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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 1:41:22 GMT -5
Mountains of the moon for Don and St.Stephen for me!
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 10:26:53 GMT -5
Dear Don, You have written,"Your beliefs answer nothing.At least for me."
What questions are you asking?
Are they questions that will try to satisfy your rational mind?
Perhaps there is a different question that needs to be asked,like,"What did your Original face look like before your parents begat you?"
The answer to the answer is something beyond the mind.
Matanoia is not an "Answer" for the mind.It is a CHANGE of mind altogether,back to it's original state of oneness with God and all of creation.
All Charlotte and I have been discussing is a WAY of accomplishing this.
There you will find the answers to all of your questions.
I,(Some anonymous nobody,who just happened to discover your web site by accident and start writing on it...) Guarantee it!
Yours Truly, Not from around here
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 12:38:48 GMT -5
Another way of looking at it:
We are all suffering from amnesia. What we are looking for is not the answer to the questions we have come up with in our amnesiac state,but rather,for"Anamnesis," or,The cure for our amnesia.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 12:42:18 GMT -5
What the "Dead Heads" DID have was a way to experience a flash of Divinity.
What they didn't have and what Orthodoxy provides,is a way to make that experience into a permanent state.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 12:51:35 GMT -5
And,Charlotte,I'm sorry to be recommending YET ANOTHER BOOK! (But we might as well get used to it...) This one is called,"Animals and Man-a state of blessedness" ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-27718179058433_2054_38184711This one is written by a friend of ours who is a Holistic/Homeopathic veterinarian who lives in Las Vegas! and rescues Mountain lions! They probably have a copy,(or can get one) At Joy of all who sorrow/Archangel Michael bookstore. Have a good day!
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 13:43:51 GMT -5
Connections,connections,connections! Rick Griffin,Illustrious illustrator of many Grateful Dead album covers and concert posters,etc: www.oldhandbills.com/images/060623/Grateful_Dead-Sons_Of_Champlin-Avalon_Ballroom.jpgAlso did an illustrated edition of "The Gospel according to St.John" with,by far the most Psychedelic illustrations of the Gospel that you will ever see. One of my favorite is the Samaritan woman at the well: zionsgate.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/gospel31.jpgWhich is what this Sunday celebrates: www.anastasis.org.uk/SamarSun.htmCoincidentally,this Feast symbolizes the difference between knowledge derived by the constant churning of the rational mind and the Knowledge of God,or knowledge derived directly from our innate oneness with God. "Jesus answered and said unto her,Whosoever drinketh of this water(That of the rational mind)shall thirst again:But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:13-14
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Post by renwdimgink on May 16, 2009 15:09:36 GMT -5
Speaking of "As above so below" and the absolutely amazing celestial mechanics of the Master Builder, here is this old classic which places Man right in the center between all of the visible and invisible worlds:
You are the Crown of creation!
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Post by Charlotte on May 17, 2009 10:34:39 GMT -5
Page 11
Hallo Mr. Burger and Don,
Logging in yesterday morning and reading the first posts by you Gentlemen, the myriad of things crossing my mind would have made a lengthy reply at the expense of the necessary Saturday housewifish chores, no to mention the task of having to clean sap all over my car which I had parked under a Eucalyptus tree, all the while thinking about things secretive.
Mr. Burger, Friday last, I spoke briefly with Deborah who exclaimed: "Yes, Charlotte, I have been expecting your call", meaning, of course, that you had mentioned me to the Lady, who, you indicated, can tell me who you actually are as an extra added bonus, and your REAL name by which I may call you, and which all sounded so cryptic to me that I thought you were a person of great Fame, (your Fortune not from around here, I can say by now) whom I would recognize at once, or someone who has read my stuff in the past and known I am interested in things esoteric, but yesterday you stated (and mentioned it before), that you are an anonymous nobody who just happened to discover this site and stated writing on it, no less with with a sole and strange sentence: "Our inner state becomes our outer environment, both here in this world and, even more so in the life of the world to come", and continued for a little while in a more or less puzzling fashion, we here, having never discussed Religion in lenght, width, height and dept. Indeed, still anonymous, for I have never heard of Stephen Burger, hoping I spell your name correctly, but "St. Stephen with a Rose" you linked too is one of my favorites.
No, I didn't mean the M. Hart thing, rather, sometimes the URL shows a vertical line | out of which I make the letter I, which doesn't work for me but works for you.
I had a remarkable dream during Friday-Saturday night, in which I was with my sister, I think. We were looking at a mountain we had seen before, and which we were about to climb. To my surprise there was now a cable car to the summit. The stations or concrete pillars were set in uneven zigzag manner causing me to take a few steps sideways to see if they were all connected by the cable. They were, but it was not an average mountain of rock with trees and shrubs growing up its circumference, but more a very pleasing to the eye familiar landscape laying "flat" on the mountain which I wondered at anew. Reminds me of "mystical" Robert and Jerry's "Mountain on the Moon", singing of Carrian Crows, Sybils, Merchants and Marsh Kings Daughter's etc., and I can even connect the Dead to the Elizabethan Era and Sir Philip Sidney via "Althea". 'Tis nothing short of spectacular, and yes, I agree once more, that that Dead Heads had flashes of Divinity, that "permanent" is the operative word, nevertheless, Jerry and Robert et all were, by far, not from around here either.
The Rock and Roll era was as an Epic-center and the whole human race benefited by the outward propagating waves whether they want to know it or believe it, or not.
Jerry's brief "talk" with Hefner is so typical and telling, Hefner commenting Hefner-Mind style and asking HM questions, Jerry smiling "right' 'right', that's right, whatever you say, Bringing to memory an interview on CNN with Ted Koppel, where Ted talked and Jerry of few words listened, nodding and smiling "I could even begin to tell you...."
I read only the first link of the Golden chain in "The Lives of the Holy Apostles", concerning Simon Peter, and yes, like much what I read. I also heard of an unbroken lineage up to today of James brother of Jesus. Have to concern myself with Religious matters after Church.
For Don's musing, another story of not being from around here. Last Friday, the same Lady told me that while we were working upstairs they are sleeping in a guest bedroom they call Charlotte's room because I relented not with a color she didn't like, but now loves. She said: "You know, Charlotte's room as in "Charlotte's Web", have you ever heard of Charlotte's Web"? Yes, I heard about it, and walked up the stairs.
The constant churning of the rational mind, indeed. The Greeks put an end to it with the Philosophical Dialog, in which I would propose a thesis and Don an antithesis. We would set one aside and only peel away the layers of the one under consideration until there was nothing left to divide, and in that moment of silence the true nature of that thing could be comprehended, and vanish again. So it was done with the other half, and having comprehended it, a synthesis could be had, which was a new thesis.
I must say. You mentioning the word Metanoia brings a smile and Love for my Philosophy Teacher, for during his lectures at the appropriate time he would put his mouth close to the microphone, deepen his voice, look at us and say "Metanoia".
Thanks for the "Powers of Ten" and the Crown of Creation, Grace was so beautiful and sang like an earthly angel, methought.
The star fiery ocean
Charlotte
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Post by renwdimgink on May 17, 2009 18:00:29 GMT -5
Speaking of thesis/antithesis-love that most trippy song by the Rolling Stones,who are the antithesis to the Beatles....However,that album, (and not JUST because of the name...) gives off a REALLY bad vibe. I used to make people listen to it and tell them,"If you EVER start feeling this particular vibration anywhere else,you had better start crossing yourself and saying the Jesus prayer!" especially,"Why don't we sing this song all together." ooh. bad vibes.bad vibes. Because of Anita Eckberg they had gotten into this black magic thing which,I believe,ended up in Brian Jone's death. "Sympathy for the Devil," an absolutely GREAT song really IS the Devil,quite simply telling it like it is: "What's confusing you is just the nature of my game." Sympathy for the Devil even has a verse about the history of the Orthodox Church in Russia: "Killed the Tsar and His ministers,Anastasia screamed in vain." That event marked the end of 800 years of what,up until that time,was known as,"Holy Russia," an entirely Orthodox nation.)
Such a long digression on the Rolling Stones! But there you have it. I could go on and on about anything.
Remember I mentioned that I have songs for all my children,(Uncle John's band...) Well,mine is DEFINITELY St.Stephen! "Wherever he goes,the people all complain!" "Stephen would answer,if he only knew how." and most definitely,"All He lost He shall regain!"
Although,from what I understand,the song was originally written for Stephen Gaskin, (A very interesting person in his own right...) My name is spelled Steven, last name, Berger.
I was originally named after Steve Allen,(ANOTHER interesting guy...) And then,later,Baptized and named after a Russian Bishop and missionary,St.Stephen of Perm,(But I still spell it with a V) (But NOT a V for Vendetta. Oh.I am just full of it this afternoon!)
Actually,though,I am just so happy that you made contact with the Tomasi's. My wife, Barbara Ann,(Bet you can't guess what HER song is...) have known the Thomasi's for like 25 yrs or more.
Fr.John is a great bear of a New Yorker and Matushka Deborah is a very sweet,intelligent and competent person.
I hope you've had a good experience at Church and am looking forward to hearing about it.
Sorry to dash your hopes that I was somebody. The only reason I ended up on the web site was because I was looking for interesting pictures on the computer and just happened to type into the search bar,"As above so below" All the rest is just how I am...
And,for now,"The rest is silence." to quote you're buddy,The Bard of Avon.
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Post by Charlotte on May 18, 2009 9:46:00 GMT -5
A solid German name, Berger, He of the Hill.
It's about the only song by the Stones I like, never paid much attention to their lives, a bit too rough in demeaner for the likes of me. Apparently the vibration of the name and album cover never touched me, I thought they were sort of clowning about, and with the song told the nature and doings of the devil.
I met Steve Allen's son, a physician, once, at a 3 day Conference of Doctors and Psychologist concerning the healing power of laughter. I thought that most of them were crazy themselves, many incompetent to help a troubled person, a few total lunatics and I had to walk out to take a breath.
I didn't pay attention to the street number, daa, so it took me awhile to find Fra John's Church, stopped and asked two Lady's who sent me to a Jewish Temple. Drove back slowly with my emergency lights flashing lest people behind me fly into a rage, and spied and angel with a sword on Pegasus, no less. The place is indeed samll and very easy to miss with eyes on the traffic.
A man from Bulgaria greeted me with a heave and stayed by my side, so to speak, and at lunch time, when I made a move to indicate I'm leaving, he would step the same way preventing me from, it was funny, and gestured with an inviting smile to join all in the lunch room, flirtatious he. Definately a more relaxed atmosphere.
I took some food and set down 3 chairs removed from anyone, a Gentleman set down to my left and one across from me. The man on the left asked questions and talked nonstop about how I got to be there, how he came to join this particular church, where he came from and hoped to go, how long he had been there etc, and many of the things you had told me, and all I could do was nod with my neck turned to one side. Seeing my exasperation, the man across from me interrupted him every so often by asking him a question. For a good time the Bulgarian stayed behind my Informer "staring", not "gazing" at me, to get my attention, and I finally looked back and bowed to him with a smile, he bowed back and walked away. Thought I tell about it in regards to the afore mentioned dreaded Luch. Bless him, my Rescuer, and my Informer too, he told me about a Church almost right around the corner from where I live, so this will be my next stop. There, I could even go Saturdays. I did miss being inside the beautiful Church in Alhambra though.
I met Deborah briefly, shook hands to say hallo, but the Lady was bussy with a meeting held after the Euligy. I saw all the familiar Icons, and looked around at the book store, where my Informer joined me to tell me about good books of introduction to the Orthodox Church.
Meanwhile I am reading on the Lives of the Holy Apostles, which, as I said, I like very much. Found Hermes' Above so Below.
The Lord said onto Peter: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven".
As far as instructions go, if you pardon me, Mr. Berger, I have benefited most from yours, as they encompass the greater scheme of things which are in my scope.
We had a more powerful earthquake yesterday, 4.7, which I felt was coming after the last mentioned. During the awesome rip a perfume bottle fell of the shelf chiming like a bell for it did not break.
Charlotte
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 11:33:07 GMT -5
My Father's parents were from Budapest-Austro/Hungary,hence the German name,Berger.
Orthodox Christianity is a theraputic process of Purification/Illumination/Deification whose aim is to restore our original "Likeness" to God. This is a very important point! The aim of Christianity is not"To make us better people." It is to make us like God. In the process of becoming like God,we do become better people,but that is NOT the aim of Christianity and it can NEVER accomplish this on that level.
This is one of the reasons that people have rejected Christianity.It doesn't seem to do what it is supposed to do,(make us better people...) We look at people who are supposed to be Christians and say,"They're no better than anyone else," (often,worse...)
The problem is that these,"So called" Christians have forgotten what Christianity is really about.Not becoming better people,but becoming like God. It takes everything to another level.
As I say,Orthodoxy is a theraputic process which takes place automatically once we begin to embrace and practice an Orthodox way of life. As with anything,the more conscious we are of this process,the more we can co-operate with it and help it to go more smoothly and expediently.
It demands total self-examination,Total self-honesty and a total commitment to,"Know thyself."
Orthodoxy is a path of Self-realization in the strictest sense of the word. My favorite image of this is an onion with a diamond at it's center. That is my Mantra,so to speak,"Beneath the layers of the onion-a diamond!"
Tell me about the Church around the corner from you after you've had a chance to see it.We'll see if there's anyone I know there.
Best wishes to you on your continued journey of discovery.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 13:14:20 GMT -5
The Glory of God is an all-consuming fire;The fire of love. An unconditional love which seeks to dissolve all of our falsehoods,all of our illusions and,in fact anything and everything that separates us from being entirely one with God.
Our soul is thirsting for this oneness with God like a dehydrated body thirsts for a drink of pure water. Our soul recognizes in Orthodoxy the means of arriving at what it desires above all else and so,people are drawn to it. However,those who are drawn have varying degrees of understanding of what the process is that they are going through and subsequently have varying degrees of ability to co-operate with this process.
Hopefully,they have a priest who,besides serving the Sacraments,which is their primary responsibility, understands and is qualified to be a therapist as well,(Qualified,not by the AMA,but by His own experience.) But not every priest is a qualified therapist which is why we pray that we may be blessed to find an Elder who can serve that function for us.
It is easy to find many dilettantes,(like myself...) but not as easy to find a GENUINE spiritual Father. (Although,they DO still exist.) It all depends upon our own sincerity,then God provides.
The Orthodox way of life is a means of exposing ourselves,gradually and consitantly, to the Glory of God,here and now,while we still have time and space as a buffer,before we are ushered into the fullness of God's presence at the end of the age,(or the end of our own life,whichever comes first.)(Oh yeah. This is the "Countdown to Armageddon thread we have been writing on.I almost forgot!)
It is all about the practice of the presence of God and remembrance of God in the deepest sense of the word:To become a member of God once again.
Subsequently,we find all kinds of different people in varying stages of Purification/Illumination/Deification in any given Orthodox community and one of the first things we strive for is to have compassion for one another. To love and forgive each other our offenses.(Not to tolerate them,necessarily,but to understand where they are coming from and forgive. )
The very fact that there ARE so many DIFFERENT kinds of people,people who wouldn't necessarily even choose to be together,is proof,to me,of how genuine the Orthodox way of life is. It works for anyone,in every walk of life,if we give ourselves to it and embrace it wholeheartedly. The members of the Orthodox Church are NOT a bunch of similar looking smiling zombies,but rather,a bunch of unique individuals called together by God to work out their salvation together.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 15:20:05 GMT -5
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 15:22:34 GMT -5
Wow.I didn't even realize. This is the whole book online. Great!
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 16:37:24 GMT -5
By the way. Here's the original of 2000 light yrs from home...
ooh. creepy.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 18, 2009 16:56:21 GMT -5
Need something with a better vibe after that... Can't go wrong with the good old Moody Blues...
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Post by Charlotte on May 19, 2009 10:02:42 GMT -5
I'll find the Church around the corner today en route to read their schedule.
Having not yet embraced or come to practice the Orthodox way of life, but merely approching the ProNous, or Porch of the Orthodox Church, even so, the therapeutic process involved is evident in reading the Vespers and the book of the Lives of the Holy Saints, which I can somewhat relate too via the greater scheme of things I noted yesterday.
Your ending words of the second post are identical to last words my Informer said, viz, people called together by God to work out their salvation together. Being a Hermit other than my working life, it is "Cummunity" I have to allow myself to get used to. I have no problem joyning the Community in the Church before and during Euligy, it's the socializing after and lunch I resist. Anyway, I plan to go back to speak with Deborah and hopefully Fr John, yes, great bear of a New Yorker, ponytail and all, as has Bishop Maxim, but also feel compelled to "abide" at times in the beautiful Church in Alhambra, which has left a deep impression on my mind and soul, in particular one nameless Figure at the exit looking one directly in the eye and I just wanted to stay and look back, though had to look away at times and know why.
Thanks for yet another book, I will print sections, if printable, perhaps you could slow down a bit as I have others to read, lest I have to hold them between my knees and I'm sure you wouldn't want me trip over some.
I saw and skipped that version of the Stones for obvious reasons, but love the melodious, space flight, and words such as turning in graceful motion as our Spiral Galaxy, landing on Aldebaran in a star fiery ocean and safely on the green desert sand and so on I could go forever too.
Beautiful song by the MB, made waterfalls of me too, and the Taj Mahal, entrance to Paradise, also belonging to the bigger picture, connecting to Agrabah and the Royal Wedding of Aladdin and Jasmine who fly on a magic carpet around the Sphinx to "a New World".
Shah Jahan and Mumtaz were contemporaries of Francis, sorry, can't help it, He being ever my reference point to all that is. Jahan, He of the Peacock Throne, standing on top of the World, and Mumtaz, "Beloved Ornament of the Palace" and "Cradle of Excellence", are but another rendition of the Great Ramses who built a House of Million Years, and Nefertari "God's wife of Amun", and Nefertiti "the Beautiful has come", or Hatshepsut the "Foremost Lady of the Land" of Punt, (Shakespeare also knew of Punt) when seen Above. Nefer translating to "the Divine, the Beautiful, and the Good, so all these "Favorite Wives" betoken the Soul. I know I digress, but all these are peripheral sounds that come to my mind, besides others.
Charlotte
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Post by renwdimgink on May 19, 2009 13:03:15 GMT -5
Except for some of the earliest hermits in the Palestinian and Egyptian deserts,most Hermits were not blessed to live the solitary life until after living in community for a while and perfecting them selves in that,very often,more difficult arena. Our fellow human beings,although each one created in the Image of God,can be a real pain to have to deal with! Ay.but there's the rub! Having to deal with them is one of the best ways of perfecting oneself. (Hence,marriage.)
By all means,I hope you will continue to visit St.Stephen's as well. I'm looking forward to you getting to meet Bishop Maxim. And,as you say,the Church near you may turn out to be a good place to attend some of the evening vigil's.
Best wishes till later. Steven
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Post by renwdimgink on May 19, 2009 15:52:41 GMT -5
The Church with it's community of believers is a crucible where the dross we may have accumulated is separated from the pure gold of our own true nature.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 20, 2009 2:10:50 GMT -5
On a lighter note...
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Post by Charlotte on May 20, 2009 9:30:50 GMT -5
It is true that dealing with fellow human beings is one of the best ways of perfecting oneself, even in every day working hours there is the opportunity and necessity of checking one's thoughts and actions. True also, the Church and it's community of believers being a crucible, now that brought it to my awareness.
As you know, I didn't liken myself to the blessed Hermits, nevertheless I have been walking about the World with a Lantern until more recent times.
The Church close to where I live is "St. Matthew's", an Antiochian organization, so I'll vist there maybe even on Saturday, and there are two more in the area. As much as I drive about, I have never noticed an Orthodox Church, probably because they are mostly of the 'beaten track'.
Funny, the Beatles. We had another earthquake, and I have this ominous feeling of more powerful ones to come.
Wishing you and everyone a good day
Charlotte
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Post by renwdimgink on May 20, 2009 13:34:35 GMT -5
Here is St.Matthew's web site: www.saint-matthew.net/A friend of ours here,has a son living near you,(Somewhere...) who was checking out different Orthodox Churches down there to try and decide which one to attend. This is one he mentioned. The Antiochian's were originally,mostly Lebanese and Palestinian ethnic Orthodox,until a large group of Protestant Christians converted to Orthodoxy about 20 yrs ago and joined up with them. So now they are an interesting mix of ethnic Orthodox and ex-Protestants. All these earthquakes! Maybe the big one is coming at last? One good thing about earthquakes-they really cause a person to focus their prayers more precisely! And speaking of the first hermits.You guessed it. Another book!(Don't worry.You don't have to read them all at once,but this is another really great one.) "Paradise of the Holy Fathers" It begins with the life of St.Anthony and then hundreds of lives and sayings of many others in the Egyptian thebaid during the first century after Christ. www.amazon.com/Paradise-Holy-Fathers-Part-1/dp/0766129071
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Post by renwdimgink on May 20, 2009 13:40:35 GMT -5
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Post by Charlotte on May 21, 2009 10:56:23 GMT -5
Indeed an interesting congregation, having never been, I think I'll go to the Vesper.
I read about St. Anthony before, have to see if it is the same one. I too like books rather than online reading.
Ja, as I said before, when the earth thus shakes, even Atheists pray, I think. Should I met one sometimes I will ask to tell me honestly. Instead of the big one, I hope we'll have many 5. and under, even they are eerie and terrifying.
Charlotte
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Post by renwdimgink on May 21, 2009 15:19:42 GMT -5
I had an interesting experience the last two days in a row.
Yesterday morning,I dreamnt about being on the front porch of my best friend's family's home,whom I lived nearby when I was growing up in New Jersey. When I woke up,I remembered a time,years after I had moved away from there,that I went back to visit. It was right after I had first become a Christian (in CHARLOTTE North Carolina,by the way...)
I got to my friend's house late at night and,since I had a sleeping bag with me,I rolled it out and slept on Their front porch. That morning,I had a dream that I saw a cross in the sky,which I proceeded to point out to everyone. Iwoke up told my friend's that I had become a Christian and had just had this amazing dream while sleeping on their front porch.
Every morning,my family and I have morning prayers together. We read from the,"Morning Prayers" section of our "Jordanville prayer book," selections from the"Pentecostarion," (During this season between Pascha and Pentecost,) We read the Epistle and Gospel of the day as indicated by our St.Herman of Alaska calendar, and,finally,a selection of lives of the saints for that day from,"The Prologue of Ochrid," by St.Nicholia velomirovitch.
In the Prologue for yesterday we discovered that on that day,(May 7th,by the old calendar,) in 357ad, A cross appeared in the sky over Jerusalem which thousands of people saw,both believers and unbelievers.
Somehow I must have known.
Then this morning,pretty much the same thing happened. I woke up concerned about my eldest son who spends too much time watching tv and movies and listening to the radio and playing around on the computer,so,I wrote down for him this:
"God reveals Himself,His knowledge,wisdom and power to the silent mind. Whereas,the mdia fills our mind with all kinds of noise and other garbage. The cup must be left clean and empty before the Divine liquor is poured into it. There are two kinds of knowledge.One is ABOUT things,the other is OF things. One is infinitely greater than the other. We are what we eat,(or whatever we allow into our mind.")
And in the prologue this morning was the life of a saint,(St.Arsenios,) and a homily about the same subject.
It's another way of knowing things then we are used to.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 21, 2009 15:30:10 GMT -5
Left out an "E". The MEDIA fills our mind...
I believe that the MEDIA is the WORST thing for people in general and for children,in particular. It is almost entirely a form of propaganda and black magic designed to mislead,misdirect,fascinate and distract in the most entertaining way possible!
Forgive me,I'm ranting!
(Besides the media,white sugar and public school are the other worst things for children...)
We have purposely tried to preserve our children from these things,as far as possible,(but not far enough!)
However,they are coming to that age where,all we can do is present them with the facts,(As far as we understand them...) and let them decide for themselves.
So far,so good. Only time will tell at this point.
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Post by Charlotte on May 22, 2009 10:22:25 GMT -5
Good morning Mr. Berger,
I am pleased to know that you lend credence to dreams, to what degree I don't know, as I do in a practical way regarding the five types of dreams expounded by Greek Philosopher Artemedorus, who claimed that Apollo came to him and gave him a system to interpret dreams. He was adviser to Marcus Aurelius, so was Plotinus. I mention this because I like being in the company of Great Men.
Just briefly I would say now, there are three "average" dreams as the reflection of our daily life and our mortal psyche, the fourth transcendental/telepathic/clairvoyant, and the fifth the "True or Oracle Dream", which needs no interpretation, it is clear what it is. It is not mine to define or interfere with your dreams or experiences, but I think they belong to the latter two. I had such myself.
I see vage outlines of more books in the air as I read your elucidation on morning prayers, and understand the rest of what you write in that vein.
Your ranting about the Media I second with the exact same words, the methods and goal so blantently obvious that I wonder if anybody is actually listening to this dangerous form of Hypnotism, and worse, act upon it. Legal drug sellers are the most loathsome.
White sugar no, dark Chocolate yes.
I just noticed the nice colored stars Don gives out.
Charlotte
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Post by Charlotte on May 23, 2009 10:19:28 GMT -5
I hearken to this "The Secrets of the Universe", for instance, as I read:
"The Paradise or Garden of the Holy Fathers being the Histories of the Anchorites Recluses Monks Ceonobites and Ascetic Fathers of the Desert of Egypt between A.D. CCL and A.D. CCCC Circiter compiled by Athanasius Archbishop of Alexandria: Palladius Bishop of Helenopolis: St. Jerome and others".
Though I don't know the Histories yet, I knew from previous studies that at that time and in those locations the secrets of the Universe and how they relate to Mankind were compiled. The year 0 was bridged by ca 500 years B.C. and 500 A.D., to make it an even 1000 years. Once began, it is hard to stop reading in these books as the True keeps beckoning.
My ears also perked up reading such as, that time/space and the laws of physics are but temporay limitations protecting us from our own worst intentions. I knew this and you confirmed it by wording it.
Not to be missed, the question of what our Original face looked like before our parents begot us, which brings me back to the direct correlation and interrelationship between Mind and Matter, and our Thinking/Feeling/Willing setting the the pattern which sub-atomic particels, atoms, molecules, cells, etc., rush to fill. Again a confirmation of what I learned in quantum and particle physics, and wove my own strings out of string theory, remembering that the Great Hermes "whirled through space organizing matter." I have realized long ago that, so to speak, nothing happens without Hermes.
This correlation and interrelationship also brings me back to "we are the stuff that dreams are made of and our little life is rounded by a sleep", to which you answered that it is time to wake up and become the God-like Creatures we really are. I then asked if we could say that we are imagination stuff, but forgot how you replied. Considering all this, is our Ideal of ourselves and how we perceive all, above and below, embodied in our face and form? And the more Light/Knowledge of Things we gather and make our own the more delightful we become? As in we rise and fall together.
Yes, the Icons draw my eyes as if alive, and so I feel is the Church in Alhambra, full of Light at times.
Peeling onion layers
Charlotte
Honouring also
Sidhartha Gautama Lao Tsu Confucius Zoroaster Pythagoras Socrates Dio Tima Plato Aristotle Alexander the Great The Therapeutae The Essenes Apollonius of Tyana Dionysius Areopagita Pseudo-Dionysus Iamblichus Porphyry Proclus Plotinus Hypatia of Alexandria
And many others.
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Post by renwdimgink on May 23, 2009 12:39:56 GMT -5
We are,above all,creators,engaged in this great journey of Self-discovery and Self-mastery.
As our facial expression and "body language" changes now to reflect our changing thoughts and feelings,so will our entire environment when we get the hang of it.
Dreaming is a natural skylight into the many invisible worlds which interpenetrate our physical reality.
As far as dreams go,the Orthodox are, seemingly, schizophrenic about them. On the one hand,there are many,many examples in the Bible and in the lives of the saints, of especially the last two categories of dreams you listed,(not to mention what would be considered,lucid dreaming,out of the body experiences,bilocation,teleportation,etc.)
However,on the other hand,we are instructed,especially in the early stages of Purification and Illumination,not to pay undue attention either to anything in our dreams or to anything that might appear to us during contemplative prayer,(visions,voices,lights,colors,angels appearing,etc.)
Why is that? There are bodiless beings who can communicate with us that don't necessarily have our best interests in mind. Until we are fully grounded and have developed our faculty of discernment,(which the Fathers define as,"The ability to taste different flavors of reality,)it is best and safest for us not to trust what we see in dreams or visions to readily. If something is really from God,eventually it will become known to us.
"Beloved,believe not every spirit,but try the spirits whether they are of God." 1st epistle of John 4:1
Many have been deceived by believing every spirit. In fact,whole religions and various denominations have begun in such a manner!
The Icons are like video-phones connecting us to the beings they represent,so,again,we are constantly in communication with invisible beings,but at the same time,we are cautious about it...
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Post by renwdimgink on May 23, 2009 15:55:00 GMT -5
Barbara and I owned and operated an Orthodox bookstore in Chicago after we were first married. We lived in the back. When the bookstore was closed,it was, more or less,our living room. I used to go out there in the evenings and,because of all the Icons we had in there,I used to feel that the place was full of all of these consciousnesses present there with us.
The key word for an understanding of Orthodoxy is,"Otherworldliness." For the Orthodox,it is a given that there are many other viable realities which overshadow and interpenetrate our small terrestrial sphere. We live and move and breathe within these other realities.
The only reason we don't perceive them directly all the time is that our upbringing has trained our ATTENTION to focus on a very narrow band of perception. Everything about Orthodoxy,the entire Orthodox way of life,is a means of rounding up our usually scattered ATTENTION,and learning how to focus it in other directions than it has become accustomed to,in a careful and consistent manner.
Orthodoxy has many safeguards built in to it to allow this process to take place in a way that is most beneficial for us and free from many of the dangers which may come from opening ourselves up,before we are really ready to handle it gracefully, to the beings and forces,which may seek to influence us one way or another.
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