Water flowing over negative circumstances

In some of my other posts I've expressed my new way of thinking about God. That is I am no longer thinking of God as a person object but as a type of experience. God is perfect, complete, and infinite. And the Universe was not created out of lack or need by God. The Universe was created by an overflowing of abundance. Everything in the Universe is at out-flowing of God's abundance and greatness. And there is no place for the out-flowing to go other than to return or be drawn back to its source, that is, to a place of unity with the perfection and completeness that is God. This pull back to the unity with God is why we are drawn to greatness in ourselves, nature, and our experiences. In experiencing greatness we feel closer to the unity with our source God. We are all drawn to God throughout our lives. We are all drawn to the experience of perfection and greatness.

I've also posted in another thread on how judgment is the death of human spirit. And when we are enveloped in a conversation based on "this shouldn't be" we become deaf and blind to God's blessings and abundance flowing all around us. Our enthusiasm is diminished and we lose our ability to experience or appreciate God's greatness in our lives. When we are in a constant state of judgment of our circumstances we cut ourselves off from the transcendent experience of God's greatness in the World.

With these two paragraphs in mind I would like to share some experiences I had today. I needed to ship a package today with special packaging requirements. I went to Fedex and for me to send the package the way I wanted I had to create an account. In the middle of the effort the computer system went down. The clerk said she could not help me. So I had to then leave and go to UPS. After another rigmarole I was finally able to get my package sent off the way I wanted.

The thing is I was kind of transcendent throughout all the disappointments. I was very mindful not to have any judgments while I was not getting what I wanted. I just let the circumstances happen without a judgment. I was very mindful not to dwell in or allow the "this sucks" conversation to take over my mind. In my mind, it felt like water flowing over rocks of negative circumstances.

The holy grail effort just to send out a stupid package easily could have colored my attitude for the rest of the day. But instead I actually had a pretty good day in the World. I know this is not some cosmically profound earth shaking philosophy that is going to bring peace to the Middle East. But the way I see it, anything that can provide me some protection against the vampires on my enthusiasm is probably a good thing worth sharing. I just like the idea or statement my mind was like water flowing over rocks of negative circumstances.

I don't let the stuff people mess up on get me down, I do mention it to my wife to vent a bit but over the years I have seen messups all over the place and have always had patients with people to fix things. Sometimes that takes talking to a manager or someone who specializes in a certain area, just asking the person nicely if someone more involved in knowing how to handle it is around. I do not like getting crabby, I learned forty four years ago not to get all wound up, I have always had tachychardia and stress usually sets it off more than hard work does.

a reply to: dfnj2015

It sounds like you may be most compatible with old school core Taoism. It is what it is and you can't assign blame for it.

The most recent Winnie the Pooh movie had an amazingly Tao quote from Pooh.

"They say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day"

I think Lao Tzu himself would add that to The Tao of the Tao Te Ching were he alive today. I commend you for your patience. People in the service industry are often at the mercy of things out of their control and are emotional punching bags for random jerks in the public. You did well not to be one of those jerks.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Everything in the Universe is at out-flowing of God's abundance and greatness. And there is no place for the out-flowing to go other than to return or be drawn back to its source, that is, to a place of unity with the perfection and completeness that is God. This pull back to the unity with God is why we are drawn to greatness in ourselves, nature, and our experiences.

It sounds so beautiful when expressed as above OP, but the reality of nature is that it is harsh and predatory. Many species viciously killing other species in order to survive.
Maybe it’s just my mood today, but if creation just flowed out of God’s abundance as such , it seems an awfully cruel creation.
Also why couldn’t many species been created to not make waste from what they consume to eat ? Just a few questions I have for the creator and His creations.🤷🏻‍♀️😒

While I don't share your views it makes absolute sense to, atleast try to, be at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
But this whole notion that there is some deity at the helm, well, it's just weak sauce.
There is nothing universal about the concept of god, it's a human affair

a reply to: Sheye

God is all love. He created the angels and then Satan desired to become like God and so he rebelled. And so evil became a force in creation. God is letting things play out because he created man for his companionship - but he won't force man.

Evil has corrupted everything. And nature is repeating the death that occurred when Eve and Adam sinned.

It will end. There is a glorious eternity waiting for those who choose God through Jesus.

This life is but a shadow.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Sounds lovely. You are practicing mindfulness with a deeper intent.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

I've been having problems with Eastern religions lately. It's hard to shrug off flavors of my Western traditional background with religion. In Eastern religion, you become attuned or live in harmony with nature and experience. But lately I've resonating with the idea of a "vision of heavenly Jerusalem". In Eastern religions there it's almost like conditioning yourself not to care about anything. I think the message is not translated quite right. I think the idea is to care but not be attached to the outcome. I think there is a proper way to be attached to goals and striving as they relate to a vision of a higher ideal or aspiration.

I think there is value in having aspirations to the divine. We may never achieve perfection in our striving. But I think it is important to try. There is some transcendent value in experiencing glimpses of God's greatness through our experiences of our own greatness.

I'm still working on this idea and criticism of Eastern religions. Maybe it's me and not the teaching. The idea of being beyond desire and beyond having needs seems to be overreaching in my view. The teaching itself then becomes like a type of idol worship without meaning. People become so attached to the idea of not having attachments I think they are missing the point.

originally posted by: Sheye
Maybe it’s just my mood today, but if creation just flowed out of God’s abundance as such , it seems an awfully cruel creation.
Also why couldn’t many species been created to not make waste from what they consume to eat ? Just a few questions I have for the creator and His creations.🤷🏻‍♀️😒

I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about cruelty and evil in the World over the years. I think evil comes out of our imperfections. The Universe is incomplete and imperfect. Without having complete unity with God, the result of having imperfections is why cruelty and evil exists in our World. The closer we are to God, the less evil and cruelty we will experience.

As I've stated in the OP, when we become focused on our conversation of disappointment with the results of the imperfections, we become deaf and blind to the slivers of God's greatness shining through the cracks of the incompleteness.

In terms of species and consumption, every part of God's creation has a place and role to play. Everything in the Universe exists as a form of evolution designed to create a greater and greater experience of unity with God's perfection and completeness. As human beings continue to evolve, we will increase our capacity to appreciate the unity and greatness that is the perfection of God. We are the Universes way of experiencing itself. Hopefully, the deepening of our appreciation of God's creation will not involve the consumption of every living thing.

a reply to: dfnj2015

There is only unconditional love and it appears as everything..... including serial killers.... and these words.

Even what is named evil is simply unconditional love.

You do not have to be positive to be unconditional love..... there isn't anything which is not arising unconditionally.

Nothing matters!

originally posted by: Jubei42
But this whole notion that there is some deity at the helm, well, it's just weak sauce.
There is nothing universal about the concept of god, it's a human affair

I cannot argue with the concept of god in our language is a human affair. Words are not the reality they represent. Reality is not reality in a real sense. Words are representations of reality.

However, I can appreciate your aversion to the idea of a "deity at the helm." The thing is, the Universe has a particular nature to it. We do not live in a clockwork Universe. We do not live in a Universe where God acts like a police force preventing unnecessary acts of evil. Our Universe has a certain pattern to it's behavior.

I think the Universe has a strange balance between chaos and unity. There are moments, points where energy converges to create experience that is not within the normal patterns of experience. Take experimental errors for example. It seems to me the Universe exists to express certain unexpected outcomes. Unimaginable possibilities get realized. Maybe the Universe is God's reality TV. Or, my other suspicion, the Universe exists in an infinite number of dimensions where every possible outcome of chance is realized in order for God to realize His omnipotence. God knows the results of every possible outcome. This Universe, the one we find ourselves in, is just one expression of a set of choices and possibilities.

Try not to get hung up on the idea of deity or God. God is just a word. Like all words, God is a representation of something in our minds and in reality. For our language to work, you have to have certain words as kind of like end-points of semantics. In science, we have the word "time" is just like the word "God". Time is eternal and universal. But in reality, you can't hold time in your hand or experience time like we experience an apple. Here's great article on "time" not being real:

There is no such thing as time

I think when you get hung on God, god, gods, and deities you lose site of the purpose of religion. Religion exists to provide concrete answers to the following four unanswerable questions:

1. Who am I?
2. Why am I here?
3. What does it all mean?
4. What is going to happen to me when I die?

So religion is a story to answer these questions. Religion is a context in which we live a meaningful life. There is a certain amount of dogma to this way of thinking. But everyone has a dogma. You have a dogma built on certain assumptions. For example, "time" may be your God. For you, anyone questioning the existence of "time" is insane. Everyone has a dogma. Every dogma has a set of assumptions. When we do not share or have the same assumptions as someone else we think they are insane.

I was an atheist when I was in my 20s. But I found arguing atheism over Christianity was too easy. So I decided to start arguing the theist position against the atheists. This was much more challenging. A funny thing happened along the way. After about 10 years arguing a pro-God position against the atheist I began to believe my own arguments! You should try it sometime. Maybe you can become a theist in 5 years. Or if you are really stubborn it might take you 15 years.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: dfnj2015

There is only unconditional love and it appears as everything..... including serial killers.... and these words.

Even what is named evil is simply unconditional love.

You do not have to be positive to be unconditional love..... there isn't anything which is not arising unconditionally.

Nothing matters!

It's funny how people get so confused on the word love. To me love is a very simple word. Love is little acts of kindness without any expectations of anything in return.

By my simple definition, serial killers are not expressing love for their victims.

Evil is not unconditional love. Unconditional love is when you still treat someone as sacred and worthy of love in spite of the other person's bad behaviors.

With regards to "nothing matters", or the idea of nihilism, is that although everything is meaningless, it is also meaningless that it is meaningless. Nothing may matter but it also doesn't matter that nothing matters. Since it doesn't matter, then why not CHOOSE that it DOES matter. If you truly are a nihilist, then it really doesn't matter to you how you choose. So why not choose God and meaningful instead. At least by choosing God and meaningful, you get to live a life that is more fun, enjoyable, and meaningful.

What I find interesting is how people I meet who are obsessed with evil turn out to be the most evil people. And vise versa. People I meet who are obsessed with caring and treating other people nicely turn out be the nicest people. Try not to be too obsessed with serial killers.

a reply to: dfnj2015

This reality is arising unconditionally..... it has nothing to do with the human idea of love.

Reality is what is....... this moment could not be different than it is.

Now is not really made of 'you' and 'what is appearing'..........reality is one not two.

If you feel that you exist separate to all that is, you will be seeking love...... and will no doubt seek for some 'thing' to complete you....... because you assume that you are a 'thing'.

Only when it is found that there is nothing separate will the unconditional (love) reveal itself.

It is never not revealing itself to itself..... but there maybe an idea that there is something other or should be something other than it is.

Do you not watch the non duality vids i offer?
Robert Wolfe and Jim Newman sum up what i say better.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Non duality means not two.
So no 'you' plus 'god'....... just this that is.....as it is.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Nothing is appearing....... nothing matters.

The appearance is empty...... emptiness is form..... form is emptiness.

originally posted by: dfnj2015

I've spent a consider amount of time thinking about cruelty and evil in the World.

This is why I wrote about serial killers in my reply... not because I am obsessed with serial killers.

You missed the point by telling me those who think about evil turn out to be evil........ Are you evil because you have spent a lot of time thinking abiut evil and cruelty?

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: dfnj2015

This reality is arising unconditionally..... it has nothing to do with the human idea of love.

Well, you certainly can choose to believe we have no choice. You have the free-will to choose we have no free-will.

Although we have no control or choice of what we experience in the now, energy follows thought. Our visions of the future alter possible outcomes. At least with human behavior and culture.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
Do you not watch the non duality vids i offer?
Robert Wolfe and Jim Newman sum up what i say better.

I haven't watch any Wolfe or Newman videos. I have studied non-duality. I like this book and this video from this teacher:

Nothing to grasp

And this talk:



But as I've stated in other posts. I'm luke warm with Eastern religions. I really like my Western religious roots and the idea of having a vision of some higher divine ideal as something we strive to achieve.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: dfnj2015

I've spent a consider amount of time thinking about cruelty and evil in the World.

This is why I wrote about serial killers in my reply... not because I am obsessed with serial killers.

You missed the point by telling me those who think about evil turn out to be evil........ Are you evil because you have spent a lot of time thinking abiut evil and cruelty?

Of course I am evil! I never said my aspirations towards God have been achieved.

a reply to: dfnj2015

The Joan Tollifson vid is great.

Try watching and hearing the Jim Newman vid I just posted on here.

And this one is hilarious....

so much fun and totally wonderful.