Heavenly Mother

[Laser57]

The easiest thing to sell to some people is their own imagination, irrational fears and impossible dreams and a one-size-fits-all concept of "morality".

:Religion, choose the one you want.

[james]

But realize it's your choice and should only effect your own outlook and behavior.

[Laser57]

But realize it's your choice and should only effect your own outlook and behavior.

I think there are a thousand roads to the center and a few of them just right for where we are currently at in our journey of understanding, that is the right path, the one we need.

[TheHermit]

I've always loved different philosophies and spent much of my life bouncing from one religion to the next, in search of God's (didn't matter which) divine wisdom.
'Chariots of Fire'? 👽 Read it and didn't doubt it.
Attended a blissed out Guru Maharaji festival in south England and watched the ominous rainclouds part <queue eyry music>, just minutes before His Holiness arrived in his stretch black limo, took to the spotlights of a typical R&R stage in the middle of the field, sat down cross-legged on his custom made throne, and fine tuned its adjustable air cushions. While surrounded by thousands of his 'premmies', I'm sure that I heard a pin drop (or was that from the PA?) The power of one's peaceful state of mind, amplified by thousands is an unforgettable experience to behold.
Studied the Buddha's Dhammapada, with the greatest respect for his moral teachings. 🙏🙏🙏
In fact, I'm told that my Thai ex and I had the 1st Buddhist wedding at the local temple, with 6 chanting monks. Never understood a word of their ceremony, but I managed to follow along. Didn't make any vows to anyone, but that's what the li'l bride wanted, so that's what she got. Great buffet afterwards.
Of course, she divorced me 2 weeks after I retired. Reckon those folks believe in working all the way into their graves, whether they need to or not. She told me that love is money where she comes from (and she could never get enough $). Doesn't the Buddha warn against having an insatiable appetite for more possessions?
I've also observed the actions and lifestyles of many people from those faiths and can't help noticing how the original teachings have become so distorted by mankind's most inner primal desires for power and greed. /smh
I've witnessed 3 different monotheistic religions that worship the same God, who commanded," THOU SHALL NOT KILL." Then they proceeded to spend the net 2000 years murdering each other in the most barbaric ways imaginable.
Seems to me as if Santa Claus coming at the end of the year is a thinly veiled grooming of children to believe in an invisible entity 👻, cowering over us, judging our every thought and deed, while keeping a record of our behavior, until the final judgement day, when we will get our just reward 🥳 or punishment.🔥
But, adults need to believe that their is an existence after death, because so many good folks go unrewarded in their physical life, right?☠
So, there's got to be an eternal soul, right?🤔

"If God never existed, then mankind would need to create one." - I reckon so.

💡 Personally, I believe that scientifically examined, categorized, carbon dated archeological evidence is indisputable in that mankind has been evolving over billions of years, alongside all other lifeforms on Earth. We have simply been fortunate to have evolved a little faster than others, who have succeeded in surviving just as they are.
Why should the human species be any more special with an invisible soul? Is that so we can conveniently justify our consumption of other lifeforms? 👿
Nope. Sorry folks, I ain't buying it.
"All we are is dust in the wind."
👀 However, there is indeed an undeniable, omnipotent, immortal creator and destroyer, that has existed before alpha and will continue on, long after the omega. This entity has controlled every atom in the universe, every heart that has ever beaten, every one of our bowel movements, and every possible event into eternity. Yet, it cares not of our desires nor petty existence.
I believe with all my heart and.... 🤔 uhh... mind (yeah, that's it) that Time is god. 🤯
I believe that we only get one shot at life. Each of us are unique and special, including all life forms. We choose our own identities and paths forward. Each of us are mostly responsible for wherever we end up, in the end and everywhere in between (with a healthy helping of unforeseeable random influences, just to keep us on our toes).
We should endeavor to live mindfully in the present, learn from our past, and plan for the future for successfully achieving our dreams.
"There is a proper Time and place for everything." Get it? Got a million of 'em:
"Time waits for no one."
"No one can turn back the hands of Time."
"Time to get started."
"Don't you know what time it is?"
"Time to get my head together."....
Ya see? Everyone has already known it since the beginning of Time. 😜

Uh-hum.. Where was I?
Don't waste your Time praying for a divine helping hand to rescue you from your own mess. You'll need to pick yourself up, wipe your own behind, and move on.
Don't rely upon reading tea leaves nor bones for guidance. Use the brain you've been born with to observe the hands of time, your own life's season, then choose your own path. You are your own navigator and helm. Watch where you're going. Use your own senses to be fully aware of your environmental situation and what hazards may lie in your chosen course.
For your own mental health and self esteem, aspire to maintain good intentions and live with honor and grace.
Without Time, how could there possibly be musical chords, harmonies, rhythms, or laser cycloids?
Yin vs Yang, opposing forces, also present in all things. These are the left and right hands of Time, constantly waxing and waning in eternal cycles of magnitude.
Fun thread.
😎

[james]

Well, yes that.

But we all know there are groups of people who's common bond is scoring other people for either their behavior, their race or their religion or lack thereof.

Certain aspects of what might be called "morality" cannot and should not be mandated by law.

[james]

Science can not prove that there is a God.

So it must also be true that it cannot disprove it either.

The mere fact that we have science and math implies that there are laws in the Universe that exists apart from man's observation of them.

Science is proof of itself.

I like to think about religion, spirituality, or a secular code of ethics to be a way to govern yourself but not everyone else.

There isn't a clear line between those two ideas though.

[Laser57]

---

The easiest thing to sell to some people is their own imagination, irrational fears and impossible dreams and a one-size-fits-all concept of "morality".

Easier to have an opinion without any direct experience to support it and have faith you are correct. Perspective is everything when it comes to opinion, but experience is king. Until you get it, faith works.

A few who had direct experience:

Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha… the list goes on and on, some better known than others, we keep having them. The more popular ones have religions built around them with followers who have faith in them instead of seeking direct experience.

[james]

Well said.

Another thing that might be interesting to consider is the idea that there might be a region of our brains that is specialized for "experiencing" a connection to a higher power. This might suggest that some are different than others or at least the way they effect our perception.

[james]

I've always been fascinated with the idea that physicists can determine the existence and nature of sub atomic particles with a chalkboard full of equations. I certainly don't understand how. I'm sure I can never experience a clear vision of it. But I accept it must be at least the best understanding humanity can have.

Is that faith?

Oh! And apparently black holes are covered with "soft hair" and anything that gets sucked into them, "information", is not lost forever.

.

[dchammonds]

Well said.

Another thing that might be interesting to consider is the idea that there might be a region of our brains that is specialized for "experiencing" a connection to a higher power. This might suggest that some are different than others or at least the way they effect our perception.

Desire for connection with a higher power is the first part- couple that together with the human desire for an answer to all questions. If we don't have answers to some things, we make them up for ourselves and those answers become irrefutable dogma after a generation or two.

Oh, and let us not forget the endless opportunity for some to exploit these desires for their own gain in the glorious Name of Fraud.