tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post1192096100405196506..comments2023-03-23T13:34:01.340-05:00Comments on Notes on the Journey: Two SelvesDenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03698978231695842070noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post-26208092242443487732010-11-30T14:12:49.969-06:002010-11-30T14:12:49.969-06:00Yes I too like this vantage of false self and true...Yes I too like this vantage of false self and true self. I challenge Jake to note the difference between 'old self and new self' and 'false self and true self.' The true self (according to T. Merton) is the original Self (Adam in Paul's language). St. Paul also calls this the new man/creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The False Self is the compulsive self, the disguised self, therefore the lying self.<br /><br />I think Chris is more on it in my opinion. The True Self is a unitive self and a unitive reality. We are "particular" (separate from) but yet one with all that is. This is not a pantheistic or panentheistic statement, but rather a "theosis," that is, Christ is expressed as the True Man, that is unitive with g-d: "I and the Father are One" (John 10) - which btw has been cheaply co-opted into a some rationalistic theologic trinitarian necessity to prove Jesus' divinity. That may be a part of what Jesus meant, but it isn't the reason why he said it. Jesus rises above the Pharisees' consciousness - their rigid narrowing of all things, like 'who's in and who's out' and 'what is righteous and what is defiled' - and Jesus transcends as the One with Parent/Creator. <br /><br />The death of the false self is the death of the ego-centric person. The false self must die if one wishes to be "found" one with g-d. Again, this is not a moralistic statement (the Pharisees might have said that). No, this is an ontological statement, a statement of Being, of Identity, true identity, the identity that was always there but obscured by the compulsive self - sure, we can call it sin as long as we don't simply mean 'morals.' <br /><br />But let me say at this point, the true self is not rediscovered through the mind or asceticism or any other gnostic or 'bootstrap religion'. The true self itself is a gift from outside of us. It has to be otherwise it is not transcendent. How can the false give birth to the true? How can the compulsive self bring rest? No wonder Jesus didn't start a religion but rather deconstructed Judaism from within and spoke of 'a radical otherness...' 'the kingdom is like... weeds, a net, a mustard seed...' None of what he said about the kingdom is made up of religion. It comes from the One. And Jesus identifies himself as the One: 'I am the Gate, Shepherd, Light...' Now Jesus' statement makes sense: 'I and the Father are one.'Dan Wilburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622039784981099775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post-19223640142664418852010-10-31T18:21:22.372-05:002010-10-31T18:21:22.372-05:00Oh, I forgot to comment on Chris' post. At thi...Oh, I forgot to comment on Chris' post. At this point, Den really said everything I would have said, but I am curious, as it is at the crux of the power of your claim, but I am curious where you draw the statement that Jesus spoke of God becoming the universe. Understanding the basis of your claim will help me understand the content of it. Thanks!Jakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post-2348674961304154192010-10-31T18:17:49.669-05:002010-10-31T18:17:49.669-05:00Enjoyed the post. Ah, the new and the old self. It...Enjoyed the post. Ah, the new and the old self. It becomes quite a process. Of course, my greatest struggle is that while there are always the obvious parts of the old self, so much of the old self and new self become blurred. In daily life, what decision is truly wise?<br /><br />Some say people are short sighted, but I disagree, and instead believe we are 'mid-sighted'. We can see past the immediate and plan on the not so distant. It is the 'long way down the road' that is hard to see. So many values and priorities it seems are driven by this. Since I work with youth, that is where I see it most. We teach our youth so often, that school goes above everything else. We teach, a test is more important than youth group, a sport is more important than serving. We tell them go to the best school, even if it means abandoning community at a pivotal age. I have in my short life seen so many of my friends fall away from the faith after they broke community to go to college. Many find it again later in life, but was the 'better college' worth the trade? Just thinking out loud really.<br /><br />Long story short. I often wonder how much of the 'old self' and its values "blend in" to our view of the new self. I just find the truths we hold to be 'self-evident' are often more in need of scrutiny than any other. Namely, the standard american phrase, that I have come to see as an enemy of who I am meant to be in Christ. Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. I should freely give my life to spread the Gospel, I should become a slave to Christ, and I should only pursue the path laid out for me by God. Of course, the kicker is, in that I will find true life, true liberty, and true joy. How am I doing? That is a question I cannot answer from the inside, but I know the journey is long, and I am only at the beginning of it.<br /><br />There is my 2 cents worth anyway. Enjoyed the post though.Jakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post-3077831983901277702010-10-31T09:01:28.720-05:002010-10-31T09:01:28.720-05:00Thanks for the comment, Chris.
I've come to a...Thanks for the comment, Chris.<br /><br />I've come to a slightly different conclusion in all my reading, conversations, prayer and meditation. I'd say that rather than God becoming creation, God (in Jesus) infuses Himself, in some mysterious way, into creation, and specifically into man. This union of the Creator and the created remakes the created in some as yet unfathomable way. We have passages in the Bible that talk about the old Adam, and the new Adam. That's another way of saying what I just described, so this is hardly a new idea.<br /><br />In Orthodox Christianity this metamorphosis of broken mankind into new mankind is more front and center than in more western strains of Christianity, but not dramatically so. In the plethora of voices that speak the message of Jesus, we hear different points of emphasis, different ways of speaking much the same Truth. Each of us is limited in saying the truth of God, so we must each say what we can say, describe what we can see. Our testimonies constitute an encyclopedia of accounts, and I suspect they must be appreciated as such.<br /><br />There remains much mystery before me, and I expect that most people, if they're honest, would admit much the same thing. The search for truth continues. I try to be diligent on seeking out what I can find. You sound as if you're on the same hunt. Good fortune in continuing to find treasure. Avanti!Denhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03698978231695842070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494451846379135112.post-45511203618761905342010-10-30T19:42:17.677-05:002010-10-30T19:42:17.677-05:00I very much enjoyed your blog and look forward to ...I very much enjoyed your blog and look forward to following your thoughts. I have studied all book based religions, philosophy, advanced quantum physics and molecular biology. My path to spiritual truth has been a journey of over thirty years. If I may be so bold as to speak to a truth I have come to understand.<br /><br />Christianity and the words of Jesus are without any doubt to be in contrast. Jesus spoke of God becoming the universe. Christianity speaks of God creating the universe. This blaring enigma offers serious alarm when we loosely investigate the difference. <br />God as per Christianity is deemed the creator, separate from self in judgment of the sinner. The devout follow is required to tailor their life to meet the demands of their God. If they fall short of God's desire they must suffer purgatory or hell. This carrot and stick methodology is important for the church to thrive in membership.<br />Conversely, I believe in a God who chose to experience being. In order to effect this desire God became the universe. This fundamental shift in understanding allows one to comprehend that all manifest reality is God. There is in fact nothing that is not God. As I converse with you God is dancing with God. When one accepts this fundamental truth we then determine you, me, the chair you sit on, the computer you look at and the words you reads are all GOD. We see now ONENESS, there are not six billion plus souls on this earth there truly is only one. We are not body, we are eternal consciousness.<br />Death, birth, space, time, physicality, separation are all illusions. Again, you are not your body, you are consciousness experiencing being in a body. The ego locks us into self, we determine we are the body so there must be need to protect and extend the life of the body. <br /><br />Our names are different, you are Den and I am Chris. This is the illusion we are playing Den. From another perspective we are named the same, the ego self we call " I ". Beyond this dream we may wake to discover our true name. <br /><br />God I Am. God you are.<br /><br />We are ONE eternal consciousness. An open door awaits Den. Do you truly wish to wake form illusion?<br /><br />Namaste, my brother, love is all there is...christopherdossantos3@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16333197295906640548noreply@blogger.com