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| lynn2150
Super Incredible Member (10000+ posts)
21329 Posts
Gratitude: 9217
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 Posted - 12/01/2009 : 04:37:51
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Well, I have been craving Spiritual food for quite a while now.
And this thread fills the bill.
Not finished voting yet, most likely will vote yes on all accounts.
You know, even as a child, I wondered why God would punish us for so many things.
As I grew older, and started to realize, I wasn't quite 'right'. I wondered if God would still cast me to Hell? when I sined.
In my mind, my worst sin is profanity, Extreme horrible profanity, when I'm upset.
I am sorry, for these episodes, I hope I will be forgiven, more than that, I hope i never swear again.
My other fear, is having my son out of wed lock,
will he go to hell?
The false God thing, we were taught, for example don't worship money, etc.
We were told the story of the Golden Calf, People worshiped it, and brought gold to make it larger and larger.
I think we were told Jese fixed that problem. 
My father taught Sunday School also, and left over a discrepancy in the teachings.
HE, never swore, and though he didn't attend Church, every Sunday, he lived a proper life.
Many came to his funeral, which was held in Cobourg ON.
I myself commited sins trying to follow my religion, that doesn't make sence, I'm too tired to explain 
Must look forward. Make the future count.
Note to self: ask God what His plans are, for me, for the day.
. |
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/01/2009 : 13:45:36
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Lynn,
I believe that this is where as instruments of God we dish out our own punishments on ourselves. By assuming that we are guilty and bringing upon ourselves the fear of going to hell. Sometimes if we've been really bad, we give ourselves a bit of help in dishing out our punishments but generally few people are as critical of you than you are to yourself. It is put into our heads that a,b and c are sins against God so if we do them we feel guilty and living with the guilt is self induced hell on earth.
Now at some point it was decided that we were all born of original sin, thus our life is less than perfect so this life is penance. What a crazy stupid idea. The church drums into us that sexual immorality is bad. This is absolutely insane. Then it says that immorality is sex that isn't intended on creating children, more insanity. Since when has an enjoyable activity that also serves to calm people down, and bring joy to your partner been immoral.
Read and understand the rules so you know that when you break them why you are breaking them. So firstly the rules, sex is for making babies anything else is a sin, sex outside wedlock there fore creates bastards so is a sin. Contraception is sinful as it encourages sex which is not for making babies.
Think of it from the Roman emperors point of view, he wants soldiers for his armies of the future, so he needs people to produce babies therefore we get that sex that doesn't produce babies is a sin against God (well actually it is not too good for Rome either so we tell the plebicite what we want). In present day, more Christian voters, more chance of the church having influence in politics thus giving the Church more power, so make more Christian Babies, also due to previous rules we made, we don't want to many illegitimate children as they will think they have fallen from grace and probably won't support the church.
Now weigh all this dogma against the situation we have at present, Everything must remain in balance and it is up to God to keep that. Most religions are pretty set on making lots of Babies, so the human population is expanding. God gave us a gift once, called a sexual appetite it was so that we could continue to live. Some got more than others but difference is part of the beauty of creation. It however has many advantages besides procreation.
The earth is becoming over populated so we must have Kulls but we call them wars and natural disasters. We should be respecting the land and living in harmony with our planet, some of us realise that, in fact I think HRH the Prince of Wales is giving a speech on that very subject this week.
If we all went sex mad we wouldn't do anything else and it is quite a hinderance to ones Spiritual development in terms of wasted time. That is another aspect for which it is frowned upon in Spiritual texts. Buddhists practice celibacy I understand. Self restraint and avoiding gluttony are useful weapons in our arsenal that help us avoid the temptations of bad stuff, such as selling our souls so that we can be rich and thus have a wider market to chose from.
I believe that our sex drive is the gift of the Blue fairy, as in Pinochio until you have had it you are still a wooden puppet, also featured in the Film AI, and your fears that your son is bound for hell, forget about it. If that's true then so am I. It just isn't, neither of my parents are Christians, they are however good people and just because the Church wouldn't marry them doesn't mean they are any lesser people that the arch bishop of Canterbury, the queen or even the Pope. God does not love anybody any less because they do not follow the dogma of any religion, it is people that think so that should be seeing psychiatrist and getting seriously doped up. IMHO |
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| lynn2150
Super Incredible Member (10000+ posts)
21329 Posts
Gratitude: 9217
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Posted - 12/06/2009 : 20:10:02
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Thank you Doc Sharp.
alot of good things in your post to consider.
You know your stuff !
Note to self: ask God what His plans are, for me, for the day.
. |
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| lynn2150
Super Incredible Member (10000+ posts)
21329 Posts
Gratitude: 9217
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Posted - 12/06/2009 : 20:53:32
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Today, Just for today, I choose fight Chaos.
I live in chaos, it shows in my home,
and my clothing, messy beast I am.
The Porn Star Memorial, it is so worth posting here.
My son I called him in, said watch this please.
All of these people are dead.
Now, do you know why I flip out, when you show me some of your photography work?
He calls it inocent, I call it evil.
I tell him he is crossing lines, though "innocent pics now" he may meet with a client who is desperate, for fame, .
I don't want him to be a part of this.
I'd rather smash his camera, than shoot young women, in thier lingerie,
It's terrible.
He was taken aback by the many victims of the industry, and read out the way each one died. with the date.
He didn't crack jokes, as he normally would.
I hope this video hit home with him.
I am happy he has tried to educate himself,in photography, but not happy with the shots he takes.
I wish I could send this link, of the Porn Stars, who have died to Howard Stern. I wonder if he ever stops to think of the damage done by Glorifying the Industry?
just my 2 cents.
Note to self: ask God what His plans are, for me, for the day.
. |
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/07/2009 : 02:06:00
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Lynn,
It might be a subtle hint, but those are the best I think when they work.
I am planning on studying photography, with the intent of becoming a professional photographer. I intend to work freelance, but my dream is to travel the world for the likes of National Geographic, the odd Ski holiday company would be a boon too but that's just an add on. I would much prefer to work with images of beauty that we find in nature that do not promote any kind of vanity.
Yes pretty girls are also part of Gods creation and you can get to go around the world photographing models. But it might be an idea if you got your son a subscription to National Geographic or something similar for Christmas. Just a thought. |
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| Administrator
Administrator
15007 Posts
Gratitude: 3353
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Posted - 12/10/2009 : 22:50:46
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REVISED "10 GOLDEN RULES FOR LIVING A BETTER LIFE"
I have revised my "10 Golden Rules" and retyped my original posts.
These new "Golden Rules" now incorporate the specific behaviors that my research has previously shown are associated with healthy social functioning. These specific behaviors are defined in the "Social Quality of Life" scale linked to at the bottom of this post.
I would greatly welcome your comments on these revisions.
Likewise, since these "Golden Rules" were revised, I would appreciate your voting again on which of these "Golden Rules" should be included in our final list of the "10 Golden Rules For Living A Better Life".
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/11/2009 : 08:12:57
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All things in moderation, except Love. Assume God is in everyone, hence in order to love God you also need to love everyone, and in order to do that start with yourself.
I have a problem with the seek Wisdom thing.
To a point seeking wisdom helps to expel the crippling affects of fear, which is essential to all. But..... a lot of people seek wisdom in order that they obtain dominion over others, so whilst seeking wisdom is good on the most part, one must be sure you have righteous motives. Also just because you have wisdom does not necessarily mean that at some point a relative fool may hold the solution to a problem that has eluded you! |
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| Administrator
Administrator
15007 Posts
Gratitude: 3353
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Posted - 12/13/2009 : 12:24:41
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Many Behaviors Are Self-Defeating
WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR LIVING A WORSE LIFE?
I believe that, if you reverse the "10 Golden Rules For Living a Better Life", you then have "rules" for living a worse life.
10 Self-Defeating Rules For Living A Worse Life
- Lack Kindness.
Be cold, uncaring or distant.
- Lack Cooperation.
Be uncooperative, selfish, or arrogant.
- Lack Forgiveness.
Bear grudges, mistrust others, or feel victimized.
- Don't Lead.
Be submissive, flee conflict, or fear abandonment.
- Lack Planning.
Live just for today; be impulsive, reckless, or promiscuous.
- Lack Order.
Go from crisis to crisis; lack stability, purpose and beauty in your life.
- Lack Moderation.
Show little self-restraint; be excessive; lack balance between work-love-play; be stubborn.
- Lack Courage.
Lack self-confidence; be pessimistic; or don't be socially out-going.
- Lack Justice.
Be disrespectful, irresponsible or dishonest.
- Lack Wisdom.
Repeat past mistakes; hide your own ignorance; or question nothing.
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| Administrator
Administrator
15007 Posts
Gratitude: 3353
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Posted - 12/13/2009 : 12:27:06
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Bernie Madoff, A Sociopath, Swindled $65 Billion
SOCIOPATHS AND THE "10 SELF-DEFEATING RULES FOR LIVING A WORSE LIFE
Previously we explored how severe sociopaths would score on our "10 Golden Rules For Living A Better Life". Now let us see how they would score on the opposite scale, the "10 Self-Defeating Rules For A Worse Life".
How Would A Sociopath Score On The "10 Self-Defeating Rules For A Worse Life"?
- Lack Kindness.
Be cold, uncaring or distant.
(Sociopaths are incapable of love and empathy.)
- Lack Cooperation.
Be uncooperative, selfish, or arrogant.
(Sociopaths are selfish, manipulative and arrogant.)
- Lack Forgiveness.
Bear grudges, mistrust others, or feel victimized.
(Sociopaths lack forgiveness, trust, and gratitude.)
- Don't Lead.
Be submissive, flee conflict, and fear abandonment.
(Sociopaths lust after power and rebel against authority.)
- Lack Planning.
Live just for today; be impulsive, reckless, or promiscuous.
(Sociopaths usually live only for today and don't see the future consequences of their actions.)
- Lack Order.
Go from crisis to crisis; lack stability, purpose and beauty in your life.
(Sociopaths may have stability and purpose, but ultimately they cause chaos and destruction.)
- Lack Moderation.
Show little self-restraint; be excessive; lack balance between work-love-play; be stubborn; or live beyond your means.
(Sociopaths are attracted to a life of excess; seldom compromise; and live beyond their means.)
- Lack Courage.
Lack self-confidence; be pessimistic; or don't be socially out-going.
(Sociopaths often are over-confident.)
- Lack Justice.
Be disrespectful, irresponsible or dishonest.
(Sociopaths are very unethical.)
- Lack Wisdom.
Repeat past mistakes; hide your own ignorance; or question nothing.
(Sociopaths fail to learn from their mistakes; hence keep breaking the same laws.) |
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| HST_RIP
Super Member (250+ posts)
579 Posts
Gratitude: 553
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Posted - 12/14/2009 : 23:00:33
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Doc Long:
I can't say I am in complete agreement with your ten ways to live a crappy life and the coupling of them with sociopaths is troubling.
Sociopaths think they have a great life, that they do no wrong and there is no world outside themselves EXCEPT for how it affects them. There are people who depressed, like me, who do a few of things on your list and as you know, I'm depressed and not a sociopath, I find the correlation a bit of a stretch. It also seems to say that if you do those ten bad things you either are or will become a sociopath. I agree that sociopaths are created but the crucible in which they are created is so nasty, dark and brutish that very few people can even begin to understand the making of the monster.
As to an alternative I take a more macro look at things and here it is in a nutshell.
I believe in freedom of thought, body mind and soul.
It's entirely up to you what you do with it and are solely responsible for the rewards and consequences of that freedom.
I believe that sometimes all you may get from life are the spaces between seconds, the pause, a breath, a blink where you can find such truth and beauty as to conquer all things evil, rallying against you. So live in the moment when the moment demands it, you'll know it, feel it somewhere deep in the marrow, the soul and you cannot, must not walk by or choose to ignore it. Constantly looking forward or back is for fools who remain static as they never learn, or act on an impulse that could change their lives, a single moment.
I was in the Book Warehouse once, picked up a book by Russian Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko and read the first poem called "lies" written in 1956 and the first two lines changed me forever, "Lying to the young is wrong, proving to them that lies are true is wrong." My God, if I hadn't embraced that moment I would be poorer for it.
There is also a time for moderation, but there comes a time when you must absolutely must blow out the doors and kick at the darkness and do it under a black flag. No rules, no dogma, it's up to each person to decide the hill they want to die on, and if so, the soul, your humanity, will want nothing less than absolutes written in language that does not seek to obfuscate but to define, clearly, that this whatever it may be will not stand and sometimes you to grit your teeth and burn it down. If you are driven by principle, by humanity, morality and an unwavering belief in that as Hemmingway said "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for" than you have no other option but to set aside moderate lives, moderate thinking, moderate action. Kick it up to full tilt rock and roll and jump with both feet into a free fire zone. It's not brave, it is simply Just.
As for the rest I wholeheartedly agree with your ways to live a better life and maybe that's where it should stay, what we should focus on, not in totality because the darkness which must be met, the midnight of the human soul, revels and grows and feeds on our happy go lucky ignorance, Vigilance and the will to overcome all that is dark within yourself and within your universe must be quantified and dealt with without hesitation, remorse or moderation. I guess the old saw "Know Thyself" is way to sum it all up.
In the end the last thing I can think of is that we, each of us, live our lives to the best possible ends, always seeking, always growing, always yearning to see the sunrise and walk another mile and over the next hill, the journey is what's most important, the tribulations and the trials we endure or that seek to test our mettle can only be defeated by love, hope, faith, charity, wisdom and grace. It doesn't have to beautiful but it does have to be done. So the focus should lie on what's good about us, with a nod to what's bad, but to assume the best in people by assuming that these Ten virtues have ten opposites and don't need to spelled out.
Selah
Adam
Zeal in suspicion has no merit.
A blind judge doesn't serve the people.
More terrible than mistaking an enemy for a friend
is the haste to mistake a friend for an enemy.
--Yevgeny Yevtushenko 1956 |
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/15/2009 : 04:26:40
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Adam,
Wise words, I think you may have misunderstood me though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3WbTU_awCY
Having stopped and thought about what you said, well put BTW.
I love freedom and I know that only too often, the price of our freedom is paid in blood, does this mean that I am reluctant to strive for it, heck no. But some one on here had a tag line, I thought was pretty poignant. "Man is born free but all around us he is in chains".
Best wishes,
Andy |
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| HST_RIP
Super Member (250+ posts)
579 Posts
Gratitude: 553
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Posted - 12/15/2009 : 12:03:15
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Andy:
Thanks for the note, I, however, was not responding to a comment you made, I don't actually know what you wrote but I will look at it. Doc Long asked me to look at this post and see what I had to say if anything. I think you missed my point, because I do not mention bleeding or dying for freedom, simply that we are born free and must live a certain way to remain so.
I do hear the clinking of chains that would attempt to hold me, but one does not and must not die or even bleed to rid them from your life. You simply follow the good Doc Long laid out and do your best to ignore the chains and those that would try to shackle you, and when it gets too close, when your freedom is in peril, than you fight back with ideas, with truth, with words. Dying for it only makes the bastards point, and killing someone is a rotten way to change their minds.
When I say you have to battle, fight and kick at the darkness, and mention black flags and free fire zones, I am talking about a more spiritual and internal battle rather than an external one. I believe that by truly liberating yourself from darkness, you in turn can liberate and inspire those around you to do the same.
It seems to me that you were thinking about change and freedom in the world at large. I have put my ass on the line in the C.A.F. a number of times and in a number places and learned that bringing guns into a country only begets more guns and blood only causes more bloodshed. If a nation came asking for freedom from despotism and tyranny, and it was a nation that wasn't worth its weight in oil, strategic importance or the continuation of a broader lie, I would fight for that in the real and physical world because that is a truly just cause.
However my argument again for my post was an argument based on discourse and a conversation with the soul, the mind and its connection to other souls and minds. No blood needs to be shed for striving to live a certain way personally and by walking that walk you hopefully inspire others to do the same. In fact, if you have to somehow bleed, kill or die for it I honestly believe that is the wrong way to go and truly imperils your soul and your freedom.
Whitman, Ginsberg, Hughes and Auden were all truly free and they faced the worst sort of fascism in that "The Man" sought to oppress them, label them, debase their characters, cast them as enemies and even anarchists and it was their steadfast ability to not only to stand against and write against these people but to laugh at them as well, and that more than anything made them free, truly free, and not one of them had to kill or die for it.
With a great deal of respect,
Adam
Zeal in suspicion has no merit.
A blind judge doesn't serve the people.
More terrible than mistaking an enemy for a friend
is the haste to mistake a friend for an enemy.
--Yevgeny Yevtushenko 1956 |
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/15/2009 : 14:18:49
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Hi Adam,
So sorry, I have a bit of paranoia, I wrote, "all things in moderation except love" so when you wrote there was a time for moderation....lol. Unfortunately that's the way it goes with me dumb eh!
Whitman, Ginsberg, Hughes and Auden are they the Freedom Writers? I am afraid I don't read much poetry, although my granddad's brother had a book of Poems published once, It was called "When Hopes Return".
Which CAF do you refer to? Sorry if this seems ignorant but I did a search and got several alternatives, Canadian Air Force?
I have friends in the forces and one got out because he started to see that they were fighting for oil, despite what the British P.M. and the U.S. president were saying. The idea that modern wars are to preserve freedom is clearly not so. However there were wars in the past that according to vast amounts of propaganda were fought for freedom from fascism, and when you mentioned "under a black flag', the bombing of Dresden and Hamburg just came straight to mind.
I understand what you are saying about spiritual matters, however there are those that believe that everything that we see on the outside is simply a reflection of what is going on inside. I don't like the statement that "Blood is freedom's stain" but it does appear that way a lot of the time, when we look back at history.
By the way, this reminds me of the stories of Horus,
"More terrible than mistaking an enemy for a friend
is the haste to mistake a friend for an enemy."
Best wishes,
Andy |
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| HST_RIP
Super Member (250+ posts)
579 Posts
Gratitude: 553
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Posted - 12/16/2009 : 08:38:06
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Doc Sharp:
I guess you could call those men I mentioned Freedom Writers, but to really understand their ideas around liberty and personal freedom you need to read them. You can find all of them on the Net with a google search, but I would recommend "Howl" by Ginsberg, "Song of Myself" by Whitman "I too am America" by Hughes, and Auden's "Funeral Blues" I would also suggest that you read Yevgeny Yevtushenko all of his poetry is incredible but Babi Yar and Dead Hand Of The Past are particularly good.
As for me the CAF is The Canadian Armed Forces where I served in some particularly nasty areas and times. I have seen the effects of genocide first hand and all of a sudden you stop believing that hell is a place of rock and lava, but a state of mind that exists only in the human soul.
Also, under a black flag is simply jargon for "the gloves are off" "no rules and no holds barred" It's the traditional flag of Anarchists. I also think that where you find bloodshed is not so much the stain of freedom but more so on the march toward freedom. The Civil Rights Movement, Ghandi's fight to free India from an insipid colonial rule, Native Canadians and Americans fighting to get off the reservation and standing against overwhelming force at places like Oka. The Resistance movements in France, The Netherlands and even within Germany during WW2, and the constant struggle of indigenous people in South America also trying to free themselves from colonial American Tyranny. There are so many examples of the path to freedom being hewn by blood.
It's a case by case basis and really no one who isn't directly involved have no legitimacy in their judgments of a peoples struggle for freedom. I don't want to get into a historical discussion that could take years of point and counter point and both sides having merit. I was just stating my opinion of doc longs 10 ways to lead a sh***y life and why they probably shouldn't be posted for the reasons I already stated.
Mahalo
Adam
Zeal in suspicion has no merit.
A blind judge doesn't serve the people.
More terrible than mistaking an enemy for a friend
is the haste to mistake a friend for an enemy.
--Yevgeny Yevtushenko 1956 |
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| docsharp
Amazing Member (1000+ posts)
1685 Posts
Gratitude: 909
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Posted - 12/16/2009 : 12:15:54
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Thanks for the info Adam,
Some of the poetry I thought was good but some was a bit heavy for me.
I quite fancied getting Yevgeny Yevtushenko's book, "Don't die before you're dead", unfortunately I couldn't get it shipped to the UK.
Best Wishes,
Andy |
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10 Golden Rules For A Better Life (Discussion)
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