Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The only place in the universe- ANDREW COHEN

by Andrew Cohen

I had my first spiritual experience when I was 16 years old. I was sitting up late one night having a conversation with my mother about something I can't remember, when for no apparent reason, the doors of perception opened wide. In no time I was swept up in an ocean of ecstasy that seemed infinite. I also experienced many insights that unfolded one after the other.

One of them was very interesting. It became apparent to me that all points in space are exactly the same place. In other words, from the temporarily enlightened perspective I was experiencing that evening, it became obvious that no matter where I went on earth or in the universe, at the deepest level I would always be in exactly the same place.

Article continues here.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Cobain, the silver cat (PIC)


Photo by Sharka Todd

Are things "the will of God"?


Although I believe creation is good in the broadest sense I don't accept that what happens on Earth is necessarily the will of a God. If God exists I believe "he" leaves things up to us to decide and sadly, many choices we make are destructive rather than creative.  Hence, conditions on Earth are far from ideal!

If God has a specific desire for our lives, beyond allowing us to freely experience, then clearly there is no compunction to follow it.  Therefore the sum of actions on Earth by people will not equate to "the will of God".  "The will of God" could only manifest if every person carried out "the will of God" in their own lives and clearly this is not the case as such a thing would mean we had no free will and were just automatons, like many materialists believe.

Even if there is a God or Great Spirit separate from the individual this doesn't mean that "he" has any desire to influence our lives in any way.

The idea that there is a God who has plans for our life is one promoted by certain religions but it necessarily doesn't flow from a belief in the existence of a creator.  There are also many who believe in a creator, but one who has endowed us with free will, not to test us with either obeying or disobeying "his" will, but rather one who has the grace to allow us to live our lives as we see fit and to learn our lessons in our own time.

Sharka Todd

Saturday, December 13, 2014

People who distrust their own minds (pt3)

Everything we experience comes through our own mind* whether it is communicated by another or directly experienced.  If we cannot trust our own mind then we cannot trust our ability to input information correctly whether sourced by others or by ourselves.

Consciousness is pure, clean and holy (given good health) - it is only our interpretation of events that may be clouded.  And these interpretations depend upon our beliefs and intentions which is what we must look at if we are not happy with the results we are achieving in our own lives!

*mind here taken to mean consciousness

Sharka Todd

People who distrust their own minds (Pt.2)

People who don’t meditate or study spiritual teachings rarely know much about their own minds.  This may contribute to the lack of trust some people place in it.  I don’t think it’s the primary input into our consciousness (through the senses) that causes the problems but rather our interpretation of it.  Having had no experience of hallucinations or mental illness myself I cannot speak for those that have.  But in my own case, I have found no reason to distrust the data that enters my consciousness through the senses nor have I found any reason to doubt the ability of my mind to interpret this data accurately according to my beliefs and intentions.

If one's intentions are not good or one's beliefs are limited or destructive then the way one interprets their experiences will be negatively affected by this.  But this is a matter on one's intentions and beliefs being out of kilter not of anything being fundamentally wrong with one's senses or mental functioning.  The senses and mental apparatus are pure and fully functional when the body and spirit are in good shape but when they are out of alignment then problems can arise.  This may result in poorly interpreted sensory input which may result in a person being unable to function in a healthy and productive way.

Sharka Todd

Comment to a person distrustful of his own mind (pt.1)


Anyone who can't trust their own mind and senses truly is lost, for that is the only means we can know this world, even if we do gain information from sources outside ourselves. For even this information will still be discovered and filtered through our own minds.

I understand some people suffer from mental illness and it is perhaps these people that become overly dependent on outer sources of "authority" for their world view.  As someone whose senses and mind have never let them down I can't say I comprehend their view but for those who are weak of mind and lacking in self-belief science and religion may provide a useful crutch.

(Original comment made on a YouTube video here.)

Sharka Todd

Monday, December 8, 2014

The false hierachy and how to overcome it

From the article: Eve and the Serpent by "Ascended Master Jesus" through Kim Michaels.


From the website Ascended Master Answers.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Science, myth, reality and knowledge


Science is a way of describing the world, a “myth” if you like, and just one among many.  Those that say it is the “truth” don’t understand the nature of language or human knowledge.  Every type of human knowledge is just a lens we place upon reality in an attempt to understand or limit it, but is not reality itself.  A description of something is not the thing itself, and never could be!  Reality is much larger than that!  In the same way, the description of an experience is not the experience itself but just an attempt to communicate some shareable attributes of it to others.

Reality is unknowable in its fullness, however by applying all our senses and feeling nature to our current situation we can experience it as fully as is possible by us.  That is the most we can do!  Having purely an intellectual understanding of something is a poor thing indeed compared to an open-hearted- and minded- experience of something!  And such an open-hearted experience is not something that can be accurately translated into words which our shared knowledge depends upon!  And, for those who don’t grok the word open-hearted, it means having no resistance in our body/mind that would shut us off from experiencing the moment and the world around us.  Basically, it means to not see ourselves as separate from the moment or the thing we are focused upon.  That is the nature of being open-hearted: a soft stance towards life where we don't seek to separate ourselves from it!

(For a more detailed analysis see the work of Mary Midgley and Thomas Kuhn's landmark work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.)

Sharka Todd

The density of matter blinds people- KIM MICHAELS


Source: Master Keys to Spiritual Freedom, by Lord Maitreya through Kim Michaels.

Rationales used by “machine men” to justify destructive action


If I didn’t do it, someone else would.
It has to be done to keep the economy strong.
It will grow back/repair itself/recover in time.
I need to do it to feed my family.
It’s always been done this way.
This is the economically/scientifically efficient approach.
It doesn’t matter- trees/birds/wildlife etc. don’t really count.
It's just the way of the world!

Sharka Todd

Machine man v feeling man

 
There are “machine men” - those who ignore or shut down their feeling nature and “feeling men”- those who feel and act on their feelings, when appropriate.

Almost all the terrible things that happen in the world- to people, animals and mother earth- happen because of machine men.

The intellect, acting alone, is a dangerous thing.  Only when coupled with the feeling nature, which opens us up to the experience of others and to our own empathy and compassion, are we likely to act in ways that are harmless, both for ourselves and others.

Some people shut down their feelings in some domains of their life while allowing themselves to feel in other areas.  This allows them to be destructive in one domain while constructive in another.  This leads to a divided man and is not to be recommended.

I believe we were born with a feeling nature for a reason and that is to encourage us to act in ways that are beneficial to creation as a whole rather than just suiting our own limited mental concepts.

When we ignore our feeling nature destruction is the result. This can be seen in all the violent acts that occur on the earth against other people, animals and the planet itself.

Many of these actions are viewed as "necessary" but this is only because those that carry them out or condone them are deluded by distorted thinking and have shut down their feeling nature which would tell them these things are wrong.

This denial of feeling makes these people a danger to all life.  We must regain our connection to our feeling nature and act according to its dictates (in conjunction with our rational nature) if we are to become noble co-creators on this wonderful planet.

Sharka Todd

See also: Rationales used by “machine men” to justify destructive action
, We can't know something by thinking about it and The head and heart must be in balance.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

The spirit of the Lord


Image from The Green Lantern animated TV series.