Orthodoxy And The Religion Of The Future

[charlie]

Now let’s be very clear here: Kundalini will screw your life up. It is a BRUTAL process of transformation. (I myself went through the process, and still go through it.) You will experience ego death, you will see visions, and your body will feel like it’s on FIRE. It freaking SUCKS. And many people, simply go insane. Even Christians who accidentally stumble into this force of nature via ardent prayer.

I think it's possible that some people who experience "Kundalini" are actually suffering from Dysautonomia due to a vitamin B1 deficiency.

 

[gately]

Agree. Bless your endotoxin.


Is this something that every seeker will eventually go through? The thought of biting more than I can chew is the last mental obstacle standing between me and ardent spiritual practice. I do feel the calling, but I am so afraid of the risks. Should one find themselves in the midst of such awakening, is there any principle, teaching or a mechanism to guarantee that they will emerge through sane and alive? What is the meaning, the purpose, and the consequence of such process in the first place? Is it a gift that you are given, a pathway that you activate, a glitch in the physiology of man, or something else?

You know, I've been wondering why I felt so guided to go on my little wordy mystical rampage the past day or so, and I suspect your question is why. Sometimes the figurative angels work like that in our lives, don't you think? We don't even know why we feel drawn to something until it suddenly becomes abundantly clear.

Three caveats here:

1 - This has the potential to derail the thread much further than I already have. I've previously tried to keep this somewhat on topic, but there's no way to talk about the dangers of diving deep into the pool of spiritual practice, and all the little subtopics that might bring up, and still make this about Seraphim and my experience with Christianity, so if @Inaut prefers it, and there's enough interest, I'll copy and paste my replies from here and gladly start my own separate thread.

2 - Offering blanket spiritual advice on the internet can be bad juju. There's a karmic weight here that I don't want. Remember, I'm not someone who believes all my sins are automatically absolved, so thus I already feel a little guilty for getting on my heretical horse and attempting to drag the Christians in this thread behind me. (I'll flagellate myself later, don't worry Christians!) That said, I want to do what's right, and the truth is I do feel I have something to offer, however meager, towards someone who's embarking on their own spiritual quest.

3 - As U.G. Krishnamurti said, "Don't follow me. I am lost." ... Or as he would otherwise say, "Get lost. And stay lost." You decide.

Onto your question. Yes and no. Not every spiritual seeker will go through a Kundalini awakening, or even have any mystical / energy experience whatsoever. You can go through a deeply rich and fulfilling spiritual life while adhering to "good deeds, good thoughts, and good words" and never have a hiccup in the spiritual danger zone, die in your sleep at a ripe old age, and go gracefully to a higher realm (or Heaven, if your prefer.) And that's basically what I recommend to most everyone.

That said, it just kind of *happens* for a lot of spiritual seekers, regardless of the specifics of your faith. Especially if you start abstaining from orgasm. Especially if you are ill or have an vata / pitta energy imbalance. (Kapha types, you could basically throw Shaktiput at them and they might not feel a freaking thing.) Here's the thing: when you walk a balanced path of good deeds, good thoughts, good words, and you develop adamantine faith and start praying or meditating (or whatever practice you chose), the whole process is so much smoother and gradual. Where people run into trouble is diving head first into intensive spiritual practice, especially without a teacher or friend who knows the way out of whatever hurdles you might face.

Point in case: I can't tell you how many people run into Kundalini problems and are given the worst freaking advice. It's all over the internet. Non-Orthodox Hindu circles are particularly corrupt in this regard, but psuedo-Sikh organizations like 3HO and "kundalini yoga" circles are just as bad. Vajrayana Buddhist circles can be helpful, but they are so secretive in what they actually do and believe, that if you're already in kundalini crisis, there's nothing they will do for you. And the systems of medicine that historically knew how to deal with Kundalini imbalances (or other serious energy imbalances, such as Qi Gong Deviation) are basically dead. Ayurveda has been so bastardized even in India it basically is incapable of helping anyone with anything. Chinese Medicine: same thing, maybe even more bastardized since Mao systemized everything that was good about Classical Chinese Medicine. Tibetan Medicine (which is really just an offshoot of Ayurveda) you basically have to go to Dharamshala to get the real deal. So it's just the blind leading the blind everywhere you turn. My point: don't seek a Kundalini awakening.

Now, belief system wise, most Hindu and Vajrayana schools would say that some form of sexual energy transmutation is a requirement on the path, at least at the highest level. I'd take all that with a grain of salt, tbh. To my knowledge, nothing in the Pali Canon had much to say on the topic, and that's perhaps because the Theravadist path is very gradual and guided in a specific way to prevent those kind of problems. For instance, the noble eightfold path doesn't start with meditating in a cave, living off two grains of rice, until you reach samadhi. The first step is: "Have the right view, dumbo." and the Second is: "Learn the right resolve, you lazy bum." Then: "Stop lying, you hypocrite." Then: "Stop doing bad ***t, you doer of inequity." etc. etc. Eventually culminating in the practice of intense meditation using concentration, leading to blissful altered states of consciousness called the "jhanas." So you see, you don't start sitting under the Bodhi tree with the intention to fast for 40 days. You start by studying and knowing your stuff. Then you build up the nerve to walk the path you've chosen. Then you stop lying and stop doing bad crap to your family and neighbors, etc. Then you start developing the capacity to love others, starting with stray kittens and going all the way to your worst enemies, etc. This is all really important, and one of the MAIN THINGS the New Age paths eschew: they forget that you are ONLY as safe as your virtue and wisdom. Be a nasty little creepy person and start seriously meditating: win nasty, creepy prizes. Be an ignorant person: win ignorant prizes.

As to WHAT Kundalini is: It's just a part of our spiritual physiology, one way of thinking about it is as the nervous system of our soul. I've previously mentioned that plenty of Catholic and Orthodox saints have a long documented experience with kundalini awakenings, so rest assured my Christian friendos, there's nothing inherently demonic about the experience.

But I will reiterate: It's NOT something you should seek out. It's supposed to happen organically, the very way it did for those early Christian saints. Your Bhakti (devotion) guides you, and if it happens, it happens, and hopefully you've got a gigantic storehouse of merit to draw upon when times get scary.

Remember that Virtue IS the path. The stoics got that very right. Accumulate merit and be the best kind of person you can be, and if that means you need the support of faith in a loving creator God: go for it. Everyone needs something different. Just like orange juice might be too acidic for someone's stomach, and perfect for another, everyone has to find the path that suits their own temperament.

Unless you are planning on entering a monastic community of some kind, I highly suggest walking the middle path in whatever tradition you chose. If you aren't a monk, then you're a defacto householder, and should behave like one to have the richest, safest life you can: worship in balance with earning money, raising a family, and bettering society in ways that are aligned with your values. That is all part of the spiritual path, despite its seeming lack of mystical enchantments.

Leave the deep end of the spiritual pool to the monastics. And if that's a path you seek, look for the best orthodox community you can find, just like Seraphim did.

-----

A quick note on Kundalini Crisis, simply for the posterity of google searchers who come across this post, just because I'm so sick of the bad info I see everywhere online.

The first rule of Kundalini Crisis: stop whatever the hell you were doing that set it off, get off the computer, and start walking and talking and rejoin society on any level you can, and abandon the spiritual path you were on (for a while). The second rule: eat mostly red meat. Kundalini stops on very low carb (perhaps even just a purely carnivore diet.) It probably won't need to be forever, even a few days of carnivore can help reset the flow of Kundalini. Message me if you are in crisis, and if I'm still around this forum, I will try and help.

 

[gately]

No, he didn’t, because he knew that beyond the castle walls was squalor and inequality, so the need for fairness and the need for everyone around you to be in a good place was not met. Any thinking feeling breathing human should feel guilt and shame about that.

I think we're just talking semantics here, friend. You asked if one would care at all the about the differences between the synoptic gospels and the gospel of John if they had all their material and social needs met. I answered the Buddha had his needs met, you argue in reply that he didn't have his needs met, because he could see his fellow man suffering beyond the palace walls. But what you are talking about is a mythical utopia. Where on earth could we not see our fellow man suffering? We have to face the reality of our world: We live here in this realm with duhkha, where material life will always, to varying degrees, be unsatisfactory. And thus, knowing why the gospel of John and the synoptic gospels differ might have great importance if your goal is salvation, ie - leaving this unsatisfactory realm (and/or helping others leave it.)

 

[charlie]

Kundalini stops on very low carb (perhaps even just a purely carnivore diet.)

Bingo. Beriberi for the win.

 

[gately]

I think it's possible that some people who experience "Kundalini" are actually suffering from Dysautonomia due to a vitamin B1 deficiency.

I like this thought, Charlie. I like the line of thinking. But I think it's more complex than that. B1 did not fix my Kundalini issues, it took a lot more work than that to get my K symptoms to a state of "normal." Also, it's something that has been studied by MANY people undergoing the phenomena. See: Biology of Kundalini - The Nervous System She's done quite a bit of research with herself and others who have had the experience of kundalini awakening. I think you'd greatly enjoy her site, btw. Lots of interesting health research.

 

[LUH 3417]

I think we're just talking semantics here, friend. You asked if one would care at all the about the differences between the synoptic gospels and the gospel of John if they had all their material and social needs met. I answered the Buddha had his needs met, you argue in reply that he didn't have his needs met, because he could see his fellow man suffering beyond the palace walls. But what you are talking about is a mythical utopia. Where on earth could we not see our fellow man suffering? We have to face the reality of our world: We live here in this realm with duhkha, where material life will always, to varying degrees, be unsatisfactory. And thus, knowing why the gospel of John and the synoptic gospels differ might have great importance if your goal is salvation, ie - leaving this unsatisfactory realm (and/or helping others leave it.)

I don’t think it’s semantics, as I don’t agree with you about the material world only being unsatisfactory. Sounds like salvation is a spin off of death worship if that’s really what it is about.

 

[gately]

I don’t think it’s semantics, as I don’t agree with you about the material world only being unsatisfactory. Sounds like salvation is a spin off of death worship if that’s really what it is about.

What's your issue with me or what I'm saying exactly?

 

[charlie]

I like this thought, Charlie. I like the line of thinking. But I think it's more complex than that. B1 did not fix my Kundalini issues, it took a lot more work than that to get my K symptoms to a state of "normal." Also, it's something that has been studied by MANY people undergoing the phenomena. See: Biology of Kundalini - The Nervous System She's done quite a bit of research with herself and others who have had the experience of kundalini awakening. I think you'd greatly enjoy her site, btw. Lots of interesting health research.

I have read that site many a times. Beriberi is something not fixed easily for some, it can take years.

 

[gately]

I have read that site many a times. Beriberi is something not fixed easily for some, it can take years.

Well, it's certainly an interesting theory. I've come across plenty of people with kundalini issues and I'll be sure to suggest it if my usual methods (carnivore, etc.) don't work to re-stabilize them.

 

[LUH 3417]

What's your issue with me or what I'm saying exactly?

I don’t have an issue with you, I happen to disagree with you in that I think life and our experience here is important.

 

[gately]

I don’t have an issue with you, I happen to disagree with you in that I think life and our experience here is important.

I think life and our experience here is insanely important. But okay.

 

[Blossom]

Bingo. Beriberi for the win.

Yes!!! Absolutely.

 

[Gone Peating]

appreciate your insight gone peating.

my question to you would be then how would the sinner on the cross next to Jesus have been given the gift of eternal salvation without works? It seems to me that he would have been a sinner and simply had faith.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”

That man did what no other man in the world did, that is, confess that Christ is God in front of everyone even at His lowest moment. Not to discredit them, but even the Mother of God, Mary Magdalene and the Apostle John who were all present did not go this far. And of course all the other Apostles and disciples were not there. It goes to show that the virtues in our souls are often only known to God

It's one thing to be privately convinced in one's heart, but another to confess, especially under those circumstances. That is perhaps the greatest work one can do

 

[Gone Peating]

Literally never said dark forces are the cause of the world's evil. Just said dark forces exist.



No doubt we have free will. My point isn't whether or why evil exists. It does and people can be dirtbags. That's obvious enough. My point was refuting belief systems that believe in any material form of benevolent divine intercession, which logically, either A - can't exist in the face in such tremendous world suffering, or B - Is severely limited in it's power, compared to say...an omnipotent being/force.



First of all: I agree we will live in a "fallen world" you could say this is explicitly the view of the gnostics who got it a lot MORE right, in my view. Secondly, so an omnipotent God, allows children to be raped and tortured because that's how they chose to use their life? Come ONNNNNN, dude. Are you for real? "What a great gift of life!" says the child being tortured to death in some dungeon somewhere in Eastern Europe.

If we exist in a fallen world, i.e. - material ... then material existence isn't a gift, it's a curse. How is that not obvious? Is life a gift or a curse for children in slavery? For children with brain cancer? All material existence is hot garbage (duhkha), even when it appears we're riding high. I'm not going to evangelize the Buddha's gospel any more than to say that if you haven't realized that, you've probably still got some suffering to contend with. And anyway, it isn't the point of this thread.

Now onto the pride on my goodness: That's a pretty big assumption about who I am, and it's a classic argument in the Christian world, which I have already addressed. Just because YOU believe that goodness can only come from a higher power, doesn't mean it applies to everyone. That's where your faith comes in. And there's nothing wrong with using faith to support your inherent goodness. It reminds me the cult-like dilemma of Alcoholics Anonymous: they believe that because THEY have found a reliance on a Higher Power to instill in them goodness and annihilate their condition of "selfishness" that it must then apply to EVERYONE else. How conceited! How plainly wrong! Because we know it isn't true. Just look around. AA has about the same success rate as secular programs. I know of MANY people helped from the throws of alcoholism with a non-theistic program rooted in Theravada Buddhism, where the only "Higher Power" is the Buddha's teachings.

Think of it like this: Altogether, what's the difference between thinking of God as some omnipotent benevolent being (absolute hogwash considering human suffering, as previously stated) vs thinking of a God as the Dharma or the Dao: certainly serving the righteous way (or path or commandments) of a benevolent divine being is akin to serving Himself, no? Think about it, what else could please such a being, but serving His will? Belief in His omipotence, belief in the correct pronunciation of His name, what he looked like, whether he died on a Cross...all that couldn't possibly matter compared to following the will of the Father in heaven...which is what Jesus in the synoptic gospels taught us to do btw:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall. enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Do the will of the father. That is the teaching! So then what is will of the father? Well, let's talk about that. Because Jesus spent his ENTIRE ministry telling us EXACTLY what God's will was, but most christians seem to completely ignore them. Here are some:

- Repent
- Do not lust in your hearts.
- Love your enemies.
- Be Perfect.
- Seek God's Kingdom.
- Forgiveness.
And of course, the two Great Commandments:

• Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).
  
  
• Love Your Neighbor
  “And the second [commandment] is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”(Matthew 22:39–40).

That's it in a nutshell: Love God, love everyone else, and be as righteous and perfect as you can possibly be.

Now for those who believe that Faith Alone is important to salvation, don't you think it's a little odd that Jesus spent his entire ministry telling us exactly what we needed to do to enter heaven, only to then renig on the deal and be like, "Hahaha. Just kidding dudes. No need to do any of the righteous stuff, or change the contents of your hearts, which I spent my life talking about, just believe in my resurrection. See you in Heaven, baby. Jesus out." *poof*

This is the bastardization of Christianity I have been referring to. Only later, in John, do we get this ridiculous line, written an entire generation after the death of Jesus, by a writer who was not even present for the Gospel, a writer who literally identifies Jesus as the LOGOS: John 6:40: “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

So ask yourself how did we go from the will of the father being to love God and everyone else with all our hearts and have all this emphasis on the perfection of morality and virtue, to simply believing in Jesus' resurrection? Then ask yourself if you've been misled?

Here's another thing: OBVIOUSLY the method of faith alone works for SOME. Instill in yourself the faith that you are reborn, and you might just be reborn, be filled with the Holy Spirit, get those juicy gifts etc., and then life's all roses and candy and hating gay people. But it's hilarious that Christians think they have a monopoly on faith as a key to salvation: this method of spiritual transformation exists in MANY other traditions, including Hinduism, Islam, including Buddhism (Amitabha, anyone?) and on and on. Surrender works for many people, that's plain to see. But it's not the ONLY way.

This is a lot to unpack.

The Gnostics don't get anything "right" actually because they just take what's available in other religions and try to twist them and warp them to sound cooler. It's just mystical sophistry and pride. They have no stable or consistent doctrines of their own.

You don't understand that this life is nothing compared to the life to come. Those who suffer unjustly in this life (like the child being tortured in your example) will be justified in the life to come. They won't even remember what happened to them here. And unlike the highest euphoria you could experience on earth, the bliss there will never end, and it will even be incomparably greater than even the best life that the greatest king ever lived on earth. Of course, this requires faith, and also a desire for heavenly things instead of earthly things. Most importantly, it requires a desire for heavenly truth instead of earthly.

There is a curse on the material world, yes this is true. God originally created everything perfect, but we messed it up. Adam and Eve had the opportunity to grow even closer in their union with the all perfect God, but they chose a cheaper alternative in Satan and lost that perfect state they once had. Instead of communion with God they entered into communion with the evil one (we shouldn't be too hard on them, we all would have done the same thing and we all do do the same thing every day). God put a curse on the physical world so that evil would not become immortal in our nature - we would have a chance to change and regain that which we lost.

The assertion of pride was not an attack on you. It's something that is a part of our human nature at this point. Anyone who does not think he suffers from pride is lying to themselves. If you are lying to yourself, you cannot see the Spirit of Truth.

In order for Goodness, that is unconditional good independent of any change or alteration that is not dependent on anything/anyone else, it would have to come from an eternal source, one who is unchangeable like God. No man meets this criteria. Christ proved that He is God because His goodness and love for His children was not changed even to the point of watching as they murdered Him in the most gruesome way possible continuing to pray for their salvation.

"So ask yourself how did we go from the will of the father being to love God and everyone else with all our hearts and have all this emphasis on the perfection of morality and virtue, to simply believing in Jesus' resurrection? Then ask yourself if you've been misled?"

You're making a mistake here in thinking that what Christ says here somehow goes against keeping His commandments. If someone truly believes that Christ is God and comes to know how deeply He loves us and how much He has done, does and will continue to do for us then that man will do strive to love the Lord with all his ability. It's a relationship after all. If you believed that your wife loved you enormously, and that she strove to show her love for you as much as possible, wouldn't any decent husband do their best to reciprocate, even if meant making some sacrifices. Now imagine this with an omnipotent, omnipresent and all powerful eternal and Supreme Being!

Yes salvation is not by faith alone. That's quite clear from Scripture itself.

 

[gately]

This is a lot to unpack.

The Gnostics don't get anything "right" actually because they just take what's available in other religions and try to twist them and warp them to sound cooler. It's just mystical sophistry and pride. They have no stable or consistent doctrines of their own.

You don't understand that this life is nothing compared to the life to come. Those who suffer unjustly in this life (like the child being tortured in your example) will be justified in the life to come. They won't even remember what happened to them here. And unlike the highest euphoria you could experience on earth, the bliss there will never end, and it will even be incomparably greater than even the best life that the greatest king ever lived on earth. Of course, this requires faith, and also a desire for heavenly things instead of earthly things. Most importantly, it requires a desire for heavenly truth instead of earthly.

There is a curse on the material world, yes this is true. God originally created everything perfect, but we messed it up. Adam and Eve had the opportunity to grow even closer in their union with the all perfect God, but they chose a cheaper alternative in Satan and lost that perfect state they once had. Instead of communion with God they entered into communion with the evil one (we shouldn't be too hard on them, we all would have done the same thing and we all do do the same thing every day). God put a curse on the physical world so that evil would not become immortal in our nature - we would have a chance to change and regain that which we lost.

The assertion of pride was not an attack on you. It's something that is a part of our human nature at this point. Anyone who does not think he suffers from pride is lying to themselves. If you are lying to yourself, you cannot see the Spirit of Truth.

In order for Goodness, that is unconditional good independent of any change or alteration that is not dependent on anything/anyone else, it would have to come from an eternal source, one who is unchangeable like God. No man meets this criteria. Christ proved that He is God because His goodness and love for His children was not changed even to the point of watching as they murdered Him in the most gruesome way possible continuing to pray for their salvation.

"So ask yourself how did we go from the will of the father being to love God and everyone else with all our hearts and have all this emphasis on the perfection of morality and virtue, to simply believing in Jesus' resurrection? Then ask yourself if you've been misled?"

You're making a mistake here in thinking that what Christ says here somehow goes against keeping His commandments. If someone truly believes that Christ is God and comes to know how deeply He loves us and how much He has done, does and will continue to do for us then that man will do strive to love the Lord with all his ability. It's a relationship after all. If you believed that your wife loved you enormously, and that she strove to show her love for you as much as possible, wouldn't any decent husband do their best to reciprocate, even if meant making some sacrifices. Now imagine this with an omnipotent, omnipresent and all powerful eternal and Supreme Being!

Yes salvation is not by faith alone. That's quite clear from Scripture itself.

What’s more logical:

That there’s a benevolent, omnipotent God who lets children be raped to death, because, “Hey, it’s nothing compared to the bliss of heaven! You won’t even remember all that suffering. So no worries brah! You’ll be justified in paradise! Beaches are sick here. Surfs up! Cowabunga!”

Or

There is no benevolent omnipotent being.

Please note, I’m not saying there isn’t a god. Just that he can’t be wholly benevolent AND omnipotent.

I’d rather Christians be honest with themselves and just accept one of two cold, hard facts:

Either who you are calling God is a misguided ****head (this is the Gnostic view you’re quick to dismiss, i.e. - the demiurge ...and btw is kind of the Buddhist view, too) or God doesn’t exist in the way you think he does.

I’m too tired to refute some other points you made, but the above point is the most important anyway.

You sound like a good Christian though. The world could use more of those. So...Same team! Same team! I promise.

 

[Lollipop2]

What’s more logical:

That there’s a benevolent, omnipotent God who lets children be raped to death, because, “Hey, it’s nothing compared to the bliss of heaven! You won’t even remember all that suffering. So no worries brah! You’ll be justified in paradise! Beaches are sick here. Surfs up! Cowabunga!”

Or

There is no benevolent omnipotent being.

Please note, I’m not saying there isn’t a god. Just that he can’t be wholly benevolent AND omnipotent.

I’d rather Christians be honest with themselves and just accept one of two cold, hard facts:

Either who you are calling God is a misguided ****head (this is the Gnostic view you’re quick to dismiss, i.e. - the demiurge ...and btw is kind of the Buddhist view, too) or God doesn’t exist in the way you think he does.

I’m too tired to refute some other points you made, but the above point is the most important anyway.

You sound like a good Christian though. The world could use more of those. So...Same team! Same team! I promise.

You are on such a good track - calling out the main problems in Christianity. We need more critical thinking like this. And if one dares argue these basic problems, and still happen to believe in an underlying Divine force, people label you as a “New Ager” (what a disservice to deep thinkers) or one is labeled as some sort of “religious belief”. Why can’t critical thinking accompany a leaning towards an underlying force of Being without a label?

 

[gately]

You are on such a good track - calling out the main problems in Christianity. We need more critical thinking like this. And if one dares argue these basic problems, and still happen to believe in an underlying Divine force, people label you as a “New Ager” (what a disservice to deep thinkers) or one is labeled as some sort of “religious belief”. Why can’t critical thinking accompany a leaning towards an underlying force of Being without a label?

This kind of belief in Brahman is Vendata 101 and the truth-consciousness-bliss (sat-chit-ananda) is relatively easily experienced for oneself via meditation, but Christians are so afraid of all this. They’re trapped in this cult where anything that doesn’t tow the line with their creed is straight demonic to them. They rarely even want to explore the most basic Vendantic philosophy for fear that it leads to a bad spiritual end, let alone read a book on Theravada!

Theravada to a Christian mindset is straight up horrifying. It’s cutting the cord on the parachute. It’s saying, “Enough with these logical inconsistencies and endless cycle of suffering, I want off Mr Bone’s Wild Ride!”

And in a lot ways they are right. Look at Seraphim! He couldn’t find authentic Truth in any of the new age circles he ran in. Granted this was the 60’s in San Francisco, but still. It was all charlatans. The closest that guy would ever get to an authentic lineage of truth was Orthodox Christianity, and it served him well.

And the situation has only gotten worse. There’s a reason the Hindus and the Buddhists believe we are in the “Dharma Ending Age” or Mappo or Kali Yuga: authentic spiritual knowledge (let alone an authentic teacher) is nearly impossible to find these days.

The world is a lot safer in your cozy Christian belief system where nothing can be challenged. It’s also a surer way to heaven, in my view, because unquestioned faith is still very pure faith. Not strong, but pure. Like a child’s faith. And one can only hope all children go to Heaven.

 

[Peatful]

Have you asked Jesus?

He would love to hear from you.

Talking about religion, talking about spirituality, critically thinking, even talking about Scripture is very different than knowing Him.

 

[opson123]

Sigh. I'm really starting to think that maybe I'm the crazy one here reading all these post and thinking most of them are nonsense. What have I done in my life that makes me think so differently.

Maybe having such strong faith is just a self defense mechanism to survive in our shitty world.

 

[Blossom]

Maybe having such strong faith is just a self defense mechanism to survive in our shitty world.

No, you are not crazy. Your faith is a beautiful thing that should be cherished and protected. <3