Languishing Spirituality and the "End Times"

We are living in an age of desperation. Every where one looks, people are looking for spiritual solace. They pack the churches on Sunday, only to act the same as they did on the previous week on Monday morning.

When I personally look at the world, I see nothing but conflict. There is a religious war being fought under the guise of a "war on terrorism," yet, we turn a blind eye to what is occurring.

We see people turn to alternative forms of spirituality, which I personally think is where the answer is, yet, we still thirst. We have two warring religions that claim to have the "truth," yet, the answers they present are of little to no significance.

What does this all mean? Where are we headed? Is it hopeless?

The answer to the latter is no, it's not hopeless. However, if humanity doesn't open its eyes, we will be cast back into a 7th century hell. By the way, that is really what people like Osama bin Laden and others thirst for. After all, both Islam and Christianity were at their peaks of power then.

What is Mysticism?

The '12 apostles'To many modern Christians, words like "meditation," "mystic," and "mysticism" bring to mind Eastern religions, not Christianity. Certainly Eastern religions are known for their mysticism; however, mysticism is not only a vital part of the Christian heritage as well, but it is actually the core of Christian spirituality. Mysticism simply means the spirituality of the direct experience of God. It is the adventure of "the wild things of God."

Mysticism

The whole point is to experience God directly. Without that experience, one cannot claim to know the heart and mind of God. To claim to know the mind the mind of God through the pages of a book, a book, by the way, that has been manipulated by the treacherous hand of man, is fool hardy.

Yet, hundreds of millions claim just that. Muslims and Christians claim that one can "know the mind of God" through the pages of a book, the Koran and Holy Bible, respectively. Yet, I submit that the answer is nay, you can't.

One of the problems in the modern world is that people rely on physical objects rather than spiritual insight. Materialism is in direct conflict with early Christian doctrine and it is in conflict with modern day spirituality.

Divine Union.... The purpose of this book is not to show you prayer, or even experience, but to bring you to the final Christian state: UNION WITH GOD.... The effort of the self must be stilled. But even more! THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE SELF MUST BE DESTROYED....

Union

Without union, there is no hope of knowing the mind of God. In these "last days" people need to keep in mind that what they think is true and what is really true are polar opposites.

Welcome back to ATS SpeakerOfTruth.

May you find a direct experience of God rather than belief-in-God. In fact, the direct experience sought by mystics is far more attractive to me than the religious stuff.

Sky, as it should be. Instead of seeking out the experience of God, though, people tend to just take interpretations, made by man, of "sacred" texts at face value. In all honesty, this is what is causing such an upheaval in the world today. Yet, many, if not most, are too blind to see it.

Have you ever wondered if all sides of false warring religions are controlled by the same interests in order to cause chaos and disorder in order to slowly and stealthily achieve their goals through both sides and masked by the mayhem? when i see these wars i always get the same feeling "the uneducated people are being played for fools again. its just a big game with the only losers being those foolish enough to get sucked into it" its a hard feeling to explain but thats the best i can do

reply to post by HuntaXX


Well, I have wondered that,yes. Now, obviously, I believe ina higher power. However, I certainly don't think that that higher power is to be found in the church, synagogue or mosque.

If one wants the TRUTH, one has to seek for him/herself. Any reliance on an outside source in regards to the truths seems kind of fool hardy to me.

[edit on 21-4-2008 by SpeakerofTruth]

Here's a link to a 18:22 Video, about a woman scientist who actually experienced Actual & True "Spirituality"...

see: www.brasschecktv.com...
called: "The World The Brain"


all the poisionous atmosphere which org. religion created about 'Spirituality'... should be set aside, shunted, discarded !


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If that link ain;t working,
go to www.opednews.com...

[edit on 21-4-2008 by St Udio]

Thank you, St. Udio. I will check it out as soon as I can.

Great post, I agree that personal experience of divinity is the only thing that can inspire spirituality.

We call this divine presence 'God' - but guess what? In modern society an enormous chunk of the population is allergic to the word 'God' - they believe there is no divine order, that there is no God and that spirituality is make believe etc.

This is why we are spiritually bereft. Because so much of the population wants to live materialist, selfish lives.

I would say the only people who are truly struggling on the spiritual front are for those who are spiritual. Like any other time in history, some of the population is spiritually inclined, and the rest are practically opposed to spiritual or religious concepts.

Yeah, yeah, "spirituality." We don't all sit around and stare at our navels and feel vibrations from trees and reach out to the alcoholic bums staggering down the street. We don't buy enough scented candles or spend enough contemplating the ways of whatever supernatural entity is supposed to be watching over us.

There's another kind of spirituality, you know. It's the spirituality of getting up in the morning and going to work, even though we might not like it. Of mowing the lawn. Of feeling strong and ready to kick some butt. It's all spiritual.

Personally, I think people still have plenty of spirit, and anybody who thinks otherwise is viewing the situation from some holier-than-thou position of judgment. "Oh, boo-hoo, isn't the world so very awful?"

No. The world is the same as it ever was. Mostly painful torment with a few brief, happy moments to break up the monotony. We have as much spirituality as ever. Whatever lack anyone seems to perceive is due to a psychological problem on their part, not the world's.

Originally posted by Nohup
Yeah, yeah, "spirituality." We don't all sit around and stare at our navels and feel vibrations from trees and reach out to the alcoholic bums staggering down the street. We don't buy enough scented candles or spend enough contemplating the ways of whatever supernatural entity is supposed to be watching over us.

There's another kind of spirituality, you know. It's the spirituality of getting up in the morning and going to work, even though we might not like it. Of mowing the lawn. Of feeling strong and ready to kick some butt. It's all spiritual.

Personally, I think people still have plenty of spirit, and anybody who thinks otherwise is viewing the situation from some holier-than-thou position of judgment. "Oh, boo-hoo, isn't the world so very awful?"

No. The world is the same as it ever was. Mostly painful torment with a few brief, happy moments to break up the monotony. We have as much spirituality as ever. Whatever lack anyone seems to perceive is due to a psychological problem on their part, not the world's.

You have a very close minded and judgmental view of spirituality that will stop you from enjoying your life until you move past it.

"Mostly painful torment with a few brief, happy moments to break up the monotony" and your own words prove it.


[edit on 21-4-2008 by HuntaXX]

Originally posted by Nohup
Yeah, yeah, "spirituality." We don't all sit around and stare at our navels and feel vibrations from trees and reach out to the alcoholic bums staggering down the street.

Damn, correct me if I'm wrong but the roadmap to enlightenment doesn't work anything like that.

I stand by my earlier statement that people are allergic to the word God and spirituality. There is something wrong with society when people are afraid to discuss higher orders of reality, you know? There's more to life than mowing the lawn.