Interesting notion on the spectrum of faith, though I think to a certain extent one could easily replace "faith" with "attitude" (or some such word) without missing a beat. Or with "stages" of ones own life.
From whence did this first faith arrive - did it also "come into the world" like the second through fifth?
You appear to be speaking here from a standpoint of God as a "mythic otherness" (if these degrees of "faith" came into the world from elsewhere?). It's just that the expression "came into the world" evokes an otherworldly origin not unlike that of "the Light" in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel.
Your 6th faith is one strikingly reflective of the perspectives of artists. I have spent the whole evening contemplating the design of a cabinet.
And the 7th - I must enter immediately by going to bed and disengaging my mind into the void of silence for a few hours.
Or have I with this need wandered full circle back into number 1?
Interesting notion on the spectrum of faith, though I think to a certain extent one could easily replace "faith" with "attitude" (or some such word) without missing a beat. Or with "stages" of ones own life.
too true, too true...and then some.
language and definition and concept is just a tool, and never the same as the actual substance of what we speak of.
what really helps a lot, for example, is when you know that I know that you know that we are not attached to our own labels when we are talking.
We become more free to speak of spiritual things without all the usual conflict.
another thing to keep in mind
is that we can use this spectrum to describe/find our general stage of being
but we can also have and experience specific talents and altered states that temporarily "spike" beyond our established stage
(such as from illness, drugs, fasting, falling in love, fame...you name it)
but how we interpret or explain our peak experiences to ourselves and others may always come thru whatever our established "stage of faith" is
in other words...if i see and feel some angelic presence, but i am mostly egocentric or ethnocentric,
i may turn around and say that god has chosen me above everyone else
or that the angel has come as a sign of my group's superiority
(much like how vpw misunderstood the nature and purposes of whatever visions and insights he actually had)
From whence did this first faith arrive - did it also "come into the world" like the second through fifth?
You appear to be speaking here from a standpoint of God as a "mythic otherness" (if these degrees of "faith" came into the world from elsewhere?). It's just that the expression "came into the world" evokes an otherworldly origin not unlike that of "the Light" in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel.
yeah, i am speaking in somewhat old mythic terms, but not very uniformly, though, either.
cuz i dont want to give the impression that what ive written is some lock tight thing.
so i kept it kind loose and informal that way
and...it would probably take me weeks and months to compose even something small and "perfectly worded"
and also cuz i rather enjoy the language of myth and magic, as much as science and beyond
and...i dont want to put anyone to sleep with some alien jargon
but if we take this back to the scriptural Genesis model,
perhaps we could say that these stages of faith "came from nowhere,"
one by one on each of the days of the lord...each building upon the previous,
and answering for the lack of the previous
but even that is more free and easy ways of describing such things
because perhaps we could also say that all 7 kinds of faiths came on the 7th day
and everything prior was of those things i mentioned being below the spectrum
(such as the "faith" of a star, or moon, or blade of grass, or sea slug)
but regardless, i think that how we can recognize such wavelenghts in life NOW
both within ourselves, and out in society and culture
is perhaps more important and valuable than finding out "what Moses really exactly meant"
(even tho advances in research and history and lineage are also valuable ways to keep people from pawning off opinions as accurate
as well as reclaim/preserve some of the authentic wisdom of the actual traditional lineages)
Your 6th faith is one strikingly reflective of the perspectives of artists. I have spent the whole evening contemplating the design of a cabinet.
And the 7th - I must enter immediately by going to bed and disengaging my mind into the void of silence for a few hours.
Or have I with this need wandered full circle back into number 1?
yeah, kinda. which is what we may also want.
something i try to keep in mind,
is how ALL of these "faiths" are present in each of us now
to some degree or other
whether we are waking or asleep
but deep dreamless sleep is definately where we are "forced" into the 7th state,
whether we know it or not, or like it or not, or are "awake and aware" during it or not, etc...
(most of us sleep thru it)
but ideally, i think we can practice resting in this 7th stage of faith throughout our waking AND sleeping lives
and ultimately, i think if we can see our engagement with this spectrum as a continuum,
where we are not only ascending the "stairs" (eros)
but descending as well (agape)
poor vpw could only descend from where he was, which was the first 3 rungs
and his attitudes towards death and hell kept him from going anywhere else
i would even go as far as to say he was typical of carnal monochromatic man
in that he was both very afraid and jealous of higher stages,
and considered any expression of them to be a part of his pantheon of evil spirits come to deceive
Q: Which of / how many of these faiths did Jesus Christ exhibit ?, as to me he is the standard of faith.
good question, allan
i would say...all of them...and then some
i think what i wrote to Danny points to some things worth considering
also, i think that if you look at one of the books where Jesus faith is MOST revealed (imo)
(interestingly enough called "The Revelation of Jesus Christ")
you will see within the first few chapters that his faith included the full spectrum
from the initial image of him with a rainbow about his head
to the 7 churches, to the 7 angels
to the imagery of the 7 eyed lamb
to the seven seals (of the inward man)
yada yada...
:)
sorry if i come across as too long winded for anyone
maybe just read slower, or just ask me wtf i am talking about
lol...my grandpa told me that the best way to catch a squirrel..is to sit at the bottom of a tree and act like a nut
CM, some of what you wrote reminds me of a few other ways ive seen all this...
...how this spectrum of "faith" can also represent a spectrum of intentions, values, awareness...even a spectrum of morallity
...and again, how this spectrum is not the substance, but more like a scale that can be applied to ANY category
a few very crude and loose examples of what im getting at:
values...
at 1) we may value our own interests above all
at 2) we may value our group's interests above all
at 3) we may value what is provable above all
at 4) we may value equality above all
at 5) we may value information above all
at 6) we may value creativity above all
at 7) we may value all of the "above"
God-views...
at 1) we may consider God to be a magic wish granter
at 2) we may consider God to be a mythic other
at 3) we may consider God to be the laws of physics
at 4) we may consider God to be universal brotherly love
at 5) we may consider God to be language itself
at 6) we may consider God to be the force of creativity
at 7) we may consider God to be all that which simply is (I AMness)
societies...
at 1) a society might be ruled by self-proclaimed gods, or ganglords (such as the day of pre-abraham)
at 2) a society might be ruled by patriarchies and families (most of recorded human history)
at 3) a society might be ruled by independence (such as the "advent" of the USA)
at 4) a society might be ruled by democracy (such as many changes of the last century)
at 5) a society might be ruled by information (some seem to want to be heading this way now)
at 6) a society might be ruled by innovation and creativity
at 7) a society might be ruled by a radical level of freedom and awareness that we've most likely never seen
and like what i think CM was getting at...the spectrum is not the end result, but more like a portal to more than what it started out to be
also...for the record...i'm not trying to fit everything into 7 boxes either...i'm just using the traditional and scriptural model as a mere measuring device, as i believe it was intended.
for example...one could take 5) and expand it into 3 sub-categories
or much like one could take a ten foot rope and cut it into 7 pieces, or 10 pieces, or 20
...it doesnt change the length of the original rope
btw...i hope my comment about wanting some of the usual doctrinal guys to chime in on this isn't misunderstood by you ladies.
there are quite a few women here whom i have come to respect for their minds as much as their hearts.
and i would love to hear what you have to say on this as well.
its just that i am somewhat amazed at how the guys who usually jump at the chance to declare doctrinal soundness (or unsoundness) continue to pass on this more-or-less ubiquitous subject every time ive brought it up
:blink:
and another add..
i have found that Paul's listings of both manifestions and fruit seem to line up quite nice with the spectrum, as well
cuz if if he don't like it we'll help him rip it out and start over with
a new idea and ideas on how he would like it to be
i got a hammer and some nails, anyone got some paint?
(lol) I'm still in the process of mixing and matching wood pieces, so nothing is actually fastened together
at this point. It is a cabinet for the circuitry of a musical instrument called a "Theremin" which is played
by moving one's hands around two antennae, without actually touching it. Music "from the ether" as it used to be called during the 20s and 30s.
The wood pieces are salvaged from some drawers to a dresser that used to be in my childhood home, which suffered almost total destruction last year. All that remained was this old dresser out in the shed.
The old home will probably be torn down completely by its new owner in the months to come.
Sir Lance, I like your list very much - as I look on my own life of faith in Christ, I kind of see those stages.
I am not a poetic writer and thinker as you are, but I do enjoy this. I think it is no coincidence that the number 7 in the Bible has always implied perfection.
I would like to know how you would list Paul's listings, as you alluded to before.
Yes I love the beginning of these note of pure love to reach to help each other grow in faith
Now I have not read every reply yet but I love were this tread is going
Yes there is faith of all kinds in this fleshly world but when faith turns to trust that is spiritual were we really begin to grow in faith but on a new relm
The tones of love we hear like you have share with us the tones of faith
the tones of trust with the tones of love and all others tones of the spirit is a sound I love to hear but I am still just a beginer
or shades of light of the flesh -v- the shades of the lights of truth
for the way flesh can talk to things of the flesh -v- the way spirit can talk to spiritual things
for the way we can tralvel with fleshly elements -v- the way we can travel spiritualy
So as we fly with the lights of the spiritual realms and as we hear the spiritual sounds we long for the day we can touch them too
for there are smells of the flesh and smells of the spirit
but the top of the mountain of faith is complete trust in God and his son
Let God and his son directed our paths more and more
thank you I love this subject
with the tone of love sounding to all reaching to touch you all with a pure kiss of spiritual love Roy
Ever notice how a rainbow sometimes repeats a color? It's often Purple on both sides.
I spend much of my time with Native American folks, and have come to really appreciate their way of viewing things. Their thinking is not linear, but more circular. In reading your Seven Faiths (which is wonderful, by the way) I would propose that you connect Faith #7 back up with Faith #1. And I think the connection would be some state of Purity or Innocence - which would not really be another "Faith", but rather a state of being, which could serve both as a starting point and an arrival point.
The spectrum then would be seen as a circle.
As a midwife, I have been blessed to see people in that Purity state, before they move into Faith #1. In our culture, not many of us make the journey all the way back around to Purity. But some do.
Is Faith a means to an end?
Hmmmmmm. Well, personally I think it just goes round and round.
Ever notice how a rainbow sometimes repeats a color? It's often Purple on both sides.
I spend much of my time with Native American folks, and have come to really appreciate their way of viewing things. Their thinking is not linear, but more circular. In reading your Seven Faiths (which is wonderful, by the way) I would propose that you connect Faith #7 back up with Faith #1. And I think the connection would be some state of Purity or Innocence - which would not really be another "Faith", but rather a state of being, which could serve both as a starting point and an arrival point.
There's something to this. I think of my father in the last year of his life.
He reverted to a younger time and a child in his mind.
Like a tape being rewound, and stopped at certain points, one day he was "going to work",
the next day back in grade school 70 years ago, back in his mothers house, and (literally)
wearing a diaper again. He apparently did go back to the beginning, as I've observed this
process in other older people in their last days as well.
Strange but my father's death did not overly sadden me at the time. I felt he reached his destination (wherever that was). Though his passing has effected me in the manner of certain hot salsas.
ya know...i still kinda wonder why some of the most vocal advocates of biblical absoluteness avoid this kind of topic, but will jump at the chance to argue doctrine on other threads, over the same old kinds of things
:blink:
anyway...
like i've said before
i think one of the biggest doctrinal and practical failures of fundamentalist efforts
is the monochromatic nature of the doctrines
it seems to severly dullen our ability to interpret life in general
...particularly on the same levels as those heroes of old whose writings and stories we seem to like to bash over each other's heads
perhaps, because we are fundamentally unable to get beyond the need for flat, monolithic and absolute doctrines for such interpretation
...and they were not
and "i dont understand why you think that way, therefore you are crazy/wrong/evil"
has got to be one of the hallmark reactions of this monochromatic glitch that seems so rampant
and it seems as if this kind of monochromatic reaction can happen in each "level" of a spectrum
(not mere black and white...but more like red and black and white, or green and black and white, etc...)
in other words...
#1 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you aren't out for yourself like i am...so you must be crazy"
#2 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont want to think the way my group does...therefore you must by deceived."
#3 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont see the plain logic of my position...therefore you must be an idiot."
#4 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont care about everything as much as i do...therefore you must be evil"
etc...
...
btw, Xena...part of your post reminded me of "supernumerary rainbows." i saw one in Missouri once, during this storm at dusk...and wow...it was like an infinite stack of purple and teal bows behind the main double rainbow. i almost fell over looking into it.
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TheInvisibleDan
Hello Sir Guess.
Interesting notion on the spectrum of faith, though I think to a certain extent one could easily replace "faith" with "attitude" (or some such word) without missing a beat. Or with "stages" of ones own life.
From whence did this first faith arrive - did it also "come into the world" like the second through fifth?
You appear to be speaking here from a standpoint of God as a "mythic otherness" (if these degrees of "faith" came into the world from elsewhere?). It's just that the expression "came into the world" evokes an otherworldly origin not unlike that of "the Light" in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel.
Your 6th faith is one strikingly reflective of the perspectives of artists. I have spent the whole evening contemplating the design of a cabinet.
And the 7th - I must enter immediately by going to bed and disengaging my mind into the void of silence for a few hours.
Or have I with this need wandered full circle back into number 1?
:)
Danny
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allan w.
Interesting in itself that you chose 'seven' types of faiths, I guess being 'seven' colors of a prism.
Q: Which of / how many of these faiths did Jesus Christ exhibit ?, as to me he is the standard of faith.
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sirguessalot
language and definition and concept is just a tool, and never the same as the actual substance of what we speak of.
faith, stages, states, moods, attitudes, levels, etc...
even then, we havent really left english yet
what really helps a lot, for example, is when you know that I know that you know that we are not attached to our own labels when we are talking.
We become more free to speak of spiritual things without all the usual conflict.
another thing to keep in mind
is that we can use this spectrum to describe/find our general stage of being
but we can also have and experience specific talents and altered states that temporarily "spike" beyond our established stage
(such as from illness, drugs, fasting, falling in love, fame...you name it)
but how we interpret or explain our peak experiences to ourselves and others may always come thru whatever our established "stage of faith" is
in other words...if i see and feel some angelic presence, but i am mostly egocentric or ethnocentric,
i may turn around and say that god has chosen me above everyone else
or that the angel has come as a sign of my group's superiority
(much like how vpw misunderstood the nature and purposes of whatever visions and insights he actually had)
yeah, i am speaking in somewhat old mythic terms, but not very uniformly, though, either.
cuz i dont want to give the impression that what ive written is some lock tight thing.
so i kept it kind loose and informal that way
and...it would probably take me weeks and months to compose even something small and "perfectly worded"
and also cuz i rather enjoy the language of myth and magic, as much as science and beyond
and...i dont want to put anyone to sleep with some alien jargon
but if we take this back to the scriptural Genesis model,
perhaps we could say that these stages of faith "came from nowhere,"
one by one on each of the days of the lord...each building upon the previous,
and answering for the lack of the previous
but even that is more free and easy ways of describing such things
because perhaps we could also say that all 7 kinds of faiths came on the 7th day
and everything prior was of those things i mentioned being below the spectrum
(such as the "faith" of a star, or moon, or blade of grass, or sea slug)
but regardless, i think that how we can recognize such wavelenghts in life NOW
both within ourselves, and out in society and culture
is perhaps more important and valuable than finding out "what Moses really exactly meant"
(even tho advances in research and history and lineage are also valuable ways to keep people from pawning off opinions as accurate
as well as reclaim/preserve some of the authentic wisdom of the actual traditional lineages)
yeah, kinda. which is what we may also want.something i try to keep in mind,
is how ALL of these "faiths" are present in each of us now
to some degree or other
whether we are waking or asleep
but deep dreamless sleep is definately where we are "forced" into the 7th state,
whether we know it or not, or like it or not, or are "awake and aware" during it or not, etc...
(most of us sleep thru it)
but ideally, i think we can practice resting in this 7th stage of faith throughout our waking AND sleeping lives
and ultimately, i think if we can see our engagement with this spectrum as a continuum,
where we are not only ascending the "stairs" (eros)
but descending as well (agape)
poor vpw could only descend from where he was, which was the first 3 rungs
and his attitudes towards death and hell kept him from going anywhere else
i would even go as far as to say he was typical of carnal monochromatic man
in that he was both very afraid and jealous of higher stages,
and considered any expression of them to be a part of his pantheon of evil spirits come to deceive
good question, allan
i would say...all of them...and then some
i think what i wrote to Danny points to some things worth considering
also, i think that if you look at one of the books where Jesus faith is MOST revealed (imo)
(interestingly enough called "The Revelation of Jesus Christ")
you will see within the first few chapters that his faith included the full spectrum
from the initial image of him with a rainbow about his head
to the 7 churches, to the 7 angels
to the imagery of the 7 eyed lamb
to the seven seals (of the inward man)
yada yada...
:)
sorry if i come across as too long winded for anyone
maybe just read slower, or just ask me wtf i am talking about
etc
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CM
these 7 are summed up in the first line or 2 of each one yet motivations can change thereafter.
Putting them in a different perspective accordingly to the individual's own desire as stated in the first one.
they are worded well imo but also can held in many hands and minds
changing the motivation and desire will propel these 7 into another outcome
and then of course what is the outcome or results that is the goal
or rather not only the goal but beyond the goal into that which is more
then hoped for and becomes more then what it started out to be
which is faith to faith basically in a nut shell-me being the nut of course...
so as not to imply that we are all nuts anyway :)
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sirguessalot
lol...my grandpa told me that the best way to catch a squirrel..is to sit at the bottom of a tree and act like a nut
CM, some of what you wrote reminds me of a few other ways ive seen all this...
...how this spectrum of "faith" can also represent a spectrum of intentions, values, awareness...even a spectrum of morallity
...and again, how this spectrum is not the substance, but more like a scale that can be applied to ANY category
a few very crude and loose examples of what im getting at:
values...
at 1) we may value our own interests above all
at 2) we may value our group's interests above all
at 3) we may value what is provable above all
at 4) we may value equality above all
at 5) we may value information above all
at 6) we may value creativity above all
at 7) we may value all of the "above"
God-views...
at 1) we may consider God to be a magic wish granter
at 2) we may consider God to be a mythic other
at 3) we may consider God to be the laws of physics
at 4) we may consider God to be universal brotherly love
at 5) we may consider God to be language itself
at 6) we may consider God to be the force of creativity
at 7) we may consider God to be all that which simply is (I AMness)
societies...
at 1) a society might be ruled by self-proclaimed gods, or ganglords (such as the day of pre-abraham)
at 2) a society might be ruled by patriarchies and families (most of recorded human history)
at 3) a society might be ruled by independence (such as the "advent" of the USA)
at 4) a society might be ruled by democracy (such as many changes of the last century)
at 5) a society might be ruled by information (some seem to want to be heading this way now)
at 6) a society might be ruled by innovation and creativity
at 7) a society might be ruled by a radical level of freedom and awareness that we've most likely never seen
and like what i think CM was getting at...the spectrum is not the end result, but more like a portal to more than what it started out to be
also...for the record...i'm not trying to fit everything into 7 boxes either...i'm just using the traditional and scriptural model as a mere measuring device, as i believe it was intended.
for example...one could take 5) and expand it into 3 sub-categories
or much like one could take a ten foot rope and cut it into 7 pieces, or 10 pieces, or 20
...it doesnt change the length of the original rope
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sirguessalot
btw...i hope my comment about wanting some of the usual doctrinal guys to chime in on this isn't misunderstood by you ladies.
there are quite a few women here whom i have come to respect for their minds as much as their hearts.
and i would love to hear what you have to say on this as well.
its just that i am somewhat amazed at how the guys who usually jump at the chance to declare doctrinal soundness (or unsoundness) continue to pass on this more-or-less ubiquitous subject every time ive brought it up
:blink:
and another add..
i have found that Paul's listings of both manifestions and fruit seem to line up quite nice with the spectrum, as well
but then again...so do the 7 dwarves
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CM
lol sirg...
i was just wondering how Danny's cabinet came out
or should we go and help him with it
cuz if if he don't like it we'll help him rip it out and start over with
a new idea and ideas on how he would like it to be
i got a hammer and some nails, anyone got some paint?
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TheInvisibleDan
(lol) I'm still in the process of mixing and matching wood pieces, so nothing is actually fastened together
at this point. It is a cabinet for the circuitry of a musical instrument called a "Theremin" which is played
by moving one's hands around two antennae, without actually touching it. Music "from the ether" as it used to be called during the 20s and 30s.
The wood pieces are salvaged from some drawers to a dresser that used to be in my childhood home, which suffered almost total destruction last year. All that remained was this old dresser out in the shed.
The old home will probably be torn down completely by its new owner in the months to come.
Danny
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TheInvisibleDan
From its ashes shall arise
A musical ark.
A gateway to the ether.
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TheInvisibleDan
A vision of the alternate universe of the 1950s future, which cosmic harddrive crashed without a backup somewhere in the neighborhood of 1960.
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sirguessalot
no pressure, Danny, but i do hope you are going to take a pic or two and record something
meanwhile, heerz what i found
man o man...i just love the electric age
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Sunesis
Sir Lance, I like your list very much - as I look on my own life of faith in Christ, I kind of see those stages.
I am not a poetic writer and thinker as you are, but I do enjoy this. I think it is no coincidence that the number 7 in the Bible has always implied perfection.
I would like to know how you would list Paul's listings, as you alluded to before.
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sirguessalot
Hi Sunesis
dang, i guess i shouldnt have said anything about Paul's stuff
because that is not easy to explain, for me
so much baggage with the words, here
and so, a lot of lot of work
but here is an old thread on the subject, tho my opinions continue to renew and transform as the days go by
and i could do a word study and rewrite it all again tomorrow without flinching much
i have found that the maps overlap kinda nicely...but not perfectly...which is perfect, imo
as they do with the days of Genesis, and all the rest of the Biblical (and extra-biblical) lists and numerical significances
and that the manifestations seem to have very little to do with supernatural toolkits and exclusive special abilities
but rather, a deep expression of inherent ordinary human capacities
even though they may seem magic
and in a sense, really kinda are
also, i would probably do better to play hermit for a month (or a year) and write a small book on each of these
and they would probably even look quite a bit different than what ive written there
and not a precise formula, but more of a poetic way of comparing maps
not that i think we should want to stare at maps all day
but so we have a better way of navigating the territories
of what we think we know and believe
but mostly, i think i would leave them in the same order as they sit on the page in the Bible
rather than rearrange them the way vpw did in pfal
because they seem to build upon each other sequentially, anyway
or rather...build around and within and alongside each other
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sirguessalot
one thing i would like to say about the speaking in tongues and intepretation, tho
in terms of the spectrum
is that i now think that the speaking in tongues of acts and corinthians was no where near the same as the prayer practices as we were taught in pfal
(tho that kind of thing is beneficial, but more like an esoteric and overblown contemplative practice)
but to speak in tongues, is to speak of life in terms of a spectrum of realities
and to interpret tongues, is simply to explain how this might work
not a supernatural power, per se
but a big big step into our greater god-given/inherent capacity for greater transmission of understanding between humans via dialogue
....
also,
i have seen that another enlightening way to use the spectrum
is to look at stages of care and concern
1) we care about ourselves
2) we care about our group
3) we care about accomplishment
4) we care about every living thing, including ecological concerns
5) we care about organizing and connecting as much as we can
6) we care about what is new and emerging
7) we care about awareness itself
and so take a look at this list as if were 7 switches
and consider what it might look like, for example
if a person or culture had only switches #2 and #3 on
or perhaps only switches #1 and #4 on
or perhaps only switch #7 on
and so...
what is it to be whole?
or sound?
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year2027
God first
Beloved Todd and others
God loves us all
Yes I love the beginning of these note of pure love to reach to help each other grow in faith
Now I have not read every reply yet but I love were this tread is going
Yes there is faith of all kinds in this fleshly world but when faith turns to trust that is spiritual were we really begin to grow in faith but on a new relm
The tones of love we hear like you have share with us the tones of faith
the tones of trust with the tones of love and all others tones of the spirit is a sound I love to hear but I am still just a beginer
or shades of light of the flesh -v- the shades of the lights of truth
for the way flesh can talk to things of the flesh -v- the way spirit can talk to spiritual things
for the way we can tralvel with fleshly elements -v- the way we can travel spiritualy
So as we fly with the lights of the spiritual realms and as we hear the spiritual sounds we long for the day we can touch them too
for there are smells of the flesh and smells of the spirit
but the top of the mountain of faith is complete trust in God and his son
Let God and his son directed our paths more and more
thank you I love this subject
with the tone of love sounding to all reaching to touch you all with a pure kiss of spiritual love Roy
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sirguessalot
i like the word "tone," Roy, and how you've used it here
a true Word of God, fer sure
...
ok, heerz another tad ramble...
when it comes to the difference between flesh and spirit
sometimes i think they are also really one and the selfsame thing
all of which can also be called Spirit
perhaps the different between flesh and spirit is like the difference between hard and soft
its just a useful way of describing opposite states of the same thing, which can also be called spirit
but then i guess we are talking about different things with the same Word of God
i think there is a wide variety of gradients between these extremes
depending on how you chop the rope, like i mentioned above
maybe we can say that there are countless gradients of flesh
which eventually become soul...of which there are also many many gradients
which also, eventually get thinner and lighter until they reach what we might call spirit
which, perhaps, in this sense, is the only one of the classic three with no gradients at all
in this one sense, Spirit is the clearing in which both body and soul exist
and not only that, but the one and selfsame clearing in which ALL of our bodies and souls exist
and i think that maybe when, knowing ourselves as also spirit,
that we see that this body and soul as not two things at all
but rather, two ends of one very complex thing...
perhaps we will as much of this silly and useless conflict between the thinkers and feelers
perhaps a big part of the false illusionary enmity will be removed from the concepts we rely on
and i think that if most people were not so afraid of this clearing
we might actually find the peace of God we've been looking for
...
but "spirit" is just another Word of God, anyway
what it means depends on how we use it
depends on whom is using it and why
and depends perhaps what section or era of the bible we are reading from
or what genre, or era, or culture of spiritual literature we are referring to
cuz sometimes it means the opposite of flesh
sometimes it means that which is in flesh and everything
sometimes is means something else entirely
and then there is all that mountain of other stuff
like other words in other languages used to describe the same darn thing
ultimately, i think
if you have no direct experience of what this or that kind of spirit is
it is just a concept, and a myth, and perhaps a hijacked a translation of someone else's experience
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Xena
Ever notice how a rainbow sometimes repeats a color? It's often Purple on both sides.
I spend much of my time with Native American folks, and have come to really appreciate their way of viewing things. Their thinking is not linear, but more circular. In reading your Seven Faiths (which is wonderful, by the way) I would propose that you connect Faith #7 back up with Faith #1. And I think the connection would be some state of Purity or Innocence - which would not really be another "Faith", but rather a state of being, which could serve both as a starting point and an arrival point.
The spectrum then would be seen as a circle.
As a midwife, I have been blessed to see people in that Purity state, before they move into Faith #1. In our culture, not many of us make the journey all the way back around to Purity. But some do.
Is Faith a means to an end?
Hmmmmmm. Well, personally I think it just goes round and round.
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TheInvisibleDan
There's something to this. I think of my father in the last year of his life.
He reverted to a younger time and a child in his mind.
Like a tape being rewound, and stopped at certain points, one day he was "going to work",
the next day back in grade school 70 years ago, back in his mothers house, and (literally)
wearing a diaper again. He apparently did go back to the beginning, as I've observed this
process in other older people in their last days as well.
Strange but my father's death did not overly sadden me at the time. I felt he reached his destination (wherever that was). Though his passing has effected me in the manner of certain hot salsas.
Danny
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sirguessalot
Thanks for joining in this thread, Xena
Very much enjoyed what you wrote, and hope to see you around
I only have a sec to make a brief comment on this...
although i want to say that i think we are speaking very simply of many radical complexities
and i would even take what you wrote a step further to say this:
that "faith #7" does MORE than just circle back around
but rather, is "a faith" in the GROUND (yes...which is pure and innocent) that was there/here all along
in a sense...#7 is a step backwards and outwards
and is both above AND below
as it always was
and always will be
and in a sense, it is that which is both OUTSIDE and WITHIN the continuum
and yes...most easily and often seen at the threshholds of birth and death
..
Danny...thanks for sharing that one
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sirguessalot
ya know...i still kinda wonder why some of the most vocal advocates of biblical absoluteness avoid this kind of topic, but will jump at the chance to argue doctrine on other threads, over the same old kinds of things
:blink:
anyway...
like i've said before
i think one of the biggest doctrinal and practical failures of fundamentalist efforts
is the monochromatic nature of the doctrines
it seems to severly dullen our ability to interpret life in general
...particularly on the same levels as those heroes of old whose writings and stories we seem to like to bash over each other's heads
perhaps, because we are fundamentally unable to get beyond the need for flat, monolithic and absolute doctrines for such interpretation
...and they were not
and "i dont understand why you think that way, therefore you are crazy/wrong/evil"
has got to be one of the hallmark reactions of this monochromatic glitch that seems so rampant
and it seems as if this kind of monochromatic reaction can happen in each "level" of a spectrum
(not mere black and white...but more like red and black and white, or green and black and white, etc...)
in other words...
#1 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you aren't out for yourself like i am...so you must be crazy"
#2 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont want to think the way my group does...therefore you must by deceived."
#3 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont see the plain logic of my position...therefore you must be an idiot."
#4 might say to any of the others..."i dont understand why you dont care about everything as much as i do...therefore you must be evil"
etc...
...
btw, Xena...part of your post reminded me of "supernumerary rainbows." i saw one in Missouri once, during this storm at dusk...and wow...it was like an infinite stack of purple and teal bows behind the main double rainbow. i almost fell over looking into it.
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CM
i see a great fear of what the motive of this info is for
if you guys knew Todd like i know Todd you would know
that his questions are to inspire thought within yourselves
and to see a bit of a different perspective then you are used to
not to further himself or to make himself some hot shot at this forum
but to jump start some of you into new light to see the light in you
you guys have the basics of scripture
you know what is seen when there are selfish motives
there are no selfish motives or goals here from Todd
and perhaps a fear of seeing new light on any given subject
happy to be out of the way and able to think for yourself
so here it is, think for yourself
different avenues of light and growth and wisdom
multiple avenues that can be explored
or perhaps some are still stuck in way doctrine
thinking there is someone out there somewhere to get you
how much do you really see happening?
do you see that where you are is where you want to be?
this thread opened up for you not for Todd
although Todd wants to learn as well
if there was participation
are we still self-centered or able to open the heart?
did twi beat the LOVE OUT OF US?
did they win?
and also thanks to those who already are participating
and this goes for all the threads he has started by the way
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sirguessalot
i'm deeply appreciative of that post, CM
and your vouching for me
its hard to tell sometimes why people dont reply
without feedback, we can be quite invisible, it seems
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TheInvisibleDan
Tell me about it (lol).
I'm going to the mall to see if I can find a copy of "The Gospel of Judas"...
Danny
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Bramble
There's a copy of the gospel of Judas online:
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgos...spelofJudas.pdf
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