augustmarsblog

  Table of Contents for Mysticism Label  MYSTICISM, INTRODUCTION (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Why Doesn't God Prohibit War? (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Why Do I Suffer? (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Paracelsus, the Alchemist (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) FAITH (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) The Effectiveness of Prayer (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) The Holy Trinity: The Father (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Trinity: The Son (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Trinity: The Holy Spirit (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) The Mystery of Sin (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) ORIGINAL SIN (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) The Liar's World (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Dying Is Not So Bad (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) How Loving Is God? (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Is It Possible to Love Your Enemies? (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) THE JOB ENIGMA (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Elihu (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com) Ways the Holy Spirit Teaches: Dream...

MYSTICISM, INTRODUCTION This label deals with spiritual matters, in a way which, for many, will seem unconventional. I'll describe my own attempts to gain insight into these matters. But I want to emphasize that it is by no means my intent to set up my own experience as an example for others. But it is my intent to encourage any reader who is concerned about these matters to seek insight into them for himself. We'll discuss briefly questions like, “Does God exist?” and “Why doesn't God prevent war?”, and eventually get to subjects like, “the nature of God”, “The Trinity”, “Why no one should fear God”, etc. Return to table of contents for this label: Table of Contents for Mysticism Label (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com)

  Why Doesn't God Prohibit War? For those who are interested in pursuing a life beyond the mortal, it will be necessary to come to terms with God. This means knowing Him with a conviction beyond a set of vague beliefs, which often contain a veiled suspicion of retribution for failure to meet His high standards. We would like to be free of this fear of God, which stands as a roadblock on our path to Him. An early step that we can take to eliminate this fear is to answer this question that is so often asked by those who tend to tend to react through emotion rather than through reason: “If God is both all-powerful and all-loving, why does He allow such atrocities as those committed during warfare?”. The short answer is, “You would not want God to be any other way”. Of course you would like for those acts not to be committed, but you would not want them prevented by God's intervention. Why? Simply because that would take away man...

  Why Do I Suffer? Now, we could argue, “Even if I see that God doesn't prevent war because He allows us free will to incite war, I don't see why He allows me to suffer mental and physical problems. My free will certainly doesn't will that I suffer”. The reply to this argument is contained in a post under the Science label: “The Power of Positive and Negative Thinking”. When the mind detects a problem, it tends to focus on the problem. Even considering various medications and operations is a way of keeping the mind on the problem. However, the problem tends to feed on the fear and worry. They are counterproductive thoughts. The power of negative thinking works on a global basis as well as a personal basis. The many natural disasters – hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tidal waves, etc. result from all the negative thoughts that fill our minds. It is not only a matter of our personal feelings – the pains, the grievances, hurt feelings, th...

  ALCHEMY The origin of alchemy is sometimes equated with the origin of chemistry. But alchemy as it has been practiced in the recent millennium appears to have evolved from the recognition of a relationship between chemical or physical transformations and the inner transformations that take place in the nonphysical world of mind, soul, or spirit. The basic description of alchemy has been captured succinctly by Sarah Stone in her essay on Nicolas Flamel: “ Alchemy is a discipline with ancient roots stretching back into some of the earliest chapters of history, with objectives in both the philosophical and physical worlds. Philosophically, alchemy looked toward the transformation of the self in pursuit of spiritual refinement, a crucial counterpart to the more practical endeavors of alchemy, with the belief that one could not perform the earthly transformations without first mastering the spiritual one.” First, ...

  Paracelsus, the Alchemist I became interested in Paracelsus through studying Jung's essay on him. But it was only after decades of studying math, physics, psychology, and philosophy that I began to appreciate just how much he exemplified the highest principles of the healer, the scientist, and human being. I learned much from Jung's writings, but he was never a role model because his devotion to his ego distorted his judgment on the most important implications of his work. Paracelsus, on the other hand was a being that I could happily look up to as a role model in many ways. I developed this admiration in full recognition of the fact that he was wrong about many things. For example, his theory of signatures cannot be universally true. This theory states that if an herb, or any object of nature, is a remedy for an illness, that fact is revealed in some way by its appearance. There are some other of his theories ...

  FAITH In previous posts we listed studies and experiences of several individuals on the subject of the power of thought to bring about events beyond the physical. I referenced the work of the mathematician, Jacques Hadamard; the psychoanalyst, Carl Jung; the parapsychologist, J. B. Rhine; the mystic, Joel Goldsmith; and the physician, Paracelsus. The subject is closely related to that of faith, which occupies an important place in the Christian scriptures. Let's look at it from three points of view: that of Jesus, of Paul, and of a theologian, taking Kierkegaard, who wrote extensively on the subject, as an example. First, let's explore a little of what Kierkegaard has to say on the subject. He seems to consider faith strictly as a means of salvation by enabling us to accept what is true, although that truth appears absurd because it defies reason. He assigns a meaning to faith that is consistent with h...

  The Effectiveness of Prayer In previous posts we have studied the power of focused thoughts. Since this label is devoted to Mysticism, we will describe briefly here the way that this power can be applied to the service of God through prayer. Is there any one of us who had not doubted at times the effectiveness of prayer? How often have we prayed for a certain result, only to fail in its achievement? We may even, perhaps, see the situation worsen. We have already discussed some of the errors that we make that interfere with the effectiveness of our prayers. All of these problems stem from our failing to direct and focus are thoughts and emotions: doubt (lack of conviction in the result of praying), fear, focusing on the problem instead of the Source of healing. Now it is time for us to look for what does work; that is, what kind of prayer produces results. And, of course, we look to Jesus as our guide and teacher. First, he tells us the parable of the widow and the ju...

  The Holy Trinity: The Father This series on the Holy Trinity will be controversial, because it is at variance with the standard views. But those standard views are largely doctrinal statements rather than real explanations that solve the paradox of the 3-in-1 problem. The view presented here is the result of a study of several sources, it is logically self-consistent, and it is consistent with the experiences of several mystics. Our basic relationship with God, the Father is that He is the Creator of that spirit that is our true being. Obviously, He is not the father of the body; but the body is not the true being. Jesus implied that fact throughout his ministry, as he referred to God as “your Father”, or “our Father”. God desired companionship to share the beauty, peace, joy, and love of His kingdom. Each of us was created as an individual. There are no duplicates. It is difficult for us, thinking as human bodies, to conceive of God c...

  Trinity: The Son As the second in this series of posts on the Trinity, let's take a look at the Sonship from the spiritual viewpoint. In the previous post we learned that the Father created children in His own form and image for the purpose of love and companionship. First, “in His own form and image” doesn't mean “with eyes, ears, and nose” because spirits have no need of those organs in order to experience the various sensations. Jesus pointed out that “God is Spirit, and desires such to worship Him in spirit and truth”. Jesus kept telling us that we (in our spiritual aspect) are also part of this divine spirit. When he said "I am the vine and ye are the branches", he implied that we are of the same fundamental nature as he. When he teaches us to pray, "Our father . . .", and says "You have one father, who is in heaven", he is telling us that God is ou...

  Trinity: The Holy Spirit In previous posts we have reasoned that God the Father experiences only pure love, joy, peace, and beauty, but not the sins and grievances of this world, because to do so would grant them reality. Furthermore, the Son that the Father created in His own image, must be like Him in this respect, since each of us is an extension of the Father Himself. Nevertheless, we find ourselves in this artificial world of bodies, with all of its pains and grievances, searching for some kind of meaning. This situation, left unattended, would leave us hopelessly stranded, with no means of communicating between the two worlds. The Father provided the solution to the problem: the Holy Spirit. He understands both the world of spirit and the natural world, and acts in both worlds. He is like the Son in that He also is a one-in-many being. He consists of children of God who voluntarily accepted understanding of the pain and grievances of this world, and who unite in o...

  The Mystery of Sin Let's take a look at that story about Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Everything was fine until they ate that fruit, and then they hid from God because they were naked, and they perceived their nakedness as sin, and punishable by God. But they were naked before they ate of the fruit, and God was okay with that; but somehow eating the fruit caused the nakedness to become a sin. Eating the fruit didn't cause them to sin. It caused their nakedness to be perceived as a sin. What really happened? The answer apparently lies in the question that God asks, “Who told you that you were naked?” The source of that revelation was the serpent, a surrogate for Satan, and the revelation was false because, according to Jesus, “ there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies”. Of course, we are free to consider the wh...

ORIGINAL SIN In Kafka's famous novel, The Trial, the protagonist Joseph K. is unexpectedly arrested, investigated, tried, found guilty, condemned and executed, but he never finds out just what crime he committed. Kafka's works are generally considered to be symbolic, and I have often thought that it could have been this “born in sin” doctrine that he had in mind, but I'm by no means certain of it. One of the arguments that is often used by those who accuse God of being unjust is the doctrine of original sin. It is generally defined as: “that sin and its guilt that we all possess in God’s eyes as a direct result of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.” It is often taught that we are born in sin and we retain that guilt until we are relieved of it by Christ, which, for most, means by the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus's suffering on the cross. One process for accepting that relief is to declare it publicly a...