The progress of spiritual thinking over history.

[ayar415]

QUOTE 10 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

They tuned into the power of God within us.
Now THAT is the history of 'spiritual thinking' I am interested in.
And it continues.

Can we turn this power of God within us to end suffering? I am talking about real suffering.

I was in the store today when a woman followed me all around with her daughter sitting in her shopping cart. I guess I was her mark. While I was in the international aisle looking for frozen dhal from India, she came up to me and said: "Today is my daughter's birthday. Will you buy my daughter a birthday cake?" I said "No, thank you" and walked on. When she saw me again in another part of the store, she came up to me with a cake in her cart and asked confrontationally, "Are you going to buy this cake for my daughter?" I said, "No, thank you very much."

I wished I had this power of God in me to give her that cake.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by HITESH SHAH

People who are averse to spirituality are given the species most suited to their preferences

That's a really big jump - needs clarification on your part.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by ayar415

QUOTE 6 EXCERPT:"Being one with nature" is an imagined state of being:
Prove me wrong.

I can't prove you wrong - but I can tell you that when one is alone in nature, say on a mountain top without any sort of human influence perceivable, then comes the understanding that nature is all inclusive. And the middle point is oneself.
Apart from which other moments have shown me that All is One.
There is no separation.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by ayar415

"Being one with nature" is an imagined state of being: Category IV, the key to happiness through human psychology.
Prove me wrong.

All the categories I mentioned rely on a human mind, so it is the human that reflects his/her world and place in it. Thinking there is a ''creator'' that created/build a world is also psychology, and specifically projection. But that wasn't the point. View the categories more as what people revere or worship, and how they view the human and divinity. They all rely on a human mind yes but they have different ramifications in how we view ourselves, treat and see others, nature, deities, etc.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by ayar415

Can we turn this power of God within us to end suffering?

Speaking for myself, I sure am...cuz I could sure be suffering right NOW! LOL! Instead I laugh.
(Referring to a plumbing issue!)

I was in the store today when a woman followed me.... she came up to me and said: "Today is my daughter's birthday....
I wished I had this power of God in me to give her that cake.

What a fascinating story!!
I'm not understanding, tho...you DID have the power to buy the cake for the girl....since you have described your financial situation here.
Tho, I'm not saying you needed to! No judgment from me!
I think if I had that happen I might have said to the woman, "I'm wondering why you're asking ME?"
(Maybe you had some expensive clothes and she saw what kind of car you were driving? Odd encounter.)
Yesterday, I bought a dirty, mentally challenged, gentle person gloves...she held up her hands on a chilly morning asking me if
I had any...rather than asking for money!)
Now we're way off topic...but great story.

[ayar415]

QUOTE Post 10 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

What a fascinating story!!

It is fascinating because it has the ring of truth in it. And no, it wasn't my clothes and car. I was dressed like a workman with paint marks on my Northface jacket and pants. I had been working on my house and was too lazy to change. The BMW X5 4.4i is a 14-year-old clunker (still in great shape though) from the old days when "Siddharta" was a prince with his charioteer. Why me? I am white, and it was a shakedown.

And no, I do not have the power to buy the cake. Succumbing to that situation would be like Adam yielding to the temptation to eat the apple and lose eternal life.

[hallow]

Originally Posted by ayar415

I wished I had this power of God in me to give her that cake.

that's a really interesting story, maybe it was the power of God telling you not to buy the cake. Maybe the lady was trying to scam you, or maybe that lady needed to learn something from the situation she was in.

[hallow]

Originally Posted by ayar415

QUOTE 6 EXCERPT:

Nah? Really? Ok, let's check you out.
Hallow was wondering if elephants were capable of being spiritual as in falling into one of your categories.
"Being one with nature" is an imagined state of being: Category IV, the key to happiness through human psychology.
Prove me wrong.

. With this thread, I am just really curious about the roots of spirituality. A theory nothing proven. Only thing we can prove is what we're taught or we learned to believe.
I believe we all are from the earth/nature. Earth/nature is the root of everything. Others believe we all are from God. Maybe.... Who really knows. What is going through my mind is probably a mix of a lot of different things.
Human history shows a link between our intelligence, creative thinking, and spirituality. For example, we have the ability to draw pictures. No other being has the ability to do this. It takes strong creative thinking and problem solving skills to draw a picture. You have to be creative in order to create. Did we create the spiritual mind set to help us cope and understand??

[ayar415]

QUOTE Post 18 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by hallow

Did we create the spiritual mind set to help us cope and understand??

I think we created the spiritual mindset to help us cope with our mysterious painful existence. So far, what do we understand?

[Native spirit]

I agree with Busby post 13



Namaste