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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Interfaith

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  #21  
Old 19-08-2013, 01:19 AM
Seawolf Seawolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amilius777


What's ignorant is the constant separation and sectarianism of religious dogma.
So the answer is to separate it as being something inferior and bad. It's a vicious cycle.
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  #22  
Old 19-08-2013, 01:29 AM
Seawolf Seawolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knightofalbion
If it makes 'you' a better person, it it advances the soul, if it serves the greater good. That is the value of a faith.
To you it is, it may serve a different purpose to others. Regardless, whatever you see as spiritual truth is what you believe. Others may believe and experience something completely unrelated. That's because spiritual beliefs as well as experience is subjective. Wanting my beliefs to apply to everyone is fine, but really it's just a way for me to box the world into my own understanding. It's a comfortable, settled way of seeing things that allows a sense of security or control.

Interfaith is about interaction with different belief traditions in order to encourage understanding, not to combine beliefs.
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Last edited by Seawolf : 19-08-2013 at 02:39 AM.
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  #23  
Old 19-08-2013, 02:43 AM
Juanita
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"Christ Conscienceness" to make a long story short, seems to be rooted in ancient India and the Vedas....Even today, I believe it is part of Hindu philosophy... So I suppose it can mean anything that you want it to mean... I prefer my own way...
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  #24  
Old 19-08-2013, 04:34 AM
Seawolf Seawolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psychoslice
No I don't call it a belief, its an experience that cannot be turned into a concept or belief, you cannot organize it as religion does, but you can only truly realize this through your own inner experience, before that, its just a belief.
I imagine most if not all religions have their own spiritual experiences. When someone has a different experience than our own, it doesn't mean they don't have true realization. Hindus experience samādhi, Christian's experience Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and New Age experience source or their true selves. Belief is not separate from the experience, it's the foundation of it.

Someone doesn't have to actively believe to have a spiritual experience. The environment where they're raised will give plenty of input that contributes to how it's experienced and interpreted.

When a person has the experience it's likely going to reflect ideas of their culture, and the New Age idea of source or a realized true self is part of this culture. All the information given by society and stored in the unconscious mind is plenty of input to produce an experience in alignment with that culture. The experience doesn't necessarily come from 'out there', but is likely very much a part of society around us.

That doesn't invalidates anyone's experience. It makes it meaningful to the person. Because it's in alignment with the beliefs that part of the world, it will feel 'right' to that person.
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  #25  
Old 19-08-2013, 05:58 AM
psychoslice psychoslice is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seawolf
I imagine most if not all religions have their own spiritual experiences. When someone has a different experience than our own, it doesn't mean they don't have true realization. Hindus experience samādhi, Christian's experience Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and New Age experience source or their true selves. Belief is not separate from the experience, it's the foundation of it.

Someone doesn't have to actively believe to have a spiritual experience. The environment where they're raised will give plenty of input that contributes to how it's experienced and interpreted.

When a person has the experience it's likely going to reflect ideas of their culture, and the New Age idea of source or a realized true self is part of this culture. All the information given by society and stored in the unconscious mind is plenty of input to produce an experience in alignment with that culture. The experience doesn't necessarily come from 'out there', but is likely very much a part of society around us.

That doesn't invalidates anyone's experience. It makes it meaningful to the person. Because it's in alignment with the beliefs that part of the world, it will feel 'right' to that person.
Yes I agree, the experience itself isn't Enlightenment, no matter what the experience was, be it experiencing Christ, the Buddha or whatever, that isn't what IS, what IS is above words and mere religious concepts.
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  #26  
Old 19-08-2013, 01:03 PM
knightofalbion knightofalbion is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seawolf
To you it is, it may serve a different purpose to others. Regardless, whatever you see as spiritual truth is what you believe. Others may believe and experience something completely unrelated. That's because spiritual beliefs as well as experience is subjective. Wanting my beliefs to apply to everyone is fine, but really it's just a way for me to box the world into my own understanding. It's a comfortable, settled way of seeing things that allows a sense of security or control.

Interfaith is about interaction with different belief traditions in order to encourage understanding, not to combine beliefs.

The purpose of incarnation is to learn and to advance the soul. And the soul advances through the spheres of Light through Love (expressed as compassion and Service).
Religion is a means to an end. Following a particular faith, of itself, won't advance the soul one iota. One has to see the bigger picture.

All the great teachers and Masters have basically given the same message but in their own individualised version.
The same strands of truth and love run through all religions of the light. All the great teachers and Masters have been inspired by Love.

Interfaith should encourage understanding, true, the understanding of unity and brotherhood.
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All this talk of religion, but it's how you live your life that is the all-important thing.
If you set out each day to do all the goodness and kindness that you can, and to do no harm to man or beast, then you are walking the highest path.
And when your time is up, if you can leave the earth a better place than you found it, then yours will have been a life well lived.

http://holy-lance.blogspot.com
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  #27  
Old 19-08-2013, 01:58 PM
Seawolf Seawolf is offline
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Yes I understand that is a foundational New Age belief, which is why it's a little difficult to have a discussion about it here. But I understand people don't want to question their beliefs because they're part of who you are.
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  #28  
Old 19-08-2013, 02:08 PM
Seawolf Seawolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psychoslice
Yes I agree, the experience itself isn't Enlightenment, no matter what the experience was, be it experiencing Christ, the Buddha or whatever, that isn't what IS, what IS is above words and mere religious concepts.
Of course it is, that's what Western religions express, that the Divine or Source or God is above words and ideas, and our meager attempt to describe it is done in vain, but words are all we have, hence your use of the word 'IS. You've just basically described the sentiment of many Western religious people. In the bible it's said:

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It's as you said, IS is above our mere thoughts and words. The idea is very much ingrained in our part of the world. By having the idea though, words and actions result as an expression of that. The way you respond to people, the answers you give to questions, etc. are all based on how you see the spiritual. It's your 'religion'. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it means how you react in this world to your spiritual ideas and experiences just like everyone else does.

Religion is not something inferior, seeing it that way is actually putting yourself down because it's all religion. And when there are many people who see the same way, there are problems such as corruption and hypocrisy just the same as problems arise from any large body of people. The idea of the IS above words is still a part of the individuals though regardless.
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Last edited by Seawolf : 19-08-2013 at 03:14 PM.
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  #29  
Old 19-08-2013, 09:51 PM
psychoslice psychoslice is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seawolf
Of course it is, that's what Western religions express, that the Divine or Source or God is above words and ideas, and our meager attempt to describe it is done in vain, but words are all we have, hence your use of the word 'IS. You've just basically described the sentiment of many Western religious people. In the bible it's said:

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It's as you said, IS is above our mere thoughts and words. The idea is very much ingrained in our part of the world. By having the idea though, words and actions result as an expression of that. The way you respond to people, the answers you give to questions, etc. are all based on how you see the spiritual. It's your 'religion'. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it means how you react in this world to your spiritual ideas and experiences just like everyone else does.

Religion is not something inferior, seeing it that way is actually putting yourself down because it's all religion. And when there are many people who see the same way, there are problems such as corruption and hypocrisy just the same as problems arise from any large body of people. The idea of the IS above words is still a part of the individuals though regardless.
I like what you said, "its your religion", that is so true, true religion is your own inner experience, not someone else's, that would be second hand. When we all follow the same religion and believe in the same stories we can never grow, we stay stagnat and quite frankly stink lol.
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  #30  
Old 21-08-2013, 02:11 AM
7luminaries 7luminaries is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psychoslice
Yes I agree, the experience itself isn't Enlightenment, no matter what the experience was, be it experiencing Christ, the Buddha or whatever, that isn't what IS, what IS is above words and mere religious concepts.

Thank God we are so much more than who & what we appear to be...or else we'd be completely hopeless

and plus then I'd have nothing left to hope for or believe in
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