Meaning Of Life @ MindSay 
love
"O God!
Refresh and gladden my spirit.
Purify my heart.
Illumine my powers.
I lay all my affairs in Thy hand.
I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved;
I will be a happy and joyful being.
O God!
I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me.
I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
O God!
Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself.
I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord."
--'Abdu'l-Baha
This is my new motto for life! From it i have created my own daily affirmation:
"O God! I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. I am a happy and joyful being. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord."
That possibilities were limitless and that being loved had meaning.
Recently there was a post on Mindsay that dealt with Spirituality vs. Religion. I will not go into detail on the entire post but some of the items were as follows.
SPIRITUALITY SAYS THAT GOD IS WITHIN US, AND THAT WE DON'T NEED ANYONE ELSE TO MAKE THAT DIVINE CONNECTION FOR US.
RELIGION SAYS THAT WE ARE SEPARATED FROM GOD, AND THAT WE NEED "THEM" TO MAKE THAT DIVINE CONNECTION.
SPIRITUALITY SAYS THAT WE ARE FREE TO MAKE CHOICES ON OUR OWN, AND THAT WE MUST TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS.
RELIGION SAYS WE MUST MAKE THEIR CHOICES, AND ACT THEIR WAY.
The post was passed on by several others and I lost track of who first posted it, who reposted it and when but it started me thinking. The first thought that came to mind was there seems to be some conflict in relation to being spiritual and being a follower of organized religion. Before anyone gets their jaws torqued out of whack I am not here to debate the right or wrong of what anyone believes. We are after all free to believe in whatever we wish. I am just expressing something that came to mind and started me thinking about life and our purpose. I was raised as a Catholic and have experienced many religions since then. From Protestant to Lutheran, from Baptist to Methodist, many more including some of the current and past 'Born Again' congregations. To me, they were the most frightening. Are we to believe or should we believe what is told to us by Ministers, Priests, Reverends, Rabbi's, Clergy of any and all kinds and any religions? Do they have the all knowing power or the insight or all the answers to life and our purpose here on earth? If so, how do they know? Who told THEM? For the most part they are all "Organized Religions" profit making businesses. Aren't they going to tell us what they want us to hear for their own sake and to continue the flow of revenue into their businesses? Look also at the past history of religions. The Crusades, the Inquisition, the latest radical terrorist Islamists who want to kill everyone in the world who does not believe as they do. Religion has brought death, destruction and wars to all parts of the world for centuries. If our world continues to exist for centuries more I would imagine so would the conflicts, wars, death and destruction. Each religion may be similar in some ways but all are different in many others. What if . . . All of these religious leaders are wrong in their beliefs they try to instill in us. What if . . . they haven't a clue as to our real purpose here on earth or the meaning of life. What if . . .
Centuries ago it was believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe and everything revolved around it including our sun. Anyone who did not believe that was so was labeled a heretic and would surely be condemned to death. How arrogant, misguided and naive they were in those days. Again, religion was the culprit in trying to force us to believe in what they wanted us to. It took hundreds of years to correct this 'misconception' but as we have grown, matured and discovered what we were forced to believe in those days was not really true. In fact to go well beyond that we now know our Solar System is only one of Billions in our Galaxy. To expand even further, our Galaxy is only one of Billions in our Universe. We also now know our Universe has no beginning and it has no end. It goes on forever and an eternity. What if . . .
Place a 1/4 to 1/2 inch box around the point marked 'the sun'
That is the current extent of space we have explored and have knowledge of.
What if . . . everything we have been taught since we were very young is not true. What if . . . only some of the things we have been taught are true and the rest has been misinterpreted. Theories and ideas of some of the greatest minds in history have been proven to be incorrect or have been expanded upon. We are always learning something new each day about many things in life that in the past was thought to be valid at that time. No one person or any group of people has all the answers. Not even combining everything that is known by all the greatest minds will provide an answer as to who we are, why we are here and why we exist.
What DO we know? We know that when we die or cease to exist in our earthly way that our bodies over time also cease to exist. We know, or have been told, or theorize that our souls or spirits leave our body upon death as the body is no longer needed as we continue our journey to the next station of existence. We have been told that we go on to Heaven or to Hell depending on how we led our earthly lives. What if . . . that is not entirely true. How would anyone know as those who have taught us this have never left here to find out. How do they know as their teachers who told them so have also have never experienced an after earthly life existence. As we know our Universe has no beginning and no end, What If . . . we also have no beginning and no end. That is difficult for us to understand here in our earthly existence as that is all we know of. We have no knowledge of a past existence just as we have no experience or knowledge of a future existence. We only have the knowledge of those who teach us and try to make us believe they have the knowledge and wisdom that is the truth and the way things are going to be.
Our Solar System is one infinitesimal speck in our Galaxy
Our Galaxy is one infinitesimal speck in the Universe.
We are after all a soul or a spirit existing in an earthly body because that is what is required to exist on this planet. What if . . . As with our Universe we have no beginning and no end. Could we have existed in another solar system in our Galaxy before arriving here to be implanted in our earthly bodies? Could we have existed in another Galaxy in our endless Universe before coming here? Will we go on to another solar system in our Galaxy or another Galaxy in our Universe when we leave here? What if . . . we existed in another form or entity in another place in time. What if . . . our spirits or souls go on to another place in our endless Universe in another form or entity. The possibilities are endless just like our Universe if you open your mind and think about it. We have no knowledge or memories of a previous existence. We have no real knowledge of a future existence. Only what we are told by a business called 'Organized Religion'. We have been told by some we will if we led a good life end up in a place lined with gold and jewels. We know for a fact the Universe is made up of many elements of which include precious metals and jewels. A dying star in another solar system when it collapses produces one of the biggest diamonds ever know to mankind. Somewhat in the size range of billions of tons. Think twice if you are planning on picking one up as the nearest one is thousands of light years away. With our present 'earthly' mode of transportation it would take several 'earthly' lifetimes to get there.
The possibilities of our existence are limitless and endless. I would not even begin to say or think that there is no God. Maybe he exists in another Solar System or another Galaxy in our Universe. What if . . . our existence here on this planet is but one of many stops in our journey before we reach our final destination if there is a final destination. The simple fact is that we don't know. Without the knowledge of any possible past and without the ability to see into the future we may never know. That is until we reach our supposed final destination. It is difficult for us to think in such terms as we only know about the limited past from what we have been told to believe. We only have our limited earthly knowledge and wisdom to draw from in trying to understand what life is all about, where if any other place we came from or existed, where we will go to when we leave here.
WE can listen to others who try to tell us or who insist on interpreting the meaning of life and our existence. Or we can open our minds, think for ourselves and continue to ask the question - What If . . . ?
What do you think? . . . What do you feel? . . . What do you believe?
... she cried "ENOUGH!" Purging the cages of their power by blinking hard enough to read between the lines - hard enough to see that the boundaries are still false... still plastic... but doubt snaps their illusions back into place.
>>>>>Why are we here? Because we are... Because the universe said so.. "Just a Couple of Days", paraphrased... by Tony V... V... uh.. Vigotorio? Vi... something I am too lazy to look up and the book is downstairs...<<<<<
I don't know where I've been, I'm certain of where I'm going... No where.. and most days that is a fine proposition, and I don't mind at all... Some days it trips me, I see the cage bars and forget that they are made of atoms with huge amounts of space in between - I take them to be more solid than they are, just as I take my self to be more serious than I am....
Half way between depression, seeking solace in an end of light, end of life - and the rest of the way in laughing through the joys of the spring light - - - the merry fool - it only depresses me when I think perhaps I should be DOING something.... Should I???
Flouncing brat with a hard on for beauty, I stiffen up and forget my words and I don' tknow how to create any more and I wail against the death of a dream of being the mother of any art form - but were I not so spoiled, were I more grateful indeed I would appreciate the appreciation of beauty I have been gifted.. that alone, that alone should be a thing worth sighing for, worth praising, worth dancing with...
Still Confused,
Eris
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