Posted on 01/21/2022 10:24:13 PM PST by nickcarraway
Just as Paul described, I then went to a higher Heaven or Third Heaven. It was even brighter and more intense Love than the lower Heaven.
Why me? I have no idea... I should say that it was more “in spite of me” rather than “because of me.”
I entered the fire and went right through. Never fully returned. It’s like a part of me is still there.
a bodhisattva ...
And I’ll be there
To shine in your Japan
To sparkle in your China
Yes, I’ll be there
Bodhisattva
RIP 🙏
Thank you for sharing FRiend!
I concur.
The Buddhist path is spiritual, not religious. Its goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not heaven. And it is deeply personal. Without curiosity and questions and your open mind, there is no spiritual path, no journey to be taken, even if you adopt all the forms of the tradition. God gave us this remarkable brain for a purpose and to question dogma of any religion or philosophy; is certainly what he intended.
Duly noted. You do not WANT or NEED salvation. You are content to face God at the judgment seat entirely on your own merits without benefit of an Advocate. I thank God always that I have what you reject.
There is still room at the Cross for one more, barney. Come to Christ - you’ll never regret it. You will, however, regret your present path which leads to destruction.
There are only two states: Saved and unsaved. Don’t chose the wrong one. You can bet that Christians on Free Republic are praying for you to make the right choice.
“He was an amazing man...
I met with him last year at his temple in Hue, Vietnam...
We first met in the early 1990’s when I attended...”
You are a fortunate man. Thank you.
This is far more than brain.
It’s cultivation of the soul.
🙏🙏🙏
I do my best to life a life of gratitude...
There have been super strong waves of blissful loving energy hitting my body and soul all afternoon. For hours... I’m just enjoying it.
It’s the same feeling I feel when helping a person cross over after they die.
You might feel it while reading this it is so strong. Brings tears of joy to my eyes...
Since my stroke both my typing and mybl proofreading are lousy. You’re quite right.
Still, we sit with eyes open, vision unfocussed.
Maybe it has to do with goals somehow.
In Romans he says the Holy Spirit prays in us.
In Philippians he says as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling God works in me both to will and to do.
There's more to this than first appears.
I have no idea, but I’ve always thought as the eastern religions as more introspective and thinking of inner peace, etc. (eyes shut).
Whereas in Christianity there is the great commission (make disciples of all nations...), which may be represented by the open eyes. Add in the thought that those who are not disciples will spend eternity in Hell - that may lend to the wild eyed look.
Your observations are correct.
There are three stages to all religions that correspond to the level of spiritual development a soul is experiencing at that moment. Every soul eventually goes through all three stages.
1. Dependency... people at this stage tend to be legalistic, rule/consequences oriented and cling to their own religious interpretation as though it is the only and complete truth. They are prone to black and white thinking.
2. Self or Ego Identity... these people use their religion as part of their individual identity, much like one would wear a new suit or drive a fancy new car. They rely on peers to validate their identity, thus allowing them to feel good about themselves.
3. Transcendent Identity... These people tend to not attend church or religious services, but talk with God every day. They can wear plaid pants with a striped shirt and care less what other people think. Their identity is as a servant, dependent upon God. Their religion is experiential. These people often are considered the mystics and others don’t understand them, and that does not bother them. They begin to perceive directly with their consciousness beyond the physical body senses.
These three stages exist within all the world’s religions. The stages of spiritual development exist individually and at a society level.
As a whole, USA is just finishing stage two and about to experience a mid life crisis or tribulation to crush the ego identity and create despair as they let go of the old stage #2 to make room for the new stage #3. The Dark Night of the Soul experience divides these two stages.
As people begin to experience this dying daily or no-self in this tribulation transition, the fear will become very great.
Before people surrender within to God in a higher level of consciousness, they will surrender externally and give their free will to another human being, going all the way back to stage #1. People do this when the fear becomes great causing emotional irrational consciousness that is easily manipulated. This sets the stage for the anti-messiah.
When I observe individuals going through this, it appears as though they are in a hypnotic trance.
They will swear on a Bible that they are “Born Again” in Christ. It is the false process that imitates the real. It is temporary.
The real process can only be attained by surrendering within to a higher level of consciousness or God. The false process is an external surrender.
Everyone is going through this and it will be chaotic and both emotionally and physically painful. Those who turn to God for their strength will rise above the turmoil. Those who don’t will just experience increasing despair until they do the same.
God is in control and everything is unfolding exactly as it is supposed to happen. Even satan is under God’s control and is being used as a tool to assist in the diminishing process to facilitate transcendence.
It’s all good, just some difficult learning experiences.
🙏🙏🙏
Dear tired&retired,
The Jesus of the scriptures is the one that Moses wrote about (John 5:47), the great “I AM” (John 8:58), who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), who lived a perfect life — and paid the dreadful debt — by giving his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), so that he might seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), for all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18).
The Jesus you proclaim is not the Jesus of the scriptures, but is someone you have conjured up in your mind by twisting the scriptures. Your Jesus does not exist. You are being deceived by the evil one, and will die in your sins as Jesus has warned (John 8:24).
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isaiah 55:1)
“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.’ ... ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let the one who hears say, Come! Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.’” (Revelation 21 & 22)
Turn away from your false Christ.
Turn to the real Jesus of the scriptures. He will give you true life in this world and in the world that is to come.
I reply to you the same as Jesus replied to similar accusations..
Would satan cast out satan?
A house divided against itself will fall.
I respect your disagreement and it is ok. My first hand experiences go beyond faith and believing to an experiential knowing that leaves no doubt. For those who wish to understand more, they should read the Bible, invite in the Holy Spirit, and pray for guidance and understanding.
I also welcome any and all prayers for me, that I may gain better understanding.
An imitator would never welcome the Love & Light of God and the Holy Spirit to enter them.
The Buddha,in many places I've been, recedes a little into the background. In place of him you will find the Bodhisattva of Compassion, variously Avalokiteshvara, “He who hears the cries of all the world,” and Kuan Ying, or Kannon in Japan.
As far as I know, one doesn't hear much of Hindu missionaries. But Buddhism did spread, and on purpose. So there is a “missionary” side to it.
Buddhism is HUGELY various! In some traditions the Buddha definitely is presented as a savior who came to deliver us from bad karma. Now THAT’s a religion in competition with Christianity!
But in others while there is an agreed upon metaphysical starting point, which you can develop with scholastic intricacy, it's really all about the “practice,” about zazen. There are ethical precepts and they're considered in Buddhist communities. But the presentation is quite different from that in most Christian communities.
I hope that's useful.
Well answered.
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