Hey--do you ever just flip open to a totally random Bible page sometimes just to see what it says?

a reply to: DJW001

oh wow i didn't know that it had a name/or the history behind the practice--how cool!

Just learned something new ^_^ thank you!

edit: just having fun looking up bibliomancy

And there are three easy steps, too! (at least according to wikipedia)

1. A book is picked that is believed to hold truth.
2. It is balanced on its spine and allowed to fall open.
3. A passage is picked, with the eyes closed.

a reply to: rukia

Good thread! And yes, I find your suggestion very useful at times. Sometimes I just open up a book or come across a reading completely inspiring and in sync with the heart's need at that time.


"Love Does Not Fail For You When You Are Rejected or Betrayed or Apparently Not Loved. Love Fails For You When You Reject, Betray, and Do Not Love. . . . Therefore, The Most Direct Way To Know Love In every moment Is To Be Love In every moment."

Adi Da Samraj

a reply to: bb23108 Does this include self love? I am getting older and some days can only manage three or four moments

a reply to: rukia

I don't usually do that, but just for the purposes of this thread, here is mine today, I just opened to Joel 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

Run and tell that!....

originally posted by: kenzohattori69
a reply to: bb23108 Does this include self love? I am getting older and some days can only manage three or four moments

What that quote means to me is that being love is simply unqualified feeling participation in whatever is arising - it is not turned inwardly on oneself nor is it "other" referring. It is the recognition of, and participation in, our inherent connectedness/unity.

a reply to: bb23108

I think It's another way of saying happiness is not out there.. rejecting you..
Happiness is inside you, whenever you want it.. waiting for you..

Love is an attitude,
like gratitude,
the gratefulness for greatness.

a reply to: WarminIndy

oh man that one is quite the doozy!

From, The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahabharata

Vaisampayana continued:

After brooding on how the entire army had been massacred at night by just three warriors, King Yudhisthira in his grief asked Krsna: "Krsna, how were all my sons, those great warriors, killed, by that unskilled, vile, and wicked son of Drona? And how were Drupada's sons, so honed in weapons, bold fighters of a hundred thousand foes, slain by Drona's son? How could he have killed Dhrstadyumma, greatest of warriors, before whom the great archer Drona himself could not appear? Bull of a man, what unbalanced act was done by the teacher's son that, single-handed, he was able to destroy our entire camp?"

Vasudeva replied:

"Certainly, Drona's son sought the protection of the imperishable god of gods, Lord of lords, and in that way, single-handed, he killed so many. For gratified, Mahadeva may bestow immortality itself, and Girisa can give the strength to knock down even Indra. For I know Mahadeva as he is. In reality, and his various former deeds, Bull of Bharatas- He is the beginning, the middle, and the end of beings: the entire universe is active, Bharata, through his activity."

End of page!

originally posted by: KnightLight
a reply to: bb23108

I think It's another way of saying happiness is not out there.. rejecting you..
Happiness is inside you, whenever you want it.. waiting for you..

Love is an attitude,
like gratitude,
the gratefulness for greatness.

Happiness, Love-Bliss, Light is our inherent condition but we identify and contract as these body-minds, and so cramp the force of life into knots of self-contraction throughout the body. So we feel betrayed by life itself until we understand that we are actually doing this knotting up of ourselves in an effort to define ourselves as an interior separate entity.

Happiness is neither inside nor outside, it simply is the quality of Reality itself. We need not seek within to discover this - we simply need to learn to stand in place and notice that we are not any objects that arise including the sense of separate self, but that we are non-separate Feeling-Awareness itself. That is our inherent happiness, already the case, and not ever found by seeking it either inwardly or outwardly.

a reply to: rukia

Funny you should mention this. I'd always wanted a truly random verse getter, but didn't find any that I liked, so I wrote one myself. All it does is pick a random number from 1 to 31102, map that to a verse like it was a serial number, and pop open a biblegateway.com page for it and the verses just before and after it (for context). You can even restrict it to only Old or New Testament, or even to just a single book. And you're all welcome to it. Happy Holidays.

PS: I think maybe some usage suggestions are in order, come to think of it. Don't just go all wild, clicking over and over and just skimming the results. Sit there for a second, think about something you're having trouble with, something you'd like to know maybe, something you could use some guidance on, ask for an answer, and then gently click "Go" as you open your eyes. I'm certain that such thoughtful use will get you better results than running amok.

The dictionary is my favorite book.
I often open it randomly and find a word I don't know and use it in a sentence.
My word today was algophobia. It is an abnormal fear of pain.
Due to his algophobia, Bob refrained from participating in the pool-noodle sword fight.

That's called "Bibliomancy". It's not always a literal meaning, but symbolic.

a reply to: rukia

Great idea! My cousin does this. She says she prays, then open the bible to a random page & finds her answer. I forgot about that til now. Here is what I got. Very fitting. For me. Hubby & I have been thinking about going to bible study. I guess this is the answer.




Psalm 25
Of David.
A Plea for Deliverance & Forgiveness.

1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.

And they worshipped the dragon which gaue power vnto the beast,
and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like vnto the beast? Who is able to make warre with him?

www.youtube.com...

as spoken by Dan Aykroyd

# 433

a reply to: undo

no no good sir! he is on the right thread for that, too. Normally I'd find random epic quotes that i really enjoy and want to share because of the epicness--problemo is is that, depending on the book in the Bible, I kinda tend to find a lot of things that I think are really really epic. lol I'm an excitable little one, that's fo sho lol

but I thought that that as an OP would b kinda obnoxious and not very appealing to the greater audience of ATS--since I don't want just christian things ^_^ Like, I'm loving seeing what you all have posted so far

a reply to: rukia

Hmm Jebus... Its supposed to say Jesus right?

originally posted by: Danbones
yes I have, just once, and I got:
rev 22:16

the verse where Jesus says he is the sun of the morning star
which is venus
or in the language of the day
LUCIFER

Lucifer (/ˈluːsɪfər/ LEW-sif-ər) is the King James Version rendering of the Hebrew word הֵילֵל in Isaiah 14:12. This word, transliterated hêlêl[1] or heylel,[2] occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible[1] and according to the KJV-influenced Strong's Concordance means "shining one, morning star".[2] The word Lucifer is taken from the Latin Vulgate,[3] which translates הֵילֵל as lucifer,[Isa 14:12][4][5] meaning "the morning star, the planet Venus", or, as an adjective, "light-bringing".[6] The Septuagint renders הֵילֵל in Greek as ἑωσφόρος[7][8][9][10][11] (heōsphoros),[12][13][14] a name, literally "bringer of dawn", for the morning star

en.wikipedia.org...

rev 22:16
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
- king james Version

www.abovetopsecret.com...

ISAIAH 14:12

King James Bible
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

biblehub.com...


I don't need to read the rest

Technically, wouldn't a star have to be the Sun ? Venus isn't a star.

a reply to: rukia

Tried it with a dictionary. Got the word 'random'

a reply to: SanitySearcher

nah, maybe for you but for me, God shows me what He wants me to see.

for example--i am reading this currently. flipped to it randomly as you said but the words have significance to me very much right now. literally the exact thing i needed to hear atm. For reasons that don't really matter but yeah check it out--i actually just flipped to the beginning of the book of wisdom and have read it all but i felt that chapter 8 holds significance for you atm. And so, I was compelled to share: ^_^


BOOK OF WISDOM CH. 8

Indeed, she spans the world from end to end mightily

and governs all things well.a
Wisdom, the Source of Blessings

2Her I loved and sought after from my youth;

I sought to take her for my bride*

and was enamored of her beauty.b

3She adds to nobility the splendor of companionship with God;

even the Ruler of all loved her.

4For she leads into the understanding of God,

and chooses his works.c

5If riches are desirable in life,

what is richer than Wisdom, who produces all things?d

6And if prudence is at work,e

who in the world is a better artisan than she?

7Or if one loves righteousness,

whose works are virtues,

She teaches moderation and prudence,

righteousness and fortitude,*

and nothing in life is more useful than these.

8Or again, if one yearns for wide experience,

she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come.

She understands the turns of phrases and the solutions of riddles;

signs and wonders she knows in advance

and the outcome of times and ages.f
Wisdom as Solomon’s Counselor and Comfort

9So I determined to take her to live with me,

knowing that she would be my counselor while all was well,

and my comfort in care and grief.

10Because of her I have glory among the multitudes,g

and esteem from the elders, though I am but a youth.

11I shall become keen in judgment,

and shall be a marvel before rulers.

12They will wait while I am silent and listen when I speak;

and when I shall speak the more,

they will put their hands upon their mouths.*

13Because of her I shall have immortality

and leave to those after me an everlasting memory.h

14I shall govern peoples, and nations will be my subjects—i

15tyrannical princes, hearing of me, will be afraid;

in the assembly I shall appear noble, and in war courageous.

16Entering my house, I shall take my repose beside her;

For association with her involves no bitterness

and living with her no grief,

but rather joy and gladness.j
Wisdom is a Gift of God

17Reflecting on these things,

and considering in my heart

That immortality lies in kinship with Wisdom,k

18great delight in love of her,

and unfailing riches in the works of her hands;

And that in associating with her there is prudence,

and fair renown in sharing her discourses,

I went about seeking to take her for my own.

19* Now, I was a well-favored child,

and I came by a noble nature;

20or rather, being noble, I attained an unblemished body.

21And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave it—

and this, too, was prudence, to know whose gift she is—

I went to the LORD and besought him,l

and said with all my heart:

* [8:2] I loved…my bride: the erotic quality in the pursuit of and living with Woman Wisdom, who is the Lord’s consort (9:4) and loved by him, continues throughout this chapter (vv. 16, 18). It is reflected already in Prv 4:5–9; 7:4–5. See also Sir 15:2–5; 51:13–21.

* [8:7] Moderation…fortitude: known also as the cardinal virtues, and recognized in Greek philosophy (Plato).

* [8:12] Hands upon their mouths: a sign of respect for unanswerable wisdom; cf. Jb 40:4.

* [8:19–20] Here the author mentions first bodily, then spiritual, excellence. To make it plain that the latter is the governing factor in the harmonious development of the human person, he then reverses the order. The Platonic doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul is often read into these lines, but such an anthropology does not seem to be the intent of the author (cf. 7:1–6). Verse 20 appears to rule out any misunderstanding of v. 19. Verse 21 emphasizes that he did not bring talent to his “birth”; his wisdom is the gift of God.

a. [8:1] Wis 7:24; 15:1.

b. [8:2] Prv 5:13–18; 8:17.

c. [8:4] Prv 8:27–31.

d. [8:5] Prv 8:18–19.

e. [8:6–7] Prv 8:14–15.

f. [8:8] Prv 1:6; Sir 39:1–3; 42:19–20; Dn 2:21.

g. [8:10–12] 1 Kgs 3:28; Jb 29:8–10, 21–22.

h. [8:13] Sir 15:6; 41:12–13; Is 56:5.

i. [8:14] Wis 3:8; Ps 18:48; 47:4.

j. [8:16] Prv 29:6; Sir 15:6; Bar 3:38.

k. [8:17] Prv 3:18.

l. [8:21] 1 Kgs 3:9; 1 Kgs 5:9; Prv 2:6; Jas 1:5.

a reply to: WonOunce

LOL wow yes. mb--lol satan perverts tongues. thank goodness God knows what I meant (y) nice catch.