I relate to the first two responses easily, that is, I've done some killing time (horrible as it is to do that), and I've done a lot of earning a living to support my family (I have mixed feelings about that). I also relate to "I'm building a beautiful statue" and "I'm helping to build a cathedral" in that I've spent a good deal of time building something I very much believe in along with others who were working on the same project (cathedral). In the process of building that cathedral, I had a sense of doing something for generations that follow, so I relate to that response. I was also doing it to awaken myself and to serve all those who would use it and did some amount of seeking my salvation (ie, freedom) through service to others, so I can also relate to that response. As for the response of "This ego dissolved into God many years ago" and "there is no I left" and "God works through this body to help and awaken all people and draw them to Him," I relate to that as follows. I prefer the word Being to God, and although I deeply believe that I and each of us is a unique expression of Being, I'm not dissolved into that belief and don't live dissolved into Being. I still have plenty of I in an egoistic self conscious way that I don't like. I believe Being works through this body as I am a projection of Being, and I believe that as I cooperate with that I do help and awaken others to the one Being that we all are, but I don't believe that Being (or a God) is goal-directed, that is, works through an individual being in order to help and awaken people and draw them in. I don't believe Being operates in such a purposeful goal directed manner -- I think that's how we humans operate and we assume Being/God/a Higher Power operates in that way also. I get closer to my version of the elder's experience by growing in what I just shared. Thanks much for the opportunity.
On May 18, 2013 david doane wrote :
I relate to the first two responses easily, that is, I've done some killing time (horrible as it is to do that), and I've done a lot of earning a living to support my family (I have mixed feelings about that). I also relate to "I'm building a beautiful statue" and "I'm helping to build a cathedral" in that I've spent a good deal of time building something I very much believe in along with others who were working on the same project (cathedral). In the process of building that cathedral, I had a sense of doing something for generations that follow, so I relate to that response. I was also doing it to awaken myself and to serve all those who would use it and did some amount of seeking my salvation (ie, freedom) through service to others, so I can also relate to that response. As for the response of "This ego dissolved into God many years ago" and "there is no I left" and "God works through this body to help and awaken all people and draw them to Him," I relate to that as follows. I prefer the word Being to God, and although I deeply believe that I and each of us is a unique expression of Being, I'm not dissolved into that belief and don't live dissolved into Being. I still have plenty of I in an egoistic self conscious way that I don't like. I believe Being works through this body as I am a projection of Being, and I believe that as I cooperate with that I do help and awaken others to the one Being that we all are, but I don't believe that Being (or a God) is goal-directed, that is, works through an individual being in order to help and awaken people and draw them in. I don't believe Being operates in such a purposeful goal directed manner -- I think that's how we humans operate and we assume Being/God/a Higher Power operates in that way also. I get closer to my version of the elder's experience by growing in what I just shared. Thanks much for the opportunity.