there’ll be no-one there to find out!
Sharka Todd
Saturday, March 14, 2015
The 2 types of evidence
The two main types of evidence are:
(1) Your own experience
(2) The experience of others you trust to tell the truth
Clearly, you own experience is far more powerful than listening to the stories told by others and is much more likely to be trusted when constructing a world view. For, even with people we trust, we only have their descriptions of events to go by and this is subject to their interpretation and the limitations of language.
Sharka Todd
The afterlife and its connection to this world
The “afterlife” is said to be a parallel world to this one, existing independently, in terms of its forms, but connected through the minds of its inhabitants to the minds of people still on earth. As a result of this link, a number of people throughout the ages have been able to receive communications from those in "the next world" and have produced books telling of their experience. A sample of such books (including free e versions) can be found here. Having read widely in this area I am interested in the consistency of certain facts in the various accounts and in the unique nature of the experience of each individual and of their description of the world in which they find themselves in.
From "Testimony of Light" by Helen Greaves and Frances Bank
Sharka Todd
Friday, March 13, 2015
Darkness and the capture of souls- MATTHEW WARD
by Matthew Ward
While the intelligence of the advanced dark souls is beyond your ability to comprehend, it is severely compromised by their denial of the Christed Light, that most powerful force in the universe that is Love. Since the darkness refuses the light and thus functions without that highest love energy, it can’t be victorious in its conquests unless it can create enough fear to block the light from entering souls.
When the peak of the dark forces was reigning in its broadest space, the battles for supreme domination of the universe were unimaginable horror. It was with Creator’s exception to Its law of free will—that the free will of the peak of darkness no longer could amass for its own use the free will of all souls with dark proclivity, and the ensuing release of countless souls’ free will from that peak captivity—that this widest control by the darkness was profoundly turned around. In your linear time, this was in 1995, as is explained in detail in Revelations for a New Era.
Creator’s decree enraged the dark forces and intensified its stubborn determination to resist the ever-increasing light being generated by individuals’ free will choices. This light has diminished the former stronghold of dark control by exposing millennia of deception that in this moment is being literally “brought to light” with increasing momentum as more and more souls awaken to the truth that so long was hidden from their memory by intent of the darkness.
from Message from Matthew, February 8, 2004.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Skeptics: gatekeepers for materialism
Ahriman, lord of materialism (sculpture by Rudolf Steiner)
Self-proclaimed skeptics are gatekeepers for materialism, the view that physical matter is the only substance in existence and that humans and other living beings are solely made of such matter. Their job is to go out and try to destroy or discredit any viewpoint or practice that challenges this materialist mindset. They are anti-God’s henchmen, so to speak. If materialism was Nazism, then "skeptics" would be its' SS.
Skeptics don’t truly care about truth but rather about maintaining the materialist status quo which currently holds sway in much of the world and is favored by those who seek to destroy notions of the spiritual worth of all things. After all, it’s easier to justify exploiting the Earth and its people when they are just seen as soulless pieces of matter.
A more holistic spiritual view, as held by the native people of the world, who are not removed from the natural world like western man, would make this exploitation seem so ugly and destructive that it would be hard to justify and carry on. As a result “spirit” is discredited by the very forces that would lose from its general acceptance and so-called skeptics are their attack dogs, the views of which they widely promote.
Broadly speaking, it’s an attempt to destroy the spiritual perspective in human life and they’re doing their best to achieve it!
Originally published as a comment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P7G4kcWQBM
See also: James Randi and anti-spiritualism, Efforts to destroy the spiritual perspective, and Pseudoskeptics vs True Skeptics.
Sharka Todd
Monday, March 9, 2015
Holy books and religious beliefs
People connect with religions and other social movements because they don’t wish to stand alone. And that’s fair enough. Although the elders of religions may wish follows to believe in a certain way, the truth is no one can control how each individual interprets religious teachings or which parts of it they choose to embrace and which they choose to ignore.
My own view is that a large portion of the Bible could be scrubbed and the book would only benefit from it. The teachings of Jesus certainly don’t align with much that is written in the Old Testament, for example. By putting them both in the same book it just causes confusion and a reason for those with poor motives to justify their actions by referencing some obscure part of the book that is barbaric and lacking any enlightenment at all. It also gives critics something to attack. It needs to be admitted that the Bible is a hotchpotch of enlightened and unenlightened thinking and that the modern man is responsible for choosing and applying the parts that represent intelligence and wisdom and not the egocentric and foolish parts which should be left where they belong- in 1400 BC.
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I'm not arguing that some of the Bible happened and some didn't, I'm just saying that some teachings are worthwhile and others aren't. The truth is, I don't know who said (or wrote) what is written in the Bible and it seems even the scholars are unsure. I read widely but still find much of the teachings attributed to Jesus powerful and useful to consider. However, I don't treat the Bible with the reverence that many give it and I seek wisdom from a myriad of sources. That being said, I do see Jesus as a model of the ideal man and I think this is what many resonate with, it's just that some have decided to place him on a pedestal beyond the reach of us mortals to the position of a God. A common theme among humans it seems, but not one I think is useful or constructive!
Sharka Todd
Sunday, March 8, 2015
The struggle of materialists to accept "believers"
What many materialists have trouble accepting is that many people have experiences that point beyond the materialist paradigm, to some kind of deeper meaning to life than is implied by materialism. Some of these people attempt to place their experiences in some kind of religious context and others don’t. Those who identify most strongly with materialism seem to think that all these people are deluded or simple minded, and that the experiences that led them beyond materialism are false (i.e. hallucinations) or incorrectly interpreted. This is the free will choice of materialists to believe but it is also within the free will of "believers" to accept that there is more to the universe than the materialist paradigm suggests.
If we are thoughtful we adopt a philosophy broad enough to encompass all we have experienced, and all that those we trust the accounts of, have experienced. That doesn’t make our own philosophy “true”- for only reality is true or real, not ideas about it, which are partial approximations- but it means that our current philosophy has yet to be negated by our own experience or those of people we trust. In other words, the null hypotheses has yet to be rejected, and so is maintained! This should hold true for all thinking materialists and spiritualists, alike.
Sharka Todd
Symbolism and the inner teachings of religion
Originally posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Te862VIUBo
Symbols are used in all teachings. Jesus used parables for the less sophisticated and had other teachings for those with deeper knowledge. For example: when he spoke about the man who built his house on sand, rock etc. he wasn't taking about house building- he was talking about the importance of basing one's life on constructive and solid truths.
Many people talk about the inner and outer teachings of various religions. For the deeper student it is the inner teachings we concern ourselves with. We go beyond the symbolism into the heart of the matter, for it is the transformation of self from selfish animal man into altruistic spiritual man that is the turning of the base metal into gold.
Personally, I don't accept that all writings in the Bible, for example, are spiritually inspired, but that doesn't mean I believe everything in the Bible is therefore worthless. If one has a good heart and good intent then we can find the teachings that come from a similar source of good will and these are what are important to hold, not the dark teachings of ignorance that lie hidden amongst them! For those who seek flaws will find them, in all areas of life. It is up to us to collect the diamonds of truth wherever they may lie and leave the dross of falsehood behind!
Sharka Todd
My response to Stephen Fry's criticism of God (and Russell Brand's response)
Originally posted as a comment on the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Te862VIUBo
Fry made a good point about the problems in the world and how, if there was an omnipotent God, then this God doesn't seem to care much about our well being.
Clearly, the idea that God is omnipotent is purely a human projection as there is no way we could know this. I mean, humans can create super computers and yet we are not omnipotent, and so enhanced creative ability is no evidence of omnipotence. Obviously, we could say the belief in God is just a human construct as well, and that would be fair, but we can go beyond this to say that the qualities we have projected upon this God are also human constructions.
The idea of omnipotence is one humans invoke to feel secure or to "big-up" their concept of God. In other words, a being may have created this world but that doesn't mean their powers over it are unlimited. People would then argue: then this God did a poor job, considering all the problems that have flowed on from the original creation. However, if we believe that humans have free will then we can admit that most of these problems have been created by our own free will choices, rather than because the universe is flawed in some way. Therefore, the responsibility would lie with us collectively, rather than with the God (or gods) that created us with free will. And although problems exist, in a larger context creation may be best served by having beings with free will that make mistakes and then learn to overcome them, rather than having drone-like beings that operate according to set rules.
As far as Russell Brand’s comments are concerned- yes he is talking about a different concept of God. God as consciousness, or the ground of being, which, although it may be embraced by some in the New Age movement, has its origin in the Vedas of India (and probably before that). If we are God- or the ground of being- existing as a human, then clearly the choices we make, including those that lead to disease and destruction of the environment, are our responsibility and not those of some external agency.
Sharka Todd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Te862VIUBo
Fry made a good point about the problems in the world and how, if there was an omnipotent God, then this God doesn't seem to care much about our well being.
Clearly, the idea that God is omnipotent is purely a human projection as there is no way we could know this. I mean, humans can create super computers and yet we are not omnipotent, and so enhanced creative ability is no evidence of omnipotence. Obviously, we could say the belief in God is just a human construct as well, and that would be fair, but we can go beyond this to say that the qualities we have projected upon this God are also human constructions.
The idea of omnipotence is one humans invoke to feel secure or to "big-up" their concept of God. In other words, a being may have created this world but that doesn't mean their powers over it are unlimited. People would then argue: then this God did a poor job, considering all the problems that have flowed on from the original creation. However, if we believe that humans have free will then we can admit that most of these problems have been created by our own free will choices, rather than because the universe is flawed in some way. Therefore, the responsibility would lie with us collectively, rather than with the God (or gods) that created us with free will. And although problems exist, in a larger context creation may be best served by having beings with free will that make mistakes and then learn to overcome them, rather than having drone-like beings that operate according to set rules.
As far as Russell Brand’s comments are concerned- yes he is talking about a different concept of God. God as consciousness, or the ground of being, which, although it may be embraced by some in the New Age movement, has its origin in the Vedas of India (and probably before that). If we are God- or the ground of being- existing as a human, then clearly the choices we make, including those that lead to disease and destruction of the environment, are our responsibility and not those of some external agency.
Sharka Todd
Friday, March 6, 2015
Is the world a better place with Sukumaran and Chan?
Andrew Chan and Muyran Sukumaran in prison because of their youthful foolishness and now being threatened with the death penalty by the Indonesian government. Since their incarceration a decade ago they have turned their talents to teaching, art and pastoral care, respectively.
EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE!
Sharka Todd
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Divine inspiration is not the final truth
Just because words are claimed to be “divinely inspired” doesn’t mean they are the final truth. Revelation can only happen within the ability of the human being to understand and accept it. As humans grow in consciousness, wisdom and moral integrity they become open to a higher type of inspired knowledge that reflects their ascent in understanding. The same also goes for scientific understanding. This also grows as the mental and spiritual abilities of the humans that hold it grow.
Sharka Todd
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The pending Indonesian executions
Originally posted here: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/02/prosecutor-police-recall-terrifying-executions.html
1. Those of us who are truly against the death penalty don't like to see anyone executed whether they are a murderer or not. I think it's best to give people a chance to achieve redemption before they die of natural causes. Anyway, death may not actually be a punishment, for the afterlife may be far preferable to this life.
Psychologically speaking, the death penalty just exists so the population doesn't have to deal with their own inner darkness. Rather, they project it onto others and then "do away with them". The existence of the death penalty is actually a sign of how immature a society is and how unable the people are of dealing with their own shadow self rationally. "Evil" is a shared mental state and cannot be eradicated by destroying bodies- quite the contrary, as this only enhances evil as we see with the current situation in Indonesia surrounding the executions. This has created a very dark atmosphere that is completely unnecessary, begun and fanned by the evil forces that control Widodo (and others) as their willing puppet, feeding on the negativity generated by his actions or lack of them.
Only the Indonesian people can lift this evil from their land by promoting wise, selfless and caring people into positions of power and abolishing the destructive death penalty which solves nothing but creates many problems of its own!
2.
The hanging of Eichmann was wrong as are all murders of unarmed prisoners. We are in no position to be anyone's judge and executioner, after all: justice is the Lords and he will repay. Until then we will keep the truly dangerous ones imprisoned and the rest shall go free!
As for "drug smugglers ruining lives"- we ruin our own lives by our own free will choices. It is poor form to blame another for what we choose to do to ourselves! No one forces an addict to stick a needle in their arm. They do it because they want to. And if they risk addiction it is because their quality of life is so poor that ruining it seems worthwhile for a brief high. For that, blame an inadequate society, if you must!
Sharka Todd
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