Is spirituality a form of personal growth?

Nothing that isn't eternal is actually real. I don't care what you call it or how permanent it might seem right now—it’s all just an illusion, isn't it? 🙂

Jason Johnson4 said:Nothing that isn't eternal is actually real. I don't care what you call it or how permanent it might seem right now—it’s all just an illusion, isn't it? 🙂

Well, I guess that's neither obvious nor true.

Jason Johnson4 said:Nothing that isn't eternal is actually real. I don't care what you call it or how permanent it might seem right now—it’s all just an illusion, isn't it? 🙂

I agree, it’s obvious, but Maya is a pretty powerful "reality"

Look, there's plenty of books and movies out there that explain this clearly. You don't even need to look toward Eastern religions or try becoming some kind of mystic.
Just check out the movie "instinct"... That should be enough, or close to it..

People have this urge to own things; humans just love saying "this is mine," so they spend their whole lives just swapping out one "toy" for another.

Is that tree in your backyard yours?

Based on how we usually think, yes. In the sense that you can pick all the fruit and eat it. But that tree doesn't actually belong to us, just like a mother doesn't own her son—though everyone still tries to claim them, and that's where things go sideways..

Jesus says:

"Deny yourself, and you will find happiness."

Ha! What do you all think about that?

Noah Sanchez7 said:Jesus says:

"Deny yourself, and you will find happiness."

Ha! What do you all think about that?

But what exactly am I supposed to renounce?

Noah Sanchez7 said:I agree, it’s obvious, but Maya is a pretty powerful "reality"

Look, there's plenty of books and movies out there that explain this clearly. You don't even need to look toward Eastern religions or try becoming some kind of mystic.
Just check out the movie "instinct"... That should be enough, or close to it..

People have this urge to own things; humans just love saying "this is mine," so they spend their whole lives just swapping out one "toy" for another.

Is that tree in your backyard yours?

Based on how we usually think, yes. In the sense that you can pick all the fruit and eat it. But that tree doesn't actually belong to us, just like a mother doesn't own her son—though everyone still tries to claim them, and that's where things go sideways..

There is a massive difference between possessing something and simply EXISTING!

Alright, someone please walk me through this—what does it actually mean to be "adaptable"? To what exactly am I supposed to be adjusting... and more importantly, who or what am I held accountable to in all this?

hiddentrucker16 said:Alright, someone please walk me through this—what does it actually mean to be "adaptable"? To what exactly am I supposed to be adjusting... and more importantly, who or what am I held accountable to in all this?

I guess you adapt to your environment, but maybe not by just blindly following whatever bullshit society tries to force on you. You have to find some kind of balance, using a little bit of wisdom, I suppose.
As for responsibility, you should probably be responsible to the people around you.

Nancy Thompson3 said:I guess you adapt to your environment, but maybe not by just blindly following whatever bullshit society tries to force on you. You have to find some kind of balance, using a little bit of wisdom, I suppose.
As for responsibility, you should probably be responsible to the people around you.

But what exactly constitutes "wisdom"—and more importantly, how does one actually practice being "responsible"?

Ryan Wilson2 said:But what exactly am I supposed to renounce?

Everything you think you actually own?

Like, every single thing tied to this material life, all that temporary stuff that just slips through your fingers anyway...?

😳

William Reed said:Everything you think you actually own?

Like, every single thing tied to this material life, all that temporary stuff that just slips through your fingers anyway...?

😳

Look, there is another way to look at it. Not everyone is religious. If you’re totally fine being part of all these stories, living life at a hundred miles an hour, chasing after whatever you want and knowing exactly how to get it, and if acquiring those things doesn't weigh you down, then you don't need to give anything up. Because you aren't carrying any weight...

But if every morning feels terrible—if you feel sick just thinking about going to work and doing your daily routine, and you're just counting down the days until retirement—then you are carrying a burden that torments you. It's like walking around everywhere with a heavy sack of cement on your back, even just to the grocery store..
And you end up dragging others down too, which is why Jesus sees this as the core problem for humanity and tells us to let it go. Making a sacrifice?! Just make that sacrifice in your heart and let it go, and you'll find peace..
What does a sacrifice actually mean? Maybe giving up a massive salary or something. Though I doubt that's all there is to it..
It could also mean letting go of anything that stirs up feverishness, envy, misery, or desperation within our souls.

Now, I want to write something that is deeply important to me, so please bear with me..
The entire Christian faith is built on handing over your "weights" to God or Jesus.. or renouncing them entirely; in short, surrendering to Christ..

If you're wondering why it works that way, I think I have a pretty logical answer. Back then, Jesus was fully aware of what the people living around him were capable of, and he acted wisely by teaching them that way. He likely knew that was the best way to "save more people" compared to a method where an individual has the will to overcome all those burdens on their own without surrendering to a deity..
That is the reason for the suppression of human intelligence over these last two thousand years (I'm looking specifically at the 15th and 16th centuries). The only thing that was misinterpreted was the idea that Jesus told everyone they could only be "saved" through Him. No, that wasn't his point. He meant it was the most effective path because he recognized that the "masses" wouldn't be able to reach enlightenment through their own means.. That's where the whole shepherd and sheep metaphor comes from, which is often used for Jesus's followers. Personally, I think most of them are just bad actors who go to church not to pray, but to beg—begging for things for themselves. It's incredibly ugly. A terrible desecration of all Christian sanctities...

I've already been hit with 70 penalty points for insulting "believers." Go ahead and ban me, but honestly, I feel like they are the ones insulting me, not the other way around..
Are you all truly aware of how much that mindset and those kinds of people have contributed to humanity regressing all this time? Even Jesus would be horrified by it..

hiddentrucker16 said:But what exactly constitutes "wisdom"—and more importantly, how does one actually practice being "responsible"?

First off, you have to be responsible to yourself, because that’s how you end up being responsible to everyone else too..

How do you become responsible? The word itself gives you a hint, plus there are a few tricks..
If you tell yourself you’re going to do something—if you set that intention—then you actually have to follow through. If you don't, you’re just being an irresponsible idiot, mostly to yourself, but also to others. I mean, if you can't even trust your own word, why should anyone else?
That’s pretty much the core of it..

One more thing... if you're always sticking your nose into everyone else's business, then when things get messy, just say: "I didn't smell anything!!".. and that's one way to stay out of the line of fire..

What is wisdom? I'm not sure.. maybe it's knowledge, responsibility, willpower, sincerity... all of those things, well-mixed together.. 😉

Nancy Thompson3 said:There is a massive difference between possessing something and simply EXISTING!

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Noah Sanchez7 said:First off, you have to be responsible to yourself, because that’s how you end up being responsible to everyone else too..

How do you become responsible? The word itself gives you a hint, plus there are a few tricks..
If you tell yourself you’re going to do something—if you set that intention—then you actually have to follow through. If you don't, you’re just being an irresponsible idiot, mostly to yourself, but also to others. I mean, if you can't even trust your own word, why should anyone else?
That’s pretty much the core of it..

One more thing... if you're always sticking your nose into everyone else's business, then when things get messy, just say: "I didn't smell anything!!".. and that's one way to stay out of the line of fire..

What is wisdom? I'm not sure.. maybe it's knowledge, responsibility, willpower, sincerity... all of those things, well-mixed together.. 😉

Well, thanks—really, thank you, Noah Sanchez7—for that explanation... you and your obsession with getting to the absolute essence of everything.😂 Hey, Noah Sanchez7—I’ll admit it, I am completely irresponsible.😍 I find myself in a state of profound self-doubt—honestly, I can’t even trust my own judgment lately.🙂 And then, predictably, everyone turns on me...

William Reed said:Everything you think you actually own?

Like, every single thing tied to this material life, all that temporary stuff that just slips through your fingers anyway...?

😳

There is simply nothing that does not belong to this realm.

One must learn to let go of the attachment itself, rather than attempting to let go of the things we are attached to.

Noah Sanchez7 said:Look, there is another way to look at it. Not everyone is religious. If you’re totally fine being part of all these stories, living life at a hundred miles an hour, chasing after whatever you want and knowing exactly how to get it, and if acquiring those things doesn't weigh you down, then you don't need to give anything up. Because you aren't carrying any weight...

But if every morning feels terrible—if you feel sick just thinking about going to work and doing your daily routine, and you're just counting down the days until retirement—then you are carrying a burden that torments you. It's like walking around everywhere with a heavy sack of cement on your back, even just to the grocery store..
And you end up dragging others down too, which is why Jesus sees this as the core problem for humanity and tells us to let it go. Making a sacrifice?! Just make that sacrifice in your heart and let it go, and you'll find peace..
What does a sacrifice actually mean? Maybe giving up a massive salary or something. Though I doubt that's all there is to it..
It could also mean letting go of anything that stirs up feverishness, envy, misery, or desperation within our souls.

Now, I want to write something that is deeply important to me, so please bear with me..
The entire Christian faith is built on handing over your "weights" to God or Jesus.. or renouncing them entirely; in short, surrendering to Christ..

If you're wondering why it works that way, I think I have a pretty logical answer. Back then, Jesus was fully aware of what the people living around him were capable of, and he acted wisely by teaching them that way. He likely knew that was the best way to "save more people" compared to a method where an individual has the will to overcome all those burdens on their own without surrendering to a deity..
That is the reason for the suppression of human intelligence over these last two thousand years (I'm looking specifically at the 15th and 16th centuries). The only thing that was misinterpreted was the idea that Jesus told everyone they could only be "saved" through Him. No, that wasn't his point. He meant it was the most effective path because he recognized that the "masses" wouldn't be able to reach enlightenment through their own means.. That's where the whole shepherd and sheep metaphor comes from, which is often used for Jesus's followers. Personally, I think most of them are just bad actors who go to church not to pray, but to beg—begging for things for themselves. It's incredibly ugly. A terrible desecration of all Christian sanctities...

I've already been hit with 70 penalty points for insulting "believers." Go ahead and ban me, but honestly, I feel like they are the ones insulting me, not the other way around..
Are you all truly aware of how much that mindset and those kinds of people have contributed to humanity regressing all this time? Even Jesus would be horrified by it..

I think you've got things a bit twisted here—prayer itself isn't inherently wrong. As far as I know, even Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive."

So, what does prayer actually mean to you, Hannah Morris3?

Brandon Hall88 said:So, what does prayer actually mean to you, Hannah Morris3?

To me, prayer is just the act of opening up—presenting your own perspective—to God’s love, the universal creative energy, or even just to your own soul...

And what do you think... could prayer actually just be an expression of deep, profound gratitude toward the Life Center?

Brandon Hall88 said:And what do you think... could prayer actually just be an expression of deep, profound gratitude toward the Life Center?

Prayer can be whatever you want it to be. To me, gratitude is an internal feeling, whereas prayer is an active choice—words spoken aloud or even just held in the mind—aimed at manifesting what you need. There’s nothing wrong with that. God—or whatever name you prefer to use—wants to provide everything you require, but He respects your free will; He's essentially waiting for your permission to deliver what you're asking for. In theory, that's how the mechanics should work, though in practice, that act of "opening up" isn't always as simple as it sounds.