Brother Michael Sky
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Posts posted by Brother Michael Sky
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This is Tonee - thoroughly enjoying his new hat.....
and this is Tiny Girl... she knows she's stylin'....
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This is Tonee - thoroughly enjoying his new hat.....
and this is Tiny Girl... she knows she's stylin'....
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reminds me of the John Bobbit joke about the bug and the windshield.......
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Maybe a personal little trick may help you - Some folks agree with me about this - others do not.... so take it as you will...
Even with years of practice, there are times when my mind is so distracted, I have to exert a little effort to meditate.
Sometimes, since the birth of my son, it can be a difficult thing ( when I focus on the future, and his place in it... )...
I am a great one for shortcuts - I'm always impatient - so I am constantly taking in details other pass over.... looking for connections to use....
I noticed - when I am very, very quiet - and I begin to clear my mind - that I can hear the base vibration of my physical being...
I hear it as a very subtle whine.... ( not to be confused with tinnitus - I have no damage to my ears....)
ever have a ringing in your ears? Sometimes ( I said sometimes... not always... ) that is due to beings from Higher Spheres who are visiting you - for whatever reason, they have many reasons... but just as you may hear them visit - if you focus very, very closely in absolute quiet - you may be able to hear the same type thing emanating from the energy body.... ( as I said - this is about 50/50 amongst folks I speak to regularly... the Buddhist meditation instructor in my locality doesn't get what I am saying - so there's no guarantee )
This is a shortcut because we are trying to sub-consciously find our personal vibration on a conscious level - when this occurs, meditation is the result..... it is a time of harmony with the very next vibrational body... ( which just happens to be BEYOND the physical.... )
What I do is this - I clear as much of the distracting thoughts away as I can - then I focus on that whine and " let go and slowly FALL into it.... "
If you can get a hold of what I am saying in personal experience - you will KNOW what I am referring to by "falling" - if will raise fears in you that you must relax and be patient through ( I have good results by praying through the scary parts - and having trust in God )...
This is also where you may feel the connection with your sub-conscious - and realize that it has an action of it's own - for it will fear the disconnect GREATLY, because it fears that death is coming.... even with great practice - the kneejerk reactions of the subconscious remain animal... and fight for survival at the drop of a hat....
It is the soul's job to realize and actively experience the fact that it USES the physical - it IS NOT the physical... It CAN and WILL, come and go as it pleases - for that is the way it was designed....
Now, another thing might be said here - and most assuredly SHOULD be... if you intend to try this method.... :
It is probably a good thing to attempt this with the hands - one atop another - on the solar plexus... ( I meditate laying down usually - unless I am in public..
- no more paramedics waking me up, thanks !!! - morons... I couldn't eat for two days...)Your desire shouldn't be to leave the body at first.... thats why you cover your sternum - this is the subconscious disconnect point - it will be the forehead when you have practice, and can consciously assume the delta state... just abide in the silence with an ear for "something" and pray, not repetitiously or with formulas, but simple thanksgiving to God and a desire to know him Greater....
What I have described is the trip to the train station..... you may take that train wherever you like - do not expect quick results - the mind is like a muscle - I'm a little buff - been at it for a while...
The most important thing is to practice REGULARLY - pick a good , quiet time, and devote that time - every day, to practice. Before bed, upon waking up, or an hour after you fall asleep ( set an alarm clock ) are the best times, In my experience... and practice some dedication... IT"S WORTH IT....
That's not just for you I guess, Sancti.... for anyone who is interested....
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Okay, I have a really really big problem.
I cannot settle down long enough to meditate. I mean the kind of meditating that requires everything to have silence. Your environment, your thoughts, everything.
Is it possible to meditate when you're listening to music? I find when I listen to music I am concentrating very hard on my creative thoughts(because I'm a writer and an artist) and usually out of "meditating" or "daydreaming" like a mug, I get more done.
Would what I do be a form of meditation or is it really about quieting your core?
'Cause when I tried to meditate in the past.. I always got impatient or aggravated about whether I "did it right" or not. Today, I know that there is no real "right" or "wrong" way to do it.. but back then I was just so impatient and I wanted to get to the cool benefits without actually experiencing it..
The mind needs training.... like a muscle...
You will make slow steady progress until you have full control of the mind...
But it could take a while to get the idea....
Yes, the idea is to "quiet" the rambling sub conscious mind, which is constantly going over the things we think, reviewing the days events, planning for future events, and just simple things which bubble to the surface of our mind... After a while , you realize that there is a "deep well" of consciousness that resides within us - that does not speak in a language... and the voice which you hear in your head is almost like another person....
Think of it like a radio - turn the radio on and there is a mish mash of vibration coming from it - doesn't make much sense - but you DO hear SOMETHING....
turn the tuner and things start making sense - you can tune in a station...
The voice you hear in your head is the static... tune it out..... seek the state of AWARENESS with no conscious thought - this is the doorway to Higher Spheres.... from here you may do whatever it is you are determined to accomplish - whether it be accessing the subconscious in a conscious manner - or focusing outwards to leave the body and satisfy curiosity...
It is the PERFECT place for prayer..... and accessing the help we are given - to find the sense in life that we sometimes cannot see...
It all sounds so very esoteric - but in actuality - there is nothing more natural and satisfying as discovering the meditative state....
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There is that, and I was pointing out that we've been discussing it all along. I could have answered simply, but it's good exercise. Like they say, there's more than one way to skin a mule. I didn't pick "Dinah" and "Jacob" out of a hat, there are layers of meaning in most everything I have shared. Kinda like an old work song.
They're really gentle creatures, though they do make an impression on ya, eh?! One moonless night... {crash crash} <sniffing the tent> "Oh crap, is that a bear?"
Haven't been through that neck of the woods around Acadia yet, but I've rambled around here...
"I was right in picking the blueberries on Sunday, it was so pleasant, and I was so happy that the Great Spirit had provided them for me." ~ Singing Bird (Molly Ockett)
I could stand on the second story deck and watch the fisherman in their boats on Swan Lake.... I was made to understand that 10 acres of southern facing mountain, bordering the Park, with a two story log home sold for less than 50,000 after I left - I almost cried... I wanted that place so bad it disturbed my sleep....
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I'm not sure of what you are asking. Please rephrase so that I can be sure of the question. In the meantime, I will give it a shot. Let me know if this answeres what you are asking.
I regard the Hebrew Scriptures -- even translated into English -- by Jewish publishers, to be radicly different than English translation of the O.T.
In very small things, the translation is forced to carry a mountain of theology and invisible assumptions. Consider the opening lines of Genesis from the King James translation. We find the word "Spirit." Spirit takes a capital "S." The Trinity is implied. In the Jewish translation, the same word is translated as "wind." The original word is "ruach."
This is something that Christians do. They read the Old Testament, and then insist that Jews explain it. Judaism is not responsible for the O.T. Only it's own scriptures -- which, I repeat -- were hijacked and transformed.
You are stomping all over my point and not noticing it......
I have described - fairly thoroughly - the complicated understanding of the Torah which is possessed by the Jews....
Why on Earth would a person, who is not Christian, go to Grimm's Fairy Tales, when there is the opportunity to acquire a VALID understanding of the Book one is stealing.......
because the Christian understanding of the Old Testament is little better than Grimm's Fairy Tales.... The emphasis gets put in all the wrong places, The message is changed by the misunderstanding of terms, and there is a basic misunderstanding of what it all MEANS.....
So why should a person, who is not Christian, reach for a CHRISTIAN understanding of a Jewish Historical and Religious Text?
We confuse personal opinion and preferred understanding with freedom on this forum quite frequently....
Freedom is education - because it strips from us the ridiculous knee jerk reactions which we don't even realize plague us... ignorance is ignorance - no matter how pretty you paint it's face...
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Now you've been there a little. Sorry, all my photos are hard copy.
I spent quite a bit of time in Belfast and Brooks...
I simply LOVE Maine, and if it were not for my son's mother's family here - I would be there now...
I simply LOVE watching the lil porcupines waddling around the yard at night !!!
They are some of the Cutest animals when you see them in person... However I was scared witless by the size of a full grown moose..... Thought I'd stumbled into a dinosaur in the woods! ( for a second, it was so huge - and I'm no small guy )
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Hello Rabbio. While I'm not at all clear that my views are in harmony with Judaism -- yes, I'm still a Jew.
Now to the question. Since the question was blunt, I will be blunt. By what ever name we call them -- Hebrew Scrptures, Tanach, Torah, etc -- they are the Jewish Scriptures. What the Jews do with these scriptures is an internal matter for the Jews alone. Nobody else gets a vote.
On the other hand, if we are speaking of the Christian Bible -- in particular, the Old Testament -- This is a Christian problem. The Christians hijacked these scriptures 2,000 years ago. If the Christian world has O.T. questions, they must find their own answers. If Non-Christian gentiles have O.T. questions, they should consult Christian clergy.
I thoroughly appreciate your post for it's accuracy, but I wonder at your last two sentences - and the point of such a practice....
and the last sentence confuses me ( I know - not terribly hard to do...)Why on earth should they go to Christian clergy - who have either no, or very little understanding, of what the words are meant to convey??
Thank you for your comments Dan54.
Paul wrote a bit about relating to non-Jews as well....
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great info for others, Thanks Rev Lockwood and Rev Al !!!
Got lots of family in joisey....
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I'm reading "The Young Mary 1817-1861"
Early years of Mother Bicker**, America's Florance Nightingale, and Patron Saint of Kansas.
Because she was my direct ancestor... and she was a fascinating personality...
My grandfather was a Bicker**, and My grandmother was a Bell.
It was interesting to be at the Mary Ball Washington museum, and find out that I was related...
oh, come on..... edited her name? really? it's bicker---- (dee - why - kay - eee)
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Hehehe! Yeah.. me and you've had our differences too bro... BUT.. the fact that you even know who David Allen IS, makes ya pretty alright in my book
LOL..perspective Stormy... I've spoken with the man... He used to perform at a bar in Richmond owned by a good friend's father, years ago.......
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Here's one I've felt a special affection for, for a long time...
Preacher man talkin on TV,
puttin down the rock and roll.
Wants me to send a donation,
Cause he's worried about my soul.
He said Jesus walked on the water,
And I know that it's true,
But sometimes I think that Preacher Man,
would like to do a little walkin' too
But I ain't askin' nobody for nuthin',
If I can't get it on my own.
You don't like the way I'm livin',
Ya just leave this long-haired country boy alone.
I'm Northern Born, but Southern by the Grace of God...
"I don't want much of nuthin' at all, but I will take another toke....
But I asking nobody for nuthin', If I can't get it on my own...
Hehe.. I'd like to HEAR that bro!!!
It's been heard in 46 states, at this point...
Doesn't seem as loud since I cut my hair....
(Shoulda seen the folks on the platform, as we were riding the Thomas The Tank Engine train, and my son begged me for a good Yell.... I could almost see the hair raise up on their arms - I have an odd sense of humor...
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I have an impressive Rebel Yell....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XluWvWa8pIc&feature=fvwrel
I feel Ya Storm...
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We can argue about the romanization of the name Yahweh but it is mentioned in the OT, so I fail to see how using the name Yahweh could be offensive to anyone.
I am not a Jew so I certainly do not feel obliged to refrain from speaking his name or even spell God as G-d. Why some Christians would think it would be offensive to a Jew when a gentile speaks the name Yahweh or even spels God as G-d is completely beyond me. I tell you I think most would not care for a bit what gentiles think of the bible or Yahweh.
In Judaism, and let me keep it nice here, a gentile has simply nothing to do with Yahweh as the covenant between Yahweh is only between him and the Jews. Judaism, unlike Christianity, is not out to find new people to become Jews and I think many Jews find all this Christian mimicking simply irritating.
Frankly I never understood it, this 'wannabee Jew' behavior. What on earth has a gentile to do with the Torah? It records the history of the Jewish people! Almosts all peoples in the world have their own chronicles, why not stick to one's own? The Greek had them, the Romans, admittedly strongly influenced by the Greek, had them, the northern people had them. But no they want to take the Jewish chronicles and read it in such a twisted way to make it theirs as well. What gives?
Frequently I find, when one has a pet idea they WANT to believe, they will overlook much to uphold it...
Did you miss the dozen or so references to the fact that the "record of Jewish History" is also, and just as importantly, an HISTORICAL record of the interaction between the Jewish people and their God...
When you wish to brandish the names of someone's else's religion - it behooves one to be aware of what the words they are spouting mean.....
You are taking opinion into the realm of an attack.... with zero provable foundation - towards a religion which is convinced it has proof ( The Historical Record of God's interaction with man ) of Who their God is. A religion which doesn't even approve of the name being written - and you do not understand how this could be offensive?
Yes, a misunderstanding can still be an insult - but the onus is on the one putting forth the idea to show some sort of basis for their claims. Otherwise there is no other recourse but to see such behavior as insulting - if only through ignorance...
I am thoroughly convinced - you simply desire to be sensational in your claims... there is no substance to the idea, and I will not let it take up further of my time...
I tried - feel free to continue the tirade...
Why not simply address your issues - you dislike Jews.
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Indeed, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have the same God.
However you seemed to have trouble with that statement about two weeks ago, I wonder why as it appears to me you are saying exactly the same?
I was specifically interested in your continued use of the name Yahweh, to further your particular view of the Judaic and Christian Cosmology.... I still do not really understand how it all comes together for you - it is understanding of your view I was, and am looking for... I am not arguing actuality, in regards to you - This was meant to spell out the very real HISTORIC side of the religions in question, to point out that Christianity is not some instantly appearing phenomena, but the product of a very long and continually evolving Jewish understanding... and which very clearly defines what they understand of this god- without limiting further understandings...
You are putting an entirely new spin on things with the name you choose to use... and I just wanted to know how it all makes sense to you...
I try to be careful with the Names others use in their religions.... people get offended...
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Of course what we do here is converse - poor choice of words on my part, I was simply teasing.... I knew I was posting before you could properly respond...
But my point was that they all start at the same place - irregardless of where the separate paths lead...
God being common.... whether it be God v.1 - 2- or 3. The very reason you gave Him versions......
they are rivers springing from the same spring...
blades of grass from the same plant...
fingers on the same hand.........
shall i go on....
( don't make me wax poetic.....
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Smaller bites please. That is a lot to respond to in one shot.
In no particular order; Consider what became of Buddhism in India. After Buddha's death, Buddhism was largly absorbed back into mainstream Hinduism. Buddha himself became an incarnation of Vishnu -- Just like Krishna and various other avatars. I think this is where the Jesus movement was headed, before Paul intervened. The Jesus movement would have been absorbed into the Judaism of the time.
You just gave up the fight that easily?
or were you saying something other than agreeing with me...?
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No matter where ya are,
There ya are !
You're never lost...
The Main Thing is : Don't Panic.....
I knew a guy who said that frequently..... It was humorous the first fifteen hundred times....
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and yes, the Jews for Jesus are a small minority; unloved by the majority of Jews.
make's ya just wanna go find a messianic Jew to hug....
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Judaism is the religion of the Jews; not of Humanity. Judaism is not concerned with "those who are not of the faith." That is a modern sensability. Judaism was a tribal identity long before any such concerns.
In addition, Christianity does not spring from Judaism, but from Paul. The Jesus movement, led by Jesus, had a Jewish membership only. But for Paul, it would have stayed a Jewish movement.
We can quibble from now till doomsday about doctrinal differences between Judaism and Christianity. The big difference is that Christianity became a religion that seeks to convert the whole world. Judaism, even now, continures to discourage converts.
Why do Christians use Jewish Holy Texts? Whatever Paul did would have been pretty inconsequential had there been no Jewish Religion.... Paul did not Create Christianity from nothing...
Doctrine is irrelevant to the question... History tells us that Christianity split off from Judaism...
By your reckoning then, Buddhism stands completely free of Hinduism?
Islam stands completely separate from Judaism and Christianity?
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No. Judaism is a tribal religion. The difference between Jews and Christians is much more basic. It is gentiles.
You'll have to explain better than that, If I am to understand your point. Every religion must consider those who are not of the faith. Considering how Christianity sprang from Judaism, I don't see the point you are trying to make.
I believe that rather than uniting people Yahweh divides people.
The first division was Jews and gentiles, then the gentiles are split between Christians and pagans. Then yet another division between Muslims and infidels. Then the endless denominations. And it does not stop there, just look at Churches, there you find the most racially and culturally divided blocks in society: black churches, Latin churches, white churches, Korean churches etc.
But in many (but certainly not all) religious minds there is this idea of uniting people, I find it very nice, but I believe it is not compatible with Yahweh's wishes, since the beginning he divided instead of united people.
sure sounds like the concept of "the Examiner" - Satan, to me... If the texts didn't specifically point to a being whose job it is to "test" mankind, I would find more understanding in what you say....
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One of my all time favorites - done by Gompie this time.... to keep it clean...
Now I've got to get used to not living next door to Alice....
Alice, Who the #$-at-^ is Alice?
Smokie's version - bad, bad language....
Cat And Kitten Toys, Laughs And Fun
in Hobby/Leisure Archive
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might wanna read up a little on these... we removed both when my son was due... due to research... ( except for soy candles... )
they are equally bad for pets lungs...