Using Light as an analogy to 12 step work and a higher power
Your Distant Friend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 255
Using Light as an analogy to 12 step work and a higher present momentIm I'mgoing to
Is it just me or doesn't Light work as a more universal higher power than "God"??
For, the Way, the Truth and the Light..is the very presence of God.
Emmanuel, "god is with us", and his voice, sheds Light and also
Cautions against looking above or below to find God.
The Higher Power, is found within, and without,
When we are asked in meetings "may we find him now",
I find myself, embarissingly enough, but honestly here, looking
At other members of AA in the room accessing their Vibrations.
It is, for this reason, I have come to believe in Light as a universal Higher Power,
Which sits comfortably within the confines of our own working definitions and understanding of "god" ---
--many would caustion against the analogy I am presenting here, as it would appear that I am rewriting the program and or playing God here, I assue you I am not, and am only 1 Being of Light and Light works as my Higher Power, for I am made of and with Light.
However, this is my experience(knowledge), strength(wisdom), and hope(good intention)
To help others with these writings. So please treat them as I should be treated, a work in progress, a child of God, whatever.
Anyway, here goes;
Sometimes people explain the 12 steps in 3:
1) Trust God (1-3)
2) Clean House (4-11)
3) Help Others (12)
This simplifcation is good.
What about this one:
1) Witness the Light, and/or See the Light
2) Bear the Light, and/or Be the Light
3) Shed the Light, and/or Teach the Light
4) Repeat steps 1-3 (Feed the Light)
The 12 steps of AA can be metamorphed using this analogy:
1) Recognize Darkness, the absence of Light
2) See the Light, Need the Light
3) Choose the Path of Light, Accept the Light
4) Witness the Shadows of Light upon the Past
5) Let a fellow human see these shadows to verify their reality
6) Align a prism to cast new Light upon the shadows
7) Summon the Light to remove our Shadow upon the Past
8) Take the death toll of darkness we created
9) Take responsibility for our end of the darkness,
10) Look at the present moment with the Light, dissolved new shadows as they arise.
11) Improve our Prisms of Light, Let the Prisms be molded by and aligned to the Light
12) Seeing that the Future is Bright, always shining Light upon the Present moment, we walk into the Light, become beings of Light, distributing the Light for all others, lending our prism s to help others do as we do.
My sponsor thinks I should submit this to the grapevine. I might do so aftter tidying it up a little bit.
May the
Light Be With You!
For, the Way, the Truth and the Light..is the very presence of God.
Emmanuel, "god is with us", and his voice, sheds Light and also
Cautions against looking above or below to find God.
The Higher Power, is found within, and without,
When we are asked in meetings "may we find him now",
I find myself, embarissingly enough, but honestly here, looking
At other members of AA in the room accessing their Vibrations.
It is, for this reason, I have come to believe in Light as a universal Higher Power,
Which sits comfortably within the confines of our own working definitions and understanding of "god" ---
--many would caustion against the analogy I am presenting here, as it would appear that I am rewriting the program and or playing God here, I assue you I am not, and am only 1 Being of Light and Light works as my Higher Power, for I am made of and with Light.
However, this is my experience(knowledge), strength(wisdom), and hope(good intention)
To help others with these writings. So please treat them as I should be treated, a work in progress, a child of God, whatever.
Anyway, here goes;
Sometimes people explain the 12 steps in 3:
1) Trust God (1-3)
2) Clean House (4-11)
3) Help Others (12)
This simplifcation is good.
What about this one:
1) Witness the Light, and/or See the Light
2) Bear the Light, and/or Be the Light
3) Shed the Light, and/or Teach the Light
4) Repeat steps 1-3 (Feed the Light)
The 12 steps of AA can be metamorphed using this analogy:
1) Recognize Darkness, the absence of Light
2) See the Light, Need the Light
3) Choose the Path of Light, Accept the Light
4) Witness the Shadows of Light upon the Past
5) Let a fellow human see these shadows to verify their reality
6) Align a prism to cast new Light upon the shadows
7) Summon the Light to remove our Shadow upon the Past
8) Take the death toll of darkness we created
9) Take responsibility for our end of the darkness,
10) Look at the present moment with the Light, dissolved new shadows as they arise.
11) Improve our Prisms of Light, Let the Prisms be molded by and aligned to the Light
12) Seeing that the Future is Bright, always shining Light upon the Present moment, we walk into the Light, become beings of Light, distributing the Light for all others, lending our prism s to help others do as we do.
My sponsor thinks I should submit this to the grapevine. I might do so aftter tidying it up a little bit.
May the
Light Be With You!
Last edited by emmanuel2012; 06-25-2009 at 07:13 AM.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: in the present moment
Posts: 2,060
Thanks Emmanuel for sharing your understandings and analogies.
I am openminded to the concept of "whatever works" in terms of language frameworks for God. Light, Love, God, Creator, Creative Consciousness, Deity, Father Sky, ......all good. All God.
As for reframing the 12 steps of AA, or creating an analogy with other words: I accept the 12 steps as they are originally written, for my own sobriety. But that does not dismiss the way you are approaching the language in the steps, or saying that your concept of Light/not Light is invalid. Certainly it must be valid if it works for you.
I am openminded to the concept of "whatever works" in terms of language frameworks for God. Light, Love, God, Creator, Creative Consciousness, Deity, Father Sky, ......all good. All God.
As for reframing the 12 steps of AA, or creating an analogy with other words: I accept the 12 steps as they are originally written, for my own sobriety. But that does not dismiss the way you are approaching the language in the steps, or saying that your concept of Light/not Light is invalid. Certainly it must be valid if it works for you.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Swish Alps, SF CA
Posts: 2,144
I encourage my sponsees to have their own concept of God, but since every single sponsee I have ever worked with has been anti-religion anti-diety to begin with I also share my experience.
I use electricity as light concept, it starts with electricity then "evolves" to light
First I tell them if you don't believe in a power greater then yourself I'd like you to stick your tongue in that electrical outlet over there, get back to me when you are done to tell me how it went.
Then I use my paramedic training to tell about the heart, how it has electricity in it, how in the absence of electricity the person dies, and how there is also electrical activity in the brain, and actually how it is floral in nature and appearance and how an idea actually looks like a tree and a literal blossoming takes place, but thats a story for another time, best explained in Tom Robbins Book, Jitterbug Perfume in Dannyboy Wiggs theory...but I digress.
I explain how it fits the greeting "Namaste" which means:
# "I respect divinity within you that is also within me." (Here, "that" refers to divinity, or that which is divine.)
# "The light within me honors the light within you." (in yoga)
and how it fits with all of the interconnectedness theories, as in there is divine in all of us, and the "oneness theories" but all animals, trees, everything has electricity in it in some form or fashion but by using a basic principle such as electricity you can use that to build to a Power greater then yourself that is personal to you.
I also bust out with "A new Pair of Glasses" and show many passages that confused me greatly for over a decade about his description of God, and how he states he is not a christian then uses many sayings attributed to Jesus to show many things, but how spirituality can "fit" in with Christianity. (many are pretty anti-christian when they get to me, so by using we agnostics, Glasses, and the electricity analogy by the time they walk away they are open minded and realize they have been displaying the very character defects they claimed not to like in Christianity)
I talk about him finding God in the last place we ever thought to look, inside our own heart, how we (as a species) go "looking for God" when it's inside of us all the time. I tell the story of the three fish, swimming in the Ocean, and the big fish that swims by and says "Hello boys, nice day, waters great today huh?" one fish looks at another and asks, "what is water" and the three fish spend the rest of their life swimming around the pacific Ocean, looking for water.
Anyway, yes, I start with Electricity then build to light, the first words spoken were "Let There Be Light" were they not? From there it moves to spiritual principals, I show that reliance on a diety made in a human image need not concern them, but how once they have their own concept of God, they can plug that value into anywhere the word God is written (in the big book) and have it work.
I have found it an effective building block that has led many even claiming to be atheist/agnostics to relationship with a "God as they understand God"
I use electricity as light concept, it starts with electricity then "evolves" to light
First I tell them if you don't believe in a power greater then yourself I'd like you to stick your tongue in that electrical outlet over there, get back to me when you are done to tell me how it went.
Then I use my paramedic training to tell about the heart, how it has electricity in it, how in the absence of electricity the person dies, and how there is also electrical activity in the brain, and actually how it is floral in nature and appearance and how an idea actually looks like a tree and a literal blossoming takes place, but thats a story for another time, best explained in Tom Robbins Book, Jitterbug Perfume in Dannyboy Wiggs theory...but I digress.
I explain how it fits the greeting "Namaste" which means:
# "I respect divinity within you that is also within me." (Here, "that" refers to divinity, or that which is divine.)
# "The light within me honors the light within you." (in yoga)
and how it fits with all of the interconnectedness theories, as in there is divine in all of us, and the "oneness theories" but all animals, trees, everything has electricity in it in some form or fashion but by using a basic principle such as electricity you can use that to build to a Power greater then yourself that is personal to you.
I also bust out with "A new Pair of Glasses" and show many passages that confused me greatly for over a decade about his description of God, and how he states he is not a christian then uses many sayings attributed to Jesus to show many things, but how spirituality can "fit" in with Christianity. (many are pretty anti-christian when they get to me, so by using we agnostics, Glasses, and the electricity analogy by the time they walk away they are open minded and realize they have been displaying the very character defects they claimed not to like in Christianity)
I talk about him finding God in the last place we ever thought to look, inside our own heart, how we (as a species) go "looking for God" when it's inside of us all the time. I tell the story of the three fish, swimming in the Ocean, and the big fish that swims by and says "Hello boys, nice day, waters great today huh?" one fish looks at another and asks, "what is water" and the three fish spend the rest of their life swimming around the pacific Ocean, looking for water.
Anyway, yes, I start with Electricity then build to light, the first words spoken were "Let There Be Light" were they not? From there it moves to spiritual principals, I show that reliance on a diety made in a human image need not concern them, but how once they have their own concept of God, they can plug that value into anywhere the word God is written (in the big book) and have it work.
I have found it an effective building block that has led many even claiming to be atheist/agnostics to relationship with a "God as they understand God"
Your Distant Friend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 255
Thank you for sharing your experience, Ago.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affted my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affted my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
Your Distant Friend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 255
Thank you for sharing your experience, Ago.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affected my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affected my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: in the present moment
Posts: 2,060
Originally Posted by emmanuel2012 
Thank you for sharing your experience, Ago.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affected my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
I once wrote a piece about Namaste, its meaning and function,
And the basic underlying essence of the word Nama,
Is humility. For in order to honor, one must either
Bend, bow, stoop or somehow align oneself to that which is being honored.
It is an action, much more than a word.
For that reason, in sanskrit, nama means all of those things,
And ste, of course, means "You"
So simply, as simply as it can be, without divinity,
Namaste means "I honor you",
Furthermore, I think that the divinity comes naturally when engaging in honoring the totality of a human, which is why we talk about "god within" or "god spirit within", through within the act of honoring,
We see the same thing in others, as we see in ourselves.
Whether it be Light, God, Vibration, etc, I see how the lack of using humility to honor others negatively affected my life, and continues to when I feel as if I am being elitist, more _____ than, better than, etc.
It is also comforting to know, especially during step 4, that all the sorrows are truly only shadows,
They shall pass and be done.
When anti-christians and aethiests bash the 12 steps or any dogma/doctrine,
They are fruitlessly attacking the art, reflection, or literature of its Truth.
Rather than honoring its validity, their source of temporary "power" is
Feeling "better than". If only they knew, how much easier it is to honor,
Than it is to dishonor! Just as, how much easier to smile, than to frown...
Any good doctrine is a close to perfect, yet imperfect, reflection of the Truth.
The imperfections we can attack, but as we focus on the imperfections,
They become worse!!! If we, on the other hand, focus on the substance that is perfect about something imperfect, we see how deep the doctrine is, to its fullest. If it brings us closer to ----insert your Higher Power here-----then its working.
I found it to be pride that showed up as an intellectual bully or academic elitist around the 12 steps language. You know the old (watch out, y'all here comes another slogan! lol) AA saying, "You cant be too stupid to get this program but You can be too smart to get it " or something like that....
The small, personal thinking mind cannot simultaneously receive the Infinite Mind.
Another Lightbulb moment! Could that lightbulb be God??
Your Distant Friend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 255
Nice 
I appreciate your experience with "joining in" (ahem..isn't that the direct translation of yoga?)
My sponsor also gave me an encouragement too that I wish to share:
Surrender, the word, in the Oxford unabridged dictionary, has an entry
that you won't find in the web databases:
To Surrender is to join the winning side.
I too, have been in danger of being "too smart" to get it. Thanks again.
I appreciate your experience with "joining in" (ahem..isn't that the direct translation of yoga?)
My sponsor also gave me an encouragement too that I wish to share:
Surrender, the word, in the Oxford unabridged dictionary, has an entry
that you won't find in the web databases:
To Surrender is to join the winning side.
I too, have been in danger of being "too smart" to get it. Thanks again.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
I to like to think of the steps as "Simple but not easy" (page 14).
Humility (a clear recognition of what & who we really are - Steps 1 to 10)
Serenity (the fruits of prayer, meditation & good Karma - Step 11)
Benevolence (Acts of good will and service to others - Step 12)
- All Big Book quotes from the 1st Edition -
Humility (a clear recognition of what & who we really are - Steps 1 to 10)
Serenity (the fruits of prayer, meditation & good Karma - Step 11)
Benevolence (Acts of good will and service to others - Step 12)
- All Big Book quotes from the 1st Edition -
Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 18,299
Originally Posted by miss communicat
I have, at long last, come to enjoy swimming in the vast ocean of Truth underlying the 12 steps, where once I focused upon reasons to exclude myself so that I could remain separated.
Awaiting Email Confirmation
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,942
Originally Posted by spittake
"Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'" John 14:6 (KJV)
I should have resisted this urge. Damn.
I should have resisted this urge. Damn.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Swish Alps, SF CA
Posts: 2,144
Originally Posted by tommyk
If that is what you believe and it helps to keep you sober, why resist the urge?
Maybe
Maybe not, I could be wrong
Originally Posted by spittake
"Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'" John 14:6 (KJV)
I should have resisted this urge. Damn.
I should have resisted this urge. Damn.
Originally Posted by spittake
Starting in childhood, I was a devout born-again Christian. And I mean devout. The all-encompassing, delusional, scary kind. The "God told me to kill, so what choice did I have?" kind. (Thank you, God, for never telling me to kill...)
After years of struggle and denial, largely thanks to an early interest in 18th-century Enlightenment philosophy, I rejected all of that delusional nonsense. That was almost ten years ago.
It is not an easy thing to come to terms with the notion that everything you thought you knew about everything was based on a HUGE fabrication. That you have based your life on a falsehood, however briefly.
Today, I am a nihilist.
After years of struggle and denial, largely thanks to an early interest in 18th-century Enlightenment philosophy, I rejected all of that delusional nonsense. That was almost ten years ago.
It is not an easy thing to come to terms with the notion that everything you thought you knew about everything was based on a HUGE fabrication. That you have based your life on a falsehood, however briefly.
Today, I am a nihilist.
Zen Nihilist
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 147
Originally Posted by tommyk
If that is what you believe and it helps to keep you sober, why resist the urge?
Originally Posted by Ago
Because it's not what he believes nor does it keep him sober and he's just trying to "stir the pot" and start some humor or maybe controversy?
I don't know how I feel about you dredging up my soul-revealing posts from other forums. However, I like that particular post, so I don't mind the wider audience. This time...
IO Storm
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 18,436
Stirring the pot...I was offended by that.
A Bible verse followed by a curse. Stirred my pot, anyhow.
I like to call it like like it is...and why correct the OP either? If one doesn't like a
particular thread and how an OP puts together their ideas and presents them
..one does not have to join in.
A Bible verse followed by a curse. Stirred my pot, anyhow.
I like to call it like like it is...and why correct the OP either? If one doesn't like a
particular thread and how an OP puts together their ideas and presents them
..one does not have to join in.
Zen Nihilist
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Left Coast
Posts: 147
Originally Posted by IO Storm
Stirring the pot...I was offended by that.
A Bible verse followed by a curse. Stirred my pot, anyhow.
A Bible verse followed by a curse. Stirred my pot, anyhow.
"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them." Eph 5:6-7
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 812
If it works, then it must be true.
William James was, above all, a pragmatist. Wilson borrowed many of his ideas in the writing of the main text.
For myself, I have found the process of contemplation in regards to spiritual matters to be very valuable and enriching. Of course, "the spiritual life is not a theory, we must live it." Much of my own personal growth blossoms in the imagination before it's synthesized slowly into life and action. Thinking is a form of doing, an action of the mind.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world. --Buddha
Happy Journey!
William James was, above all, a pragmatist. Wilson borrowed many of his ideas in the writing of the main text.
For myself, I have found the process of contemplation in regards to spiritual matters to be very valuable and enriching. Of course, "the spiritual life is not a theory, we must live it." Much of my own personal growth blossoms in the imagination before it's synthesized slowly into life and action. Thinking is a form of doing, an action of the mind.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world. --Buddha
Happy Journey!
Your Distant Friend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 255
I enjoyed re-reading this post and its replies after some time went by,
I wanted to make a small edit to just one thought that I presented.
I have found through my seeking for higher power that:
The darkness in the world and within us is not an absence of Light,
but can be seen as a denial of Light, whereas resisting the nature,
reality and truth of what is now is the very cause of this darkness.
I wanted to make a small edit to just one thought that I presented.
I have found through my seeking for higher power that:
The darkness in the world and within us is not an absence of Light,
but can be seen as a denial of Light, whereas resisting the nature,
reality and truth of what is now is the very cause of this darkness.
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