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Post by tribunalofmercy on Dec 14, 2014 15:03:59 GMT
Sometimes the most Beautiful songs get written, in moments of clarity, by very questionable people/groups - depending on who is experiencing it....I put a couple that I enjoy in the 'spiritual songs' section. I got to thinking about that this morning because while I may appreciate the song I become hesitant to share, knowing that some might enjoy the song by Itself but others may experience grief that the artist/writer does not 'Walk the Walk' at all times...we search for perfection because we want so Much to believe in something that is not Spoiled by hypocrisy in any way. But are we any of us perfect? How can we see what Needs to be seen? There is a story of a family with two daughters – one six years old, and one twelve. This is somewhat a western tale, and cultural customs are funny things sometimes.....On Mother’s Day the older daughter had managed to purchase a thoughtful card and trinket, while the younger had Other ideas….that of giving Mommy Breakfast in Bed, all by herself. …You can imagine the results, can’t you? Spilled juice, the smell of burned toast and a trail of cereal from kitchen to the bedroom where Mommy’s beaming daughter presented her with a tray of goodies. Oh, but this was a Wise Mommy…she recognized her daughter’s Intent and was Thrilled to receive such a gift; what wonderful children she had! Gift presented, the youngest daughter went away Joyful, blissfully unaware of the implications of the mess she had created. Nothing was mentioned of the mess to clean up, for the Wise Mommy understood her daughter’s Heart; she knew, as her youngest daughter grew and matured, that she would begin to recognize of her Own accord that there may be a Better Way to give such a gift next time  Should it not be this way with us as we (and others) ‘grow’ and develop Naturally on our way to Higher Planes of understanding? Now then; a bit later Mommy asked her older daughter to help her clean up her sister’s mess; her gift had also been received and met with equal enthusiasm but the elder child only perceived Distress; why should she be responsible for her little sister’s mess? Why should she suffer for what She had not done? (similar thinking: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”) It was Not Fair. No, replied the Wise Mommy. Perhaps it does Not seem fair, but I believe you are old enough to recognize how You have grown since you were your little sister’s age; you may not remember but there were Many messes I cleaned up for you when I knew your Intention had been pure, and one of Love. Now this story does not apply to All situations, but perhaps we can learn from the Wise Mommy and look to the Intention of Each person in our lives, at each stage....in this way we may better learn when to serve up consequences, and when not to “spoil the moment”. lol Further thoughts today: What do you think gets in your way of offering yourself to others? If you were to give of what you Have, with pure Intent - even while still imperfect - what do you think would happen? Not considering what others see, would You see the difference you made, or would you focus on those who would see only fault? Mary Anne |
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mojomojo
Go deep enough, and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.
Posts: 692 
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Post by mojomojo on Dec 14, 2014 15:50:54 GMT
I think to walk this life with an open heart and to only see that in others, takes great strength, I most certainly, am not there yet.
Most people develop a hard outer shell, and once past this, the real person is found.
It takes a lot of courage to walk without any defence in place, even knowing this comes from fear, and that we attract what we put out,
But still it is easier to know it, than to practise it.
As regards perfection, I always use this analogy,
When people start oil painting, their skill level's are only beginning, so the results are never great.
With experience they start to produce much better paintings, always striving for perfection.
With a lot of experience, they now produce, works of art, master pieces, but the striving for perfection still exists.
Now they have found perfection, the painting looks just like a photograph,
With all passion and soul stripped,
When we reach perfection, we reach that which is unreal, we have lost something.
Robert.
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Post by tribunalofmercy on Dec 14, 2014 16:37:04 GMT
I hear you I wonder what 'perfection' actually Feels like, you know? (Since i have never Been there, lol) Maybe it's like Christmas (or any other holiday with so Much excitement, and Expectation)...those of us who experience the stress of commercial Christmas's spend a Lot of time in the Process, striving for the Perfect gift, or the Perfect family gathering, etc - the perfect Tree, yada yada....but so many of us get a Let-down after it's all over because, well, it's Done, you know? Over. We got Completely into the moment of Process and did not slow down to enjoy the Journey, so perhaps once it ends we got nothing Lasting out of it. So I wonder if it is the Joy of the Painting we lose along the way, in our quest to Make It Better Already. Perhaps we have no Idea what has been lost until we Do get "better", achieving a Work that seemingly not be improved upon but one which, as you say, has no Passion behind it? How do we Get to these places in our lives, Robert? (anyone?) Let me ask this: If a small child comes to us with something he or she has drawn and says, "Look! A giraffe!" - and you do Not see a giraffe - what is your response to the child? Do you compliment the child on the giraffe when you Do not see it? (i.e, "What a Lovely Giraffe!") Do you speak your mind and say, "I see no giraffe! Where is the giraffe?" Do you find something you Do see, and create a positive? "Wow - I love the way you have combined the yellow and brown colors in such a spiral - I wonder if the giraffe gets dizzy when he looks at himself!" Which answer is better? Does it Matter? All answers create a Result. Imagine how many things we learn from Others in our lives; imagine how many others learn from Us, too. In so many ways. Perhaps we all walk more openly than we Realize; though we imagine an outer shell it is still our Own perspective that would have us believe we are Hiding anything. |
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mojomojo
Go deep enough, and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.
Posts: 692
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Post by mojomojo on Dec 15, 2014 9:33:13 GMT
Hi Mary Anne,
If a child walked up to me with a drawing, even if I could not recognise it, by the time I was finished, that child would think they were the most important, budding little Picasso on the planet,
Whether it was the correct thing to do or not, would not come into it, I would nurture the budding artist inside, well every one would, really.
I think you hit the nail on the head, when the finished product, becomes the main focal point, the enjoyment of the journey is missed, when the joy is not there, the essence of spirit is also absent.
It seems a paradox, that a painter, honing his skills to perfection, which is to produce on canvas an exact replica of whatever is been painted.
When he has achieved this, he has lost everything.
I love paintings, paintings can move the emotions.
But I have also seen, landscapes done to perfection, which look just like a photograph, which can still be pleasant to look at, but all emotion is gone.
Does this only happen with painting, a musician, who plays with perfection, does he sound good or is there something missing, is it the subtle imperfections that bring character to the art.
Maybe that's why, there are no perfect human beings, maybe perfection is a state, unreachable, except in painting, maybe it's just our perception of it.
When a couple fall in love, each see's the other as the perfect human being,
Maybe we can see perfection in everything,
Guess, it just relies, on how you look at it.
Robert.
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Post by baangus on Dec 15, 2014 12:26:37 GMT
It seems a paradox, that a painter, honing his skills to perfection, which is to produce on canvas an exact replica of whatever is been painted. When he has achieved this, he has lost everything. Gosh, I would have to disagree with that mojomojo. Just as the journey is as important as the destination, I would say the destination as an experience is just as relevant and exciting and spectacular as the journey. I really do try to stay away from either/or philosophy of any kind. If the various masters (Krishna, Buddha, Jesus) spoke to us of perfecting the human mind, body and earthly experience, there must be validity to the idea and ideal of perfection. It must be important on some level. Has the perfect Creative All, lost everything due to It's perfection? Rather, the perfect Creative All is comprised of everything that can possibly be. It is infinite, and nothing that is infinite can ever be lost or lacking. Everything that is, is contained within that All. |
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mojomojo
Go deep enough, and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.
Posts: 692
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Post by mojomojo on Dec 15, 2014 13:30:30 GMT
Yeah, that didn't come out sounding like it should,
Not that he had lost everything, but the essence of touching the soul, of creating emotion in the observer,
That something that a photograph just can not do.
If it is possibly to reach perfection, it suggests an end, a time when the journey is over, I believe we can reach higher levels, but that the journey goes on forever.
Used to put it all down to an evolutionary process, but realised if we are co creator's, evolution is a by product of us, we create, evolution is the unified result.
It's all just philosophical, word play, take it with a pinch of salt, just another way to keep the mind entertained, just another opinion to float around the ethers,
Just the rumblings of an old mind, just a thought.
Robert.
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Post by baangus on Dec 15, 2014 14:07:34 GMT
If it is possibly to reach perfection, it suggests an end, a time when the journey is over, I believe we can reach higher levels, but that the journey goes on forever. Yes I understand. Perfection as human beings generally understand the term and form a mental image of the concept. Something that shifted my outlook years ago was the Hermetic view of the Creative Source, which I alluded to already. The Creative Source is referred to as the All. Nothing exists that is not an aspect of the All. This All is infinite. We are an aspect of the All. Even more than that, we are the All, given the All is everything. We evolve as human beings and souls. Therefore the All is continuing to evolve. The thing is, everything the All can possibly evolve into, is already an aspect of the All. And that's because the All is everything, and there can be nothing that is not the All. Perfection then, from this perspective, is infinite evolution, infinite movement, infinite possibility. Yet the focus is not the future, the focus is the present. Perfection is not the end, it is the current state. It is the always-and-forever NOW state of the perfect All. |
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mojomojo
Go deep enough, and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.
Posts: 692
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Post by mojomojo on Dec 15, 2014 15:04:40 GMT
Hi,
I agree with you one hundred per cent,
Robert.
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Post by rain on Dec 15, 2014 16:12:28 GMT
Baangus, I agree with you and thank you for such beautiful insight. For me spiritual evolution is never in terms of "reaching", but "remembering". We are perfect exactly as we are. maybe its not a question of loving or understanding God more, maybe its loving and understanding ourselves more. About relating to others, here's what i came to learn in my daily life: we cannot give what we don't have/know. If someone sees beauty in himself, he´s bound to see beauty in others. So, in a nutshell, what limits us are our own beliefs about ourselves. If undermine ourselves, what we can do is limited. I often say to people with self esteem issues: If you were aware of how much your smile can change the world, you would even smile in your sleep, and never belittle yourself again.  My two cents for the time being! Wish you guys a great week! PS: Just need to add this: If I give whatever I have to give, with intent, miracles happen! Little ones, big ones, but they certainly do! Even if I don't see them, I can trust they are there. |
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Post by baangus on Dec 15, 2014 17:14:43 GMT
Hi, I agree with you one hundred per cent, Robert. Thanks mojomojo Robert. Just to clarify: When I say I disagree, I'm really saying I appreciate the opportunity to discuss a particular topic from different perspectives. Philosophical wordplay as you said. The spirit of sharing is always the focus for me, and not my specific beliefs and point of view. |
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Post by baangus on Dec 15, 2014 17:16:58 GMT
Baangus, I agree with you and thank you for such beautiful insight. For me spiritual evolution is never in terms of "reaching", but "remembering". You are welcome rain. I love love love that 'not reaching, but remembering' comparison, perfect! |
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Post by hemantm on Dec 24, 2014 9:31:22 GMT
It's good to keep in mind - although during the painful period it's not always the first thought - that out of every crisis comes an opportunity. No matter how bleak or dire circumstances may seem, we can't change them, but we CAN control how we view them. Again, it's our perspective - our "Point of View".
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Post by baangus on Dec 24, 2014 12:09:38 GMT
No matter how bleak or dire circumstances may seem, we can't change them, but we CAN control how we view them. Again, it's our perspective - our "Point of View". Hi hermantm. But isn't changing how we view our circumstances, in fact the path to changing them? One's circumstances begin to change the moment one understands the relationship between our inner thoughts and our external circumstances. A Divine law of absolute justice rules the world, so that each human being is in truth her/his own judge, the dispenser of glory or gloom to her/his self, the decreer of her/his life, reward and punishment. Every thought, word or action produces its definite result – not a reward or a punishment imposed from without, but a result inherent in the action itself, definitely connected with it in the relation of cause and effect, these being really but two inseparable parts of one whole.~ CW Leadbeater |
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