ICURBlessings

MarioGabrielJ - the problem with this premise as it is formed IS the assumption that the meaning of God's Creation is or must include the Physical Universe - the World - or any Universe known to human. What you refer as "us" I assume you mean us-humans. The premise as stated assume that WHAT you are is a body or somehow the physical body is You. The Physical Universe - the World - or any Universe known to human - all that we can be certain about them is that they are a product of PERCEPTION - here perception is NOT defined as an end product of the body's senses and central nervous-system. To assume all that which a human know via PERCEPTION which must include the Physical Universe - the World - or any Universe known to human is REALITY is absolutely invalid - this is not dogma but a fact that can be very obvious - but only if willing to see it. You are correct to state that God cannot be separated from Truth, NOR from His Creation - BUT also His Creation must be the only possible REALITY - this also is not a belief but a fact born out of fundamental reasoning. Assuming WHAT Reality IS - has been a continuous misjudgement of humanity. To think of yourself as a body looking out onto a world as seen as REALITY should first be QUESTIONED before making any premises about GOD's Creation.

I think for most people suicide is just NOT an option they are willing to consider. And why is that? Well that is more obvious than not. As Leo pointed out, some are so overwhelmed with some form of suffering, that continuing to exist as a human is an option they want out. In my life I have been aware of a couple of suicide cases - where everyone was dumbfounded by it. One was a white male that had a loving wife, children, a successful career, a prominent position in his community, he was appreciated and liked by most people, and many, many looked-up to him for having such a successful life. No one including his wife and children and best friend had a clue he was considering killing himself... Suffering is not always what it seems.

I have been studying NDE's (Near Death Experiences) since the end of the 70's. I have read, and listen to a few hundred testimonies. I also read many books on the subject, especially those written by researchers. There are a few NDE testimonies from suicide attempts. The first thing I would like to explain which result from all that research on the subject of the afterlife - is about Karma and Judgment. A phenomenon reported by great number of NDE'r is the phenomenon of the Life-Review. In almost all cases when one is having his Life-Review he/she is in the presence of a very Loving being or Beings - who maybe is a Guide or an Old friend or a Family member that has been on the other side. The experience of receiving unconditional Love from that Being or those Beings is remarkably consistent in testimonies explaining their experiences of the Life Review. During the Life-Review the only source of Judgments is You as in the one who is reviewing his life. This is important to understand. It is your Judgment that determines not only if you are to experience a karmic-debt but how one is to find peace with himself as a result of his action in this lifetime. The concept of paying a karmic-debt is only the means chosen by You to achieve Peace with yourself. Karma is not just about reincarnation - you can process your Karma without experiencing a human life again. We are here experiencing human-life as an effective mean to LEARN - a learning process that we usually plan before our birth. After we leave this body, our spiritual evolution is not any different than before we left the Earth-plane - so for most of us it means we still have some LEARNING to do in the afterlife. 'Learning' is one of the main activities of the afterlife. As far as suicide is concerned - the consequences will depend on you and how you will judge the 'decision' you made of cutting short your human journey. What is different about the Life-Review and how we see our life here while in it - is that during the Life-Review we experience every feeling and emotions of OTHERS. How our words and actions impact others - we not only feel every feeling but also in some cases experience how their life would of been different if we had not said or done a certain action. Suicide is usually very bad for those you leave behind - and even if you are old and alone - suicide has a very negative impact on others in your community; those that find your body; neighbors; etc... Of course this is a generalization, and today we have more and more legal euthanasia - which in this context of the Life Review - would be different than a suicide.

... it is important to understand that "Remembering God or the Absolute" (which is an experience of Revelation) is NOT the same as 'remembering' where are my keys, or what is my name, or any other form of human memory. The experience of Revelation is like entering into a river because God or the Absolute is alive - there is nothing as Alive than This. The remembering of God could also be described as "plugging in with Eternal Life Itself".

The "Remember" as in Remembering the Absolute, or Remembering God - can be a valid statement within a relative context. Here is the explanation: First we must establish the premise that the Soul or Your True Essence, or Your Beingness in its purest state - ORIGINATE from the Absolute. It is still right NOW at ONE with the Absolute but is not aware of It. The soul is one with its Source but the soul's Consciousness is finding itself in Spacetime. Remembering and Memory is an attribute of Spacetime. Or to simplify we could state that it is an attribute of Time. Beyond Time memory is inconceivable. And the Absolute is entirely beyond Time which is why Breakingthewall made the statement above. Remembering is a process of Consciousness interacting in Time. Now I have to introduce the concept known as the linearity of Time. Linear Time is how Consciousness experience its awakening process; or one could say its return to the Absolute. Time has a beginning and an end - and it is experienced as an UNFOLDEMENT moving in a direction defined as the 'Arrow of Time'. The position in the UNFOLDEMENT of Time where Consciousness finds itself is always the PRESENT - and everything in Time that has UNFOLDED is in the Past, and everything that has NOT UNFOLDED represent the Future. MEMORY is the means to have access to something from the Past. In a way one could say that as Time unfolds Memory Increase - Akashic Records represent the Memory of the Universal Mind. In RELATION to Time, yes the Absolute is beyond Time, but the Absolute is also just before the very first instant of the birth of Time - and also the Absolute stand at the very End of Time. To REMEMBER the Absolute is related to an experience in Time where Consciousness 'recall' the very instant before the birth of Time. It would also be valid to say that during that 'recall' Consciousness is also standing at the End of Time. The soul can - during its journey in Time experience a complete and total recall of the Absolute - that has been called an experience of Revelation. However once the soul finds itself back within the ordinary consciousness of being a human - it cannot remember at 100% - the content of the moment of Revelation - and much less find the words to convey the remembered content.

Ishanga, Thank you for your reply. The theory you expressed here make sense - However I see it as a way to resolve an uncomfortable dilemma that the highest thinkers of our history have rustled with. It could be described in diverse ways - one approach is to observe the inherent need to bridge the Absolute, with what we can call for now - the Non-Absolute. However if we are to have this discussion, we have to reach via "words & concepts" for some guiding characterizations of what the idea of the Absolute stands for. We already have agreed that the Absolute is inherently 'ineffable' - but this does NOT mean we CANNOT use words to communicate Its meaning. Like all abstract concepts, words can only take the mind so far, yet the ability of the mind to go beyond words exist. I like to think of the words for these extremely abstract ideas as "diving boards". The part where the mind leaves the symbol behind - the mid-air motion when diving - can be developed through practices of contemplation. I don't know if you know of the ancient practice known as Lectio Divina - it is a good example of such practices. As far as I know - the ability to explore concepts and ideas beyond the intellect and beyond the region of the mind devoted to verbalization - is highly foreign to mainstream spiritual practices. Sorry, but I have to get back to something I am working on - I will post this anyway although it is far from a complete reply. - I can comeback later to continue this...

If I had to define "Paradigm" in this context I would say as in a "ideational framework" made of Laws and Principles. I said earlier fundamental to this Thought-System is Duality, but also fundamental to It is "Limitedness". Death is an expression of Limitedness. Also as a direct effect of this framework CHANGE itself emerges. For CHANGE to unfold, Spacetime is needed - without Spacetime the experience of CHANGE cannot occur. Spacetime is not expressed "out-of-nowhere", clearly it extends from an organize-system. It is produced within and from the Mind which is the 'field' in which Physicality is expressed. By Physicality I mean the experience of a Physical World - which inherently carries the Laws of Physics. The idea that you bring forth, I quote: "Duality is all set up for us to have Experience so Absolute can Experience itself, ..." Is an idea that I am familiar with, but that I can not completely agree with. If discussing this interest you, then could elaborate on this. Thanks Ishanga for sharing your thoughts...

Certainly you are gaining a sense of self-worth as a problem-solver. In the bigger picture Natural-Evolution is process that can be observed as of "problem-solving". And our personal human lives are an extension of that process. As a note you mention issues with relationships... a common issue is when someone wants to vent and complain and therefore needs someone to listen to them. I*f as a listener you respond with a strategy to solve their issue - they feel like you don't get it that they just wanted to vent or talk about their problems without engaging a solution. I am not sure if that is what you were alluding to!?

To a human memory appear to serve many purposes BUT ULTIMATLY its purpose is to perpetuate EVERYTHING that is within the continuum of Spacetime. Memory is part of a mechanism where the CONTENT of the PASS is EXTENDED into the Future. Genetic - the Genome is a type of Memory

Ishanga, By "thought-system" I mean "Paradigm" - Sorry for assuming it would be understood as such. i.e. You said "Our Bodies and Mind and Genetics and cells, atom etc are all accumulations, or memory of sorts, that is a certain type of Intelligence, that allows Form and Physicality to exist, for Duality to exist, for Us to be here, " That 'Intelligence' is the expression of a Thought-System. All experiences that are other than The Oneness Which is God which is Absolute are as a whole functioning from a thought-system. Duality is the fundamental Framework from which this thought-system emerges Thought-System as a product of the Universal Mind not of the human brain!

Thank you Ishanga Desire is the WILL functioning under a specific thought-system. The Desire is driven to achieve something BECAUSE of a 'promise' that the object of desire represent. This 'PROMISE' is just that and nothing more. This fact is related to the concept of the Devil as the 'great-deceiver' because it represent what drives a soul to seek but not to find - perpetual seeking - which is also related to the "wheel of reincarnation". What all object-of-desire ultimately promises is 'Happiness' - which is WHAT all souls ultimately seek. To seek is to 'Want' and 'wanting' is always an expression of a state that is fittingly define as "NEED". The entire experience of Life on Earth is driven by 'NEEDS'. All biology is a mechanism fueled by NEEDS. Every soul that experiences physicality and mortality is pulled in that drive to respond to NEEDS - and seek and seek - over and over; one life-cycle after another... this is UNTIL the soul REALIZES ...

NightHawkBuzz you and others that are LGBTQ-Phobic are coming up with truly UNSOUND theories. Your theory is a story you tell yourself to justify your UNFOUNDED fears. Your line of thinking is faulty in a way that you don't understand (obviously) - here is an example, you said "Once you change the hormones inside your body you can't just reverse that, ... " Althought the premise of hormonal change as a cause for homosexuality's is not valid - TELL ME why in your 'tale' is the theory that hormonal changes cannot be reversed? In your theory you claim that hormones can be change ONE WAY but NOT the other way?!?

This is perhaps a terminology misunderstanding. To "Know" as in a 'direct experience' is different than to "know" as a product of some knowledge acquisition through intellectual or other human manner of learning - which MUST involve MEMORY. The direct experience of God or the Absolute is an experience of Revelation that cannot be communicated via language and intellectual concepts. It is inherently "ineffable" (incapable of being expressed in words). Because we are eternal and infinite, and what Is God is the very Source of our Being(ness) - far in the background of our Mind is the memory of our Source. HOWEVER when we have an experience of REVELATION or DIRECT KNOWING of GOD it can be associated to REMEMBERING (Memory) - BUT the Content is not like our human-memory but a LIVING PRESENCE (It is ALIVE NOW) - which is ETERNALLY with our self as our very own BEINGNESS.

Years ago ...about 15 years ago I was working with a guy who was a fundamentalist Christian - he one day told what you are saying about homosexual trying to convert people into homosexuality - his theories were insane. I was shocked, completely shocked on how deep into delusion he was. During those days misinformation was much more limited than today. But I tell you the fundamentalist Christians have been swimming in it for a long long time. Emerald nicely explain that it is not true, and aurum also said what I would say: It is completely and utterly absurd! The part that is beyond me is how anyone could conceive of an heterosexual being convince by anyone to become an homosexual - how do you figure that? The only thing I can think is that if you believe someone could influence you into becoming an homosexual, and here I mean you NightHawkBuzz - than your heterosexuality must be seriously on insecure grounds.

Many months ago the Supreme Court ruled that States cannot remove Trump from ballot for insurrection - see https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/03/supreme-court-rules-states-cannot-remove-trump-from-ballot-for-insurrection/ This ruling was extremely unfit - see https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/what-the-supreme-court-got-wrong-in-the-trump-section-3-case

He more than approved, if you look in his posts a few days before the riot, there is evidence that he wanted supporters that are ready to take on violent action. also in that same speech he said "'If you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore'"

You can deduct facts such as those involved in the murder of JFK were members of the republican party. They are part of the more if not most corrupted part of that party. This line of corruption extend before the murder and also forward in time and probably remained all the way through the Bush administration. Since Trump it would be difficult to tell ... The CIA probably played more of a subservient role than an instrumental one...

To have a cohesive discussion between open minds gifted of a certain spiritual intelligence... we need to agree on the reason we are asking/answering the question: What is a woman ? What is the purpose and function of the question? If it is to produce a definition for a school-book in Biology... it will be different than if we are talking about political issues such the right to vote... it will be different than if we are talking about self-identification issues... it will be different than if we are talking about genetics... Let's agree on the motive we want this question to be used for.

There is a lot of good responses and advices in this thread. Now that these important things have been said, I will bring another angle. Like a snake shedding its skin, or maybe like a caterpillar cocooning to metamorphose itself into a butterfly - Your experience of Love is going through a metamorphosis - and right now it is in the cocoon stage. Human emotions range in qualities, and intensities. They seem to go from negative in one end - such as fear, guilt and anger to positive states of joy and love. Also human emotions can be experienced as a mix of both positive and negative - like feeling excited but also anxious. Now lets look at LOVE. You seem to be on a path of spiritual learning - and all true spiritual paths must at one point involve a process of realizing True Love, what the sages of India called "Supreme Love". You also heard that 'God is Love' - and that is a profoundly meaningful statement which says something about Love that points to something... far beyond the flickering human-love. Human experience of love is variable, changing, fluctuating, shifting, and therefore can be inconsistent and unstable. This characteristic of human-love is fundamentally unlike the Love Which is God. Part of the TRAUMA that you spoke of and also that has been discussed by others in this tread - not only can awake in the mind the sense of fragility of the human body, and the human vulnerability to all kinds of ...what can I say... "horrors" for a lack of a better word - can amount to an impact at a very foundational level. What I want to point here is like a deep realization of the 'impermanence' of our World - to use a Buddhist term. Another term is the 'ephemerality' of the human experience. However where I am going with this is the Realization - as a result of trauma - that this human-field that we call life may of been assess as "unworthy" of investing Love into it. This trauma-caused assessment is often how seers of ancient time began their Realization of True Love. The Love which is God is also your very essence and of course the essence of every living thing and every soul at any level - physical and non-physical. That Love which is Your Essence is not shifty, but Changeless - It IS NOW and IT IS YOUR BEING - the Very " I AM" as YOU are NOW and will be for ever. It is Changeless and at Peace... FEEL IT! Find a way to feel it... Feel its Peace, observe how it can be profoundly comforting, and how it may make you feel STRONG - not physical strength but the Strength of the Soul. Once you start to feel it, look for IT in others. Tell yourself that the image of their body is not really them - but that you can FEEL their ESSENCE - FEEL IT. Feel their eternal light which is your light... Let the Love which is God be the only kind of Love you want ... Observe how you already have started to stop investing love in 'Form', the 'Changing', the Ephemeral, ... Trust that you are uncovering True Love - the Love that holds the Universe together...

There are different kinds of pragmatic benefits in such relationships - not just for basic utilitarian tasks. Making important decisions can be much better when 2 are involved instead of one. But like Applegarden8 pointed out - it is not always beneficial. I have been in both kinds of relationships - those that are dysfunctional where survival is not enhanced and in relationships that do act as a huge benefit for both. The biggest mistake is when we look for a partner that is like our self too much, someone that we have too much in common. I find that it is the "differences" that enhances the relationship and make a tandem team more powerful. Of course it is important not to fight over the differences but instead be open to another way of thinking and making decisions. Of course to have skills that are complementary also help greatly. If both have the same likes and dislikes it makes the relationship NOT complementary. ie if he hates mowing the grass but she loves it then you have what makes a good team. If both hates paying the bills and managing the finances then you have a weakness instead of strength. There other important qualities that need to be shared or more or less strong on both sides. Hardworking is great when both have that quality. If only one has it ... it sucks for the hardworking one. A sense of Justice and fairness matter. Also a continuous willingness to help each other. There is so much more to say about this...

Keryo Koffa - when you say "Consciousness does feel mysterious though." What do you specifically mean by 'Consciousness'. I am not coming from an ignorance of what you might mean - but I don't want to assume you mean something when you might be meaning something else.

Can you explain the 'danger' that you are referring to - Please?

An hallmark of addiction is using on a regular basis. Now if a regular basis is once a year, well that is not much of an addiction. Daily cycles are typical addictive behaviors. The test is when you tell yourself to skip a cycle. When addicted is when we experience difficulty to do so, or we find it challenging, we may notice how we obsessively thinking about it, etc... In a way most habits carry patterns of addiction but not all habits are the same. Some are to a certain degree, necessary for our survival or for running our daily tasks more efficiently... But we are talking about habits that we don't want for diverse reasons. Some individuals are more prone to addiction than others. It is natural and normal to have to deal with some addictive patterns and behaviors. One of the most addictive substance that mostly flies under the radar are carbohydrates. They trigger the same region of the brain linked to some well known addictive substances such as alcohol. Anyway I don't think you are addicted to weed.

MarioGabrielJ - thanks for this post - In this thread you use the word "should" repetitively : "If anything, God should be an example of ..."; "God should be precise and ..."; "It feels like it shouldn’t be that difficult to ..." I find it somewhat unclear, as 'should' is always relative to some "condition". In other words "should" in accord with what?

It takes 2 the create a mystery: The object of Mystery and the one who experiences the Mystery. As we ultimately know here, these 2 ore ONE. The riddle of a mystery becomes somewhat decipherable when you reverse the projection - as in God is not Mysterious - it is the seeker of God that is shrouded in Mystery.