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I should say as well, it is not just meditation, in the sense it is internalised. I do pray to God. I don't usually pray for "stuff", but I do pray for assistance and capability.
For example, in my current job I have to do a fair few presentations. I'm not a natural at this and I can get nervous beforehand, so I always have a quick prayer for help & courage. I find it helps me to calm, get perspective, focus, feel supported and most importantly, release my anxiety to another.
I get most will probably see this as a contrived delusion, but it just works.
I’ve often contemplated the possibility of human immortalisation via use of scientific technology. I’m no technological whizz but it seems logical that when, rather than if, it becomes possible to transfer all of a Being’s memories, including latent experiences, humanity will unquestionably transcend the finite. I’m not sure what that will mean for the purposes of a discussion such as that which this thread is concerned, so I best leave it at that .All of our lives are finite at this stage of evolution, at some point in the future if we make it, humanlike folk won’t need an imaginary good place in the sky as they will have the opportunity to cheat death and become immortal, it’s inevitable with our advances, if the religious cult zealots grouping in government worldwide don’t fu** it up.
Yeh I did, ya got any, be there in 10!
It depends what you expect from prayer. I more take it as a quiet moment of calm contemplation and connection. I find it really works for me. I don't expect a direct one on one conversation with the almighty. Maybe one day.
I should say as well, it is not just meditation, in the sense it is internalised. I do pray to God. I don't usually pray for "stuff", but I do pray for assistance and capability.
For example, in my current job I have to do a fair few presentations. I'm not a natural at this and I can get nervous beforehand, so I always have a quick prayer for help & courage. I find it helps me to calm, get perspective, focus, feel supported and most importantly, release my anxiety to another.
I get most will probably see this as a contrived delusion, but it just works.
Thanks SBD!Thank you for your responses.
I've said it before on these pages, but it bears repeating - I have the utmost respect for people who simply say "I can't explain it, but it works for me". Where I go in hard is when people start trying to say there is no contradiction between the bible and science, or claiming that every word in the bible is true, etc...
But personal experience, with no claims to anything more, is always utterly valid.
Great post. All power to you!Just a few words in addition to my last post. I said that I admire much of the jesus philosophy and that much of christianity appears to ignore it. I ask myself why. I think it's pretty obvious. It's too hard. Loving enemies is too hard. Turning the other cheek is too hard. They are central to the jesus philosophy but they have been marginalised. Christians talk at length about the meaning of some obscure story in the old testament. Who cares if there was a flood? It means nothing. But do you love your enemies? Do you give assistance to immigrants? Do you help indigenous people with their lives? I could go on. There are so many things that christians could and should be doing if they really followed jesus. I have to admit that I'm a failure on so many fronts but I dont profess to be a christian. There are some christians in our society but their numbers are far lower than the most recent census would indicate. Jesus was supposedly a game changer and you expect that his followers would stand out as beacons of the supposed redemption that he brought.
In relation to an all knowing, all powerful infinite being?I’ve often contemplated the possibility of human immortalisation via use of scientific technology. I’m no technological whizz but it seems logical that when, rather than if, it becomes possible to transfer all of a Being’s memories, including latent experiences, humanity will unquestionably transcend the finite. I’m not sure what that will mean for the purposes of a discussion such as that which this thread is concerned, so I best leave it at that .
-Great post. All power to you!
Or even Jesus.isn't the fundamental question whether a guy who might have lived 2000 years ago was the creator of the universe? Science could prove a flood or a series of plagues or some other biblical story, but it wouldnt prove to me that this bloke jesus was actually god. Please continue your discussions...
Just a few words in addition to my last post. I said that I admire much of the jesus philosophy and that much of christianity appears to ignore it. I ask myself why. I think it's pretty obvious. It's too hard. Loving enemies is too hard. Turning the other cheek is too hard. They are central to the jesus philosophy but they have been marginalised. Christians talk at length about the meaning of some obscure story in the old testament. Who cares if there was a flood? It means nothing. But do you love your enemies? Do you give assistance to immigrants? Do you help indigenous people with their lives? I could go on. There are so many things that christians could and should be doing if they really followed jesus. I have to admit that I'm a failure on so many fronts but I dont profess to be a christian. There are some christians in our society but their numbers are far lower than the most recent census would indicate. Jesus was supposedly a game changer and you expect that his followers would stand out as beacons of the supposed redemption that he brought.
Or even Jesus.
This and I am failure on many fronts too Mark.
What a cop out. It's not too hard at all.Just a few words in addition to my last post. I said that I admire much of the jesus philosophy and that much of christianity appears to ignore it. I ask myself why. I think it's pretty obvious. It's too hard.
What a cop out. It's not too hard at all.
Jesus' philosophy is- "don't be a campaigner". In fact, I'm fairly sure that's exactly how he'd phrase it, if only he was around today.
I will argue very strongly that it is not actually hard at all to not be a campaigner.
Unfortunately, the many Churches that operate around the world who ostensibly teach Jesus' philosophy, and the people in charge of those churches, are in actual fact, a massive bunch of campaigners. They deliberately ignore Jesus' very simple teachings (love your neighbour) and focus on absolute trash instead (stop touching yourself, stop banging nice pretty women/handsome men, etc).
IMO.
I've heard this before. "We are christians and we fail" etc etc. I'm talking about "christians" not knowing that they fail because they are ignoring the fundamentals of the religion - loving other people.
I know about all the forgiveness stuff too and accept that jesus was strong on that aspect, but he also told people to sin no more - or try to do better. How can christians not give away their money to feed people who are starving or homeless?
It's interesting to me how selective christianity has ended up. Christians like the forgiveness thing so they incorporate it, but they dont like being poor or loving people that they dont like...so they ignore those aspects.
Yeah gotta say If I was head of a Church I prolly wouldn't want to encourage reading, that might inspire people to think...people are able to read these days
Can you please outline in some detail, what you mean by “the divine”, what is it, what characteristics does it display, etc,?Sounds like the natural evolution of a people's understanding of/relationship with the divine over many centuries. I love how the stories and struggles are depicted in the OT.
I might even mellow a bit myself until someone mentions “peelers and rails”, please someone else mention “peelers and rails” and an approximate time and place.A page or so of good manners, questions asked and answered?
I may die of shock.
I might even mellow a bit myself until someone mentions “peelers and rails”, please someone else mention “peelers and rails” and an approximate time and place.A page or so of good manners, questions asked and answered?
I may die of shock.
Just a few words in addition to my last post. I said that I admire much of the jesus philosophy and that much of christianity appears to ignore it. I ask myself why. I think it's pretty obvious. It's too hard. Loving enemies is too hard. Turning the other cheek is too hard. They are central to the jesus philosophy but they have been marginalised. Christians talk at length about the meaning of some obscure story in the old testament. Who cares if there was a flood? It means nothing. But do you love your enemies? Do you give assistance to immigrants? Do you help indigenous people with their lives? I could go on. There are so many things that christians could and should be doing if they really followed jesus. I have to admit that I'm a failure on so many fronts but I dont profess to be a christian. There are some christians in our society but their numbers are far lower than the most recent census would indicate. Jesus was supposedly a game changer and you expect that his followers would stand out as beacons of the supposed redemption that he brought.
During Covid times here, Sikhs in the UK cooked and sheltered some of the most vulnerable people here. This happened in Australia too, we rarely hear about it but in Sikhism, serving people is serving God. If you walk into a Sikh Gurudwara, you can eat and sleep there for as long as you want to. I have known some wonderful people throughout my travels.
The quote love thy neigbour pre-dates Jesus, it's the way of the enlightened, unfortunately what we are left with is my religion is bigger than yours. They fail to see the core message though, it always ends with 'how I get salvation' , 'How I can get....'. Complete failure.
Ever heard the saying bring a shovel to "large consensual" knife fight?
Only if you're Sikh.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09...with-affray-over-runcorn-mass-brawl/100467492
At a bail hearing for one of the men, 35-year-old Gurlal Singh, the Brisbane Magistrates Court heard two groups of men, made up of about 50, had allegedly met on the night for a "large consensual fight".
The court heard the men were all members of the Brisbane Sikh temple at Eight Miles Plains and the fight was allegedly between "two warring factions" within the community.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Wade Domagala told the court Gurlal Singh had allegedly participated in a "frenzied attack" against one man with a sword.
Court documents allege the group of men used multiple "makeshift weaponry", including clubs, swords, knives and a shovel.
The court documents also allege one man suffered a severed hand and needed surgery to save it from being amputated.
I am well aware of that
Kirpan - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The kirpan is a curved, single-edged sword or knife carried by Sikhs.[1][2] It is part of a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, in which he gave an option to the Sikhs, if they accepted they must wear the five articles of faith (the five Ks) at all times, the kirpan being one of five Ks.[3][4]
The Punjabi word kirpan has two roots: kirpa, meaning "mercy", "grace", "compassion" or "kindness"; and aanaa, meaning "honor", "grace" or "dignity".
Sikhs are expected to embody the qualities of a Sant Sipahi or "saint-soldier", showing no fear on the battlefield and treating defeated enemies humanely. The Bhagat further defines the qualities of a sant sipahi as one who is "truly brave...who fights for the deprived".[5]
Bastardised versions do exist, like it does everywhere else.