You can read the new issue of WOL no.207 : The law as a metaphor.
You can read the new issue of WOL no.207 : The law as a metaphor.
I believe that when we look for love courageously, it reveals itself, and we attract even more love. If one person really wants us, everyone does. But if we’re alone, we become even more alone. Life is strange…
Styled with arrariv
I’m so glad I’ve read your message (again), dear Paul.
I hope you’re fine, after the adventure of the Pilgrimage.
I notice you haven’t lost your sense of humour, in spite of what is normally believed about nordic people ( that is to be too serious, and I’m italian).
By the way, how’s your brother? I prayed for him and his health.
Coming back to our subject: I agree with you, why leave the best part to two robbers( Bonnie and Clyde)?
maybe the adventure is worth some sacrifice, such as going to work, live some illusions that will be broken, feeling pain for children’life, and so on.
After all, this is our path.
I suppose we are living the best part: we made the coice of Mary, and not the choice of Martha.
Remenber in the Gospel, when Jesus said that Mary has choosen the best part (i.e. listening to his words)?
Have a nice day all of you, even to you, dear Thelma, the most “cultural-woman” I’ve ever known.
The lawyer could also use this argumentation:
How could we say that the two humans ate an evil fruit of sex, if “frustes” we find in the Vulgate means benefit of a work or savings?
And why the translation conduced to replace the word “Frustes” with the french one “pomme”, derived from the latin “pomma”, which is a fruit indeed, but in the literal sense?
I just remembered that I wrote a little story about the Garden of Eden on my blog; which you can find here….
http://paulocoelhofanfiction.wordpress.com/paulus-and-duke/
I just added another page – The Alchemist ‘part two’ enjoy :)
The Law.
Since He is in us and we in Him, the Macrocmos into the Microcosmos, I think that we are at the Beginning, the Fall and at the End, Return. Everything is in us. ‘Crime and Punishment’. Black and White[not the whisky!!], Good and Evil. The snake is the Symbol of Sophia/ Wisdom too. He was the Tempter but his name is EOSPHOROS too. ¨Εως+Φέρω = Bringing Light. It is the story of the Prodigal Son. We start our journey dressed in our … leather garments, our bodies.. We have descended into matter.
I hate … lawyers, as I hate … doctors too! Our ‘troubles’ and ’sickness’ are their … providers! I think, these two professions should be practised for .. FREE!! Or maybe this is the reason that before they start practicing they give an OATH.
Arbitration : It is the … worst solution to a problem!! I have tasted it too, regarding Building Contracts!! I thought that the word arbitration means, as in Greek Διαιτησία. But ARBITRARY means quite the .. opposite Αυθαιρεσία. The English language lacks the most important word regarding …. Judgment! The power of the .. Dictator, the Strongest, the System and so our … ‘Law and Order’ goes to the hands of the .. Dictators, under any name.
Divine mercy and judgement is in us and our Free Will, Destiny and Revelation as well. The journey back home… Welcome home.
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
You always put its so eloquently dear Thelma, thank you, Love, Paul
Thank you dear[est] Paul!!
It seems that the writer’s drought does not affect me !!! ;-]
LOVE,
Thelma xxx
I’m so glad I’m not God… what a boring & frustrating life it would be…? Knowing the answer to all questions… I prefer the mystery and the feeling that God is in all things… We can choose to bite into the apple of life or leave it for… Bonnie & Clyde ;))
Love & Live Life, Paul
PS: The Law is just another means to control & manipulate…
The lawyer could also use this argumentation:
What kind of sacred spirit would have wrapped a tempter snake around a tree, with beautiful attractive fruits?
Punishment. It is an absurd thing, really. I often think about it. I think about it because I have a child, but I also think about people who are in jail. Punishment is a concept that I truly cannot quite grasp, no matter how hard I try. It makes no sense at all to me.
Punishment as a preventative, as a threat: if you do X, we will do Y to you. Well, maybe. But it doesn’t work. It doesn’t prevent crimes at all. People who are intent on committing crimes – like children, like Adam and Eve, I suppose – always think they won’t be caught. Or maybe they make a calculation and think that what they stand to gain is worth the risk of punishment. I don’t know. But crimes continue. Here in my country, we even have the death penalty. It does nothing to lower the murder rate. In fact, the murder rate continues to rise. And prison? Well, that isn’t an effective preventative either. In fact, it is more of a university of sorts, where one can go and learn how to commit crimes even more effectively.
What about rehabilitation – you know – where human beings are actually treated like human beings? What about genuine prevention that begins at birth, with functional equal rights and equal access to resources? What about not having to grow up in an inner city slum – your mother a drug addict and your father already spending life in prison – fending for yourself everyday, hoping to get enough to eat, hoping to stay alive with bullets whizzing by around your head, realizing that membership in The Gang is probably your best bet in this lotto called life?
I wonder a lot about “punishment,” as often the whole concept seems utterly absurd to me. I don’t think that God punishes anyone. I think that we punish ourselves and one another so much already that God wouldn’t even think of adding to that already heavy burden.
This is why I don’t believe in Hell. Again, it seems a crazy idea to me – that God, who created us, one and all, and who loves us dearly, would cast us into a molten pit of fire and brimstone…? For all eternity?! What kind of God is this, I have to ask. What kind of monster, rather?
As a parent, I try to imagine casting my daughter out, sentencing her to a lifetime of suffering, because she did not do as I commanded. It is inconceivable. Of course I want her to be a “good person” – a compassionate, loving, understanding person – but I don’t try to beat her into becoming this. I can’t. It wouldn’t work. The most effective method it seems to me is to model the behaviors I hope for her to develop. I think that God does this with us: God is compassionate, loving, forgiving, beyond measure. It is we who can’t seem to forgive ourselves and one another, and so we invent these notions such as a God who “punishes” or a system whereby one pays, an eye for an eye, for “bad karma.” We invent Hell, and thereby wallow in in, even before we die.
I feel that every time the impulse to punish arises, one should stop right there and substitute, in its place, love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness. If we all practiced this, we WOULD be living in Paradise.
With Love,
Savita
I believe you are a wonderful parent dear Savita.. Your little tiger is lucky :D
Love and Graditude
Annie
Dear Savita,
Your daughter is lucky to have such an enlightened parent. I am going to try next time to refect long before ‘punishing’ my kids and come up with something that makes them understand the consequence of their actions at the same time forgiving.
WIth societ at large though , punishments/negative consequences play a role in curbing behaviour that can destroy society.
I have thought about speeding tickets and if such a steep price needs to be paid for being say 15 miles over the speed limit when no one was hurt. Is speeding really a crime? I didn’t beleive it was until one day a car went turned the corner too fast and zoomed past when my son was trying to cross the road to pick up a ball.
Society came up with these ‘punishments’ for some reason and as long they remain reasonable i think they serve a purpose.
love,
Laxmi
1500 years ago if the Bible were destroyed in a fire I wonder what affect it would have on the world today. (Not taking into account the oral tradition!).
Dear Kealan,
People may simply read Popol Vuh, Rig Veda, Gilgamesh Stories, Egyptian parchments, and all the Ancient History, for which The Bible is an enormous shadow.
It does not mean, I’m totally against the Bible.
Love.
That is true :)
My message is absent, so I write it another time :) :
The lawyer could also use this argumentation:
If the tree gives “good and bad consciousness”, how could A & E be conscious to make an evil thing eating it?
A cause can’t be a consequence at the same ime. This is a big law too.
The Garden of Eden, heaven and hell… it’s all in our Minds, in our own worlds… Even in a court of law, an innocent person may be found guilty or a guilty person may be found innocent, for many many reasons.
I couldn’t even begin to write on this subject, because it’s all so relative and subjective…
There are some rules, that even a court of law will allow to be broken under certain circumstances.
The bible has many statements that are valid and common sense or should be, but the story of Adam and Eve, is still a story.
I guess I don’t have anything else to say besides this, because well, who’s fit to make judgment? As I stated earlier, even in a court of law, with 9 or 10 juries, an innocent can be found guilty or vice versa… But as in existence there exists all that exists, then there probably exists some form of justice, maybe that’s karma, maybe we face it in this lifetime, maybe after this lifetime, maybe another lifetime… Who knows!!
<3
I try to get account for video reply, but is not working…
Well, I dont like that approach of seeing Paradise as a High Court.
But I agree laws are very entangled, and they really create confusion.
I dont like the fact that sometimes some testimony are enough to decide the sort of a man.
Is posible that even few persom are malevolent and able to lie swearing with the hand on the Holly Book that they are saying the truth.
I am also having problems with the video, I asked Suphi to fix. That said, I am sure that a video answer would be a wonderful thing.
Thank you dear Paulo. I am happy you reply. Today I wrote few things I will like to withdraw, but I think I will be forgiven.
Have a nice week end!
Love
Alexandra
The Bible was written a long time ago, a time when science was alchemy. According to history repeating itself are human kind not due a new Prophet? A Prophet to guide us forward… or like in the book the Alchemist is what we are looking for right under our noses; like Stephen Hawkins being the new age Prophet? I wish Hawkins were so humans could forget about the status of Israel, for example, and focus on the greater questions in life… like LIFE? I’ll get back to the post on Law and the Garden… Reading the Bible reminds me sometimes of reading a fairy tale, there are stories and a moral to that story; if you are not a good person you will be punished; love your neighbour etc. One of the things that came to mind while reading this post is that Godly energy is neither good nor evil it just is.
Over the summer I got to work in the local court house. One lunch I was sitting in my Jeep smoking and listening to the local radio. From the side door of the court house the police came out followed by about eight men in handcuffs; there were bank robbers and a few rapists, possibly a murderer also. I sat pinned to my seat as one by one they passed my window. I thought to myself; I did not have a totally wonderful life growing up; my teen years and early twenties spent drinking and smoking, my education is worth nothing, but I still managed to be sitting on the other side of the counter in the court house. It’s about personal choice in life, well in my life anyway, I could get up in the morning and steal some old ladies hand bag or try and rob a bank, shop… but I choose not to because I don’t want to get thrown out of the Garden of Eden!
Thank You!
I also strongly agree that our choices (what ever the reasons are that make us choose this versus that) make a difference. That’s why I can’t believe 100% in ‘destiny’. As in our life is already planned out and when something happens – it’s always destiny. I do believe we have a certain purpose in the world, and that purpose will be lived out as well as we could, with those choices that we make as we go along the road, so to say.
And so I thank You for reminding again.
This also makes us see that we need to take our own responsibility for our own life. Sure, we do not start off (when we are born) from the same positions – everyone of us has a different story, a different life. But it’s what we make out of what we’re “given”, matters… however “easy” or “tough” it may seem.
Thanks, kealan.
Liina, the thought that came up sponteneously when I read you is what if destiny is not the end but the beginning? Starting in that family, in that situation, in that sex is the destiny and it is what we do with it … Like seeing it though that way, gives more force for me now to pursue and change what needs to be change, the destiny in which I arrived … Cordially, Jojo.
Interesting idea, that the destiny is not something that happens after our birth, as a consequence, as a plan that’s written for us, but before our birth, and then it’s all already “said”, what our life’s “mission” would be. In a way, I agree, that we all have a mission, but I don’t believe that it’s the ‘before birth’ destiny that settles our life.
I don’t think destiny of being an end of the written word – a plan, wether we are not yet born, or wether we are on the ‘path’, the road of life already. I don’t believe in that idea. But it is something that people have believed for so long, and it’s close to somes hearts. I do not think it’s not possible, but I just don’t believe in it.
Although, I do believe, that we all are here for a reason, for some mission, and it is our task to find out, what it is, and fulfill our “mission”. And in my idea, that is the destiny. To fulfull that task we’re here to do. Which is not exactly like the idea You proposed here, but a bit similar, I guess.
All best to You on Your way, Jojo.
I have been thinking a lot about destiny the past few weeks. We make our own ‘destiny.’ The powers that be help us along that path. Destiny in many respects is not pre planned or already written in the sand… but we can follow the path of destiny if we wish or we can choose to change rout. I think that is the point to the book The Alchemist. Santiago did not have to follow the more exciting path. He could have remained a Shepard. But once people begin to follow a path they will be washed down the river of destiny.
I believe that part, as You said, that Santiago didn’t neccecarily need that journey, but that’s what happened to him and still he found his destiny. I believe, that we will be ‘guided’… but I think our choices also determine, if we fall in that river of destiny or we just go our own road, without falling into destiny. :P
To explain better – I think, if Santiago wasn’t open to the lessons, and to his destiny, (if he didn’t want to FIND it) if he didn’t, in one idea, let go of certain things and be OPEN to the signs and such, he wouldn’t of been able to find his destiny. I believe, that there has to be a wish and a certain openness, to fulfill our “purpose”.
I don’t know, if it is understood, but I believe that if we have choices (even in simple matters in life), that these will determine if we will follow the destiny or not. Just as You explained, that if we wish or if we choose to.
The wish of finding owns destiny.
It’s a part of seeking into one’s self. If we don’t do it, if we remain numb to the inner feelings, notions, and senses, and unwilling to seek into them, I believe, that it would be much harder to find one’s destiny. Because in this position, we would not be open to it, neither show much interest. Just “Passing by life”, not really LIVING.
Thanks kaelan and Johanne, for that interesting conversation.
Much love to both of You
and I wish You have a great weekend!
Sun to You.
Liina
Very interesting conversation… Thanks!
That’s a super-cool and super-sensitive subject. It is 100% correct, and I am a Christian that says that. Oh, yes. There are some non-senses within the current Bible and, yes, that’s why not so many people believe them anylonger. And that’s how the church of today has to revolutionate itself or…just disapear.
Of course God is Perfection, is L.O.V.E. Just that the humans are not able to “translate” Him in words, such as some words or phrases or ideea from the Bible.
The translation of the Bible is unperfect, we should take this into consideation. Also, since years 300 – 600 when the Bible has been re-translated and were taken out some passages frm it, since then has passed…how many years? 1500 years. Imagine that now we are so much wiser then the guys that had traslated or even written in the first place the Bible. Now we do not believe in stories for children, as people from some ancient times, now we are wiser. There is no comparation between their generation and ours.
Common, that’s why people don’t go anymore to church as before. because church does not evoluate according to the current times. I am a person that is certified o teach in schools Christian religion and yes, I say what I say and I believe it. The human race had evoluated more then the Bible teaches or the church teaches….
There are many parts of the Bible that can be now successfully contested, for real…Because the lost contact with the real TRUTH.
I am sorry that church does nothing to align to the spiritual evolution of the human beens, as we are more advanced NOW then 1500 years ago. We can understand easily now some metaphores that our predecesors couldn’t.
I l-o-v-e the subject and I love to shake those traditions or rules of societies that don’t work anymore today, rules that where good at that time, but now they are expired…and useless.
“Viver não é esperar a tempestade passar… é aprender a dançar na chuva!!”
MARG,
Ca
Dear Paul,
God is very much alive today as He has ever been! He is a serious God. He does not laugh of human pettiness. He never gets bored as we humans do. Do you know why? Because we are nothing more than germs compared to Him. He did not create controversies. He did not create sin to push humans to be more creative. On the contrary, He gave humans free will to be and to do whatever they do on their own. Like a baby learning how to walk, the Father let her experience the first steps. After that the child is on her on. The Father cannot control where the child walks. If He did control the walk of a child, He would only take the child’s freedom away.
Yes, we are free and we are the ones who create madness. We humans are the ones who forsake the laws. God is very much alive. He watches us. He does not laugh. He never gets bored. He has too much to do.