Dear DreamOn,

I'm more optimistic.

I know that I can't change the world -
what I can change is my own mindset.
And by doing that I may possibly help
towards having a positive effect. At
least I won't contribute to some of the
negativity that's already out there.

If we could remove from our hearts the
illusion that we are separate. If every
nation and every people and every colour
and every religion could at last find
the one heartbeat that we all share then
perhaps we could remove the walls that
separate us and the chains that hold us
down.

*FoxyLoxy*
" ... If we could remove from our hearts the illusion that we are separate. ... "

Hmmm ... would U like to read one of my dearly departed Nan's poems?

..

Let Australia stand for liberty
Freedom, hope and unity
Destined now to be a nation
With a higher valuation
Of what life on earth should be
Not in social degradation of the weary and the weak
But with pledge in honour keeping
Giving to each human being
Human pride and dignity
Let us then a new world hasten
Work for peace to right each wrong
Treat all others as we would brothers
Heed not either creed or color
Sing our own dear country’s song
For the god of all creation
Waits the unity of nations in to one great family
Let Australia then the guide be
Beacon for the world to see
Australia

Copyright Annette H.A. Schofield

Dear DreamOn,

Thank You for the poem.

The words ring true, especially in today's
troubled world. We have to learn not to try
to make a place for ourselves in the world,
but to try to make a place in ourselves for
the world.

As the philosopher Schopenhauer once wrote:

"Every truth passes through three stages before
it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed.
In the second, it is opposed. In the third, it
is regarded as self-evident."

Many still linger between ridicule and opposition
but millions of people throughout the world
are beginning to regard as self-evident principles
of ancient spiritual wisdom.

Living in a society that undervalues the spirit,
we who embrace it are tempted to apologize for
our interest. We must stop apologizing. It is
afterall, the answer to global hatred. To
invalidate spiritual life is to shoot at the
fireman who's putting out the fire.

The seven deadly sins are core attitudes of the self centered person and are the basis of impure motives for behaviours that destroy good human relationships. That is why they are deadly. Our thoughts form motives for our responses. We may attempt to hide them and deceive others for a time but they will be exposed eventually as our personality will be absorbed by them.

Sin is attitudes and behavioural outcomes that do not reflect the character of purity - the devine is pure - God is pure. God is expressed in the highest ideals of selfless sacrifice for the happiness of all. The sin of mankind nailed the innocent Jesus to a cross because of its envy and lust for power, indifferent to his life of purity in blessing the weak in society.

But what's "Spirit" *FoxY?*

I get the impression people simply equate "Spirit" with their own God concept/Belief system. Spirit to me rather is the other side of the black hole, the non corporeal, ..

And I am reasonably certain that I have no consciousness of the non-corporeal.

Surely the mind must be the overriding factor in all of this?

..

To come back to *DaveO's* point, and it is nice to see *Philo* chime in, my view is that in forming concepts of what is wrong in order to try and do what's "right" or only that which is in accordance with "Divine Will" is just playing out the "echoes" of our consciousness.

And in part I don't see anything wrong with that provided we recognize that we are imperfect/fallible and that it is healthy to learn from ones mistakes, and not to be so Holier than Thou as to exclude enjoyment of our shared Humanity and I again recall *DavidF* expressing views in an earlier thread in this regard as to the attitude of Judaism towards sexual gratification and other enjoyable pursuits.

And some may well say that that is just a rationalization for self indulgent hedonistic behavior, and here again that may also be true.

To speak of my Self, whilst I am told that I can be capable of acts of kindness and consideration for others, I also like to indulge in a variety of wicked behaviors as well and would cautiously liken this to the development of an overall healthy and vital immune system by judicious exposure to pathogens.

My view is sometimes it is good to sloth out and be lustful etc and having limited concepts of of what is or isn't a behavior in accord with El Goddo's Will coupled with the assumption that it is appropriate for all people at all times regardless of their individual circumstances or development, is in reality just a thinly veiled control mechanism concocted by both clever and devious political organizations who are astute and adept at manipulating base human emotions such as guilt.

Dear DreamOn,

To me spirituality is an inner fire, a mystical
sustenance that feeds our souls.

Many people view peace and love as soft and weak,
yet our planet's survival depends on their dominance.
We have to recognise that our individual minds
create our collective realities and we have to take
responsibility for the world by taking more seriously
our individual contributions to it.

Anyway, I feel that for me this subject has run its
course. Thanks for an interesting discussion.
I wish you well.