For the last two weeks I have been turning over and over in my head how to present this concern. Ill say it as best as I can. I might delete this post soon after, once I feel the message has been received. I have a lot of friends here...probably more than I deserve (maybe many more than I deserve). They range from psychedelic people, to old friends, to family, to Urantia Book readers to full-blown atheists. ALL have shone much love and support in the best way they know how. And I DO love you all. LOVE is what we all can have faith in; God, or no God. This is not directed at any one individual. Many who know me well have perceived that I am not a big fan of unasked for advice. I asked for advice about the glasses and the response was so helpful. I have all kinds of options I was not aware of, now. THANK YOU! :-) It truly helped me. But, something that I am very much allergic to is *religious* counsel. I dont need it AT ALL. I NEVER see atheists presuming to counsel me about NOT believing. In this way THEY are more respectful. Part of this project is meant to demonstrate that none of us knows better what anyone else needs in the spiritual department. Some of the problem I have seen out here is that people are held down by the moral expectations of others. Ideology (religious and otherwise) is the poison that pollutes America, and maybe the whole world. No one knows better what YOU should do, than YOU. The mind, the soul and the spirit are exclusive realms of the PERSONAL experience--IMO. If you have a belief system that works for you, that is great! That is what its all about. But as soon as you cross over into feeling that you need to influence other peoples belief systems with yours, you are going too far. You will notice that I talk about my self, my soul and my spirit. That is because my experience at this time - my Reasons for doing what Im doing - are exclusively tied to my personal belief system. But, mark you well, I AM NOT advocating that anyone else adopt or take too seriously for *themselves* what I take seriously for myself, in these regards. You certainly may or may not. But it is up to you. And it should stay that way. My mantra is: Think for yourself. To those who are social (as opposed to personally) religious. This mission of mine is NOT a religious quest. Yes, MY *personal* religion has much to do with what I decide to do out here on the street. I think it is important to lay those cards on the table so that you know what motivates me. But as for the true purpose of what I am undertaking? It is SOCIAL and CULTURAL. The results may be anything ranging from spiritual to scientific. And I DO believe that someone much greater than myself will rise to tug that train down the track. I have nothing whatsoever to do with how that person decides to go about the work that must come after me. But I also know (from within) that my stance as a NON-religious actor in all of this will be fully sanctioned by that same person, though I know nothing else about it. I have had to send several private messages to overly-zealous religious people who are trying to morally instruct me (and perhaps hope to have their comments influence others), by their own standards. I know that many of my friends here are appalled by having salvation or God shoved down their throats. And even though I am a complete believer in both of those things, I dont think others who dont believe in them should be subject to them through my Profile Page. They are things I would never force upon them myself. Honestly? I find it embarrassing. This is not a crusade on my part, and so I certainly hope that religious people can beat back the temptation to make it religious on their part. Me doing all this stuff is not an opportunity for you (you know who you are) to proselytize. Here is the most important thing to remember--at least from my perspective. I may tell about hardships or discomfort I am having, but that is not a call for spiritual counsel, only human comfort and understanding. I am simply and honestly *reporting* my experiences. I think it is important to do so. Sorry to get so heavy, especially since I am feeling better than I have in the last few days by getting myself a much-needed break from the rain. Thats it. Perhaps Im looking gift horses in the mouth. But I am willing to take the risk of losing some support among these preachers, in order to preserve the dignity of those who are offended by being preached at. I myself cant stand being preached at. Lets see how this is received. :-D Love to All.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 00:38:43 +0000