Quote:It depends on which nutjob school you subscribe to. There is a branch refered to as the "name it claim it" school of thought that talks about praying for miracles then sealing the prayer with an audible shout of "I receive my miracle!" Quite a powerful session, a bunch of people in an auditorium repeating, "I receive my miracle!"
Sounds fun......

Quote:As for your question about my personal experiences, well that would be a long story filled with all manner of colorful beasties and hallucinogenic landscapes, not all caused by actual hallucinogens. Did I hear the voice of god? Well, that goes with a lot of questions like, did I actually leave my body or speak with demons or any number of trippy stuff that probably just means I have a very creative imagination.
Another explaination would be schizophrenia which I have researched but not actually gone to a psychiatrist. I have taken the MMPI and didn't correlate with schizophrenics so I am left with the idea that I have a fertile imagination. Sounds like you got one too; not a bad thing but something to get a handle on.
Nah you ain't got schizophrenia, it's only schizophrenia when you can't turn it off. I'd love to hear more about your experiences though, sounds very interesting. But did you have THAT experience, ya know the one where the universe becomes all lifeless and empty, the heart begins palpatating, every muscle in the body twists and writhes, electricty shoots up along the length of the spine in rythmic surges, pulsating out of the top of the skull, then the fun begins.....
Quote:I've never understood why people interpret submiting to god's will and giving up your own. That notion seems retarded to me. God gave us free will so we could give it back to him?
I know, it's fucked up lol. However we're not talking about your will in reality, we're talking about the many, often times conflicting, wills of the body. The stomach says, 'feed me', the throat says, 'quench me', the genitalia say, 'sqeeze me' etc. These wills take away from our own happiness, so the irony is, by giving up these wills, by giving up that life, we gain new life and a new, free will, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Creation. Remember that we aren't giving up our will to another human, or biological entity, we're giving up our biological (and psychological) wills to allow the Will of Creation to drive us, and the Will of Creation, the Holy Spirit, is the Will of Nature.
It's about perfectly adapting to this reality. What is the first will of life, the primal urge, undiluted by sexual desire, the desire to consume, the desire to possess. What is the will of the first ever living organism on this planet, with neither stomach nor genitalia? It is a command, the Holy Spirit, the Word spoken by God in the beginning, 'There shalt not be nothing!', 'I cannot die, there shall be no death, I shall live, I shall create, I shall struggle and overcome!'
It's about living true to life through the get desire, the great Spirit of Creation, undiluted by the minor desires that have accumulated over the past 4 billion years (apparently life may have begun as early as that, although to be conservative let's say 3.5 billion)
We are not submitting to an intelligence, ordering our every action and thought, we are submitting to a spirit, an energy, not just that, but the Greatest Energy, that which creates and sutains the universe itself, and that energy becomes our own, that fire burns in our hearts, and we then order that energy, we provide the intelligence with that Spirit.
And of the wills that comprimise our integrity, it's the psychological wills which are the most difficult to control and snuff out.
Quote:I've known people to sit alone in their house for hours trying to manufacture a "God's will" reason to do anything.
A great portion of the Bhagavad Gita deals with this very issue, it speaks of only letting go of the fruits of action, not action itself. To act, somewhat blindly, with no desire for any personal gain or attachment to a desireable outcome.
Quote:That is one of the most self-destructive concepts in religion today, "Don't think for yourselves, wait for God to direct your actions."
It's not about God directing you're actions, but fueling your actions with his Spirit. Will is unintelligent, it proceeds from thought, it is energy. Energy does not direct, it is directed.
Quote:Bible verses aren't evidence.
Is this to do with the God is Love thing? Well if you've got a better definition of God then I'm all ears.