TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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CONSIDER:
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."
-- Pope John Paul II
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
Here, "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc.: are viewed as verbs, not nouns. See the end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.
THE RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING SCIENTIFIC FACTS OVER THE EMOTIONAL INTOXICATION GENERATED BY RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL FANATICISM:
While Religion and Science Are Not Always Incompatible, Logic and Reason and Wisdom Make Clear That If a Choice Between The Two Is To Be Made, Only One Choice Is the Sane Option
[Continued from yesterday]
Maharaj came to understand that dogma and its cousin spirituality can produce an illusion of peace, often rooted in a tendency among those playing the role of "The Super Religious One" or the role of "The Spiritual Giant."
They will only have an illusion of peace because of the tendency of those roles to inspire them . . .
to deny
and
to escape or avoid what they are really feeling
and
to dissociate from what they are truly feeling
and
when in public, to say things that reinforce an image which they want to maintain and put on display.
However, the facts are that a mirage remains a mirage; that a false image is just a false image; a false persona is not made real just because it is talking the programmed talk; and an illusion of peace is not real peace.
Consider the event discussed earlier when a white male killed nine blacks in their church. How long does it take for most who are called "loved ones" or "survivors" to psychologically process the fact that someone they loved was murdered and then be truly free of the effects of the mental and emotional trauma? Days? Weeks? Months? In many cases . . . never?
So in light of those facts, consider: in less than 48 hours of the killings, when shooter Dylann Roof first appeared in court, many of those whose "loved ones" - all identified as "truly devout Christians - were allowed to address him. All were aware that their words were being broadcast to a national audience and would also be heard by a worldwide audience too. There words:
"I forgive you. You took something really precious away from me. I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. It hurts me, it hurts a lot of people but God forgive you and I forgive you”
and
"I forgive you, and my family forgives you. We would like you to take this opportunity to repent. Repent. Confess. Give your life to the one who matters the most, Christ, so he can change your ways no matter what happens to you and you'll be OK. Do that and you'll be better off than you are right now"
and
"Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, everyone's plea for your soul is proof that they lived and loved and their legacies will live and love”
and
“We forgive"
and
"I thank God."
Really?
Here, it has been asked, "Do you not feel empathy for the survivors?" As Maharaj said in that regard, “More than you will ever know.” Yet there was not, even for a second, any notion that the thoughts and words of those family members were a result of "conscious choice" as opposed to being determined by decades of religious programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination.
To understand that the thoughts and words and actions of programmed and conditioned and acculturated and domesticated and brainwashed and indoctrinated persons are never a result of conscious choice but are always a result of ignorant and insane programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination is not a "personal attack" at all.
"Maharaj" was programmed, conditioned, etc. "Floyd" was programmed, conditioned, etc. Yet no recognition of nonsense at play is "personal" because nothing personal is real. To see the effects of one's programming, conditioning, etc. can be . . .
an opportunity to be free of the effects;
a means by which the insanity of denial and avoidance and dissociation and image-building and image-displaying can end;
the only way to understand the true root of one's problems; and
a way to finally receive an effective treatment rather than continuing to ignore one's mental problems and dismissing one actual feelings with such comments as "It's all good" and "Everything's fine."
To recommend to persons that they should "love their enemies" is duality: "A" should love "B"? Impossible. That's a dualistic concept and all dualistic concepts are rooted in falsehoods. Real Love is knowing that two is not (or, as "advaita" is translated, "not two"). Love is, not "love it all," not "it's all good" and not practice denial and avoid processing trauma by accepting the advice that you must "love what is."
As for those talking within hours about forgiving and thanking God, the question which could bring clarify, if it reveals the truth, is: WHO was talking? That is, what ego-states were determining that the words being spoken were the words that persons had been programmed and domesticated and acculturated and indoctrinated to say?
Again, is that a personal criticism? No more than it would be a criticism of a mirage to note that it is a mirage. What is the real issue, then? It is this: how much real processing can happen if talk is being inspired by one's assumed identity which is being driven subconsciously to show in public just how truly faithful and religious and forgiving and loving a person / persona is?
Here, their pain is felt, but here, there is no delusion that their faith and religion will be able to provide the proper mental health care which they need if they are ever to truly process their trauma.; thus, this consideration for seekers is offered here:
“Are the persons I’m using as guides during my quest for Truth adding content to the 'mind' or offering pointers intended to free me of the 'mind' and all its effects, once and for all?”
As is the case with all persons, and as was the case with Maharaj, I was lied to, tricked, hoodwinked, duped, fooled, conned, taken in, deceived, and bamboozled. In all of our cases, the lying and tricking and hoodwinking and being duped and fooled and conned and taken in and deceived and bamboozled first came from “highly religious” persons; later, even more of that came from “highly spiritual” persons. No matter the source, all humans are lied to, tricked, hoodwinked, duped, fooled, conned, taken in, deceived, and bamboozled. The eventual result of all that is even more detrimental (relatively speaking).
The eventual result and the most significant effect of having been BS’d is not only that all of “their” BS is retained and then controls and determines every thought and word and deed but that most persons for the remainder of their manifestation will BS themselves.
I have seen people who were abused as children, and even after their abusers are long gone, it is as if those abused persons now say to their absent abusers, “Okay, you’re gone, but don’t worry. I’ve got it now. I’ll take over from here. You beat me physically and mentally and emotionally, but you’re not here to do it anymore, so I’ll take over and will now beat myself physically and mentally and emotionally.”
And the greater distortion is that many conclude: “My abusers are gone, so my being abused has come to an end," though they continue to abuse themselves.
To proclaim “I forgive them” after the physical and mental and emotional wounds have been properly treated and processed via an effective psychological treatment plan is one thing, but to being with “I forgive them” before any effective processing has happened is self-delusion, that is, is a case of being deluded by one of more false selves which are being proudly displayed in public.
Many ask in such circumstances, "WWJD?" (That is, "What would Jesus do?" but the fact is, they don't really care WWJD if it is in conflict with the agendas of their programming, acculturation, assumed personas, etc.) Here, the question is, WWMS?" ("What would Maharaj say?") What he might say is, "I feel your pain, and because my only goal is for you to be truly and completely freed of all of your misery and suffering - even as you are denying that it remains - I offer this suggestion:
"Because I care so much for you, I suggest that you find someone who can show you the way to effectively process your real feelings and someone who can guide you to a real state of healing from the trauma that you are suffering from but not acknowledging."
Some have already said, “Their statements were their processing.” No reply is offered to those persons, the understanding being that those with such a belief are not going to “change their minds,” must less reach a state of “zero concepts” and be freed of the mind completely. Yet that was Maharaj’s aim, in the end.
To be continued.
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Here, "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc. are viewed as verbs, not nouns.
THE EXPLANATION
If looked at as nouns, they point to illusions and are, therefore, a total waste of time to even discuss; if looked at as verbs which are resulting in certain sane but rare behaviors among humanity, then they are worthy of some attention during the relative existence.
Meaning? There are members of certain groups who say things such as "My concept of God in the past was of a weak God, an absentee God, A Santa Claus-type God, a mean, punishing, vindictive God, etc. Today, I am in close contact with a loving and caring God whom I worship and praise and glorify and give thanks to."
The reply to that usually goes like this: "If you are in contact with a God that wants to be worshipped and praised and glorified, then you're dealing with someone like yourself - a narcissist - and hanging out with narcissists will never bring an end to your narcissism (that narcissism evidenced by the fact that you think you are "godly").
Next, in the phrase 'loving and caring God,' any supposed God that truly had her or his act together would tell you that the totally irrelevant part of that phrase is 'God' and that the only part to be focused on should be the 'loving and caring' part.
"That is, a non-narcissistic god / goddess would say, "I care not an iota about being worshipped and praised and glorified by you or anyone else. How arrogant and insecure and needy would I have to be to want that? Forget the man-made, dreamed up noun 'God' and focus on the 'God as a verb' understanding and then go forth and let loving and caring be verbs - not adjectives - and let them generate the act of love and the act of caring and let those actions manifest through you."
Both Yeshu'a (Jesus) and Pope John Paul II were spot on:
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within" and "Heaven and earth shall fade away."
and
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."