Blessed are they who mourn

[Nowayout]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Did you just make that up- it is very right on. I never thought about it that way.

And please rem everyone, 2-3 sentences when quoting others here...a-hem, Nowayout!

OK, that would be 2. I did not know the rules, but then again I have always been a rule bender...::::: love you all..:::::

Sorry, Miss H. please feel free to help me to see the forum rules. God bless you.

[Nowayout]

Anyway, we are talking about Mourning in a Christian sense. You can mourn a lost lover, you can mourn a dead friend, but we are talking about the mourning that comes from the struggles encountered with the attainment of holiness.

One would like to undertake this challenge as a Christian but hasn't the energy or strength to do so.

For example, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Today often used as a rueful admission of weariness or other physical weakness, this idiom was first recorded in the New Testament (Matthew 26:41), where Jesus tells his disciples: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” A modern equivalent is I would if I could but I can't.

Hence, we mourn our spiritual weakness. And that is good. That's if you have that desire in you. Do you?

[davids]

Originally Posted by Molearner

Hi Molearner,

Progress happens on the spiritual path when we surrender attachments. The losing of attachments is the gaining of freedom. What is left if we lose ‘all’ ? God becomes the last man standing....It should be noted that anyone without pain has an almost impossible chance of conversing with the spiritual world.

Hi Molearner,

Well said/summed. Excellent. Amen. Kudos.

As Carlos Castaneda wrote, "Without sadness and longing, there is no kindness nor wisdom."

And, as Plato wrote [in The Phaedo], "The proper practice of philosophy is about nothing else but dying and being dead."

Well done,

David

[davids]

Originally Posted by Altair

I wonder if you would say this face to face to your partner, child, etc. ''Sorry, but me caring is an attachment, I must be detached from you.'' Or that you'd feel no sadness when a pet dies. Or that you don't care about your money ((feel free to give all of it away..)).

Hi Altair,

Just a thought: Did Jesus not say to his own mother [at John 2:4 (KJV)], "Woman, what have I to do with thee?"

Just asking,

David

P.S. There definitely seems to be a fine line of discernment/balance when dealing with the personal affairs/attachments of this life!

[Altair]

I don't think ''detachment'' is healthy. I also think detachment-believers may needlessly equate ''attachment'' with ''obsession'' just like pleasure is often equated with indulgence and addiction. It doesn't work like that. Bonds and enjoyments are part of life, make us human, make us living beings. The alternative is a black void.

[davids]

Originally Posted by Altair

Bonds and enjoyments are part of life, make us human, make us living beings. The alternative is a black void.

Hi Altair,

Agreed.

The problem is that those very attachments, that make life as a human being worthwhile on this earth, are the very things that keep us from being able to realize "heaven," i.e. here-and-now.

Just an observation,

David

P.S. I think the idea here is to move from eros, philia, and storge, toward agape, eh?

Both attachments and detachments are two-sided coins. There are negative and positive aspects to both. Maybe we are better served to attempt to eliminate the negative aspects of both. Do either exist after death ? I lean to my original thoughts….detachment leads to freedom….wanted or unwanted. Can a case be made for attachments leading to freedom ?

[davids]

Originally Posted by Molearner

I lean to my original thoughts….detachment leads to freedom….wanted or unwanted. Can a case be made for attachments leading to freedom ?

Hi Molearner,

Good points.

The only "attachments" that I can see leading to freedom [and therefore (by implication) the spiritual heaven(s)] would be the "attachment" to Spirit itself, eh?

Just an observation,

David

[sky]

Originally Posted by Molearner

I lean to my original thoughts….detachment leads to freedom….wanted or unwanted. Can a case be made for attachments leading to freedom ?

When you look deeply everything that we become 'Attached' to is impermanent and in constant flux so what are we attached to, nothing but an idea that we conjure up in our minds. Seeking 'Detachment' becomes another attachment and the cycle goes on. Freedom comes from understanding why we become 'Attached'.... Imo

Originally Posted by sky

When you look deeply everything that we become 'Attached' to is impermanent and in constant flux so what are we attached to, nothing but an idea that we conjure up in our minds. Seeking 'Detachment' becomes another attachment and the cycle goes on. Freedom comes from understanding why we become 'Attached'.... Imo

Sky,

I like your response. Especially like seeking understanding…..it is a subtle distinction to not seek detachment but a good one. With understanding we should no longer have an interest in attachments and we just allow them to die a natural death. Knowing the truth gives birth to freedom.