gossamer

You know, I used to live out in New Mexico, the "enlightenment capital" of the United States. I have a policy, when someone actually says that they are "enlightened", or "born again", this absolutely means that they ARE NEITHER OF THESE THINGS. When I hear these words from someone, I run as quickly as possible, the other way. Question: Did Laozi write the Tao te Ching for "enlightened people"? Peace, gossamer

Of all the quotes presented by you here **NOT ONE OF THEM**conflicts with what he said on PBS. He doesn't believe in any kind of SURVIVAL of the human soul or spirit AFTER DEATH. To say "Life is Eternal", but I'm personally gonna be mulch for the worms and a part of the ecology.....AND THAT'S IT, is only to say "I don't personally believe in survival of the of the soul/spirit". All of those quotes really CONFIRM what he said on PBS. Peace, gossamer

Amen!

I hate to rain on this party..........but I saw Eckhart Tolle on PBS television and when the host of this program asked him "What do you feel happens to us after death?" Tolle's reply: "I think that we are just dead, and our bodies return to the dust from which we are made". He believes in NOTHING (that's far different then Nirvana!) after our life here on earth. If he was ANY kind of a Master, he'd know better then thinking in this way. And I have his book: 'The Power of Now', and I think that it's great! He's a great writer, but a pretty poor philosopher/"Master". Peace, gossamer

Yes, I'm in complete agreement that Yeshua (Jesus) is both the Son of God, and was the Son of Man when He walked here upon the earth. In fact, He might also STILL be the Son of Man, because I believe that he (still) has a body, different then ours, but yet He's still embodied with a physical body. Some food for thought. And for THIS day: "He is Risen!" Shlama (Peace, Wholeness---in Aramaic) gossamer

Dear Bum Grasshopper, There is a Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic) New Testament called 'The Peshitta' (or 'P'shitta'). It's much clearer then the Greek (or Latin, for that matter) versions of the New Testament. But that said, I think that ALL versions, especially the Greek versions, of the New Testament have places where things were "moved around", edited, and even added to, at a later date (then the originals). I think that the Gospels came to us ORIGINALLY as 'as ORAL STORIES'. The problems began when the "organized church(es)" got involved. As I said yesterday, I also think that the Gentiles lost all of their 'Roots' within Judaism, THAT'S when the disaster really began. I think that the Holy Spirit is Restoring the Jewish Roots, even within Christian Churches. But this is a S-L-O-W process that's meeting great resistance, within "Organized" Christianity. All of that said, I'm a Christian Friend (Quaker) and if the Quaker movement had not pretty much died off (except for a small band in Southeastern Ohio, and maybe 200 more Christian Friends scattered around the USA and Britian.....who are connected to the Friends in S.E. Ohio), it was in my estimate, pretty near how the original Jewish Believers worshipped and lived. I believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah, just as he said that he was (and proved he was, in my opinion). But I've studied the New Testament, especially the Syriac version in the last few years, and I see real problems with later "editors". I've also studied the Tao Te Ching for YEARS, and I percieve that the original text was pretty much kept intact. This is apparent with the Silk Dao de Jing, and the later Bamboo strip Dao de Jing.......our modern versions of the Tao te Ching are VERY NEAR to these very early versions of the DDJ. I find it literally tragic that I cannot say the same thing for our modern New Testament. Peace, gossamer

I'd like to say that I'm a Christian Quaker ('Friend') and have been involved in Celtic Christianity, for many years as well. However, I honestly believe that Jesus ("Yeshua") came to completely reform/rebuild Judaism. And Yeshua came to fulfill very ancient prophecies in the Tanakh, or the Jewish Old Testament. ALL of the early Messianic Believers WERE JEWISH, they were NOT "Christians", and NEITHER WAS Yeshua! It was later that Gentiles started "Christianity". At first these were Aramaic speaking Assyrians, from The Church of the East, that lived in what is now Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. The ancient Church of the East carried the Gospel far away on the Silk Road into India, China, and Tibet. There was a kind of synthesis between Christianity and Daoism in China. Here are some scholarly books that tell this story: 1. By Foot To China--Mission of The Church of the East, to 1400 by John M.L. Young 2. A History of Christianity in Asia (Volume 1) Beginngs to 1500 by Samuel Hugh Moffett 3. The Lost History of Christianity--The Thousand Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia---And How It Died by Philip Jenkins 4. The Jesus Sutras--Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity by Martin Palmer That A LOT of Lao Zi's teachings are VERY SIMILIAR to Yeshua's (Jesus') teachings in the Gospels, goes almost without saying. Did one Faith inspire the other, or did they grow indepently of one another?? These are the real questions. And neither of these religions would probably admit it NOW,even if it WAS true! But that there was a fusion between Daoism and Christianity IS AN HISTORICAL FACT, and is not speculation, or just some wild theory. 'The Jesus Sutras' by Martin Palmer is the best telling of this fascinating story.......if you've not read it yet, you SHOULD! Just my two pence worth. Peace, gossamer

Dear Stig and Tao Bums, I wanted to thank you all.......my Blessings even to those who haven't been on board for this. Stigwerd, I know that I don't really know you like a friend there in Oz might know you, but I wanna say that I Love you for doing what you've done for me......I know that it's not really "manly" to tell another man that you Love him in public. Apologies if I've embarrassed you. That's plainly NOT my intention. You've been so Compassionate and understanding and long-suffering through all of this. I don't really know what to say except 'Thank You!', and to tell you that I Love you! And thanks to Sean for his GREAT toleration for this spiritual program! Your Brother, Albion/gossamer

I also find it very interesting that NEITHER David, nor his wife, have showed up lately AT ALL!

Dear Stigwerd & Forum, This post will probably go over like 'a lead ballon', but these are some of the thoughts that I've had over the subject(s) that we all have discussed in these many posts. Over the years, especially as I've grown older, I've once again come to the conclusion that there is (literally) spiritual evil. I don't know if I want to make even an educated guess at it's origin, but that it exists, is in my opinion, beyond doubt. I know that "evil" is accepted in Religious Daoism, and in some sects of Buddhism and Hinduism, and of course it's accepted as existing by the Christian faith and within some sects of Judaism. But 'New Agers' and a lot of Philosophical Daoists deny it's existance altogether (some [most?] of Philosophical Daoists even deny the existance of a God, or any kind or sort of a Higher Power). But I've seen real evil and I believe that it exits. Why it exists is a nother whole question, that would take even more hours to speculate and wonder about. So, to write about a topic like 'evil' here on this forum, may be a really bad idea. I don't think that I can take the idea of evil being an "illusion", as serious, or even as an intellectually honest question (or suggestion). OK, so let's say that you can help to heal a person, I can accept that, but if the long term attack upon this person is being perpetuated by an evil force operating through a person who has fallen prey to disembodied evil (spirits), then how is healing person number 1, going to help with the attacks by person number 2, who is being manipulated by disembodied evil forces (spirits?)?? Yes, you can make person number 1, stronger by removing the stuff (curse?) that person number 2 has done, but how is that going to resolve the overall problem of evil using person number 2? Especially as person number 2 has probably opened himself to being used by evil (forces) against person number 1, in a long term 'spiritual vendetta'?? I'm certainly NOT opposed in any form to being HEALED, that's NOT what I'm saying here. Please don't blow me off by telling me that spiritual evil is "an illusion", or is only my perception, or something along those lines, because I've actually SEEN evil operating over a six year (going into year SEVEN now....) period. I have SEEN what evil can do, if someone (person number 2) opens himself to evil operating THROUGH him. This is NOT some illusionary idea, or something that arose from my early Christian training, but something that I've REALLY SEEN HAPPEN here on the earth plane that we live on. I've literally seen the person in question (person number 2) sell tee shirts that say "Evil Silver Crow" on them (and I might add that "Corvus Argentum", is only Latin, for "Crow, Silver"). So, here is a person accepting the self designation as "evil". And even selling tee shirts to further this idea. Now, I feel that you, Stigwerd, have probably abandoned the whole idea that there is spiritual evil, or if you do accept this term that you might think that evil is some idea of illusion, and evil has NO EXISTANCE as a spiritual entity.. There is nothing else that explains why someone would stalk someone all over the internet for over six YEARS. So, how is healing ME going to cause this evil to cease, and this magical/spiritual attack TO STOP?? Now, this whole post may be meaningless to you, because I have one of those gut feelings that you (Stigwerd) do NOT believe in, nor accept, the existance of spiritual evil. Again, I'm NOT saying that I do not want to be healed, but how is healing ME, going to cause these spiritual attacks/curses from person number 2 TO CEASE? Please, please do not try to tell me about illusion or that evil does NOT EXIST, I've seen too much over the last six plus years, to believe THAT. Thank you for your time and energy in replying, and thank you for really LISTENING TO ME. Shlama (Aramaic for: "Peace and Wholeness"), gossamer

Thanks a lot Vortex........most kind and compassionate. Your friend, gossamer

Dear Stig, Only one question here. Do YOU actually believe that what I'm saying has REALLY HAPPENED? Or are you one of those....."Stay on your meds........."kind of people?? I'd like you to answer this here in public, if you'd not mind. Thank you, gossamer