How Buddhism led me back to God

When I was in my late teens, heading into adulthood, I was unsure of myself. I wasn’t sure about my spirituality, or how I felt about my family, or what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t even entirely sure that I was sane. I went through a period of intense questioning. My biggest questions were about God. Who was God? Was God really even there? If God was there, was he a good and loving God or some cranky guy in the clouds with a big stick and a score to settle?

What was the real point of Christianity? If someone asked me my opinion of church, I wouldn’t equivocate. I would smirk and say that it was a load of crap, that I had other things to do. Church made me feel guilty and dirty and even more unsure than I already was. I saw people getting joy from it and I hated them, I hated myself for not feeling what they were feeling. The only thing I did know with any certainty was that the status quo wasn’t working.

So I gave up. I stopped going to church. I stopped reading my Bible. I stopped doing everything. I started buying books about the Dalai Lama and Taoism. I read about Wicca and elemental spirituality. I buried myself in hope- hope that even if everything I grew up believing was wrong, that there was still some essence of goodness in the world, that there was still something I could connect myself to, to give myself purpose. Here’s the thing: I never questioned if there was some higher force or higher power. I was sure of it. And even at my worst, I still believed in a kind of god. That god just wasn’t the God of Christianity. Or, at least, that’s what I thought.

Because my God was a loving God. He was compassionate and tender. He didn’t want for people to suffer, or be judged, or be tossed aside. Yet the way I saw God’s name being used seemed to say something different. People used God to set themselves apart, to judge others, to justify their bigotry. And I couldn’t let myself believe in the same God they did.

I found a lot of the elements of the God I sought after in Eastern Spirituality. Here were systems of belief based off of truth and observation. They talked about a natural order, an observable rightness, aligning one’s self with the right patterns in order to be whole. They talked about how man kills himself with anger, judgment and bitterness. How pain is not your enemy, but a way to find truth. They talked about how the greatest good comes from sacrifice. And as I read these words, I found myself thinking, “isn’t this Jesus?”

Jesus spoke in the same sort of parables as the Dali Lama. He spoke observational truth. His words rang true because one could watch the world around themselves and see the evidence. He cautioned against anger, bitterness, judgment, and idleness. His death itself proves that there is no power greater than sacrifice. And certainly he didn’t view pain as the enemy if he was called the “man of many sorrows.”

I had an epiphany. No matter my contentions with the church, everything brought me back to Jesus. And I felt sure that I could embrace all that I loved the most about Buddhism and Taoism while still following God: mastery of one’s will, one’s body, one’s emotions, self-sacrifice… these are concepts that are very at home in Christianity.

(To be continued…)

From Emphatic Asterisk

God Is Not a Repulican

I realize it probably disturbs quite a number of folks out there, but God is not a Republican. In point of fact if God is the wrathful, fear-mongering, obstinate old gruel some of you think He is, you Republicans in many instances have some serious trouble on your hands. So I've been working on this awhile, you see, and I have discovered a salient reality, to wit, God does not care one iota about any of this political nonsense; He simply does not have time, I assure you; except in this one particular sense: If in a political contest you assert that God is on your side, not the other guy's side, you are definitely going straight to hell.

Closely studying this thing called God and religion, the first thing we discover is everybody else is wrong. Verily and forsooth, a fascinating reality this. The major religions of the world, all evolved from great civilizations, are Shintoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, not so many, really. Then there are the two remaining great tribal religions, inordinately martial in spirit and obstinate in nature, Judaism and Sikhism, both surrounded seemingly in perpetuity by enemies. And everybody else is wrong.

Christianity, fragmented as it is, provides us with the ultimate stomping ground for "them and us." The modern model for developing super churches, networking like-minded people, insures that the rules of exclusion become more fundamental, more profound. God is not love, God is fear; and Jesus is the shepherd pointing the way to the collection plate. Believe as I believe, or else, it is not the damnation of your soul that is here at peril, but its very existence; for if you do not believe as I believe, you will experience not just death of the body, but also that of the soul. And I am the arbiter of your fate, the controller of the collection plate, and be I Methodist, Lutheran, Mormon, Catholic, Episcopalian, Unitarian, or whatever, hear my carny con: "I am right, and everybody else is wrong."

Whoever, whatever God is, He doesn't have time for any of this stuff. There's a whole universe of things going on out there, and any bit of it is more interesting than this malarkey. As manifested by most of these folks God is an old white man with long white hair and a long white beard. You can believe in the George Burns version if you want, but I doubt God would run around in a shriveled old body with arms that can hardly hold up a cigar. I'm not sure why God has to be an old white man, unless maybe it's white men who conjured that image up, but Mother Earth, his regional subcontractor, is definitely all woman, and sometimes a real bitch at that. Best be nice.

So old white man, maybe, who knows. But if He's an old white man with long hair and a long beard, He is not out there saving souls, trying to get Elizabeth Dole re-elected, or terra-forming new galaxies, no no. He's playing golf. There is no other possibility; it has to be golf. Good lord, He's God, He is omnipotent. Everything is as it should be. Chess, He's omnipotent; He beats everyone. But golf is golf. If you cheat, it's not golf. It has to be golf.

There's a universe of golf courses out there, and in His dotage, the Old Man's having a good time. Doubt seriously He even knows what's happening down here, and if He does, He could care less. About the only observation He might make: "With freedom they sure do make a mess of things."

Perhaps somehow it is re-assuring that everybody else is wrong.

David G. Hanger

Spirituality Protects Against Depression Better Than Church Attendance

Those who worship a higher power often do so in different ways. Whether they are active in their religious community, or prefer to simply pray or meditate, new research out of Temple University suggests that a person's religiousness – also called religiosity – can offer insight into their risk for depression. Lead researcher Joanna Maselko, Sc.D., characterized the religiosity of 918 study participants in terms of three domains of religiosity: religious service attendance, which refers to being involved with a church; religious well-being, which refers to the quality of a person's relationship with a higher power; and existential well-being, which refers to a person's sense of meaning and their purpose in life.

In a study published on-line this month in Psychological Medicine, Maselko and fellow researchers compared each domain of religiosity to their risk of depression, and were surprised to find that the group with higher levels of religious well-being were 1.5 times more likely to have had depression than those with lower levels of religious well-being.

Maselko theorizes this is because people with depression tend to use religion as a coping mechanism. As a result, they're more closely relating to God and praying more.

Researchers also found that those who attended religious services were 30 percent less likely to have had depression in their lifetime, and those who had high levels of existential well-being were 70 percent less likely to have had depression than those who had low levels of existential well-being.

Maselko says involvement in the church provides the opportunity for community interaction, which could help forge attachments to others, an important factor in preventing depression. She added that those with higher levels of existential-well being have a strong sense of their place in the world.

"People with high levels of existential well-being tend to have a good base, which makes them very centered emotionally," said Maselko. "People who don't have those things are at greater risk for depression, and those same people might also turn to religion to cope."

Maselko admits that researchers have yet to determine which comes first: depression or being religious, but is currently investigating the time sequence of this over people's lives to figure out the answer.

"For doctors, psychiatrists and counselors, it's hard to disentangle these elements when treating mental illness," she said. "You can't just ask a patient if they go to church to gauge their spirituality or coping behaviors. There are other components to consider when treating patients, and its important information for doctors to have."

From Escience News

Also Read Answer by Thinking Christian Here

Is Spirituality Encoded in Human Genes?

The God Code is inscribed in human genes, which means that man is biologically equipped for change and survival.

Gregg Braden in his book, The God Code (2005), makes a persuasive and compelling argument for the existence of God's name within human genes. His discovery is evidence that man is part of a larger, cosmic whole.

Gregg Braden in his book, The God Code (2005), makes a persuasive and compelling argument for the existence of God's name within human genes. His discovery is evidence that man is part of a larger, cosmic whole.

Genes of Modern Man Distinct from Genes of Neanderthal Man

Traditional theory of evolution states that man evolved from his hominid ancestors over a span of 3.2 million years. The closest version of man appeared some 250,000 years ago. But there are cracks in this theory. One is that the form and brain capacity of modern man has remained unchanged for the last 200,000 years. Another is that testing of DNA from a 30,000 year old Neanderthal infant showed that the genetic link between Neanderthal man and modern man was nonexistent (30). Fossil excavations have also unearthed remains of hominid ancestors buried beside modern men, suggesting that the evolutionary leap touted by Darwin did not occur over the course of time but was probably caused by a single event. Something extraordinary must have happened 200,000 years ago that created the modern mind.

The God Code in Man's Genes

Examining the Book of Creation-- the Sepher Yetzirah-- Gregg Braden has located the hidden God code within the Hebrew alphabet. Depicting the union of Heaven and Earth, this book details the basic elements that form life: fire, air, water. Braden identifies a correlation between these elements and the chemical elements of modern science: nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen. Transmuting the Hebrew alphabets to their assigned numerical values produces the same numbers used by modern scientists to define the simple mass value of chemical elements. By converting both ancient and modern elements and the Hebrew alphabet to their numerical values, Braden is able to show that these ancient alchemical elements are the modern components of DNA and that the basic code of human DNA carries the Hebrew letters YHVG (Yahweh). The name of God is literally encoded in human DNA structure, a situation Braden describes as a 1 in 234, 256 chance with a probability of .00042 percent(112), the probability of the miraculous.

Man is Encoded with the Tool for Change

Historian Eric Hobsbawm claims that the 20th century was the "most murderous century" in recorded human history (218). Change is necessary if man is to redeem himself from the brink of total annihilation. The God code inscribed in human genes is testimony of man's unity with the cosmos and his possession of the tool for change and salvation. If man, argues Braden, can move towards this powerful experience of unity, he will bring about the necessary changes in behavior and thought. God's signature in man's genes is a reason to believe that change will occur.

Advanced Extraterrestrial Civilizations are Probable Encoders of Human Gene

Astronomer Frank Drake's estimation that there could be as many as 10,000 intelligent civilizations formed within the 13 to 14 Billion year history of the universe suggests that man is not alone (179). Gregg Braden states emphatically that the God code within man's cells is not from this world (215) even though it is firmly grounded in this world. But this encoding provides an apt explanation for man's dramatic evolutionary leap 200,000 years ago.The encoding probably came from more advanced civilizations which had undergone the same experiences man is going through now. These civilizations survived because they had learned the lesson of love and unity. Before his death, Carl Sagan stated emphatically that the future of human civilization depended on man's reception of messages from interstellar space (215).

If spirituality is encoded in man's genes, the possibility of a New Earth arising from current chaos rests in his hands.

Source:
Braden, Gregg. The God Code: The Secret of Our Past, the Promise of Our Future. Carlsbad, California: Hay House, Inc., 2005.

Buddhists do believe in god

One of the points that I run into all the time is that Buddhism is a religion without god, that is it is an atheistic religion. I admit this assertion as an ideal or elite belief, but contend that the vast majority of the world's Buddhists are theists, so one can't simply present Buddhism as an atheistic religion when most Buddhists are not atheists. I do tend to agree that Western converts to Buddhism are often atheists, and that's one reason Westerners view it as atheistic religion since the Buddhists they are most likely to know are not ethnically Asian ones. The US Religious Landscape Survey actually has some questions which assess the beliefs of American Buddhists.












As you can see the majority of American Buddhists are theists. To the left you see the ethnic distribution; even allocating all the atheists and agnostics ("Don't know/ refused/ other") to whites still leaves the majority of white American Buddhists admitting at least some belief in god! So you can't dismiss this result purely as an artifact of Asian immigration to the United States introducing "debased" Buddhism.

This is not to say that I believe Buddhism is a theistic religion; one can't deny that many people are Buddhists who are admitted atheists. It is to offer that to generalize about a religion one must look at the true distribution of beliefs and practices, not just scholarly inferences based on textual clues in their scriptures. Of the American religions listed Buddhism did have the highest number atheists (Jews were second at 10%), so it is correct to say that of all major World Religions atheistic interpretations are most prevalent in Buddhism. But it is too much to make the claim that Buddhism is an atheistic religion as such.

By Razib

Spirituality and... Chocolate

One of the things that confirmed my former distrust of religion took place when I was in the second grade. My best friend was a little girl who lived near me. She and her parents were very Christian, and my parents were very not. I didn't ask my friend about what she believed, but I knew that I, and my family, did not hold the same beliefs. My friend decided one day that she couldn't reconcile the fact that we were best friends and that I didn't believe in God. She told me that if I didn't start believing, we couldn't be friends. With infallible seven-year-old logic, I told her that that was absurd, and it would be like me telling her she had to stop believing to be my friend. This did not go over very well, and we stopped talking for a few days. Her parents subsequently convinced her that she should make up with me and stop pressuring me to have the same beliefs as her.

Until recently, I have steered very clear of discussions pertaining to religion with people who adhere to a specific church. But in the last few months, since my own spiritual awakening, I have cautiously stuck my toe back into the theological discussion pool. This is because my own experience has caused me to reframe how I interpret a lot of my past experiences, and to reconsider the judgments and assumptions I made about others' beliefs.

The first few discussions I had were very validating and open exchanges with other people whose path to spirituality had also been fairly winding and not always conventional. But more recently I've had some conversations with people who are stricter adherents to one specific religion or another, and those conversations have been frustrating and confusing.

Let me preface this by saying that I experience what many call God as a universal consciousness that, if I clear my head enough (or sometimes even if I don't), I can recognize is part of me, and that I am a very small part of it. The sense of "I" that separates me from everyone and everything else seems less substantial than it used to, and I also am capable of feeling more compassion and acceptance of myself and others than I did previously. Most religions, including Christianity, have something to say about God as the unnameable, unfathomable source of all existence. They also usually say, at some point, that God is love, and that God is accessible to everyone without any external help. So I think that the major religions have much in common, and are different culture's ways of interpreting what is a universal experience. That is why the same themes, archetypes, and stories show up in totally different regions at different points in history.

So to me, and many others, one religion does not invalidate another. Experiencing a profound sense of connection to the Virgin Mary does not mean that someone who connects to Ganesha is wrong and is worshiping a false God. It just means that the Virgin Mary is a symbol that resonates most closely with your experience of Spirit, while Ganesha is what provides that connection for someone else. Others connect to spirit through nature. Some religions don't anthropomorphize God at all, claiming that doing so may limit our ability to experience spirit.

The thing that is really giving me trouble these days is this very idea, that one path to spirituality is "better" than the next. And in this age of diversity and political correctness, it is rare that someone would come out and say that their religion is the only way. But I've had some conversations lately where that has been the not so subtle subtext.

So substitute "Chocolate" for your specific religious institution of choice, and the conversation goes something like this:

• Me: I've discovered ice cream lately. Boy, is it great! I've tried several flavors, and I like home made vanilla the best so far.

• Them: I was raised with Hershey's chocolate ice cream, and it makes me really happy. I don't know that much about your vanilla, but I'm sure it's fine.

• Me: I don't object to chocolate, there are qualities I enjoy, but vanilla is what really works for me. I've also tried coffee and pistachio so far. I'm going to try some other flavors too, and see how I like them.

• Them: But Hershy's chocolate is the original flavor, you can't really like ice cream unless you like chocolate.

• Me: Actually, there were flavors before chocolate that shared similar qualities, and all ice cream is made of the same basic components, they just have different flavors.

• Them: Just try some more chocolate. I'm sure you'll come to love it the way I do, and then you'll understand. All those other flavors are just poor imitations, you can't really love ice cream unless you love chocolate ice cream.

• Me: Check, please.

After a while, I find myself wondering why the fact that a different flavor of ice cream (spirituality) is most appealing to me (after a lifetime of searching for one I like) should be so difficult for someone else to accept. The conclusion I tend to jump to is that the fact that I believe in something that on the surface seems different (or really just less clearly defined and dogmatic) is unsettling to them and may call into question their own beliefs. Which is weird to me, because I can't imagine telling someone that their connection to God isn't as strong, or valid, or advanced as my own. That would just be lame. I'm not questioning the validity of their relationship with God, why should they question mine?

And to get back to the chocolate metaphor, who can say what anything in this world smells, tastes, looks or feels like to another. One of my ex-boyfriends was red-green colorblind. He literally and provably saw the world differently than I did. Does that make what he saw a lie? Of course not. What I respond to and how I experience the world is not exactly the same as anyone else, and is not subject to debate. It just is. Perception by its nature can not be anything but individual and subjective.

So I guess I'm a little sad that I haven't been able to have a more constructive conversation regarding religion so far with people who are less universalist than I am. But I'm also kind of amused that in some ways, those conversations have born a striking resemblance to the one I had with my friend in the second grade. I'm just glad that her parents' take on their religion left room for people with different views, so we could still be friends.

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Spiritual health inspires local researcher

A Closeburn researcher has investigated the links between spirituality, mental health and social behaviour as part of a groundbreaking new study.

Dr Rosemary Aird, a University of Queensland School of Population Health PhD graduate, found that moving away from traditional religious beliefs to trendy, self-focused spirituality is not making young adults happier.

According to the findings of the study, people with a belief in a spiritual or higher power other than God were at greater risk of poorer mental health and antisocial behaviour than those who rejected this belief.

Young men and women who held non-traditional beliefs were up to twice as likely to feel anxious and depressed and to have higher rates of disturbed and suspicious thoughts.

They were also more likely to believe in the paranormal and that they were special, unusual, or destined to be important, than those who rejected this belief.

The study was based on surveys of 3705 21-year-olds born in Brisbane.

Respondents were asked questions about whether or not they believed in God or another higher power, how often they went to church, and how often they took part in other religious activities.

Dr Aird, a 51-year-old agnostic, said her research demonstrated that most new non-religious forms of spirituality, which have “shifted away from a social-focus to a me-focus”, were too individualistic.

“Religious forms of spirituality among past generations tended to be more about social responsibility and obligation and collective interests,” Dr Aird said.

“The New Spirituality promotes the idea that self-transformation will lead to a positive and constructive change in self and society.

“Their focus on self-fulfillment and self-improvement and the lack of emphasis on others’ well-being appears to have the potential to undermine a person’s mental health and social relationships.

“This focus may lead people to feel more isolated from others and to concentrate unduly on themselves and their own problems.”

Dr Aird said that television and popular culture are also influencing the religious beliefs and practices of young people, who often mixed and borrowed practices from many different old and new religions.

She also said only eight per cent of respondents attended church once a week, which appeared to reduce the likelihood of antisocial behaviour in young adulthood among males, but not females.

Dr Aird, who lectures in the School of Public Health at the Queensland University of Technology, spent last December teaching in Vietnam and is currently conducting health research in Borroloola, in the Northern Territory.

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3 Steps To Reclaiming Your Power and Happiness

Reclaiming your power and happiness can be accomplished easily, bringing joy, excitement and energy back to your body and life. Our power is gained when we speak the truth. To really be free and happy, we are called to speak the truth. Words are more important than we realize. In Jesus' original teachings, the word is creation itself. Just think how we create with the words we speak. What are we saying all day long, and how are these words creating in our life.

Speaking the truth can be challenging at times. Often, we are afraid of being rejected if we really let others know how we feel. Fear of hurting someone's feelings is often what stops us from speaking the truth. We may also be afraid of starting an argument if we speak the truth.

Unfortunately, when we don't speak the truth, we unconsciously create manipulative ways of dealing with our unexpressed emotions. We find ourselves saying or doing things that are not really our truth. In this way, we betray ourselves. Then, we will notice that depression is often the result of not speaking what we feel and think. Withholding our feelings leads to separation or distancing from others. We cannot experience the closeness and warmness that we truly desire. Often, we blame ourselves or the others for the lack of communication and guilt may be the result. We may find ourselves being angry and becoming agitated. All of this can be corrected easily when we are willing to step forward and speak the truth.

3 Steps to Regain Your Power and Happiness

First Step: Begin to notice where in your life you are holding back from expressing your feelings and thoughts. Where are you holding back from asking for what you want? Now, get a notebook and begin to write your thoughts and feelings in great detail. In your journal, ask for what you want and then write why you think you deserve to have what you want. During this process you will get to know yourself very deeply and discover why you feel scared, frustrated, powerless and unhappy. In this process you begin to untangle all the built up emotions that get us bogged down and suddenly you have lost your joy.

Second Step: The next step will open your voice and your heart up. It will empower you. Your happiness will begin to rise up the scale as well as your self worth, which is directly related to your sense of power. When you are ready, go to a very private place; maybe this is your car with the windows rolled up. In your safe, private place begin to speak your thoughts and feelings to the universe, to the person who you have been withholding your feelings from. Speak as much of your true feelings out loud. This will get you in touch with the deep self. Next, surrender any hurt, anger, fear or resentment. Once you are clear of these emotions, your communications will be filled with a new energy.

Third Step: You are now ready to speak the truth and reclaim your power. There is no blaming in this communication because you are clear and have taken responsibility for your feelings and surrendered them to your Sacred Energy. You have been purified and now you will be empowering yourself by speaking the truth about your feelings and needs in a deep and profound way. The power you gain is the power of love. Remember the truth will set your free.

For more exciting tips on how to live from the center of your being using your Sacred Energy to create a life of joy, peace and love go to http://www.VirginiaEllen.net Virginia Ellen is an author and mystical teacher and healer.

Just P.U.S.H.

One night, a man was sleeping in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and God appeared. He told the man He had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. God explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might ...

So, the man pushed against the rock day after day. For years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out and feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) used this opportunity to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind (and you know he tries to do it every time).

"You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't moved," said Satan. This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan whispered, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."

That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to God.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in Your service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked, yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me, and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I say to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. Now you come to Me with your strength spent thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself! Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown. Your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard."

"Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock, but your calling was to be obedient; that you have done. Now my friend , I will move the rock.

At times, when we hear a word from God we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants. All He really wants is obedience and faith in Him.

When everything seems to go wrong, just ... P.U.S.H.

When the job gets you down, just ... P.U.S.H.

When people don't do as you think they should, just ... P.U.S.H

P = Pray

U = Until

S = Something

H = Happens

Spirituality, Enlightenment and Waiting For Your Life To Be Perfect

The idea of enlightenment is as old as mankind’s search for a greater truth behind life. Although the term enlightenment originated in ancient eastern religions, it has almost taken on a life of it’s own in modern spirituality. You may ask yourself ‘what is enlightenment?’ and like most before you, your answer will fall well short of fully encapsulating the totality of it’s meaning. I don’t believe that there are any definitive definitions or explanations for what enlightenment is. But, I do believe that there are many great insights from this profound idea that can help us to better understand that invisible spiritual dimension of life.

The beginning of the 18th century was the start of an era better known as the Age Of Enlightenment – a period of time in history that is characterized by a global shift in thinking. Essentially, The Age Of Enlightenment took mankind out of the ‘dark ages’ where the state and the church had a monopoly on ‘knowledge’ and they controlled what people were allowed to believe.

Along with many great scientific discoveries (of which Newton’s laws were one of the most significant) a new intellectual awareness compelled ‘ordinary’ people to start thinking and exploring life for themselves. It’s as if people’s mind were opened to a whole new world. They started to turn their attention inwards instead of looking to the church to tell them what to think and believe. This global shift in thinking was the birth of our modern world; a world were we can explore life for ourselves and learn to command our own thoughts and direct our own consciousness.

What took mankind out of the dark ages and into ‘the light’ was knowledge and learning to look past dogma and convention. Hence the name The Age Of Enlightenment because it refers to the idea of casting a light unto what was previously dark.Have you ever tried finding your way in a dark room? You feel hopeless, uncertain and lost. This is how many people feel in their everyday lives – as if they are living in a spiritual darkness. In this sense the idea of enlightenment can be a great insight for you. Enlightenment is nothing but turning on your own inner light to help you ‘see’. This seeing is not sight as we’ve all come to know it but rather an inner sight (or an insight) that goes beyond that of ordinary everyday perception.

Many people think of enlightenment as a ‘goal’ – as a state of awareness to reach by following certain spiritual practices and when they eventually reach this goal their entire life will be blissful and without any problems. The truth is that this is impossible, for the very nature of our consciousness is for it to expand and enlightenment is about the unfolding of your spirit by expanding your awareness.

This inner light that helps us to perceive things in greater truth will not change our outer world as much as it will change our inner world. It’s an inner realization that will help you to change the filter through which you perceive and experience everything in life. Enlightenment is not an attainment, but a realization. Once you reach this realization nothing will change, yet everything will change. You will find that even though the world hasn’t change it appears as if it has because you see it anew.

We all spend much of our lives working towards the attainment of an ideal state of mind; a state of mind where we are happy, where we feel peaceful and where we feel that our lives are meaningful. Many think of enlightenment as this ‘ideal’ state of mind. But, life is never fixed in time and enlightenment is about allowing your spirit to grow into this life by expanding your awareness of who you really are. Enlightenment is that inner light that gets switched on through inner wisdom. It allows you to see past the illusion of your sensory experiences of life and to see in ever greater clarity that divine part of who you really are.

By Illumen

Animals Have Souls

The findings in this article are based solely on the Bible. What you and I believe about animals having souls will in no way alter the fact of their having them. One may disbelieve in the Law of Gravity but that does not render the law inoperative. At the time the Bible was written men believed that the world was flat and wrote of 'the Four Corners of the earth'. Nevertheless, the whole time the world was round regardless of their beliefs. At the time the King James version of the Bible was written men had not conceived of the possibility of animals having souls, and all translations resulted in them being referred to as creatures even though the Hebrew word translated was identically the same one that was translated as souls when it referred to mankind. I refer to the word nephesh (Strong's number 5315). Examine the verses given below. They each contain the word nephesh. "God said "Let the earth bring forth every living nepheshaccording to his own nature, cattle, and crawling things, and animals." Genesis 1:24"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living nephesh." Genesis 2:7

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living nephesh that was the name thereof." Genesis 2:19

Man was formed from the dust of the ground and out of the ground was formed every beast of the field. They both received the breath of life and it was the same 'breath of life'.

"For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts, even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath: so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place, all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

According to the Bible, God talked both to and with the animals. Otherwise it would have been impossible to establish a covenant with them. A covenant is an agreement between two parties and usually it is written down. In the case of God's promise to mankind and the animals He gave His rainbow as the seal of commitment. Nevertheless, the animals must have been communed with in order for them to understand it. Otherwise it would be simply a document and not a covenant. Examples of God's covenants with animals are given below:

"And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living nephesh that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.." Genesis 9: 9-10

"And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely." Hosea 2:18

A few years ago I saw a huge billboard that said, "Just what part of Thou shalt not kill don't you understand? __God". One might protest that the killing and eating of animals was under God's authorization. Some scriptures show otherwise:

"For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." Jeremiah 7:22-23

"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required." Psalms: 40:6 (see also Isaiah 1:11-15, Hosea 6:6, 8:13, Amos 5:21-25, Micah 6:7-8)

The following verse declares that God regards the killing of an ox as if one had killed a man:

"He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck, he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations." Isaiah 66:3

Reader, we all have to deal with the matter of whether or not animals have souls. Did our parents or grandparents believe that they had souls? Does your preacher believe it? The answer is probably no, but their ignorance cannot be the basis for our own value systems. If indeed they do have souls, then we are forced to rethink the matter of killing them for sport, caging them in zoos to look at them, experimenting on them to enhance our own health, and even killing them for food. I will not clutter up this article with statistics regarding inhumane and cruel practices at slaughterhouses but such information abounds on the Internet. It would be safe to say, though, that if slaughterhouses had glass walls we would all be vegetarians.

The predator and prey food chain cycle has been in effect a long time, but one can elect to no longer be participant in it. One can elect to no longer support the killing of animals by no longer eating beef, pork, poultry, fish, lobsters, crawfish, oysters, or the flesh of any living creature. Additionally one can carry it a step further and withdraw from the consumption of eggs, milk, cheese, etc. In this day and age there is an abundance of nutritious foods that make all of this both feasible and beneficial. I made such a decision and experienced a great peace as though I had suddenly bonded with all living creatures in both love, respect and caring.

Whatever one decides to do is an individual matter. The intent of this article is to give disclosure. If one elected to discontinue eating animal flesh and hated that they were now deprived of such foods, no doubt the animals not slaughtered would benefit, but the abstainer would be missing much. Like all of God's commandments and admonitions, if a man delights in keeping the commandments, then keeping them is fun. If a man keeps commandments from a sense of duty then it's work, distasteful, and frankly disgusting.

We can consider Jesus' statement:

"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Matthew 9:13

This is an article written by Harry Hebert which is now in the collection of Bible Cocoons found at http://www.mossypooh.com Harry makes free articles available for download on his site in an attempt to help any who are encumbered with unnecessary spiritual baggage.