would never ever know the Bible until I could at
least include with some understanding these two books. I had studied in many Bible colleges and I knew that these two difficult books were not in their entirety an integral part of the curriculum. The Pastor or teacher would simply read over it and extract whatever it was he needed to substantiate the point he wanted to make with regards to his teaching. However, we never studied these books with the intent to understand them in their fullness for our every day practically living. We concentrated on the Ten Commandments. We never learned the six hundred and thirteen commandments with the same intent, because we “knew” that the law was done away with. We were just not exposed to this type of learning. Furthermore, it was frowned upon. Everyone “knew” that you didn't need the law; and that the law did not work. This was the thread that ran through the fabric of Christian learning. No minister, evangelist, pastor, teacher or missionary needed it. It was with these feelings and with this resistance that I decided on this Shabbat to take on this heavy, overwhelming boring project.
I went to search for the Xerox copies. I didn't even know where they were. With my lousy attitude I started to read. When I got halfway down the page I remember reading, “Leave the corners for the widow and the orphan…”
It was at that point that I caught the essence of a different reality. Or, perhaps I entered another dimension, because suddenly there was tremendous illumination and my head understood and my eyes saw at once and I knew. In what could have taken one half hour or more to read, I had the most profound understanding of the concepts I was reading. “If only we would do these things, I thought, it would be such a different world! What a beautiful world it would be!” G-D had thought about everything… and everyone.
My heart was breaking. Tears welled up from deep inside of me. I sobbed involuntarily, uncontrolled. “My G-D, I cried, I knew You were Beautiful, but this beautiful? This beautiful I did not know. Oh, My Father, I am so sorry. Abba, I'm sorry, I said. I didn't know any better. Please forgive me. How could I know? I believed them. You never told me. It's not my fault. You never gave me these. I never meant to go against You. You didn't make me a Jew. Why didn't You make me a Jew?
I was ecstatic! Instead of the feeling of bondage, I felt liberated. I knew now what I had to do. I couldn't wait to share my insight with Avram and Rivka. I was aware that I had been a thorn in their side. Resistant to what I called “Judaizing,” I gave them no peace when it came to learning their “strange doctrines.” I dialed the phone. The answering machine picked up. “Avram, I cried out, into the empty phone. Rivka, I am so excited! You won't believe what just happened to me tonight. I finally started to read the 613 commandments. I can see now! They are gorgeous! The law is beautiful. It's not bondage. It's just the opposite. It's freedom! Avram, now I understand; now I know what I have to do. They lied about them, Avram, I bought the baloney….
I sat in the days to come and I wrote this song of my experience.
You Are My Praise
You are my Praise, My Lord, My G-D. Teach me Your Ways, make me Your Praise.
Atah Tehillati, HaShem Elokai, Lamdaini Derachecha, V'oseh, V'oseh oti li Beracha.
I worship you Lo -d, above all else, there is none before You. Seeking Your Face, I find You there, where I might gaze upon You.
Let me come to You now, and show me Your ways, My heart will not rejoice, till You make me Your Praise.
Atah Tehillati, HaShem Elokai, Lamdaini Derachecha, V'oseh, V'oseh oti li berachah.
Oh, that I might know, the power of obedience, imparting holy reverence and awe. My heart will not rest until I know as You want me to, perfection of Your Love and holy law.
And…Oh, how I love You; Ad-nai, the barren are birthing, the locusts are gone. My eyes You have opened, and my sight to see. What You've ordained to make a praise of me.
Chorus
Avinu, Avinu Malkeinu, Melech Yisrael, Adon Olam, Hashem. Make me Your Praise, Make me Your Praise. You Are My Praise.
Please do not copy under any circumstances Atah Tehillati© Yaffa L. Leibowitz
Hey Boogie, my friend wrote the essay, but her professors are not jewish or christian and are not biased at all, they wanted the assignment done; the assignment to the class was to prove God…..it so happens that she has all the honors in psychology and her grades -well she had every honor in the school in her department….does that tell you anything about her ideas, her understanding, her brilliance? Shall I send you more of her work, I am sure she did not receive 4.0's from her professors without the work being outstanding and meritorious. .I am not sure that you understood her for that matter and she cannot speak for herself…but evidently her professors understood her very well because her grades reflect that. The grades were all the best you can get, she has an extraordinary future before her in her field and next I will co author a book with her.
will you love a drug addict so much that you will give him drugs?
NOT giving him drugs IS loving him…
you go on to say “trust no man”, yet your very basis for believing, is due to books in a book, written by…men…
everything you believe…came from men…
btw…as far as making you 'teach' something again…i can't 'make' you do anything…and would not want to…
that is as far as i got on that post…don't have time to read it right now, but will try to later…as far as the other blog post on balance, i maybe have not gotten that far through your blogs because i don't remember reading anything about that…
if you would rather not discuss this, that is ok too…i find directly communicating sometimes more beneficial than just reading, depending on the situation…
anyways, always, star…
That is exactly my point: Will you give a drug addict drugs, no, and that is loving him…agreed..but its not unconditional, love does have borders and barriers, otherwise its sloppy and off balance. see above=–
when I say I believe no man, I mean that I beleive only what I know to be the truth in him, not that i beleive unconditionally…every man has truth and everyone has lies…i mean to say that i beleive truth, for me, truth comes from spirit, it is the spirit of God or the spirit of not god… that is what i mean to say: to the degree that what someone delivers that is meritorious and as best as i can decipher pure, according to the highest law of the land..
see above on the blog i wrote on the sefirot, i beleive you read it..
it is important to note here, that sometimes it is necessary to give a drug addict drugs, as they will die without them…
this should prove the point, that love does not have boundaries…but how you show that love depends on how the situation presents itself…
it is the conditions surrounding how we love that have boundaries…and our ability to determine what to do in any given situation, is determined by how we can logically understand the situation we are in…
example:
a woman that is being abused by her spouse may state: “but i love him…i can't leave him”
she is restricted because she does not have an emotionally healthy understanding of love in the first place…
to say that i will love you if…is not true love…
unconditional love, is loving someone inspite of their actions…but just because you love someone, it does not mean that you are going to do what they want you to do…
love is only limited by our own limitation to love in a healthy way, dictated by our own intelligence and understanding of what love is…when we learn more of love, we learn to love more…
always, star…
No, star, not at all. I think I said that I worked in a drug program…drug addicts need to come in and kick the habit cold turkey…no addict ever died, and there were thousands that came through our doors..and love does need boundaries…will you allow your mate to beat you?? come on star!! what are you talking about?
Love is respect!! Hello, without respect there is no love, that means, you must respect yourself first and pick a partner that will also respect you and not abuse you in any way..
the sefirah of chesed, loving kindness knows no boundaries…it is symbolic of water, overflowing, expansion, no boundaries, its sloppy, it will kill you without boundaries, if there were no boundaries the earth would be under water…gevurah is the attribute of discipline, contraction and boundaries, discipline…the sea wall, every border and boundary around water is necessary to contain it…that is the moral of the story of the flood. God told noah to build the ark because the people, ''did what they saw fit in their OWN eyes…therefore, God made the rain come down for months to destroy all of the earth…he over rode the sea walls….he was in effect saying, you want no borders, no boundaries, you will be immoral, just slopping 'love' (sexuality all over) let me show you what you have in a world without boundaries..let me show you overflowing, unbound loving kindess, ie represented by water, just so that the world would know that there needs to be boundaries…
The proper mediation between these two polarities is tiferet, which means beauty, symmetry, harmony. - balance..
apparently i am not communicating well…or you misread, or misunderstood what you read…
i never said that i would allow my mate to beat me…but there are too many that do…
we will just have to agree to disagree on the love thing…and also the withdrawel thing too…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism#Alcohol_withdrawal