Many myths are based upon factual places and events. Intentionally so.

Troy may have been a real city but do you believe there were gods like Poseidon and Zeus who were being mischievous messing around with the puny humans?

I am selling my soul if anyone wants it - I have a very naughty sole capable of doing very mischievous things. If this type of soul interests you please email me and we can discuss a price.

Many myths are based upon factual places and events. Intentionally so.

Troy may have been a real city but do you believe there were gods like Poseidon and Zeus who were being mischievous messing around with the puny humans?[/b][/quote]
good point, and NO I do not personally believe that account, However I am very reluctant to discount any possibility until it is proven with facts to be false, just as weell as I am reluctant to believe those same accounts, until they are proven with verifyable facts.

I would place those in the unexplained category, and would look to understand them farther before stating anyting other than my opinions , based on what I can deduce from the information that is provided.

sometimes, other peoples opinonions, and inuendo are all we have to conclude the events of history. Now of course with pictures, recording devices and advances in technology. We are able to start to go back and prove or disprove some of these accounts.

But I sure would not want to be wrong and have something like soddom and ghamora take place again because I refused to at least try to examine the evidence with an open mind.

Why not? Why is it any different than the Koran or Old Testament?

Why not? Why is it any different than the Koran or Old Testament?[/b][/quote]
To much magic involved, but hey maybe they had better pot than me!
or the mushrooms back in the day, were very potent!

To much magic involved, but hey maybe they had better pot than me!
or the mushrooms back in the day, were very potent![/b][/quote]
How about walking on water, muliplying loaves of bread, raising people from the dead, parting the Red Sea, and living inside the belly of a big fish for three days?

Why not just accept that we are made of physical things, and those things mixed into the cocktail we call the human body gives us awareness... do we confuse awareness with souls? if, so are we not aware that all living organism need a level or multiple levels of awareness too function - ex. plants, germs, animals etc. would all have souls too...

Or are souls only for humans, and then why do humans need souls? is it because we need to feel special in the big infinite univers? Out off all the possible answers in the physical univers we have choosen something which is divine - but we do not belive in god(s)? And if souls are not divine, but physical, then where are they?

Good point HoneyBlonde. Sometimes it seems like some people are so lost in life and unexperienced when others come into life knowing what they want to do and what they have to do. I love topics like this where there is no proof and its entirely based on your beliefs.


:rolleyes:[/b][/quote]
I'm starting to "believe" eugenics needs to be re-evaluated from an environmental perspective.

I went to a renaissance fair once. A sign outside one of the tents had a hand and $5 by it...I told the lady 5 bucks was a great deal for a handjob...shame she didn't make it clear she was a palm reader.

We?

Proof Please

You can disagree until you're blue in the face but I've never seen, felt, smelt or fucked proof of souls or god

and I've looked[/b][/quote]
close your eyes and breath deeply into your belly for a few breaths ... feel that tingling feeling of energy running through your veins?

IMO that's your soul ... misinterpreted over time into religious meanings, the soul in its pure form is the flow of prana through the body - that which gives life.

Maybe I did a few too many "we" in that post ;-) - but I do think that its more common to belive in souls, than not too... heck, at times I find myself thinking of lost ones - knowing that their "souls" are only living in my mind, but it still feels good thinking they are there.... and maybe that is the ultimate reason why humans and their big curious brains belive in souls - it makes life easier to live - giving it a purpose/meaning to continue, when traumatic events happens - brains own therapy...

Yep... prana. I am also in search of my dharma, but it still eludes me. :(















(and no... I don't mean Dharma & Greg)[/b][/quote]
Vooman, I have found it really difficult to get past the current stage of study because I find that while buddhism is a religion that makes the most sense, its still filled with interpretations made by humans with imperfections. My motivation to study further waned when we go to the 'eating dead soles' bit (vegetarianism).

For your practice to be recognised officially you must follow 'rules' - dont eat anything that was in fear when it was killed to avoid the transfer of bad energy. With the list of foods I already can't eat due to my digestive problems, there was no way I was going to remove animal products as well - i'd be down to beans and vegetables on my good list!

Humans ruin everything with rules & requirements, the total opposite of enlightenment which buddhism is meant to be seeking. Of the 8 yama's and niyamas, 4 of them make it virtually impossible to live in the real world ... (like Aparigraha - non accumulation of possessions!)

How do you balance the bits you feel in yourself to be true with the bits that just don't make sense or feel right or that just don't work for you?

CJ, I am happy to say that you and I seem to think along similar lines... B)

In recent years I have begun to read about various people and religions. I certainly don't claim to be an expert at anything, but so far in my travels I have found hinduism to be something that makes me say: "yep, that's how I feel..." I agree with you though, that humans and their interpretations tend to screw things up. That's one of the reasons I no longer consider myself to be a Catholic. Too many bizarre rules and regulations, and more loopholes than the IRS tax code. LOL

Something I read about Native Americans that I found fascinating was their respect for all living things. Before they would cut down a tree, they would ask it's permission. Sure that sounds crazy to most people these days, but I admire that. If they felt it was okay to cut down the tree they would thank it for the warmth it gave them (from the fire), and of course they would sprinkle the ashes on the ground to nourish the other plants and pray that the tree would become something more than it had been when it was a tree. The same goes for the meat they ate. When they went on a hunt they would thank the animals for the nourishment they provided, and they used every last bit of the animal for something useful. To do less would have been disrespectful. I admire their perspective...

Maybe this is a copout, but I try to get what I can from everything I read. I take the things that I feel apply to me and I discard what doesn't feel right. I don't think there's anything wrong with material posessions, but then again I would never sacrifice my principles in order to have them. If given the choice to screw people over and become a millionaire or be true to myself and live an average lifestyle, I'll take the average lifestyle. It's just the way I am... (and the example I follow from my father).

My father is one of the people I admire most in my life. He was a doctor for all the right reasons. He wanted to help people. He was an absolutely brilliant surgeon, but he only operated when there was no other option. He had a great bedside manner and told half his patients to "get outta here" and not pay him. He was true to himself for his entire career and never gave in to the trappings his colleagues strived for. While they all drove Mercedes Benz, etc... and were in debt up to their eyeballs, my father drove a Plymouth Duster and spent time with his family. He could have made lots more money, but to him spending time with his wife and kids was more important than anything else. He was never really accepted by his colleagues, and when he died only one doctor came to pay his respects; his doctor... I was most proud to see however, that the funeral home was packed to the rafters with patients. Word spread fast about his passing, and I heard story after story about what a wonderful man my father was, and what wonderful care he took of this person and that person...

I try to model my life after him. :okthumb:

Wow, this was a pretty long winded post for me, and I don't normally talk about these kinds of things so openly. Most people would think (or now officially know) that I am an oddball. :awinky: I try to balance the bits I feel to be true with the bits that don't make sense by living my life according to my own code of beliefs, and by following what feels right to me in my heart. I don't live according to one specific philosophy, I just live according to the gospel of Voo. :)

>that the funeral home was packed to the rafters with patients

:wnw: BEAUTIFUL STORY!

I would love to chat more with you in person - we've probably been reading a lot of the same things ;-)

I started yoga when I got sick, and the more I studied the more things seemed to make sense. The things that had confused or annoyed me all my life made more sense ... like religion, i have always rejected all forms of religion because they sound so rediculous. I never could understand basing your entire life on a 2000 year old book, while missing the point behind it.

But the more I read and learn, the more I realize that all religions have their '12 commandments' ... which in summary all basically say 'dont do bad things to other living things'. All western religions believe in some kind of enlightenment in death, but eastern beliefs revolve more around finding that enlightenment in your life rather than waiting till death.

You only need to have successfully meditated a few times, and all of a sudden the entire bible is clear ... 'eternal life' is just recognising (in life, while you are alive) that your energy will never 'die', it will return to the earth to make other life.

Have you read 'the power of now' by eckhart tolle? I strongly recommend it if you haven't read it already. It offers some really simple principals which my philosophical mind really enjoyed - lots of references to 'god', the maker of all things. But in this case, god is the maker of life - and life is energy - therefore God is the sun, oxygen etc ...

Welcome to the new Oprano philosophical corner LOL

And that is why organized religions are, IMHO, cults. There is no room for free thinking. You must believe what you're TOLD to believe or you're going to spend eternity somewhere terrible :(

I still remember going with my mother to her Baptist church and watching them all highlight their Bibles. Apparently SOME words of God are more important than others. :P Not to mention, some things, i.e. men not sleeping with men, should be taken literally, but Jesus turning water into wine? That was just done because water wasn't drinkable back then....drinking wine is wrong now. I'll never forget the look on her face when my ex-husband asked her why Jesus didn't just turn the bad water into good water. :awinky:

That is an absolute classic :okthumb: :lol:

That is absolutely true... I haven't meditated for a while, but when I was consistent I got to know exactly what you mean. :okthumb:

I haven't, but now it's on my list. A good excuse for a trip to Barnes & Noble this weekend. Thanks for the tip. :)

HAHAHA That's hilarious! :D

That is an absolute classic :okthumb: :lol:[/b][/quote]
Many people think my son inherited all his "smart ass" from me - trust me, I'm an amateur compared to his dad. B)

Peaches, I was the kid at Sunday School who used to ask those kind of questions over and over and the teacher would pat me on the head and give me some stupid answer about how we don't have to understand god's way ... she eventually stopped asking me what my question was :biglaugh:

>Many people think my son inherited all his "smart ass" from me - trust me, I'm an amateur compared to his dad

I think CT got a double dose then :biglaugh:

Vooman, lmk what you think of the book - i'm making everyone around me read it because everyone interprets it differently and I love hearing how each mind differs. :okthumb:

Will do CJ... Just sent myself an email with the title and author. :)

The lack of dinosaurs in the Bible must have been one of your questions. It was one of mine. :)

I've had that book on my list since you mentioned it last time, I've just been lazy getting to it as it wasn't at the bookstore when I first looked for it (just looked at my Amazon list - it was added 11/14/2003 :awinky: ) My parents are BIG into "self help" books and I figured they'd have it, but they didn't :( I plan on getting it, reading it, then giving it to them as I've heard a lot of people say good things about it. :)

So you skipped Islam? ;-)

For that matter, some religions have such rules as you say but they only apply to other believers. Moses has 10 Commandments but apparently "Thou shalt not kill" only applies to other Jews. I believe the more correct interpretation would be "though shalt not murder". Leviticus is filled with recommended punishments of death by stoning for such offenses as disobeying your parents or having same-sex relations.

I've never successfully meditated but will such passages as the following become clear if I do?

"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." - Leviticus 20:13

I don't even think there's a mention of an after-life in the Torah.

>> will such passages as the following become clear if I do

Yes colin, it becomes clear that its horse shit :biglaugh:

>>For that matter, some religions have such rules as you say but they only apply to other believers.

exactly ... the 'rules' are open to human interpretation, flexible as we need them to be to suit a specific situation. Kinda defeats the purpose of a rule!

We agree!

If I don't believe in souls does that mean that I have a new soul?

According to people who believe such things where does a new soul come from anyway?

come to think of it, I do sorta look like churchhill! :awinky:

wow~
Just when I thought i was surrounded by perverts, life surfaces!

You think you exist, but who is thinking? If you find who is thinking, you realize it's not the brain, but actually, the "self/I"...otherwise titled, the soul! Isn't it that easy???? No chemical energy just that simple...OHM!

Perverts think with their sex organs....

How you doin'? hahaha

I am, always have been, and always shall be...

ME! :biglaugh:



Last edited by Torone at May 21 2004, 07:43 AM

The human brain is complex... but sometimes its also defunctions, and make people belive they are other things than "I"... once "I" meet a man in a park, which was convinced he was a bird... he acted, and thought just like a bird - does that mean he has the soul of a bird (do birds have souls?) or can human souls go crazy?

The soul is no more real than God - both can only exist in your brain, and not without your brain. When you die, so does your God and your Soul, however you might have leaved an impression on others, which keep an image of your soul alive in their brains - until they die.

Torone,

Where've you been? I missed you.



Last edited by Colin at May 22 2004, 08:08 AM

Torone,

Where've you been? I missed you.[/b][/quote]
Fighting...numerous TIA's (if you know what those are, and I figger you do). It's hell getting old in Houston. :wacko:

Fighting...numerous TIA's (if you know what those are, and I figger you do). It's hell getting old in Houston. :wacko:[/b][/quote]
Total Information Awareness? Poindexter after you? ;-)

Total Information Awareness? Poindexter after you? ;-)[/b][/quote]
Transient Ischemic Attacks...prestroke condition. BP normal one minute, 250/180 the next. Not very much fun.

I guess it's all that clean living. Probably oughta take up drinking, etc. :biglaugh:

Damn :-(

You been in the hospital much? Those go away? Wishing the best for you.

Damn :-(

You been in the hospital much? Those go away? Wishing the best for you.[/b][/quote]
No. Since Cheetah put a certain dispatcher on my board almost two years ago, my finances are rather limited, so I just settle for office calls. Haven't been able to work my sites that much, so that end has dropped off, also.

However, I have good news...I saved a ton of money on auto insurance by switching to Geico!

Actually, I'm on a new med that seems to help a lot. :)

I was RFK
before that
PT Barnum
before that
a slave
before that
another slave
before that
a slave trader