A Little Fellowship ...Anyone?

[Starwalker]

Yes, meeting you on a video call was what I was referring to. Actually meeting in person would be difficult since I’m a long way from Texas. But I sure would enjoy some of that sunny weather. We are right in the middle of a snow storm right now.

It’s understandable if people are nervous about this idea. I’m even nervous about a one on one call since this is new to me. But perhaps a little anxiety is what’s needed to shake it up a bit. It would be a big step from writing messages, but I think it would be fun. Hopefully more people will chime in here.

[Geoff]

As some of you realise, I am in Australia, and the windows of opportunity with the US and all its time zones is pretty narrow. As also, I currently meditate 2 hours every day, and frankly have little time for more. As also, unless I could silently do "my thing" I would consider it a waste of my time. As it is there are zoom based meditations and messages going on virtually every day with folks from Divine Love circles that I could attend, but I dislike - as a regular thing - hearing someone receive a message every time I want to meditate, as you cant do both at the same time.

Regarding Welles idea, its likely to be an extremely long session I would think, and as we have very varied outlooks, possibly tedious and challenging to be sufficiently supportive of another's effort that one might feel is somewhat off beam.

But socially hanging out? Yeah I would not mind that at all. But in my case, its not easy to line up opposing time zones. So maybe I am a party pooper?

Geoff

[Sandy]

I think in a way meeting up on say zoom to discuss things could fit into the category of a meet-up. This is something we talked about for years before the zoom technology. I would be in if the time was right. I can do it later at night times if that would be good for Geoff. Evening or even late times are good for me as I take care of my mom and certain times during the day would be impossible. But she likes to read, so it wouldn't be too hard to sit her somewhere safe to read while we talk.
xxSandy
The beauty of this board is that varied outlooks are the norm. We have learned over the years that everyone is finding God in their own way and maybe even learning something from someone else's view. So it could work discussing spiritual things too if we are gentle with each other. We are friends, right?

[Amigoo]

Geoff,

Two hours seems a long time for daily meditation!
What do you achieve in this time, especially relative to daily life?

As for Zoom, my little notebook computer is stressed
and prefers networking in the slow lane.

Postscript (later today) ...
Thanks for the response and UB quotes.

Rod

[Geoff]

Two hours is 2x1 hour. It goes remarkably fast. I have a background soundtrack, some instruments, some vocals that are spiritual. Other meditate in silence. I find the track helps me to know when the time is up, because it can go longer very easily. I have one focus:

3:4.6 (50.4) Mortal man cannot possibly know the infinitude of the heavenly Father. Finite mind cannot think through such an absolute truth or fact. But this same finite human being can actually feel - literally experience - the full and undiminished impact of such an infinite Father’s LOVE. Such a love can be truly experienced,

and

1:7.2 (31.2) Man does not achieve union with God as a drop of water might find unity with the ocean. Man attains divine union by progressive reciprocal spiritual communion, by personality intercourse with the personal God, by increasingly attaining the divine nature through wholehearted and intelligent conformity to the divine will. Such a sublime relationship can exist only between personalities.

and

117:6.9 (1289.2) Men all too often forget that God is the greatest experience in human existence. Other experiences are limited in their nature and content, but the experience of God has no limits save those of the creature’s comprehension capacity, and this very experience is in itself capacity enlarging. When men search for God, they are searching for everything. When they find God, they have found everything. The search for God is the unstinted bestowal of love attended by amazing discoveries of new and greater love to be bestowed.

I do that because its the very fastest way to raise your vibration and grow your soul. At one time I was doing 3x1 hour and kept it up for several years. It made a huge difference, but these days I find it harder to have that time (I am not living in an apartment but on a 1 acre property)

If I restate what TUB says, and tell you what Jesus said directly January 24th, 1915:

“No man can come to the Father’s Love, except he be born again. This is the great and fundamental Truth which men must learn and believe, for without this New Birth men cannot partake of the Divine Essence of God’s Love, which, when possessed by a man, makes him at one with the Father. This Love comes to man by the workings of the Holy Ghost, causing this love to flow into the heart and soul, and filling it, so that all sin and error must be eradicated. I am not going to tell tonight just how this working of the spirit operates, but, I say, if a man will pray to the Father and believe, and earnestly ask that this Love be given him, he will receive it; and when it comes into his soul he will realize it. Let not men think that by any effort of their own they can come into this union with the Father, because they cannot. No river can rise higher than its source; and no man who has only the natural love and filled with error can of his own powers cause that natural love to partake of the Divine, or his nature to be relieved of such sin and error. ”

Geoff

[happyrain]

These are nice quotes Geoff. Thank you.

And I agree with you Sandy, there are so many personalities and walks of life/differing beliefs... But they too experience 1111 and through an earnest plea to God, experience Divine Love.


Also... The quote- "personality intercourse with personal God" did something to my mind.

It puzzles me- it feels like, the older I get- the denser I become. That sense of innocence and Faith are there, but have somehow become tucked underneath all this... Stuff.

And at the same time, it seems important to interact with others and attempt sincerity- even when my Ego and personality deviate form being able to understand the truth before me.

At times it feels like I'm just getting back to my internal world. The sense of wonder is there- but it takes more digging and more reframing/adjusting as I age and am exposed to all types of vibration. This may just be a human attribute, to complicate uncomplicated things.

I am grateful for the wonders of Silence... It's a curious dance, life.

[Starwalker]

Beautiful quotes, Geoff. The James Padgett messages from 100 years ago are much the same as the messages being received today, which are essentially the same teachings that Jesus gave us when he was here in the flesh 2000 years ago. Anything of eternal value is timeless.

Mortal man can do nothing to save himself apart from accepting the salvation of Christ and abiding in Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

While time alone in meditation is the best way to have personality intercourse with the Father, I think it’s also important for us to get together and commune among ourselves. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20.

With everyone being spread out all over the world, Zoom meet-ups seem to be the best option. Eric and I had a call last night and I think it flowed very well. And the time prompts we received during the call tells me it wasn’t just the two of us on that call. I’d look forward to meeting you all, one on one or in small groups. I’m sure we can work around time zones somehow. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

[happyrain]

[Sandy]

[Amigoo]

Speaking of AI, this gozinta hints how the brain processes information:

I had just added more water to the coffee pot that is usually kept in the refrigerator.
That gallon water jug stays on the counter next to the refrigerator.

I intended to put the coffee pot back in the refrigerator, but without looking grabbed jug
and started to place it in the refrigerator. The handles are somewhat alike so feel was not
an immediate clue and current weights were similar. However, not until I saw the jug
next to the refrigerator shelf did I realize the mistake.

Vision trumps touch? Somehow explains how half & half carton
can end up in the microwave ... or car keys in the bread box ...
aka "entertaining senior capers".

Suggests brain's "something gozinta something" processing
that can easily fail when A gozinta I.

Rod

[happyrain]

Sgguest Smoetihng Is Rghit. I tihnk I raed so lnog as the frist and lsat lteter are in palce the barin atuo crorcets. Did it wrok?

[Amigoo]

She slels sea sehlls by the saehsroe ...
epsceailly atfer the tusanmi qiuseecs.

Rod

[Sandy]

LOL It worked!

[happyrain]

Bumping this lovely thread for others, and sharing the bowl of saki wisdom here.

All my sorrow, anxiety, fear and anger has stemmed from the creation of what is experienced within my own world. Never truly another persons fault. And so, I must dig deeper and deeper towards the source of my Liberation.

Are thoughts alone what create the feeling of freedom and happiness? I don't think so. Sometimes thoughts can be a tyranny unto themselves. Often, we seek to free ourselves from ourselves. What is the self? A most important question- and, perhaps more- what is the true and mystical meaning of the Breath?

Do Thought and Breath exist as a one entity- or do they exist independently from one another?

Now todays Wisdom:


We blame others for our sorrows and misfortunes, not perceiving that we ourselves are the creators of our world.

Bowl of Saki, June 6, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Externally we are a single being, but internally we are a world. As vast as is the world around us, so vast is the world within. Asif says, 'The limitation of the sky and land cannot be compared with man's heart. If man's heart be wide, there is nothing wider than this.' All can be accommodated in it; heaven earth, sun, moon, all are reflected in it. It becomes itself the whole. This world becomes as one chooses to make it. If man only knew that! But since he does not know that, the world is not heaven, but has become its opposite. We blame others for our sorrows and misfortunes, not perceiving that we ourselves are the creators of our world; that our world has an influence upon our life within as well as upon our life without.

from https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_17.htm


One learns to understand that there is a world in one's self, that in one's mind there is a source of happiness and unhappiness, the source of health and illness, the source of light and darkness, and that it can be awakened, either mechanically or at will, if only one knew how to do it. Then one does not blame his ill fortune nor complain of his fellow man. He becomes more tolerant, more joyful, and more loving toward his neighbor, because he knows the cause of every thought and action, and he sees it all as the effect of a certain cause.

from https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/XIII/XIII_5.htm

[happyrain]

I'm reading about love as the currency of all peoples in todays saki message. I am not a master, and often do not have the "correct" response to matters when difficulties arise in relationships. A friend just asked me not to be friends with him because of his incorrect views about me. We have different opinions concerning worldly affairs, but he thinks I don't understand basic morality because of it. He's projected a lot of his anger with the world on to me as a consequence. I'm not even sure if he's aware, but I realized he was giving me the cold shoulder- becoming increasingly sarcastic, calling me strange names and starting to cuss at me whenever I voiced a different opinion. I tried to confront him about this but he can not see the hypocrisy. It is just strange to me that he is ready to abandon our childhood friendship over controversies found online or in virtual reality. He has become increasingly addicted to places like reddit and this need for information. I think I have too if I'm being honest with myself. But I feel what's found online or in the news is often misconstrued to portray a narrative and polarize people.

Perhaps I am wrong for poking fun at things I think funny. Considering we are imperfect ourselves, and although we try our best to give love in the moment- we aren't always able- we aren't always right... We don't always see why someone is so jaded or miserable. Sometimes walking away from a cherished relationship is the correct answer- is the loving thing to do.

What do you think?

[Amigoo]

our childhood friendship

Friendships evolve, often mature, but sometimes in different directions.
And it's difficult to achieve preferred maturity with virtual interaction.

You describe having become a good target for his anger, hinting that
at least walking away from the disagreements is a good Plan B.

Rod

[happyrain]

Thanks Rod. It's just hard when your friends circle becomes smaller and smaller. I guess that's a part of getting older. Not like I have a large friends circle. I can count all my friends on one hand. I've always had really good friends but never a large amount.

Yes, walking away is good for the both of us. I realize I too was becoming irritable by his constant lecturing and displaying this need to engage my different views as if it were a debate with essay-like responses. You see, our friendship had been forced to communication online because we are states apart. This isn't my first rodeo posting this kind of stuff either. Maybe there's a greater picture I am missing.

It's also sad to me that people forget the kindness of another person once they learn their beliefs are different. In a clear example it's like someone being republican or democrat. Suddenly the friend that's democrat can't be friends with the republican because they learned their political alignment. Or vice versa. I think that's really petty. But apparently it becomes an issue.

If politics are this difficult, is it any wonder we have had so many religious wars??

Well, I suppose that and feeling lonely at times is why I may sound down. I'm okay. I know I am not alone. Just today I received a crushed gift walking in my store. And even now, the :14 number is reminding me of our connection. God is so good to me, every customer I met today gave me a compliment without my seeking it. It was rather beautiful. And when I got home, my neighbor decided to have a chat with me out of the blue for 30 minutes. You see, God really does provide. And I know I can learn to be more receptive and strengthen my Faith in his Guidance.

I think the ego in me really seeks physical companionship which can make this partnership with the unseen intelligence rather difficult. But if that intelligence can manifest physical gifts and coordinate all these nice events... Maybe that physical intimacy can be had too.

Anyways here's what I found...


Like I said, I found this walking into work this morning. A coworker walked in and saw me pick it up. She wondered why I was drawn to it- calling them crushed flowers. When she said crushed flowers my mind immediately relayed some quote I had learned in the past
"Forgiveness is the scent a flower gives after its been crushed"

Something like that... And prior to getting to work- I found my self in conversation with my self about "Sacred Heart" and developing the secret relationship with God. That somewhere here is a key to freedom, and it isn't one we advertise but one we build upon.

I suppose I need to apply forgiveness in this situation. I still think walking away is what allows us the space to grow- but I don't have to hold malice for what is happening, and I needn't be afraid or depressed. Suppose the forgiveness needs to happen in my self- with a lot of issues that I realize I keep pent up.

Thank you again for your time and interest.

[Starwalker]

Hi Eric,

I’m sorry to hear of your troubled relationship with your friend. The widening division between political parties is sad to see. Everyone has their own opinion on what is good and seeks to exalt the ego by promoting their version of truth. Personally I believe that each issue must be evaluated using the full political spectrum. There are times when a conservative approach is best and there are times when a liberal approach is best. Yet what we are seeing today are politicians who value their left and right wing ideologies more than the people they are supposed to be governing. As I read in a celestial message awhile back: “clowns to left, jokers to the right, and a fools in the middle.” A true politician always acts for the highest good of their constituents. But it seems that a big problem is that a lot of people here don’t know that’s good for them. That’s about as much of politics you’ll get from me today.

I think those crushed flowers are a sign. Spiritual is with you through this adversity and encouraging you to be resilient like the crushed flowers who have found someone new to admire them.

Are you still interested in the zoom call to watch Swami Vidyadhishananda’s “What is at the Heart of Love?” I can meet with you on Aug 27th if you’d like. Let me know and I’ll set up the call.

Take care,
Jonathan

[happyrain]

Hey Jon, yes absolutely. That's a Tuesday, so it's perfect for me. And it seems I am mentally being primed for such a discussion/satsang, I hadn't realized it until you replied.

I just spent some time reading a book and enjoying the presence of the moon, crazy how a little time like that can completely sooth your mood and heal you on some level.

Cheers

[Amigoo]

Great symbolism, those crushed flowers, but expressing opinion more than reality!

The creative effort, IMO, hints of hope for future improvement in relationship ...
and might even suggest that change will occur first with the gifter.

Rod

[happyrain]

Thanks, most opinions influence reality- for better or worse. I'm hoping I choose for better, and I believe God provides. I truly believe the flowers were a gift, like finding my initials engraved in the cement in the apartment I ended up moving into. Like experiencing and interacting with the 1111 phenomenon. I've had one too many moments to ignore, belittle or feel otherwise.

Some side thoughts...

Whose reality?
What reality?

Is life through a human lens reality?

[Starwalker]

Those are good questions, Eric. It has been said that one person’s delusion is another person’s reality. As we are in the physical realm, our reality seems to be mostly defined by the physical laws of science. Since we are starting out on our spiritual journeys, we are also bound by the spiritual laws. However, to people who are ignorant of spiritual laws, they would appear to be unreal. But these laws are very real to those who have experienced them. So, it is evident that our level of reality evolves as we grow.

It seems that reality begins where imagination ends. Symbolism and signs go hand and hand. Though they may be based on a physical event, the connecting these of happenings to meanings requires imagination. If an experience is true to you and brings value to your journey, then it shouldn’t matter if someone else believes it to be true. Truth doesn’t have to be factual, it can also be based on belief.