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My current views - Joseph326 - 09-22-2010
I recently found myself in a situation where I wanted to offer my current viewpoint of the Law of One to someone. This person seemed to me to be living in fear due to their current religious beliefs and was attempting to spread their 'doom and gloom' to others. I felt the need to at least present them with the opportunity to let go of the fear and embrace love (and help balance the options for everyone else).
I will quote below what I wrote, but I have two questions which I would appreciate help with:
1) Is this infringing in any way?
2) Is there anything that I missed or could have stated better?
I appreciate any feedback
"I would suggest that a few things be considered:
There is one true Creator, God, or Supreme being that is so infinite that it transcends space and time. It has, is, and will create everything in existence. There is, was and could be nothing ...other than this One Infinite Creator, or God, if you will. Love is the force through which it acts, and light is the 'material' through which it manifests. Each of us is the entirety of this supreme being manifesting itself so it may learn and experience subjectively each individual quality of its Creation. We each also have the gift of free will, which enables the consciousness of the Creator to grow in infinite ways.
Jesus was aware of all of this. This is the Father he refers to. This is also where "love your neighbor as you love yourself" has its origins, as we are all One love, One conciousness, and One being.
Separation is an illusion, though a very difficult one to see through. Fear, hatred, evil exist only when one rejects or is not ready to embrace Love. The concept of evil is nothing more than a tool for us to learn from, to learn how comparitively bright our Light can be.
I will leave you with a few quotes of Jesus for you to ponder:
"Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21
"I AM the light that illuminates all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all is attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone; and you will find me there." Gospel of Thomas 77.
I am All. AND SO ARE YOU. Please take from this only what is useful to you. Only the individual can choose the right beliefs for their self. To accept without question an imposed view of another can be quite limiting."
RE: My current views - Questioner - 09-22-2010
Hi Joseph.
Were you invited to share your views?
If not, I invite you to consider whether you would like to ask for permission to share your views.
Something like: "Thank you for sharing your religious views. May I give you a one page summary of my views? This is not to change your mind or tell you what to think. It's only to introduce you to a point of view that might be new to you, a view that I find very inspiring. If you would like to pass, that's alright, I don't wish to intrude. But if it's OK with you I'd enjoy sharing my views too."
I think your summary would be fine AFTER you have received permission to present your point of view. There is enough there that if they wish to ask you further questions, the door is open. That reception is up to them.
Look at the death in the family thread too. It also deals with the question of sharing a spiritual faith based on the Law of One. There is a lot of wise consensus there, expressed in many voices.
RE: My current views - LsavedSmeD - 09-22-2010
I find your original post to be the view that I perceive as well.
Ghandi said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."
It would seem that people interpret the words of Jesus of Nazareth through the bible and not within themselves - this statement however is very general and is not pointed at every single Christian.
Seemingly, as I understand the Creators very essence is Love. Love learning about Love, Creator learning about Creator both are the same and boundless, immeasurable, unfathomable.
Truly, Love is the most important thing in all of the Creator for it is Love.
RE: My current views - Brittany - 09-23-2010
I am with Questioner here. Is this an ongoing conversation you've been having or do you just want to 'help' them by forcing them to 'see the light'? Preachy people tend to cause me to ignore whatever they're saying, and I can't stand it when people I used to go to church with send me cards and letters telling me to come back so I can "be saved." In my humble opinion, unless you are asked to share your beliefs, your example is the best teaching tool you have to offer. (This works more than anyone realizes it does. People watch you ALL the time.) Of course, if you were asked about your beliefs, I'd say you did a pretty good job of explaining them.
RE: My current views - Joseph326 - 09-23-2010
Questioner, what you have suggested makes much sense. I had a slight feeling that I was infringing when I wrote that, but let that feeling take the back-seat to the emotion I was feeling then. Not a wise choice, as I see that I ended up doing the very same thing that had offended me in the first place. There I was offering a view that was not asked for in response to another view that I did not agree with which also was not asked for. I guess it boils down to me feeling that the fear-based view was incorrect and then trying to correct it with the 'right' view. Just because I believe something does not make it right for everyone, or welcome to them if they or I did not ask first. I checked out the death in the family thread as well, there was a lot of good information there. Thank you so much for your suggestions!
"Seemingly, as I understand the Creators very essence is Love. Love learning about Love, Creator learning about Creator both are the same and boundless, immeasurable, unfathomable."
LsavedSmeD, this must be why there are so many different paths in seeking the Creator. I must learn to respect all of these paths as equally important, as dark as some may seem. I liked your statement about interpreting Jesus. There are quite a few people that I have met that this would apply to.
Ahktu, this was the first conversation of this type with that person. It seems I was trying to 'help' them, because I felt bad that they were preaching the need to 'be saved' from our inherent sinfulness and inferiority that would surely put us in hell for all eternity. Maybe this is a part of myself that I need to accept, as I used to believe that same view. I agree that the example is the best way to teach or learn from!
Thank you all for your constructive suggestions! I used to hate goofing up, now I find it fun since I usually learn something from doing it
RE: My current views - norral - 09-23-2010
Hi Joe
good stuff that you wrote there. let me say something a lot of the
christian preaching is based on the feeling that people are "not worthy'
i went to a church for years where they would always say
we are not worthy. to me thats a false humility. its like saying im not
worthy to shake your hand not worthy to be in your presence etc etc.
it makes me want to stick my fingers down my throat and barf lol.
it seems this person was not bashfull about perpetrating their belief
system. if i encountered that i would feel no qualms about stating
my belief system at all not one bit. stuff flows both ways.
you expressed yourself in a very kind manner i would risk to say
in a much kinder and more considerate way than this person expressed
themselves. if they dont like it it is really their problem not your problem
imho. whats that old saying if u cant take the heat dont go into the
kitchen. if they cant take the heat and the light of the truth you
shared with them then they should vacate the premises lol
good for you brother dont dont dont feel bad about it at all
i am so tired of zealots of any persuasion lol they all make me
barf lol
your brother
norral
RE: My current views - Joseph326 - 09-23-2010
Thanks Norral! I feel the same way sometimes. I am just going to let things like this go from now on though. I thought I was being helpful but it just opened the door for him to spout out more contradictory remarks. How can I expect someone to not try to impress their own beliefs when I gave my own without them being asked for? Two wrongs don't make a right. Come to think about it, does anyone ever fully buy into an idea that is impressed onto them? The only true way to learn is to do so individually, so I think being an example and being supportive of others' growth is the best way to go.
RE: My current views - Steppingfeet - 09-24-2010
Hey Joe,
My own study of the positive polarity and those sources which expound its philosophy, e.g., the Law of One books, indicates that effective, positively oriented service can be rendered only to the extent that it is requested, something echoed again and again in the forums, as it should be.
Which begs the question, how does one know when service is being requested? Followed by, and what type of service is needed, and when and how much should be offered, and how to fulfill the request if there is a request?
Ra, I think, implies that there is no "best", no one foolproof plan to serve purely in a manner which fulfills the highest/deepest need of the other. (Though they do suggest that simple being, that effortless radiance of the Creator through the transparent outer identity, is of greatest import. This is I believe along the lines of what Ahktu was suggesting when she discussed teaching by example.) Your meeting with the other self in that particular moment is so utterly, infinitely unique that the Creator leaves it in your capable hands to make a choice regarding the expression of who you are, and in so doing co-creating an experience of mutual learning.
I would suggest that one possible means of assessing whether service is being requested, or whether the other is open to your desire to be of service, is to throw some feelers out there. For instance, in the other's promulgation of what to you is a fear-based perspective, you could look upward with a mischievous grin, remarking something along the lines of, "My philosophy suggests that there are better responses than fear to a universe of unending beauty." To which, if the other is interested, he or she may reply, "Oh, really? How so?"
While the exchange could go a million other ways, much more creative than the paltry exampled I've offered, the basic gist I'm trying to get across is that the other is going to hear you only if interest motivates the operation of their ears. If you move beyond their own interest and desire to hear what you have to say, then you may be infringing simply because you are assuming that where there will is absent, your will can take the lead and chart the course for them.
Interest, desire to know, need to know, curious to know, are all self-generated of course, but these things can be peaked and teased out of the other by careful and appealing presentation. Many entities with Messages to share probably use the arts for this basic reason, to communicate deeper truths through modalities or vehicles which stimulate the other self to generate their own interest.
The self's otherwise closed doors open with the key of interest or desire, and if the self is ready for and desirous of what it sees on the other side of the now open door, it will consciously or unconsciously move through that embarking point into novel understanding and experience. Point being, you, the sharer, the one desiring to serve, if you are intent on giving this information which you feel will be of genuine aid to the other, you may help to stimulate actual interest in an other so that they, of their own free will, walk through that door into territory they desire to explore.
But that's a fine line to walk too I think. Because there is a determination on your part that the other is in need of what you have to offer. Chances are so much of what so many of us do in the name of service, even with the best of intent, is not actually requested from the other self but is rather just a projection of how we, in our limited state, feel the world should be. So again you're back to assessing whether there is a request for service or not.
Following this pattern, an other perfectly legitimate and positively oriented approach is the one Questioner suggest. What's important to take note of in Questioner's approach, in my fallible opinion, is that you're not compelling the other person to give particular weight to what you have to say by employing means of persuasion, fear, promise of reward, catering to ego, pressure to conform, etc. Notice all the disclaimers in Questioner's statement along with the space such an approach makes around the other self, space for the other's free will to move by means of its own motivation and discretion, not by what you, the sharer, think the person ought to believe.
And as Questioner suggests, if the response you get from other is a "no" in any form, especially if they throw old cabbage and tomatoes at you, then it's probably best to respectfully back away and love that other self as they are, as perfect gestures of a perfect Creator, no matter how imperfect, stuck, flawed, close-minded, or lost you perceive them to be. (Not an easy one for me, let me tell you!)
A subject for endless exploration, indeed. Good question. : )
KYAYBC,
GLB
RE: My current views - Shemaya - 09-24-2010
Thank you all for these very helpful points of view! I really appreciate it. This was definitely an area where I have struggled to get harmonious ....I have mentioned a past teacher who initiated spiritual awakening for me. His style was very overbearing , and though I found it uncomfortable myself, I found myself in that energy in my closest relationships when discussions came up.
I see it more clearly now and it really makes sense what you all have shared.
The spiritual path is so individual and personal, and after a powerful initiation experience, I felt that I wanted to share with others what I experienced. But I think I ended up projecting my experience onto others that were not open to it.
This makes more sense.
looking back I realize that these projections are coming from a place of fear...my teacher did tell me personally about his fear that the people of the world would not wake up. My own fear was related to need for approval and fear of rejection, which has played out in big ways in my life.
RE: My current views - Joseph326 - 10-01-2010
Hi GLB,
Thank you so much for your wise words. I appreciate the amount of detail you went into with this. Your suggestions resonate quite closely to my own interpretation of the Law of One, and have been helpful as I put this into practice.
Shemaya, good point about the fear. I have been realizing more and more as I clean out my spiritual 'closet' of all the heavy 'stuff' I have accumulated, that the things that weigh me down always have some form of fear as the main reason for their creation. This particular subject is no exception.