by StinkyPantz 116 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
You can judge a situation without judging the people.
To a degree it is possible to achieve abstraction, but more often than not the people are the situation.
Why is there a general feeling along this thread that "judging" is actually wrong? If balanced regarding judgement, wisdom can shine through.
El blanko : If balanced regarding judgement, wisdom can shine through.
yeah ... it make sense ...
ElBlanko:
Yeah, you're labouring the point
LOL
You're quite right about "spirituallity" being a 24/7 thing. It's a holistic thing.
At the risk of being declared am Existentialist, I'd state that there's nothing wrong with showing good judgement. What I object to is judgementalism.
Your observation regarding "Christianity" not being the brightest light, regarding this, is accurate. That doesn't mean that everyone who professes Christ acts that way, though. You may be considering all "Christianity" to be fundamentalist.
Feel free to eye with suspicion. It doesn't mean you're correct
Feel free to eye with suspicion. It doesn't mean you're correct
Of course I am correct. Hehe. Always. This is the only way I retain my sanity.
I'll leave it there, because I really don't want a bad vibe on the thread. Interesting debate all the same. Face to face, believe me, this could run through the night LT.
Thank-you frenchbabyface - I thought that statement sounded about right.
The Kabbalists taught me a trick about balancing cold justice with warm compassion - all very enlightening. Center yourself in the heart of the tree and all will be balanced dear hearts
No bad vibes here - they're against my religion
LOL
Centered, indeed!!
In all things...
Hopefully we shall meet, sometime
Love is a powerful emotion and unconditional love is a learned behavior . Spiritualitiy I think is greater than love and requires discipline and acting with love which is the greatest gift of the spirit . I think it means evolving into a higher life form altogether. That's kinda the way the bible puts it . The works of the flesh reap corruption and the works of the spirit reap righteousness that only God can appreciate . IMO
Heathen:Love can be an emotion, yes, but as you rightly point out there is a spiritual kind, too.
It is THAT kind of love that appears to be the heartbeat of the universe (IMHO).
Boy it is powerful, especially when moved by "intent" (be it by prayer or whatever).
I'm agnostic, yet I consider myself to be "spiritual".
I appreciate the feelings of love, the warmth of the sun, star filled nights, etc. It is this appreciation of life that I feel is my "spirituality". To the best of my ability, trying to make life more enjoyable for others. Even with life's hardships, I try to find the "meaning" or "lesson".
I don't know if there is a God. I don't know if there is life after death. But, I don't believe "spirituality" hinges on beliefs.
For me, spirituality is being at "peace" with the way things are.
This turned into a pretty deep thread . very interesting .
LT--- Good analysis , When I look at the sky I feel small and insignificant but then I begin to think how magnificent a place it is and that there is a purpose for all of it , now that, I think is a spiritual awakening by itself . As humans we can't even hope to comprehend the mechanics behind it all . It just seems there had to be some intelligence involved .
Tashawaa--- I don't know how anybody can be at peace with the way things are . There is just too much evil in the world to sit back and be at peace with it .
I would suggest that a spiritual love is actually not personal, which doesn't mean it cannot exist in a situation that is very personal from an individual subjective perspective, but we might say it is bigger than that.
There's love that comes out of an idea - such as the golden rule, which is something that makes sense to a person and they may try to apply that. On the other hand there may be a deep realization of this idea so that it isn't just something the person thinks and tries to do, but rather who and what s/he is.
We tend to look to great ones in the spiritual arena as we do in others, but does this really apply when it comes to love? If nothing else even the greatest scientific and artistic minds may very well be undiscovered, but when it comes to love it's not even a question of ability. Isn't it quite possible ones that embodies love in such a way may very well be a simple person that doesn't command a lot of power or attention in the world? Yes, love is it's own power in a way, but the question is can we recognize that when it is expressed through one who otherwise possesses limited means?
Frankly it's not about what any individual person can do, it's just not about any individual person. It's a different paradigm. We might look at examples such as the widow who gave the few coins that she had as a heroic example, but there is much more going on. Ultimately love isn't about a shining example, something a great individual does - it's how people are touched. I think it was the Advaita teacher Nisargadatta that said "love is the meaning and purpose of duality." It's a coming together. Example are just examples, as great as some of them might be - but it would be missing the point if you just try to emulate the form it takes. In fact, love will call for different expressions depending on the circumstances, the particular form it takes is not important. That's why my friend describes it as love coming back for itself. It's not even a matter of this person liking another person because of their personality clicks, it's a matter of the love that is in both/all of them waking up to itself, in here and there. So I say be yourself, let that love be you. You don't have to be better at anything, have any special knowledge or ability. When it's all an expression of love, none of that matters.
Edited to add: So I am implying that such a love would be non-local, not something that starts from a certain point (loving person) and goes out in a particular direction to an other.
