First of all the MJ is a 'choice'.

It is a 'Y' in the road that one approaches, at differing times, for differing people, in some people's lifetime.

The choices are 1) go with the 'group' ... regular non God-thinking people who just 'live life'. They are the civilians. They live in a fantasy world believing that they are in reality.

Or 2) follow a different path that unknowingly leads to 'aloness' but more importantly the expression of a deep-seated longing to find meaning in life. It is a life lived in introspection... it is a life spent searching for truth.

Those who choose Path 2 often become religious purists. They turn their back on all or parts of traditional religion and set out to find the real 'truth'.... because nothing short of that will satisfy them..... and because everyone knows traditional religion is miles off-base.

The further along this road one ventures the more concentrated one must become on 'purifying the self' ie, getting rid of personal 'hang-ups'... that are due to early and later life experiences. Because one learns very quickly that the criteria for uniting more and more with God... is discovery and purification of the self.

This involves, introspection that produces insights about 'the way I am' (strengths and flaws) and then further insights about how one sets about correcting the flaws.

Almost by chance one happens upon God.

The search for truth must not be a search for God... because God will reject you.

It must begin with a search for 'self'. You have got to work on your own psyche before you can expect God to 'resonate' with you.

For one thing, practically, with a damaged psyche... his 'love' would destroy you.

It would effect you as would the strongest psychotropic drug. You would go stark raving 'mad' with the power. Really insane!

The power would simply overwhelm you... bringing out every one of your personal psychological flaws to the surface. And the 'power' deludes you into believing that you should act on it.

Bin there...done that!

The power makes you less concerned about consequences at the moment... although like in Monty Python's 'Holy Grail'... the travellers (The Wanderer #56) do have to pay the price for harming the civilian.

So His further grace for you depends upon your purification of yourself.

So the mystical journey begins with discovery of 'the self'.

Most mystics do study the human condition.... that is what wisdom is all about. The mystical journey begins with not with the study og God... but with the study of 'self'

Psychology 101 anyone?

Psych 101 (Synopsis)

Human are a collection of beliefs that stem from earliest life experiences... that makes up our 'consciouness'.

If we are lucky... we have no sensory damage early in life. (If we do the situation becomes a lot more complicated... plus it's remidiation is a lot more time-consumimg.)

If we escape the sensory damage... then it's onto emotional development. That occurs through our age 5 to 15 years stages. Emotional development is all about how healthy an environment we grow up in. If we grow up in a hostile world we are fearful and angry. if we grow up in a loving world .... we flourish.

But the real problems occur for people when the homes they grew up in are absent of love, encouragement, support and security. Without those supports in early life .... we've got issues to deal with.

Most of us have issues to deal with.

Psych 101 (Feelings and Beliefs)

We feel as we believe.
We believe as we feel.

Most people don't realize the strength of the interdependancy between feeling and thinking. We react almost from senses when we avoid emotionally negative situations... manifesting the emotion into a corresponding belief.

For example:

Senses:
i do not like things i don't understand (ie, harmonize with the world i grew up in).

Emotions:
Because I don't understand homosexuals I dislike (fear) them.

Beliefs:
Because I don't like my feelings about homosexuals (which I fear) therefore I believe that homosexuality is wrong... because "it just doesn't feel right".

The Role of an Authority: If i can find an authority to agree with my position re: homosexuality ... then perhaps I can believe others of their beliefs.

Hence the traditional church... and it's 'loyal' followers.

In order to work with our beliefs that are out of synch with reality we must understand where i beliefs came from... they came from our emotions.

Where do our emotions come from... they come from our sensory interpretation of how discordant any situation is from our earliest experiences.

If we come from a very discordant early life experience then we interpret our current sensory data relative to how damaged we were by that situation or life experience.

So then, the process of purification involves looking at ourselves... taking inventory of our strengths and weaknesses. Tracing our weakness back to those earliest of events that caused that weakness and intellectually replacing that belief with a more realistic belief.

And what is "realistic"?

Reality is the big clock... where all parts are important and all parts work synchronously. No part is lesser than any other.

We need to understand how the world (ie, Mother Nature) works.

We need to understand people both psychologically but also sociologically. We need to understand the economics, the science, the engineering, the mathematics, and on and on, of the world around us.

Then we begin to see and touch out for God.

And he's either there waiting for your hand, or i'm the world's biggest liar.

It's up for each of you to decide.

Psych 101 (The Big Clock)

OK if 'what life should be' is all about getting in synch with the big clock.... How do we do that?

Simple.... that's what the search for truth is all about.

Discovering 'truth' let's us know more of the dynamics by which the big clock works.

What is ultimate truth?

Don't know.
I cannot even begin to envision what the real BIG picture is all about. But we do have a microcosm of it here going on around us every day. It's called "Nature"... and it operates by 'natural laws'.

So let's study nature and the way things are. Let's discover the natural laws that people work by. Because people... each of us... are also a vital part of the Great Clock.


And that involves "the Great Works"

Psych 101 (The Great Works)

The Great Works represent the sum total knowledge of humanity... with special emphasis upon those works having to do with our origins and the nature of all things. This most importantly includes and especially involves discussion of a divine 'entity' or God.

There are many interpretations of God.
And each interpretation has its own accuracies and inaccuracies. No one is all right and no one is all wrong. The best is a composite.


As one begins to clarify 'reality' from all of these different interpretations... one becomes ready for God.

Again... if you aren't purified... you are not ready for God.

And then God arrives.

And life changes....

What is the Purification Denovo? I believe it is the Tower card of Tarot. The Love of God is an all consuming fire, skim off the dross to get to the pure Gold.

[quote]But the real problems occur for people when the homes they grew up in are absent of love, encouragement, support and security. Without those supports in early life .... we've got issues to deal with.

Most of us have issues to deal with.[/quote]


That would fit me. I have lots of issues, which interestingly gives me more agggression in my introspection and pursuit of truth. Why I am here.

Sun,

re:"What is the Purification...?

To me purification is the process of identifying faults and beginning to correct those. It is a process we begin with by introspection ... attempting to understand ourselves... and to make positive correction. For me i reserve the 'purification' as those subtle faults that stop us connecting with God. God often directs you into situations that that will bring out those flaws and correct them.

re:"I have lots of issues, which interestingly gives me more agggression in my introspection and pursuit of truth. Why I am here."

Good for you.
One needs to admit there's a problem before anything can be done about it.

One thing I've noticed is that as we get older, we naturally recognize what we need to change and grow on, yet we seem even more sinful than ever. Maybe because the more we know, the more responsible we are for how we act. Also, as we get old, we get so cynical. It seems that we should become more "pure" as we grow old, but I'm not sure if we do. We do get past our wild oats stage it seems.

Btani,
[quote]as we get older, we naturally recognize what we need to change and grow on, yet we seem even more sinful than ever. Maybe because the more we know, the more responsible we are for how we act. Also, as we get old, we get so cynical. It seems that we should become more "pure" as we grow old, but I'm not sure if we do. We do get past our wild oats stage it seems.[/quote]

Some people only get "older" chronologically (number of years) rather than intellectually. Wisdom is acquired only through conscious intent.

While testosterone for men decreases with age, beliefs and emotions only change constructively
with hard work...'introspection' it's called.

So age is no qualification for wisdom... only hard work on the 'self'.