Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

[Pam]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Slobbe
Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

Why would one not want to reincarnate?

That's exactly like saying that one wants to go to sleep at night and then not wake up to another day.

Personally, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There are already some things I've planned to do.

And I'm looking forward to my next life, too.

I have absolutely no desire to reincarnate here again. I read in another post you made how you are looking forward to coming back here again and again because this is where the fun is, and honestly I was surprised. I can accept that I am here and deal with it. If I were to come back, I will deal with it. I have wonderful moments of peace and inner joy. Something, I have observed is that those moments never come when I have set out to have fun. But there will come a time, I believe, where the concept of having fun looses it's shimmer and sparkle. I am not looking forward to going to sleep but to possibly a deeper experience of the joy and peace I have been fortunate enough to have glimpses of. I don't even have a desire to maintain the "Pam" persona or any reincarnated version of this. I see it as a prism, a perspective of the whole. There comes a time, as least it has for me, when the activities of man, all the drama, all the shenanigans, all the thriving, looses it's luster, the only thing that still gives me awe is the beauty and grandness of the natural world. Was it Solomon who said "there is nothing new under the sun"?.

[Pam]

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
And yet, there is something enduring and inspiring and true about Jesus which has helped me to aspire to in my own life.

Do I believe that one has to go through him to get to God? No. But, I love what he represents. For me, "The Gospel of Thomas" is a truer representation of what Jesus is or was in that lifetime. No wonder it was hidden it in a jar in a cave.

He doesn't say anything about people having to go through him to get to the Father. He is saying we are all God. And very powerful. Those who manipulate us don't want us to know the truth of that; using fear and ignorance of course, to keep us in the dark.

It's way more powerful than the Bible, in my opinion.

God is an equal opportunity employer.

You can reach God through music, too.

John 15:5 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The way I understand it is that he is not referring to himself as an individual but as Christ consciousness. He is referring to that state of consciousness that he is experiencing. Essentially he is saying we are all from the same consciousness, but you have to be able to experience that consciousness to experience the unification.

[Pam]

Posted by greybeard (here)
Even though I am not of any religion the teachings of Jesus have been of great help and an inspiration to me

Surrender, devotion and love the greatest aids on the path to Enlightenment.
Surrender to what is, you could call it acceptance--
Devotion to Realization of the Self.
Love of the Divine

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
Courage to change the things I can
And wisdom to know the difference"
Chris

I can't tell you how much guidance the good old serenity prayer has given me. It is so useful to pull out when I am stressed and not thinking clearly. It has given me the process of wise decision making more times than I can count.

[Smell the Roses]

I regularly attend the traditional Latin Mass at a local Catholic Church and am a practicing Catholic, although I rarely talk about it here. There is a fair amount of hostility toward religion here, and I have little interest in debates or justification. I'm glad to be on the journey with all of you. Jesus was enlightened, no question.

[greybeard]

When I say im not of any religion--I should also say that im not against any either.
The Truth is to be found in all religions.
Jesus was at the highest level of enlightenment as was the Buddha according to the late Dr David R Hawkins.

Chris

[Sunny-side-up]

One thing I can say is that this is not the place to feel good in or party in.

This is the place to experience both good and bad feelings and so: know, understand, realise, gain emotions for both.
Then you know what it is to be a material creature in this material realm.

Only then can you have sympathy for both and not become controlled by either.

Then you can move on to higher states of being where you can help all who are still material if you so wish.
You can help them but, not to be happy here, but to help them move on.

We have our passed down stories of such conditions/places of living as 'Eden' 'Atlantis', they where supposedly Golden and advanced minded population, where are they now?
they all where ultimately consumed (or all left).

This material realm is not where such a place can be sustained, it's an illusion and just wishful thinking, like living in a desert and trying to keep a pot plant alive.

You take the pot plant
(Pot plant is you as a kind and good person)
to a place where it can be sustained and flourish
(Become goodness),
ultimately that is not in this material realm.

This material real as in Planet Earth was Eden, it is not now because we are incarnate on her, we all move on and so make Earth Eden again

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by peterpam (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Slobbe
Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

Why would one not want to reincarnate?

That's exactly like saying that one wants to go to sleep at night and then not wake up to another day.

Personally, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There are already some things I've planned to do.

And I'm looking forward to my next life, too.

I have absolutely no desire to reincarnate here again. I read in another post you made how you are looking forward to coming back here again and again because this is where the fun is, and honestly I was surprised.

I think I may have used the wrong word! My apologies. Let me try to explain a little better, but I'm not trying to convince anything of anything. Just sharing a personal attitude and approach to life.

For me, 'fun' is NOT superficial partying, going to movies, eating too much chocolate cake, or watching soap operas on TV.

'Fun' =

• Communing with nature
• Playing with my dog
• Enjoying serene, deep and meaningful connections with [many!] old friends
• Tackling challenges, solving problems, and being creative
• Learning as much as possible about as much as I possibly can
• Developing skills and achieving goals
• Helping others in any way I can
• Recovering my long-term memories about who I really am
• Understanding how to be a spiritual being in a mortal body.

[Pam]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by peterpam (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Slobbe
Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

Why would one not want to reincarnate?

That's exactly like saying that one wants to go to sleep at night and then not wake up to another day.

Personally, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There are already some things I've planned to do.

And I'm looking forward to my next life, too.

I have absolutely no desire to reincarnate here again. I read in another post you made how you are looking forward to coming back here again and again because this is where the fun is, and honestly I was surprised.

I think I may have used the wrong word! My apologies. Let me try to explain a little better, but I'm not trying to convince anything of anything. Just sharing a personal attitude and approach to life.

For me, 'fun' is NOT superficial partying, going to movies, eating too much chocolate cake, or watching soap operas on TV.

'Fun' =

• Communing with nature
• Playing with my dog
• Enjoying serene, deep and meaningful connections with [many!] old friends
• Tackling challenges, solving problems, and being creative
• Learning as much as possible about as much as I possibly can
• Developing skills and achieving goals
• Helping others in any way I can
• Recovering my long-term memories about who I really am
• Understanding how to be a spiritual being in a mortal body.

Thank you for clarifying. It's interesting how we can use a word and each person can have a strong mental concept of something totally different..Using your definition I guess I am fun loving...I think I interpret the word fun as seeking out activities that are expected to generate a happy experience.. the happy experience in these situations almost feels obligatory. Fun of that sort has rarely ever worked for me, (unless the fun involves a natural setting) even as a little kid it left me with a kind of hollow feeling. A situation where the general consensus in the group is that what we are about to experience will generate a good time...or at the very least laughter and smiles whether we mean it or not.. I know, I'm a real party pooper and an odd duck I have to admit embracing the fun life, the party life during my drinking/drugging period..even under the influence I could really feel the emptiness of all that, and paradoxically, I used those substances as a sort of short cut to serenity and peace of mind, at least for an hour or two.

At this moment, I feel so much gratitude for having PA to be able to have these conversations. Thank you, everyone who shares your thoughts and opinions. Thank you Bill, for having the wisdom with the help of the moderators for having kept it this way all these years.

[Words of Joy]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Slobbe
Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

Why would one not want to reincarnate?

That's exactly like saying that one wants to go to sleep at night and then not wake up to another day.

Personally, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There are already some things I've planned to do.

And I'm looking forward to my next life, too.

Thank you for this perspective.

It's funny how things can be looked at from different angles. I've more a feeling I am a sleep and can't wait for the morning to start. Many times have I wondered "What am I doing here?", "Is this it?", not experiencing utter satisfaction, though enjoying moments in time, periods in time. Though then again wondering "Why am I here?", "Why here?", "Why these circumstances?". I've been giving it long thoughts and came to personal realization it's not about this world. It's not about me either. I've been at it in this life here on earth, and admittedly, I messed up one thing after another for almost 30 years. Thinking about myself, my goals, my dreams, my desires, my future. Though never got any satisfaction. At some point I had enough of me. I made it a priority, to love my wife better. I had been failing at that, because of me. I wanted to reshape myself so I wouldn't hurt anyone anymore, because of me. And decided to think of others. What could I do for others? How could I change myself for others? And in that process, I started to see it. How happy I became of being there for others. I was agnostic at the time. I did believe in a God, though more as a state of being, a set of laws of life that helps a person grow. I started praying to God for others, not for me. I think the more I became helpful to others, the closer I got to God. At some point He reached out to me. I was ready to give myself, my life, in His control. I recognized His love would help me help others. When I gave myself to Him is when the world changed drastically. He is now driving my purpose. He is now steering my life. And he drives me to help others. At times I'm sent to people in mental despair. I help them, I listen to them, I pray for them. And I feel satisfaction. And God keeps on pulling me upwards, and I have vowed to follow. It's a beautiful path. And this path has made me realize that it's my time to let go of earthly things. I want to love higher. And that's where life begins, from my perspective. A new dawn in a new life, next to my loving Father.
And there is also still that old self in here also. The one that is mighty curious. "Enlightened Spirit?", "De-materialize?", "Inherit the stream of everlasting life?" "Create universes?" : Now that's something worth checking out! And if that can be done in a realm where there's no suffering, no pain. Together with all intensely loving spirits. Then it's a real easy choice for me (and my wife). We're going.

[Valerie Villars]

I have to confess something. I've been feeling guilty about it all day, since yesterday.

I always loved Jesus.I just loved everything he stood for and was in awe of his bravery and pertinent rebelliousness; his strength, peace and utter dedication to his mission.

I used to pray a lot to him and God. I mostly would just say good morning and thank you and I love you. I never asked for anything when I prayed. I always prayed for other people.

Well, I did get Christ consciousness. I'm not saying I'm Christ. Just that I got that consciousness. But with that, I got attacked by darkness, too. There was light and dark.

Anyway, the power of all of it scared the **** out of me. I'm just being honest.

What I'm trying to say is I feel I was a hypocrite when I didn't take up for Jesus. I abhor hypocrites. I do love Jesus very much. ****, I'm crying.

[Words of Joy]

Posted by 5th (here)
"John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Surely nobody actually believes this? Unfortunately, many people do...

I do, though with a little perspective. I link this quote to the reason why I think he came: To show us the way to our Father. To show us the truth about our Father. To show us the way to life with our Father. And as he is the example sent to the earthly realm to show all this, he formulated the sentence from a first person perspective.

[Smell the Roses]

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
I have to confess something. I've been feeling guilty about it all day, since yesterday.

I always loved Jesus.I just loved everything he stood for and was in awe of his bravery and pertinent rebelliousness; his strength, peace and utter dedication to his mission.

I used to pray a lot to him and God. I mostly would just say good morning and thank you and I love you. I never asked for anything when I prayed. I always prayed for other people.

Well, I did get Christ consciousness. I'm not saying I'm Christ. Just that I got that consciousness. But with that, I got attacked by darkness, too. There was light and dark.

Anyway, the power of all of it scared the **** out of me. I'm just being honest.

What I'm trying to say is I feel I was a hypocrite when I didn't take up for Jesus. I abhor hypocrites. I do love Jesus very much. ****, I'm crying.

I am sure that Jesus loves you and takes it all in stride. It's hard to talk about Jesus these days, because some people who use his name stand for something totally opposite to his teaching. I mean even most U.S. Presidents other than Obama pretend to be Christians, and we know they have nothing to do with Jesus. Spiritual warfare is most active against those giving off the most light, so it's no surprise that you were attacked in that way.

[Words of Joy]

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
For me, "The Gospel of Thomas" is a truer representation of what Jesus is or was in that lifetime.

That is exactly the book I started reading to get to know Jesus, as I didn't want to touch the bible. Simply quotes from Jesus is what I recall. It was eye opening for me to see things pass by that I had experienced the same in my mind, from an ideal perspective, and also how sometimes he would go way over what I had set as an ideal. Simply beautiful.

[AutumnW]

I communicate with something that seems to be somewhere in the vicinity of inside my head, but it isn't "me". It's more like a "they" and they don't speak but they always seem to hear and respond in other ways that are deeply beneficial to me and or others in my sphere. I feel they represent Christian ideals and may be Guardian angels.

So in as much as I am in touch with them, I am paying homage to Christ and possibly Buddah too. I think?

[Words of Joy]

Posted by AutumnW (here)
I want to reincarnate to help salvage the planet. There is a lot of work to be done that I cannot do in this current form. I am not ready to be a spirit yet. I have personality flaws I have yet to overcome.

Thanks for sharing regarding your desire to help salvage the planet. Lovely to see your appreciation and dedication to nature.

Regarding personality flaws. I've a load of those, still to overcome. But the beautiful thing is that once in Gods hands, he'll transform the person, getting rid of these flaws, bit by bit, but at steady pace. Wonderful to observe and undergo. Both for me and my wife, God is a great lovely help. God knows our flaws, has know them, and wants to help everyone to overcome them, if they let Him.

[AutumnW]

It's weird. I find so many people jumping through all kinds of hoops and creating tremendous obstacles for themselves when it is so simple. Just focus inward and quietly request help to change that which you loathe in yourself. It works. Direct it towards Christ, guardian angels, Buddah, God. I don't know if it matters. I find another thing that helps for certain situations is to state things very clearly and out loud and ask for divine guidance.

But I can't "pray". I can communicate with great respect and a certain amount of awe but praying seems like grovelling. And I think this is unnecessary, not because I feel above grovelling but more that I can't respect any invisible force that would require it. The invisible realm I am drawn to isn't populated by egotistical tyrants and bullies.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Slobbe (here)
But the beautiful thing is that once in Gods hands, he'll transform the person, getting rid of these flaws, bit by bit, but at steady pace.

Well, you may not have crafted that sentence quite accurately, though I do think I know what you were trying to say.

You DO have to do the work yourself. He might help a little, but essentially God would agree that it's all your responsibility.

Every choice you make, with the free will that you have. That's the whole idea.

[AutumnW]

Posted by Valerie Villars (here)
I have to confess something. I've been feeling guilty about it all day, since yesterday.

I always loved Jesus.I just loved everything he stood for and was in awe of his bravery and pertinent rebelliousness; his strength, peace and utter dedication to his mission.

I used to pray a lot to him and God. I mostly would just say good morning and thank you and I love you. I never asked for anything when I prayed. I always prayed for other people.

Well, I did get Christ consciousness. I'm not saying I'm Christ. Just that I got that consciousness. But with that, I got attacked by darkness, too. There was light and dark.

Anyway, the power of all of it scared the **** out of me. I'm just being honest.

What I'm trying to say is I feel I was a hypocrite when I didn't take up for Jesus. I abhor hypocrites. I do love Jesus very much. ****, I'm crying.

That's such a sad thing, isn't it? And is it over now, the terrors you went through? It seems like it was some kind of test to break your spirit, divert you from your path.

[Smell the Roses]

Posted by AutumnW (here)
I communicate with something that seems to be somewhere in the vicinity of inside my head, but it isn't "me". It's more like a "they" and they don't speak but they always seem to hear and respond in other ways that are deeply beneficial to me and or others in my sphere. I feel they represent Christian ideals and may be Guardian angels.

So in as much as I am in touch with them, I am paying homage to Christ and possibly Buddah too. I think?

Guardian Angels, such a beautiful concept and reality. My children have this prayer hanging in their room. We can all use a little assistance.

[AutumnW]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by peterpam (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by Slobbe
Jesus’ path to enlightenment (ending reincarnation)

Why would one not want to reincarnate?

That's exactly like saying that one wants to go to sleep at night and then not wake up to another day.

Personally, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. There are already some things I've planned to do.

And I'm looking forward to my next life, too.

I have absolutely no desire to reincarnate here again. I read in another post you made how you are looking forward to coming back here again and again because this is where the fun is, and honestly I was surprised.

I think I may have used the wrong word! My apologies. Let me try to explain a little better, but I'm not trying to convince anything of anything. Just sharing a personal attitude and approach to life.

For me, 'fun' is NOT superficial partying, going to movies, eating too much chocolate cake, or watching soap operas on TV.

'Fun' =

• Communing with nature
• Playing with my dog
• Enjoying serene, deep and meaningful connections with [many!] old friends
• Tackling challenges, solving problems, and being creative
• Learning as much as possible about as much as I possibly can
• Developing skills and achieving goals
• Helping others in any way I can
• Recovering my long-term memories about who I really am
• Understanding how to be a spiritual being in a mortal body.

Oh come on Bill, everybody knows eating chocolate cake is a holy sacrament! It gives me a sense of deep joy and fills my heart with meaning

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Merry Mom, that is truly sweet but if I approached my guardian angels or guides in that manner that'd be confused! They aren't used to it!