12 posts shown.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the mental toll of high-stakes environments. We always see the highlights—the trophies, the podiums, the incredible physical feats—but we rarely talk about the absolute wreckage left behind when the adrenaline finally runs out. It’s easy to celebrate the victory, but it’s much harder to watch someone try to find themselves again once the lights go out and the pressure disappears.
I had a buddy in college who was a top-tier swimmer. On paper, he was killing it, but once his season ended, he just... collapsed. Not physically, but mentally. He couldn't handle the quiet. It made me realize that for some people, the struggle isn't against an opponent; it's against the void that opens up when you aren't "on" anymore. It’s a scary kind of isolation when your entire identity is tied to being the best at something.
Do you think our culture puts too much emphasis on the "comeback" narrative and not enough on the actual recovery process?
Forcing dough through excessive kneading just leads to overworking it.
Sandra Murphy33 said:I honestly don't know...
At the end of the day, everyone just takes what interests them; there isn't really any other way it works.🙂
It's all just a bit messy, honestly.
Suggest something, then deny it, and just keep going in circles like that.
Sandra Murphy33 said:😲
It might have been better for you to skip the Theosophists entirely, much like Steiner did....
(Though, to be fair, he was involved with them before they split ways. If my memory serves, the rift happened because he wouldn't go along with their attempts to predict the next incarnation of certain figures...)
Steiner was probably a bit psychotic, though I suppose he was a genius in his own way when it came to crafting one-dimensional texts.
His biggest claim—that everything in the Gospels actually happened—is something else.
Even the Pope wouldn't try to pull that one off.
I think I picked up a demon through a burger at a drive-thru.
I'm looking to file for some massive damages.
silentseal4 said:To follow up on my previous post and wrap up my thoughts on this topic:
Demons have been around for thousands upon thousands of years; they’re much wiser than we are. They want to stay under the radar. All they need is to slip a single sinful thought into your head at just the right moment to complete their mission and nudge you toward sin. Like any other demon, Kundalini will do whatever it takes to make that sin look incredibly attractive and harmless at first glance. Once we stumble, it enters our body and moves to the next phase: dragging us even deeper into that sin. It always offers something tempting and gives us a little reward so we don't quit. But that reward is fleeting, and we immediately find ourselves craving more. That’s how we enter the next loop—an even bigger sin. The more we progress and try to become "gods," the further we drift from God, committing even greater sins in His eyes. This kind of spiritual advancement without God is nothing more than falling into a deeper pit.
A demon is a terrifying entity. It will never give us true satisfaction or fulfillment; it just dangles a carrot on a stick to keep us running, thinking we're finally getting what we want. A demon will NEVER provide that satisfaction; it just pulls us deeper into the abyss until it takes our soul entirely. And a soul is far too precious. It’s better to surrender this earthly life to God right now for an eternal soul than to spend a lifetime indulging in comfort, pleasure, and sin only to hand Satan your eternal soul. I haven't studied Kundalini extensively, but from what I gather, they say it's impossible to return to your original state once it happens. That just confirms my theory: once you let a demon in, it will do everything in its power to stay there and won't let you change your mind easily. Still, as I mentioned before, nothing is impossible with an all-powerful God.
I think you're incredibly lucky that you accepted the Holy Spirit. If you hadn't, you would have fallen into a demonic cycle that a person simply cannot escape without God, especially when dealing with a demon this powerful. I've heard stories about some yogis achieving superhuman abilities, like speed-reading entire books or even telekinesis. That is a very advanced relationship with demons, and a heavy sin. The stronger the demon, the more it can terrorize you if you change your mind, subjecting you to horrific physical and mental torture until you have no choice but to keep doing what it wants.
That said, there are positive things here. Even though this all sounds pretty dark, I think you should keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right path, and here’s why. God wants to build an intimate relationship with us. He wants us to surrender to Him, to trust Him, and to put Him first in our lives—before our spouses, our children, our parents, our finances, and even before our own lives.
God wants us to surrender to Him completely:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
The more we surrender to Him and deepen our relationship with Him, the greater our reward will be, both in this life and the next. I think your focus on this spiritual progress is why you've come so far, and a great reward awaits you. I believe you'll fare much better than many hypocritical believers who go to church every day and pray for hours, merely repeating prayers like a mantra without ever truly surrendering to God. On top of that, they are often deceived by Satan, committing sin through questionable religious rituals and pagan customs without even realizing it.
He isn't some angry old man in the sky; He is our Father. Imagine the best father who ever lived. He loves all His children equally and only wants the best for them. He knows exactly what they need, fulfills their desires, and rewards them. A good father will also discipline his children if they do wrong, but not to terrorize them—rather to show them they made a mistake, so they learn the lesson and don't repeat it. Furthermore, I believe God's mercy is always greater than His punishment. Punishment is only momentary so we realize our error; as soon as we do, He forgives us and provides mercy, love, and support. He does this infinitely, over and over again. It's more than our limited minds can even comprehend.
"For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."
God wants us to praise Him, love Him, surrender to Him, and trust Him. We can—and should—get to know Him through our spirituality as much as possible. That kind of understanding has no ceiling; there’s always more room to grow. That’s exactly what He wants, and it brings Him joy. Once you actually feel God's overwhelming love in your life, you'll understand what I'm talking about. Nothing else even comes close.
Compared to the magnitude of God, we humans are practically nothing, especially those who turn their backs on Him:
"Truly, the people of low birth are empty, and the successful are a lie: if you put them together on a scale, they are lighter than nothingness."
No matter how many times we turn away or how sinful we get, He will NEVER turn His back on us. He’s always waiting right there, sending signals through the Holy Spirit to guide us back.
"God hates sin, but loves the sinner"
In the past, people mostly had to reach God through the Father in heaven. But He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus (who is also God himself), to give us another way to draw near and actually visualize Him as a man rather than some infinite, multi-dimensional entity our minds can't grasp. On top of that, He gave us the option to have all our sins instantly forgiven if we believe and ask. As if that wasn't enough, He gave us the ability to connect through the Holy Spirit by seeking God within ourselves. We have three distinct ways to find Him. What more are we expecting? For Him to just do everything for us? And yet, despite all this, plenty of people still turn their backs on Him, which breaks His heart.
As far as I know, Buddha was a man who achieved the greatest recorded spiritual enlightenment ever. No one has surpassed him in that regard. My take? Buddha either has a massive reward coming his way or a massive punishment. If he put himself at the center of the universe and thought he was the most important thing, he’s in for a heavy penalty. If, however, he knew he was just a small part of something much larger—something he tried desperately to reach but could never quite fully touch—then a huge reward awaits him for pushing himself that far in his relationship with God. Only he and God know for sure, though maybe only God knows, since He sees the secrets of our hearts and minds better than we do.
It's vital that we always view God as something unimaginably greater than ourselves, while seeing ourselves as something tiny and insignificant, yet deeply significant to Him—because we are His children and He is our only true Father. He is always there for us, helping us move closer to Him through the Holy Spirit.
With that mindset, I think even powerful demons like Kundalini can be harnessed for spiritual progress and connecting with God, even though their original purpose is to pull us away from Him. It is crucial to remember that God/the Holy Spirit is the Creator of all things, and a demon is merely His creation. With that realization, I believe we can use demonic energy under the guidance of the Holy Spirit without fear; a creation cannot harm its Creator, nor can it harm us if we always put God first and "take refuge in the shadow of His wings."
If you immediately reject a claim without thinking critically, at least ask yourself where that thought came from. There's a chance that thought isn't yours, but is demonic. That's their primary tactic: they don't want to be discovered, so they manipulate us instead. Even the Bible mentions how people are deceived:
Do you have eyes but fail to see? Do you have ears but fail to hear? (Mark 8:18)
Maybe it's actually better to live in comfortable ignorance than to face the bitter truth. There are plenty of testimonies that line up and endless stuff to research online, so if you want to dig deeper, go for it; if not, keep living the way you have been.
Don't take anyone's word for it—not even mine. Test everything and research it yourself. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, and He will provide the answers you're looking for.
Being a believer has never been harder than it is right now. There are so many obstacles standing between us and God. We need to focus, clear them out one by one, and work on building a better relationship with Him to ensure we have a bright future ahead.
I mean, what kind of God would even dream up something like this and then let it happen?
Is it just pure schizophrenia or maybe some kind of paranoid psychosis?
Brian Young76 said:Well, now... I suppose I might have to disagree with the idea that ACIM is purely New Age or that it isn't Abrahamic in nature. While it certainly might sound that way at first glance—or even a second glance, for that matter—if you were to read The Bible in parallel with ACIM (since the New Testament essentially mirrors ACIM), alongside the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I don't really see any major contradictions. This is especially true if one considers that the original Greek meaning of what is translated as "sin" actually refers to "missing the mark."
What I think might need adjusting, perhaps, is those sections where it says, "my sin..." It really ought to be phrased as "my failure to hit the target, my failure to hit the target, my massive failure to hit the target." If you were to replace the word "sin" everywhere with "missing the mark"—which is what the original texts intended—then I feel everything would align perfectly. 🙂
It might be best to just delete it so everything stays in harmony.😁
Just write a new one.
wearybison63 said:Haha, what are you even planning now, neoncrane? 😒
I didn't report her to the authorities, so I don't really see why I should.
Maybe asking for her to be penalized wouldn't make sense since it isn't her issue. This caught me off guard.
Another PDF about religion. Every single day, this same guy on the forum. I guess it's just his thing.
Dealing with some digestion issues lately?
So, when are you finally going to grow up?
Didn't get enough swimming in? Maybe you didn't get some downtime to clear your head? I guess... it just didn't help?
What all can happen from slamming on a keyboard?
I haven't seen much about this lately. I guess it’s just one of those things that stays under the radar for a while. Maybe there's more to it than meets the eye, though. Not sure.
I mean, you can't really stop anyone from writing... it's a basic democratic right, I guess.
Is this some kind of bear looking for sex?
I haven't seen the link you provided. It looks like it might be broken or private. If you can paste the actual text here, I'll get to work on rewriting it for you.
Yeah, but that’s just your crazy idea. I mean, you're talking about something you don't really have a clue about, I guess.
The way you write about karma—even though I don't really buy into that stuff myself—it feels a bit juvenile. I guess. Maybe just a bit childish.
Did everyone get kicked off those other forums, and now you're all just showing up here to talk nonsense?
Look, I’ll tell you what. You're just some random troll. You live alone. No one to hang out with, nothing to do, so you come here just to stir the pot. Right?
Is there anything actually decent going on in that head of yours?
I haven't seen much on this yet. Maybe I missed some discussions somewhere else, but from what I can gather, there isn't a huge amount of data out there regarding these specific figures. It’s hard to say for sure without more concrete numbers, I guess. Perhaps it's just too early to tell.
Where did you even crawl out from to come here and troll? You seem pretty confused. I guess maybe this forum is just bait for people like you?
You pushed hard, but I guess it just doesn't work that way.
Someone fighting against themselves is already losing the battle.
redhawk16 said:Do you ever find yourself cracking up at your own thoughts? And more importantly—who exactly is in on the joke? 😁
It’s an obsession, probably needs an urgent visit to a local Lutheran minister.
Taking life seriously...
ruggedridge45 said:I mean, he had to die for us to find salvation through faith, right? But could you actually believe in a God who got married and ended up having three kids and all that?
It probably would’ve been more impactful if he had wings. Maybe then the faith would be even stronger.