[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'R')ituals are also key, I think, to preparing the mind for spiritual experiences. Whether it's dancing around a fire (one of my favorites), handling snakes or just jumping around to music, you need that spiritual foreplay.

[threadbear]

Allan Watts:

So you become an athiest, just to get rid of him. Then you feel terrible after that, because you got rid of God, but that means you got rid of yourself. You're nothing but a machine. And your idea that you're a machine is just a machine, too. So if you're a smart kid, you commit suicide.

*************************************


So the world doesn't come thinged; it doesn't come evented. You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean. The ocean waves, and the universe peoples. And as I wave and say to you 'Yoo-hoo!' the world is waving with me at you and saying 'Hi! I'm here!'

http://www.erowid.org/culture/character ... cle1.shtml

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'R')ituals are also key, I think, to preparing the mind for spiritual experiences. Whether it's dancing around a fire (one of my favorites), handling snakes or just jumping around to music, you need that spiritual foreplay.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'R')ituals are also key, I think, to preparing the mind for spiritual experiences. Whether it's dancing around a fire (one of my favorites), handling snakes or just jumping around to music, you need that spiritual foreplay.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'A')llan Watts:

So you become an athiest, just to get rid of him. Then you feel terrible after that, because you got rid of God, but that means you got rid of yourself. You're nothing but a machine. And your idea that you're a machine is just a machine, too. So if you're a smart kid, you commit suicide.

*************************************


So the world doesn't come thinged; it doesn't come evented. You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean. The ocean waves, and the universe peoples. And as I wave and say to you 'Yoo-hoo!' the world is waving with me at you and saying 'Hi! I'm here!'

http://www.erowid.org/culture/character ... cle1.shtml

[threadbear]

A fan of who, Allan Watts? Certainly.

[mercurygirl]

Allan Watts is great, I've been reading "The Wisdom of Insecurity" lately.

BigfootTex, you're starting to seriously crack me up. Where did you find that avatar? I think you're still making fun of me.

I've got more to add on ritual and such, but not tonight. Enjoying the reading, though. JPL, your ideas are intriguing.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mercurygirl', 'A')llan Watts is great, I've been reading "The Wisdom of Insecurity" lately.

BigfootTex, you're starting to seriously crack me up. Where did you find that avatar? I think you're still making fun of me.

I've got more to add on ritual and such, but not tonight. Enjoying the reading, though. JPL, your ideas are intriguing.

[uncarve_db_lock]

Its good to see this thread still moving people's minds.

Couple of thoughts;

-All organized religions, follow the same laws as everything else concerning birth, growth and death. I think that the reformation era was the beginning of the end for most major religions. Granted some such as Buddhism are well equipped to weather societal changes with their emphasis on personal cultivation yet they still lack a broader perspective in regards to the universal truth. No one system can incorporate it all for if any do, they are therefore limiting that which they attempt to love.

- The polar opposites of the sacred and profane can be better understood in a non-dual perspective, such as one offered by Taoism. To differentiate and categorize ones life into such things a spiritual and non-spiritual, or work and play, leads one further and further from the greater truth of universal unity. Granted, it is hard to maintain that state of non-dual consciousness when the world is heading to hell in a handbasket. Chopping wood for the stove should be just as much a spiritual ritual as going to church. For me, all it takes to ease the stress of impending doom is to remind myself, that my greater self is doing just fine, always has been, always will be.

- The mind, body, soul connection in regards to spiritual states of consciousness can be attributed to chance, fate, fortune, and hard work. There are many people alive today who have successfully integrated a higher state of awareness into everyday life. They most likely do not go around in robes, although some do like the Dalai Lama, or proclaim themselves great masters. They most likely lead lives that are intrinsically linked to the greater truths of the universe, even if they can't go out and write a book about their theology. Some people, no matter how hard they try will never reach some of the more subtle spiritual realms, just as most of us will never become the next Michael Jordan of Stephen Hawking. Doesn't mean that we shouldn't play basketball or attempt to understand the basics of the cosmos. Not everyone is destined to grasp the greater truths of infinity, paradox and love as can be seen by many folks in mental hospitals.

The paradox of the paradox; is it that it is not a paradox?

[JPL]

deleted: silly post (grin)

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', 'R')ituals are also key, I think, to preparing the mind for spiritual experiences. Whether it's dancing around a fire (one of my favorites), handling snakes or just jumping around to music, you need that spiritual foreplay.

[threadbear]

Have you seen the original movie, "The Wickerman", JPL? I imagine you in this kind of locale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zkSLC0 ... re=related

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'H')ave you seen the original movie, "The Wickerman", JPL? I imagine you in this kind of locale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zkSLC0 ... re=related