Throw me a frickin' bone!

[Mustaphile]

Anyone seen any threads lately in which people are actually talking to each other, rather than talking at each other?

I want to read something that's challenging, interesting and edifying.

It might just be me. Maybe I'm going into a downcycle emotionally.

 

[Toney]

I think the last several pages of the "For God's sake..." thread have been interesting dialogue. What having you been reading?

 

[Mustaphile]

I think the last several pages of the "For God's sake..." thread have been interesting dialogue. What having you been reading?

I'd agree with that. I've been following that thread. That fills up about 5 minutes of my time online. It's the other 3 hours and 55 minutes that I am having trouble finding good threads to read.

I spend too much time in General Apologetics I think.

 

[Toney]

We started this forum because there are few good threads to read anywhere else.

All are so darn predictable.

Our man Baldrick has a cunning plan but has not shared the gist of it with us.

Here's Baldrick:

Here's a frickin' bone:

[Blackadder is looking through some papers. There's a knock at the door.]

Blackadder:
Come

[The door opens, and a man steps in.]

Blackadder:
Bill! Bill, good to see you. [They shake hands.]

Shakespeare:
Sorry I was late - the traffic was a *****!

Blackadder:
Good to see you. Well, the play's going well, isn't it? Looks like we've got a bit of a smash on our hands.

Shakespeare:
Well, it, er, seems to be OK, yeah.

Blackadder:
They always seem to go for the ones with the snappy titleShakespeare: `Hamlet'. Perfect! Perfect.

Shakespeare:
Act Three may be a bit long, I don't know...

Blackadder:
Act Three may be a bit long... In fact, generally, I think we've got a bit of a length problem.

Shakespeare:
Oh?

Blackadder:
It's five hours, Bill, on wooden seats, and no toilets this side of the Thames.

Shakespeare:
Yeah, well, I've always said the Rose Theatre is a dump, frankly. I mean, the sooner they knock it down and build something decent, the better.

Blackadder:
Exactly. So that's why I think we should trim some of the dead wood.

Shakespeare:
"Dead wood"?

Blackadder:
Yeah, you know: some of that standup stuff in the middle of the action.

Shakespeare:
You mean the soliloquies?

Blackadder:
Yeah, and I think we both know which is the dodgy one.

Shakespeare:
[getting upset] Oh? Oh? Which is "the dodgy one"?

Blackadder:
Erm... "To be ... nobler in the mind ... mortal coil ..."; that one. It's boring, Bill. The crowd hates it -- Yawnsville.

Shakespeare:
Well, I don't know about that. It happens to be my favourite, actually.

Blackadder:
Bill, you said that about the avocado monologue in `King Lear', and the tap dance at the end of `Othello'.

Shakespeare:
Absolutely not! You cut one word of that, and I'm off the play.

Blackadder:
Bill, Bill... the King has got his costume change down to one minute. Hamlet's out there ranting on about God-knows-what in that soliloquy of yours, and Claudius is already in the wings waiting to come on with that very funny codpiece -- waiting!

Shakespeare:
[very upset; stands] All right, all right, you can just cut the whole speech altogether!

Blackadder:
Bill, Bill, Bill... Why do we have to fight? It's long, long, long. We could make it so snappy...

Shakespeare:
"Snappy"?

Blackadder:
Yeah, you know: give it some pizzazz. How's it begin, that speech?

Shakespeare:
[sits] "To be."

Blackadder:
Come on, come on, Bill.

Shakespeare:
"To be a victim of all life's earthly woes, or not to be a coward and take Death by his proffered hand."

Blackadder:
There, now; I'm sure we can get that down!

Shakespeare:
No! Absolutely not! It's perfect.

Blackadder:
[preparing to write] How about "To be a victim, or not to be coward"?

Shakespeare:
[shrugs] It doesn't make sense, does it! To be a victim of what? to be coward about what?

Blackadder:
OK, OK. Take out `victim'; take out `coward'. Just start "To be, or not to be."

Shakespeare:
You can't say that! It's gibberish!

Blackadder:
But it's short, William, it's short! Listen, it flows: "To be, or not to be; that is the question." D'de, d'de de de, d'de d'de de de! OK?

Shakespeare:
You're damn right it's the question -- they won't have any bloody idea what he's talking about!

Blackadder:
Well, OK, let's leave that and go on. "Blah blah blah blah blah, slings and arrows" -- good! action; the crowds love it -- "take up arms" -- brilliant -- "against those cursed doubts that do plague on man" -- eugh... Getting very woolly there, Bill. Plague's a bit tasteless at the moment -- we've had letters, actually. "...and set sail on a sea of troubles" -- this is good: travel; travel's very popular. So let's just take out the guff and see what we've got. "...to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles"! Good!

Shakespeare:
I resign. [stands]

Blackadder:
Bill, it's brilliant!

Shakespeare:
It's absolute ****! What is he talking about? He's going to put on a bow and arrow and potter down to the seaside? This is Prince Hamlet, not King Canute! He might as well kill himself if that's the best idea he can come up with.

Blackadder:
Creative thinking, Bill! Hamlet; perhaps he should top himself!

Shakespeare:
In Act One?

Blackadder:
Well, yeah, well, look we must think about bums on seats, Bill. Let's face it: It's the ghost that's selling this show at the moment. Joe Public loves the ghost; he loves the swordfights; he loves the crazy chick in the see-through dress who does the flower gags and then drowns herself. But no-one likes Hamlet -- no-one.

Shakespeare:
[disgusted] All right, then, I'll kill him off for you. [picks up paper and quill] Ermm... [reads] "Aye; there's the rub. To die, to sleep..." [writes] "Whoops! (Hamlet falls off the battlements)" [puts down paper and quill]

Blackadder:
Bill, Bill, Bill; I can see, I can see you're annoyed. I'm sorry. Hamlet has his moments. The mad stuff is very funny. It really is hysterical. But all I'm saying, Shakey, is let's just shorten this one terribly dull speech.

Shakespeare:
...and all I'm saying is no. You cut one word, and you can take my name off the credits.

Blackadder:
All right. I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll trim this speech, and you can put back in those awful cockney gravediggers.

Shakespeare:
The both of them?

Blackadder:
Yeah.

Shakespeare:
And the skull routine?

Blackadder:
Yep -- the whole sketch.

Shakespeare:
All right, then; you've got a deal -- and we'll see which one history remembers. [turns to leave]

Blackadder:
Bill, I love you!

[WS exits]

 

[Mustaphile]

 

[freespirit2001]

Your picture is so charming!...Thanks for sharing with us! it looks like the greatest summer day a guy can have with his sister and some christian friends....You are so luvable Mustaphile!!!

My bone is we never really got to finish our greatest inspirations about christian mysticism........I would wake up with a great insight to share with you...then poof------our whole post----total attack and take over, and lock out............ You know the greatest christian mystics are those who really can live those passages in John about being "born-again" in the Spirit:
[bible]John 3:3-8[/bible]

The wind blows where it wills........this is so deep.......so mysterious...almost like having powers of total invisibility to me, Mustaphile!.......Real christian stealth!.....Spiritual instincts to the heights!....ahahaahaha!!!
Gone in a blink of the eye!

Whatdya think?

 

[Mustaphile]

Whatdya think?

I think it something to get excited about, freespirit.

I have been dwelling on the whole mystery of God of late. I finished reading Karen Armstrong's 'A History of God', and it's certainly given me much to think about. The flipside of this as that the more my christian life becomes a personal experience of the mystery of God in creation, the less common ground there is for me to share with the mainstream of rationalist christian thinkers. Where some perceive division, I see unity, where some perceive man, I'm seeing God, where some perceive a threat of destruction, I'm seeing a challenge to overcome and grow. So whereas it's a great experience of peace and joy from seeing God in all things, it's also a tad lonely at times, as it's not a view that everyone shares with me. That's all part of bearing our cross, I would say.

The lady I am engaged to be married to is my most intimate companion and confidante in all these things, so it's not a universal sense of loneliness. There is a real experience of wonder and awe in veiwing God in all things. I'm really enjoying the spiritual journey. As has often happened along the way, I have reached a stage where I'm feeling the less I say the better. There are a lot of thoughts floating around in my head that haven't really found a comfortable and definable form, so while I'd love to share them all, they only come out in short bursts every now and again. It's a balance between having one foot planted in reason and another foot planted in mystery, mystery being the reality of God, and reason being the realisation of that reality in a workable form. Silence is often the greatest expression of that mystery, but our inherent need to communicate our perception of that mystery leads us to rationalise and reason about it. The more we develop that rational perception of God, the less it looks like the God of mystery. It's like walking a tightrope and it's so easy to fall off sometimes.

I can see you on a similar path, freespirit. One thing we can always do is share that common enthusiasm for the journey. God is great, and God is in control.

The passage you mentioned above is interesting, as I have been contemplating the whole 'born again' thing. I once made a concious decision to be 'born again', and I thought that I was. Then one day God gave me that new birth, and I realised I had been kidding myself before. It might be that the two were related. The desire to be born again led me to search out God, but I couldn't make it happen. Thinking about it the other day, I was sort of came to a conclusion that it was the worry and anxiety that lead me down certain paths away from God, but it was the awe and wonder that led me towards God. The more I thought of God as something amazingly hard to understand, but so evident around me, the more real the sense of God became. I'm stuck on that path now. Awe and wonder leads me to God.

It's just so indescribable though!

 

[freespirit2001]

You mentioned that many people lately here, seem to be talking "at" each other, than "to" each other. I can empathize with that.




Perhaps, sometimes we have to listen and hear the silence in the Spirit, as it is intended.

I like your comparatives IN THE SPIRIT, Mustaphile! LOLXOXLOL!!!

I'm not really feeling challenged enough to pick any bones about anything, Mustaphile....

 

[muffler dragon]

Mustaphile:

Personally, I've been finding CO to be fairly milquetoast the last few months. I had to start looking outside of CO and CF in general to get a flavor for more "gritty" material. My core values have also changed immensely so that will also lend some issue to this side of it.

m.d.

 

[freespirit2001]

I think it something to get excited about, freespirit.

I have been dwelling on the whole mystery of God of late. I finished reading Karen Armstrong's 'A History of God', and it's certainly given me much to think about. The flipside of this as that the more my christian life becomes a personal experience of the mystery of God in creation, the less common ground there is for me to share with the mainstream of rationalist christian thinkers. Where some perceive division, I see unity, where some perceive man, I'm seeing God, where some perceive a threat of destruction, I'm seeing a challenge to overcome and grow. So whereas it's a great experience of peace and joy from seeing God in all things, it's also a tad lonely at times, as it's not a view that everyone shares with me. That's all part of bearing our cross, I would say.

I like this thread, Mustaphile! I hope we can keep it open for a time!

I like how you mention these things...They sound so deep and beautiful!

They somewhat seem like paradoxes you might be going through too, and great comparatives of strength, Mustaphile!

I would like to think of a few of my own ( LOLXOXLOL...ahahaahahahah!!!):

"No peace among the nations without peace among the religions,
No peace among the religions without peace dialogue among the religions,
No dialogue among the religions without investigation of the foundations of religions."

Hans Kung

"First they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
Then you win!"

Mahatma Gandhi

The lady I am engaged to be married to is my most intimate companion and confidante in all these things, so it's not a universal sense of loneliness. There is a real experience of wonder and awe in veiwing God in all things. I'm really enjoying the spiritual journey. As has often happened along the way, I have reached a stage where I'm feeling the less I say the better. There are a lot of thoughts floating around in my head that haven't really found a comfortable and definable form, so while I'd love to share them all, they only come out in short bursts every now and again. It's a balance between having one foot planted in reason and another foot planted in mystery, mystery being the reality of God, and reason being the realisation of that reality in a workable form. Silence is often the greatest expression of that mystery, but our inherent need to communicate our perception of that mystery leads us to rationalise and reason about it. The more we develop that rational perception of God, the less it looks like the God of mystery. It's like walking a tightrope and it's so easy to fall off sometimes.

I can see you on a similar path, freespirit. One thing we can always do is share that common enthusiasm for the journey. God is great, and God is in control.

The passage you mentioned above is interesting, as I have been contemplating the whole 'born again' thing. I once made a concious decision to be 'born again', and I thought that I was. Then one day God gave me that new birth, and I realised I had been kidding myself before. It might be that the two were related. The desire to be born again led me to search out God, but I couldn't make it happen. Thinking about it the other day, I was sort of came to a conclusion that it was the worry and anxiety that lead me down certain paths away from God, but it was the awe and wonder that led me towards God. The more I thought of God as something amazingly hard to understand, but so evident around me, the more real the sense of God became. I'm stuck on that path now. Awe and wonder leads me to God.

It's just so indescribable though!

 

[freespirit2001]

 

[Mustaphile]

Hey freespirit.

I've had the computer in getting fixed the last few days. I'm spending a lot of time downloading stuff to get it all back up to speed. Time for me to go do some chores around the house now. How is life treating you today?

 

[freespirit2001]

Thanks Mustaphile! I am so thankful for the Lord today, for His precious love and for His keeping my thoughts to Him......

I was also given some wonderful encouragement from some really great people, today.

I've been meditating on the Name of the Lord as The Alpha and the Omega in my life for power and strength...I wish I could hear more Christians mention the Alpha and the Omega more in prayers and thoughts. I have always loved the complexity of some of my life challenges and I'm hoping in the Alpha and the Omega to get me through some of this complexity...much has been unspoken, unresolved relationship issues...a diabolical 'No talk law" but He has been my bridge with my worldly knowledge and my spiritual insight....A balancing act totally of faith alone. I hope He will transcend my love of science and spirit ( a legacy of both my father and maternal grandfather)


Its not easy balancing simple love, with complex knowedge of worldly issues about power. Children always seem to understand how to do this better than adults...

[bible]2 Peter 1:5-7[/bible]

I am so thankful to the Alpha and the Omega for all that has happened this week here...in so many subtle deeply caring ways...as if I passed over a threshold, and I was never alone......

I'm so grateful, Mustaphile...!!!



Ego and spirit are so hard to balance in life...it all has to be tempered but I would live to learn more...like stories about Jacob...or Sarah....

I don't look for life and death drama in my own relationships---however--- so many people who are into the social graces and amenities do---unless the Lord really chastens them. I feel a deep loss when I do not sense the propriety I should be expressing and I am at a deep loss for cliches at times. Cultural wisdom of people I really admire culturally, is still difficult without using worldy wisdom that still sounds so engraved in stone at times...its as if some the words should be more transcening......More of the Spirit should be reflected in the language and the laws.....

I think the Lord sets us to go with the wind He sends us to go in..... I don't have all the cliches I need at times missing being in mainstream groups or school classes or in some kind of social service occupation here...its easier getting faster feedback that way...the power of the spoken language....

I miss that.

Thoughts have to be clarified though. As well as the unspoken laguage.


I am here where I need to be for the time, as information here is 100x more powerful here on Forum work than being in small socials for now. The Lord gives us so much here, Mustaphile!!!

I love the pardoxes you spoke about before...

 

[RedTulipMom]

some interesting thoughts mustaphile and freespirit! nice to meet you!
Do you happen to have any links to escoteric sites or mysticism ??

 

[freespirit2001]

some interesting thoughts mustaphile and freespirit! nice to meet you!
Do you happen to have any links to escoteric sites or mysticism ??

I found some really great christian quotes about christian mysticism on this site. karenmarie:

www.christianmystics.com

I love this one:

" The true contemplative is not the one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants or expects to hear; but who remains empty because he knows that he can never expect or anticipate the word that will trahsform his darkness into light."

Thomas Merton

I'm just curious why you are looking for esoteric wisdom or mysticism...Thomas Merton was a Catholic Priest ( I believe a Trappist Monk in fact, please correct me if I'm wrong) with some of the most greatest insights into the Spirit I've ever read, and I would think about christian mysticism also. You might also want to look up some of his work on the internet. His writings are also in the Living Bread. I have noticed one of his quotes in Freedom and Destiny by Rollo May:

"The goal of fasting is inner unity. This means hearing but not with the ear; hearing , but not with the understanding; it is hearing with your spirit, with your whole being. The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is aonther. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind. Fasting of the heart empties the faculties, frees you from limitations and from preoccuaptions."

Thomas Merton, The Living Bread

God Bless!

 

[freespirit2001]

I have been dwelling on the whole mystery of God of late. I finished reading Karen Armstrong's 'A History of God', and it's certainly given me much to think about. The flipside of this as that the more my christian life becomes a personal experience of the mystery of God in creation, the less common ground there is for me to share with the mainstream of rationalist christian thinkers. Where some perceive division, I see unity, where some perceive man, I'm seeing God, where some perceive a threat of destruction, I'm seeing a challenge to overcome and grow. So whereas it's a great experience of peace and joy from seeing God in all things, it's also a tad lonely at times, as it's not a view that everyone shares with me. That's all part of bearing our cross, I would say.

Mustaphile, this page and your words are so beautiful!!! What you say is so strengthening and powerful. This is really really beautiful......

I really feel so much more empowerment in my spirit when your insight is around...

There are a lot of thoughts floating around in my head that haven't really found a comfortable and definable form, so while I'd love to share them all, they only come out in short bursts every now and again. It's a balance between having one foot planted in reason and another foot planted in mystery, mystery being the reality of God, and reason being the realisation of that reality in a workable form. Silence is often the greatest expression of that mystery, but our inherent need to communicate our perception of that mystery leads us to rationalise and reason about it. The more we develop that rational perception of God, the less it looks like the God of mystery. It's like walking a tightrope and it's so easy to fall off sometimes.

I am deeply silent right now, myself, Mustaphile. I'm still taking in these deep words of yours......

 

[Toney]

Do you happen to have any links to escoteric sites or mysticism ??

You're probably familiar with Padre Pio, who was canonized by the Church a few years ago. I can think of no Christian mystic in the modern era, with the possible exception of Merton, who has had a greater impact on the faith.

This site is maintained by EWTN: St Padre Pio

 

[RedTulipMom]

I found some really great christian quotes about christian mysticism on this site. karenmarie:

www.christianmystics.com

I love this one:

" The true contemplative is not the one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants or expects to hear; but who remains empty because he knows that he can never expect or anticipate the word that will trahsform his darkness into light."

Thomas Merton

I'm just curious why you are looking for esoteric wisdom or mysticism...Thomas Merton was a Catholic Priest ( I believe a Trappist Monk in fact, please correct me if I'm wrong) with some of the most greatest insights into the Spirit I've ever read, and I would think about christian mysticism also. You might also want to look up some of his work on the internet. His writings are also in the Living Bread. I have noticed one of his quotes in Freedom and Destiny by Rollo May:

"The goal of fasting is inner unity. This means hearing but not with the ear; hearing , but not with the understanding; it is hearing with your spirit, with your whole being. The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is aonther. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind. Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a direct grasp of what is right before you that can never be heard with the ear or understood with the mind. Fasting of the heart empties the faculties, frees you from limitations and from preoccuaptions."

Thomas Merton, The Living Bread

God Bless!

Yes i am aware of the christian mystics site. It has some great articles. It also has a message board that i am a member of with alot of awesome people. I have also read Thomas Merton and other Catholic Mystics. I was just wondering if any of you had any other good sites. That is where i am at in my journey at present. I am very intrigued by writings of the Saints and Mystics. Thanks so much for sharing the quotes you shared. Sometimes i feel lonely on the path but it is nice when you can see others beyond the trees. Atleast there are others in the same forest and that is comforting. Nice to make your aquaintance.

Peace and love,
karen

 

[freespirit2001]

Thanks Karen!

 

[Ave Maria]

Here's you a bone!

Hope you like doggie bones!