In The Flow - A message from a Minister

[Ego Tripping]

A Minister at a local Church that I do work for posted this on his Website...I thought it was pretty cool how he merges Christian beliefs with Eastern Philosophy....a sign of the times, indeed!

In The Flow
- Senior Minister, Rev. Tom Catlin

Our current study of the Tao has reinforced my focus on living in the flow of life. There is an old saying that "you can’t push the river," and it seems to me that it is when I am pushing or feeling pushed that I get out of touch with the flow of God’s good. Sometimes that flow might seem like it is a slow river and sometimes a fast-moving stream. The truth is that it never stops. The creation wasn’t a static event in history, but is an ongoing, unfolding expression that flows from the Creator. We are part of that flow and we have an opportunity to share in that creative process. It is a matter of doing our part and then allowing the Creator to do the Creator’s part. It doesn’t mean that we go along with anything and everything. We have the capacity to choose. Then we can let go and let God · without a push.

Jesus advised his followers that they couldn’t add anything to their height, so they might as well stop worrying about it. He pointed to the sparrows and the lilies and encouraged his followers to have faith that God was taking care of them. I believe that, in a way, he was saying that faith puts you in the flow... the flow of abundant good. Be not anxious. Be receptive instead. Allow yourself to be in the flow.

Sometimes it’s not so easy, and we might find ourselves preoccupied with the apparent lack of something in our lives. It’s simply an opportunity to choose again and allow the flow as best we can in the situation. We can ask for God’s help and choose to steer back into the current. Even a little faith counts for a lot on God’s great river of good.

[JcP]

cool post ego.

Does he ever come to any conclusions about why life is "like a river"? Is it the best possible reality?

[verklingen]

Sometimes it’s not so easy, and we might find ourselves preoccupied with the apparent lack of something in our lives. It’s simply an opportunity to choose again and allow the flow as best we can in the situation.

excellent. . .

Originally Posted by jcp

Does he ever come to any conclusions about why life is "like a river"? Is it the best possible reality?

no telling man, but you're here. why worry about why or if it's the best?

edit: i guess what i'm saying is, why worry about what you could be missing out on? you'll end up missing out on what you've got.

[JcP]

Originally Posted by verklingen

no telling man, but you're here. why worry about why or if it's the best?

Because I'm always learning and improving myself...figuring out when I do things I don't want to do again, seeing how my actions hurt/help others, figuring out this crazy powerset of emotions, etc....and I'm curious if this God is doing the same.
Or, in other words, I'm playing WoW and improving my character...and I'm simply asking whether or not the Dev team is doing the same for server stability, cracking down on griefers, and thinking about the expansion pack.

(seperating God here for clarity...we know how I feel about the nature of God)

[verklingen]

well the way i reason through it to myself is to take it for granted that i'm here for a reason. wondering what that reason might be could keep me from doing whatever it is i'm here for, you know? i'm trying to live in the moment as much as possible, and that doesn't leave much "time" for wondering what the moment's about. only when i find myself not enjoying the moment do i take it upon myself to wonder why, and every single damn time, without fail, it turns out to be the case that i wasn't really living in the moment and meeting the needs of the moment the best way i know. i don't know why it works the way it does, i'm just happy that it does.

[JcP]

unless of course your reason is to question why you're here. in which case you're fuuuuuuuuuucked, lol :-) .

[verklingen]

if your reason for being here were to question why you're here and the futility of that pursuit is frustrating, why not assume you're frustrating your self by assuming that's the reason? would that be your true purpose in the moment or only the fabricated purpose of a stubborn ego who needs to have everything "just so" before it can decide "ok, NOW i can act in the moment," by which time the moment has changed to offer new frustrations through this imposed perspective?

[JcP]

agreed. however by definition it's just as easy (assuming there is an omnipotent omniscient God) to make everything "just so" for the ego as it is to make things the way they are presently...or at the very least explain quite simply and directly why things will not be done in such a way.

Which is my real question here, actually. I agree with what you're saying (and have since your first post in here). My question is why there's an ego to grapple with, assuming we live in an infinite universe.


to use George Carlin (start video at 2:30)



edit: odd, not showing up. here's the link...

[verklingen]

my personal view on the ego is that it results from the impression of separation. i define the state of being under such an impression as "the perception of the self vs. everything else." why we adopted this perception is anyone's guess, but i feel obligated to assume that a conscious decision was made by my self or the consciousness my self represents to undergo a perception of separation and limitation. i feel this way because i can also, by conscious decision alone, adopt a perception of unity and limitless potential in each and every moment.

since i can't see all the cards necessary to understand why such a thing would be, i assume and accept that ignorance is also part of the process i've gotten myself into. but you can still ask why! and the best answer i can give is that, perhaps, the inherent sense of separation into which each of us are born provides a kind of experiential buffer which, when overcome, makes the sudden realization of our TRUE inherent unity and love that much more profound than if we were simply born into it to take it for granted.

[espiex]

Originally Posted by verklingen

since i can't see all the cards necessary to understand why such a thing would be, i assume and accept that ignorance is also part of the process i've gotten myself into. but you can still ask why! and the best answer i can give is that, perhaps, the inherent sense of separation into which each of us are born provides a kind of experiential buffer which, when overcome, makes the sudden realization of our TRUE inherent unity and love that much more profound than if we were simply born into it to take it for granted.

Perhaps it was historically useful to separate ourselves from that lion in the grass up ahead, or from the antelope we are going to bludgeon to death for dinner?

But I'd say socialisation would be a big driver too. In understanding others, we solidified the notion of self more and more.