Discernment @ MindSay 
OK - I know it's Saturday, but a dear friend of mine called me last night with one question. I thought I'd pass it on to those of you who might have an opinion about such things ...
What is the difference between "walking in faith" and "doing your own thing and asking others to pay for it" ??? From any perspective?
I thought about it all evening and came up with very little. One idea I had was that "walking in faith" involves some personal cost, I think, whereas "doing your own thing ..." is just that. But how can we tell the difference? Spontaneously, when she called, my immediate answer was ..."discernment".
ADDED at 11:30: OK ... let me give you an example:
Sarah is a musician. She loves the Lord, endeavors to obey him in all things. She has a wonderful talent in song writing and uses it to bless God and the Church. One day, she has a dream that she builds a recording studio, makes lots of CD's and then she wakes up.
She has similar dreams over the course of a couple of months. She talks to her pastor who then decides to organize a fundraiser in support of Sarah's "vision".
Is this a "walk of faith" or a "doing your own thing" situation ... from the info supplied?
Anyone else have an idea?
Demons are not permitted to come and take over a person soul if they have accepted God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They can however oppress them; that's why we need discernment to rebuke it. You can only cast out demons when given the Authority.
But I got to tell you, the stronghold demon in my life gave a fight before he was cast out of me. The time of my total deliverance came not when I asked Jesus Christ to come in my life but two weeks later at a women's retreat.
Prophet Rita Fidele discerned the demon and told it to leave. When that happened my whole body shook and I let out a horrible scream. Demons don't like to be found out, they'll dig deep within a person's soul.
Though I too find it hard to believe, that even when I was born-again that there was a demon still present; for how can God's Spirit and Satan's spirit be in me at the same time?
We would have to ask ourselves if one can be saved without God's Spirit working in us? Can a person actually be saved and then turn their back on God and loose their salvation? I am only saying this because many Christians lack the Authority over their stronghold of sin and do not always walk a life that pleases God.
Also there is a fear to step out and move in the supernatural. What causes that? Is it possibly the direct result of a lack of faith and believing Satan's lies that we don't have the authority? Why can't we believe for miracles and for strongholds to be cast out like Jesus did? Afterall, when Jesus did these things he got instant results.
Christians don't seem to have a problem with the kind of faith that it took to truly believe in Him for the salvation of their souls and yet will struggle with the 'other stuff' that we are all called to do. I too struggle at times with this but I have noticed that the closer I walk with God, the more 'stuff' I get to do.
Going back to my given situation, maybe since I was still a young Christian with not much of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the fact that strongholds are harder to cast out was the reason why I wasn't totally delivered when I became born-again. I was so fragile then. I have asked God to show me how was it possible that there was a stronghold demon still in me, even though I was saved through Jesus Christ?
We always have to revert back to how Jesus himself dealt with demon possessed people. He didn't doubt or play games with them (like Catholic priest do), he just took authority over it and demanded it to leave.
The example to this is in Matthew 17: Shows that Jesus' disciples couldn't drive out this stronghold demon, though Jesus did it with no problem. He did however say, 'that this kind takes much prayer (& fasting)' and earlier he stated that his disciples lacked the faith to cast it out.
If 'we' are not walking in God given Authority by the power of the Holy Spirit, then 'we' will have to get in the presence of God in order to do the job right. Prophet Rita Fidele walks in the spirit in a mighty way and was able to take care of the situation. But how come the other Christians in my church didn't take care of the situation? Was it because they were not called or was it a lack of unbelief and discernment?
Not everyone walks in all the gifts spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12 (4-12). Not everyone purifies that which contaminates body and spirit; perfecting holiness out of reverance for God. (II Corinthians 7:1)
Words spoken in Authority and righteous living before God need to be sent in dealing with strongholds. Since God will not allow His kids to be bound, He does send out those who can get the job done like Jesus did.
ACCEPTANCE IS THE KEY
The concept of acceptance has been taught in many traditions, by many
teachers and masters. Does acceptance mean that you must simply do
nothing? No. Although acceptance could be interpreted in that manner,
it is more complex.
Acceptance requires discernment. Each of you will have a strong desire
to do something. This doing may be entering a relationship, beginning
a business or taking a class. Many of you can relate experiences of
taking a new direction in your life simply by following the deep inner
urge to enroll in a workshop, attend a lecture or read a book. These
deep urges are messages from your higher self. You could also say that
the flier or book you saw activated encodements that propelled you in
a new direction in your life.
Many of you are familiar with what is called the Serenity Prayer:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the
difference." Wisdom as it is used here is about discernment. Wisdom is
the discernment of when you act and when you accept things as they are
and send love to others or bask in the love that you are.
You gain wisdom by learning from your experiences. Learning in this
manner is a developmental process, just as learning to walk is a
developmental process. The difference is that development in this area
has extreme variations. Some people do not appear to learn from their
experiences; others learn very quickly. Realize that you are
experiencing exactly what you planned to experience, no matter what
the pace. This is where acceptance is the key.
Your life is a balance of being proactive and of waiting for what
comes to you. There are times when you will feel the urge to be
proactive. Follow that urge. If following the urge results in what you
would call disaster, then stop and wait. Listen. Feel. Experience.
Move internally. What about those who never learn this? Dear ones, you
are learning and experiencing. There is no "wrong" way to live this
life. There are ways to live and experience that are judged to be
healthier and happier. The truth is that there is no wrong way to live.
Does this mean you have license to do whatever you wish? Yes, of
course. Do whatever you wish and accept responsibility for the
consequences. If you wish to steal, then accept the responsibility of
the consequences, whether that be riches, fear or jail. You can choose
what to experience in this lifetime. Your experiences will be in
alignment with what you planned on experiencing.
Some will read these words and ask, "Why bother trying? Why bother
growing?" Developmentally, "Why bother?" is a question of adolescence.
Think back to your own adolescence or to an adolescent you have known
or currently know. How can you convince him to stay in high school
when he sees no value in high school? How can you explain that the
process of high school, whether it be traditional or alternative
education, is more than "book learning"? Think of experiences you had
or chose not to have and now regret. Your regret comes from what you
learned by doing or not doing, from the wisdom you developed as you
matured.
Why bother living life? Generally, the answer is for the excitement,
the wonder, the desire to see, feel, hear and experience what will
happen. What will be the ending of your movie? What will be the
climax? Will things change if you do encodement work, holographic
repatterning, Reiki, begin a new career when you are fifty? The only
way you can find the answers is to live the question and watch
expectantly. Those who have discovered the joy and excitement of
learning for the pure joy of learning will understand this concept.
to be continued...
from
Power and the Higher Self
Amma through Cathy Chapman
July 2006
www.OdysseyToWholeness.com
SEDONA Journal of EMERGENCE ~ September 2006 Issue
http://www.sedonajournal.com
It's an interesting phenomena that unfolds here at MindSay, and happens everywhere else you look in the world - people are expressing themselves. And some express themselves in ways that are objectionable to others. Fact is if you tour through MindSay by clicking on "recent visitors" links on other people's blogs you'll discover there's an incredible array of ideas, styles, opinions, and yes some would be best rated as PG-13, R, or XXX.
revcathian suggested in one post we might try self-regulation and self rating, which wouldn't be a bad idea but people will never do it here and I suggest it's not going to happen any time soon!
Why?
Shock factor for one; many people here are experimenting with raising reactions from others. Often people seem to present a blog that is more of a "spin" than an honest posting of feelings or opinion. Some people - often with well written blogs will add nude photos of themselves - tasteful shots, artistic yes, but almost akin to a self-promotion, as if they're attempting to promote themselves and their blogs through their bodies... I've had to "turn off" the visible link for some of my contacts so that they don't show up on my blog page because of this. And if it's not a photo that offends it's their title or the first few lines of text that offend... I might still catch their blog from time to time but will do so from my contact list rather than having their words show up on my blog - avoiding the possibility of offensive material being there when I might not be looking!
And perhaps sometimes it's perfectly innocent - titles don't always indicate the material - though it sure would be helpful!
Even searching by tags isn't "safe" for avoiding objectionable material because people often don't really consider another person's sensibilities when posting here. There are language issues and material that is quite pornographic in nature describing sexual acts and preferences etc. Some people disguise their stories with poor quality graphic design by using a text and background that makes the writing unreadable until one takes the time to highlight in order to view what's written. A bizarre point: some people do the same with material that is helpful to others and yet they still hide it - I've yet to comprehend the purpose of that but, hey... each to their own drummer!
Then there are the people who use copyrighted material for their headers or web page design and/or for their profile photo. As an aspiring amateur photographer I find that objectionable as well. It is theft, plain and simple.
Can the new TopBlogs rating system prevent us from being assaulted by things that we personally find objectionable; NO! And it actually never did. I recall days when, on the old system, A TopBlog would show up on my "friends" section and the first entry would be objectionable - I will admit it was rare but it did happen.
Oh Hey, even some well trusted and respected, philosophical and spiritually leaning 'Sayers here who have often had well thought out entries have sometimes titled a piece or written a whole blog that would be objectionable to me so there is really no protection even by counting on contacts to produce consistently acceptable material.
What is most obvious is TopBlogs was never a rating system that could be trusted to deliver a well written or well designed entry - although we all hoped it might do that! Rather it's very hit and miss and, in addition, it's based on whether anyone on a particular day was in the mood to vote or reply to someone's personal entry, let alone read them.
So people - give up on thinking the TopBlogs listing actually means anything more than; entries with votes and or comments and activity. Perhaps the MindSay crew will eventually find a new name for it, as "top" is a misnomer a lot of the time!
Self regulation and self rating? Well people who enjoy vulgarity and pornography, or want to "stir up the pot" and shock people can skew the numbers can't they? It's not the best alternative - I've personally asked people to do this in the past to avoid having their rude entries show up on my "friends" listing and some have tried to do it from time to time - but again - not consistently! So what's a blogger to do?
One big one - if you're worried about children seeing such things - start now - teaching the children to learn to use discernment. For their own protection in a world that will blast them with views from every colour in the spectrum. Discernment is a tool that will help them in life, the earlier they learn it the better - and many already do it naturally. It's not an easy world that is unfolding "out there" and it's not any easier "in here" but there is a need for expression in our world in all it's variety and with time many will "mature" in their postings and find a style and a point of view that may well be of interest to others.
If you observe the world's current affairs, which for some can seem obscene these days, you see expressions of opinions and ideas that cover a very broad spectrum. If people are overly sensitive about this we will find ourselves constantly in war-like settings. It seems we need to thicken our skins a wee bit and learn to accept the fact that some people believe in anarchy or communism or racial supremacy or that we're all descendants of "spacemen" and the fact that those people are entitled to that opinion, regardless of anyone else's sensibilities! It's not an easy task but it is where we all need to get to eventually. All need to accept it - including those with such narrow views - and that's where our wars seem to evolve from - an inability to see others have the right to their beliefs, regardless.
Beliefs are one thing of course, murder and mayhem is quite another and isn't acceptable in any arena - no matter who justifies it or for what reason. As soon as a belief begins to suggest one person has a right to harm another a warning flag should come up and people of the world - in harmony - must speak out and act out against it! Humanity, in it's beautiful evolution, may reach a point where this is possible. That is my personal hope and my belief is tolerance and discernment will be necessary tools in that evolution's success!
Now if only the politicians and other leaders in this world would practice tolerance and discernment.
It is up to each member of the human race to begin to demand this of all leaders. Political, educational, business, social or religious leaders must be convinced this is necessary and only the members of the human race - collectively - can achieve that if they practice the same in their own lives and make their feelings known.
So welcome expression - could be the next Wadsworth is here among us - and pray that people develop their skills and their thoughts to a point where they become socially conscious and healthy contributors to our world!
The knot in my stomach grows tighter as I read. It seems almost everything I read is just, well, rubbing me raw these days. I am so sick of the finger pointing, soapbox dancing, and Bush bashing as though he alone is responsonsible for all the ills in our country. Please, get real!
At the risk of isolating myself even more than I already have, I am so sick of the finger pointing on the various issues both political and spiritual. Healthy discussion is one thing, but that infers and mutual respect for those whose opinions are shared. We can disagree and remain civil, if we choose to!
It's like we've become, or are on the brink of becoming a nation, or community of toddlers, each insisting on his/her own way ... or else we'll take our ball and go home!
Maybe it's because of the nature of blogging? Maybe there are enough of us who are disturbed by certain things and this is the only place we have to shout about it. Maybe that is what these many blogging communities have become - a place to rant for those who feel somewhat powerless elsewhere.
I don't know, but ... right now, blogging isn't fun here. Maybe it's just me. It isn't a MYSPACE issue, but just too much bulls*it. I'm sure I'll be around. Maybe it will pass ...
~ B
