Guest guest Posted March 26, 2001 Report Share Posted March 26, 2001 Beautiful! My parents were raised Christian but weren't very "religious"... I told them something of my experiences, but I was kind of the oddball. But one day when my Mom was lying in a hospital bed, very near death, and I was sitting beside her, she pointed and said, "Open! Open the door!" "What door?" I asked. "Our garden is full of reincarnation," she said. "And it looks like this." And she drew a spiral in the air with her finger. Thank you Darma for all the wonderful little tidbits in your reply to me... What I have found over the past couple of weeks is this.... to hang onto any idea as being truth, limits the spirits true expression.... Therefore, Raised Christian limits me, unless I let it go......... this for me includes all religions, ideas, philosophies, and people who have very strong personal beliefs... I very easily become entrapped in some one elses beliefs, its part of my attachment to my ego, and the people around me... And I wish to let it all go...... but I did love all your little tidbits... I could feel the sweetness of your spirit. thank you, Love, Lynette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2001 Report Share Posted March 27, 2001 Hi Lynette, >What I have found over the past couple of weeks is this.... to hang onto >any idea as being truth, limits the spirits true expression.... Yes... but I think it's fine to espouse and defend what you see as truth as this moment... realizing that as time goes by, your understanding grows and you may find a larger, more adequate way to understand and express the truth. New words and new models come along, and you see that they are more adequate, more revealing of the truth. >Therefore, Raised Christian limits me, unless I let it go......... So many Christian groups insist on being limiting. It's too bad, I don't think it's necessary. When I asked a lama if I could be a Buddhist without denying the Christ, he just smiled and said, "Yes." It works for me, though some Christians might maintain that I'm not Christian any more. I don't think Jesus would have a problem with it... People like us need to find a group/church that is not too exclusive... that is more open than most of the fundamentalist churches. Many people have found a solution in the Unitarian/Universalist Church. They are usually considered Christian, but they do not expect you to espouse any particular doctrines or dogma. If you say you'd like to be a member, they just shake your hand and ask you to sign the book... no creed that you must accept. A good place for inter-faith couples. When I've taught meditation at a Unitarian church, I've had Christians, Jews, and atheists in the classes... almost had a Buddhist once. I make a little speech the first day about understanding the words that different people use and being able to communicate whether someone says, "God,universal mind," etc., and after that we don't have any problems with using different terms. > this for me includes all religions, ideas, philosophies, and people who >have very strong personal beliefs... I very easily become entrapped in >some one elses beliefs, its part of my attachment to my ego, and the >people around me... (But remember that beliefs are not at all the same thing as convictions or theories or knowledge from experience. Beliefs are not rational... they are very deep and can persist even when the mind says they don't make sense.) >And I wish to let it all go...... I think what you want to let go of is not any particular understanding or conviction, but the _attachment_ to them. People get so attached to their convictions, theories, words... and feel threatened when someone proposes something different. And yet when someone gives us a better word or model or theory... one that expresses the truth more fully... it's a great gift. Love, Dharma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2001 Report Share Posted March 28, 2001 , but the _attachment_ to them. People get so attached to their convictions, theories, words... and feel threatened when someone proposes something different. And yet when someone gives us a better word or model or theory... one that expresses the truth more fully... it's a great gift. Yes, to let go of the attachment of ideas... my own, as well as others... and to listen to the voice within.... Nothing wrong with hearing someone elses truth, and realizing "yes, this truth is within me as well"... Not so much worried that someone will present me with an idea that differs from mine..... but that I am so easily swayed...like a leaf blowing in the wind, tossing me here and there.... This is why I feel I need to unattach myself to all ideas and beliefs and just listen to the voice within.. Thank you Darma. Love, Lynette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 29, 2001 Report Share Posted March 29, 2001 Hi Lynette, >>, but the _attachment_ to them. People get so attached to their >>convictions, theories, words... and feel threatened when someone >>proposes something different. And yet when someone gives us a better >>word or model or theory... one that expresses the truth more fully... >> it's a great gift. > Yes, to let go of the attachment of ideas... my own, as well as others... >and to listen to the voice within.... >Nothing wrong with hearing someone elses truth, and realizing "yes, this >truth is within me as well"... > >Not so much worried that someone will present me with an idea that differs >from mine..... but that I am so easily swayed...like a leaf blowing in the >wind, tossing me here and there.... I think being easily swayed is involved with wanting to please or agree with other people... which involves the fear that they won't like you or approve of you if you don't. If you can get rid of that fear... clear it away like a block... give it to God/dess... you'll be much freer. My father told me, "You should do what you believe is right, no matter what anyone else says or does." And that has always given me extra strength to stand up for my own truth. >This is why I feel I need to unattach myself to all ideas and beliefs and >just listen to the voice within.. Yes! Gautama said we should not accept something as truth because teachers say so... or because scriptures say so... or anyone else outside ourselves. He said, "You have a light within that will show you the truth. Rely on your own light." Love, Dharma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 29, 2001 Report Share Posted March 29, 2001 I think being easily swayed is involved with wanting to please or agree with other people... which involves the fear that they won't like you or approve of you if you don't. If you can get rid of that fear... clear it away like a block... give it to God/dess... you'll be much freer. My father told me, "You should do what you believe is right, no matter what anyone else says or does." And that has always given me extra strength to stand up for my own truth. yes, you are right Darma... it is a process I'm recently working on... Some programs are a little bit harder to get rid of... but each day that I'm confronted with pleasing someone else over myself, in thought or action, and each time I choose to only do or think what suits me in that moment... Then it becomes easier and easier.. thank you, Lynette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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