Learning to Listen

[sky]

Originally Posted by davids

Hy Sky,
I name/call "our true self"/"our true essence" Soul.
You?

Pure Consciousness David

Originally Posted by Visitor

iHowever, it is the heart/soul that hears the truth of the matter, regardless of how it is presented by untrue motives, issues and/or agendas. It is our soul, which is a deposit of truth within us, that recognizes the truth when we hear it. The soul only loves the truth, and it ignores anything that is not true; such as sarcasm, questioning, as truth is.

Visitor,

We can only wish that were true. The fact remains that many are deceived and if what you believe is true(soul ignores anything that is not true) then you could only conclude that many are without souls. By the way you seem to be equating soul with spirit ? We covered that in different thread…..suffice to say that I do not believe soul and spirit are synonymous……they are 2 distinct things. Nevertheless we do not have some operative apparatus that automatically protects us from being deceived or else none would be deceived.

[Aknaton]

Originally Posted by Molearner

I read a verse this morning that caught my attention. Luke 8:18….”Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” NIV

I also use a similar method to approach the essence of scriptures. I consider a passage of scripture to be like a zen koan, a huatou, an egg that you gestate in order for it to crack. I bring the scripture into a recollection of my mind and if I have challenges understanding it, I look through other versions. If it requires only human understanding and reason then I do not go further. But if the essence of the scripture I am gestating does not register within the natural confines of the mind, memory, intellect and reason, I offer it further into my spirit, where the Holy Spirit (when He chooses) transmits to my spirit understandings of this scripture then it passes into my mind.

The amazing thing about scripture is that when one person gets an understanding of a scripture, it may or may not sound similar to another's understanding within the flesh but sounds the same in the spirit.
I think, based on my own personal understanding is the scripture you raised is that what Jesus was referring to was the Oil of His Spirit. And whoever does what is necessary to have and obtain this Oil will be better of than those that hardly do the work to obtain this Oil. Because as we walk and live as Christians, we use up this Oil and always need a refill. Well, that's my personal interpretation.

Originally Posted by Aknaton

I also use a similar method to approach the essence of scriptures. I consider a passage of scripture to be like a zen koan, a huatou, an egg that you gestate in order for it to crack. I bring the scripture into a recollection of my mind and if I have challenges understanding it, I look through other .

Aknaton,

Thanks so much for sharing your approach to scripture. For some reason it reminded me of Christmas that I shared with my 6 year old granddaughter. We had given her a Christmas Eve gift….some playset with a castle and characters etc. It required some assembly time and I begged off putting it together until morning…..it looked to be too time consuming.

Next morning I get up and there it is….completely assembled. I was very surprised. So scripture can be like that….a gift that is given specifically to us. We open it up and discover what it means and how it works…..how everything fits together. When the gift is exciting we are anxious to share it with others and are excited to explain it to everyone.

I very much enjoyed the meaning that you discerned. We should note that there is no ‘right’ answer….beauty is in the eye of the beholder….

[Visitor]

Originally Posted by Molearner

Visitor,

We can only wish that were true. The fact remains that many are deceived and if what you believe is true(soul ignores anything that is not true) then you could only conclude that many are without souls. By the way you seem to be equating soul with spirit ? We covered that in different thread…..suffice to say that I do not believe soul and spirit are synonymous……they are 2 distinct things. Nevertheless we do not have some operative apparatus that automatically protects us from being deceived or else none would be deceived.

Not without soul, but by denying the soul. Because of this, a person becomes ignorant of the truth. Their denying consumes their consciousness, usually with 'self' instead of the soul. They operate via body-mind instead of soul-mind. The difference is that the soul-mind is unconditional, just like truth is, and therefore the soul-mind discerns the truth.

[davids]

Originally Posted by Molearner (Post #32)

The fact remains that many are deceived and if what you believe is true (soul ignores anything that is not true) then you could only conclude that many are without souls....Nevertheless we do not have some operative apparatus that automatically protects us from being deceived or else none would be deceived.

Hi Mo,

My view is that while Soul is not [and can not be] deceived, Mind can be.

So there lies the [Spiritual] protection, i.e. "becoming one" with our higher self, i.e. Soul [or Spirit, if you prefer].

Just my viewpoint,

David

P.S. I do believe Visitor was alluding to that.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Visitor

Not without soul, but by denying the soul.
Because of this, a person becomes ignorant of the truth.
Their denying consumes their consciousness....

Yes, and many of those people are in prisons.

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by davids

My view is that while Soul is not [and can not be] deceived, Mind can be.

The soul gets totally identified with the mind and physical body. So the soul is confused about what or who it is. But that's what God designed the physical body and mind to do. To make us think we are it. I think the soul can be deceived, easily deceived. But it's easy to stop being deceived too.