Geoff-Allen
Resident megalomaniac
In my own humble experience, it is impossible 2 have a healthy relationship with anyone if it is based on fear.
Any thoughts/comments?
Enjoy your day!
Any thoughts/comments?
Enjoy your day!
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Do you have a healthy relationship with God?
- Thread starter Geoff-Allen
- Start date
I would think so... but for me it's more of a sense that provides vision and insight rather than a relationship between persons.
I have a wonderful relationship with God.....& Harry Potter, & the Easter Bunny
& Cthulu & Jesus & the Flying Spaghetti Monster & Allah & Ganesh & The Cat
In The Hat & Forest Gump & Conan The Barbarian & Mighty Mouse.
& Cthulu & Jesus & the Flying Spaghetti Monster & Allah & Ganesh & The Cat
In The Hat & Forest Gump & Conan The Barbarian & Mighty Mouse.
SabahTheLoner
Master of the Art of Couch Potato Cuddles
Who again?
Geoff-Allen
Resident megalomaniac
Fair enough - not sure I would call myself "timid" though - I try to see the divine in everyone - even those who feel a need to call me "timid"
Not always easy - but I enjoy a good challenge!
No. Fear is commonly a result of abuse or the potential for abuse. I know of no relationships in which fear is healthy, with the possible exception of fear of losing one's job.
For me, I have a wonderful relationship with god because I am always in Its presence.
YmirGF
Bodhisattva in Recovery
Hehe. I don't really mean to denigrate. That was before my morning coffee. I implicitly understand what you are meaning but, at the same time, clearly recognize that even that is a form of projection. Trying to see the divine in others is superimposing an ideal onto observed reality. Yes, it can have good effects, but it can also give highly distorted effects too. I prefer to endeavor to see things as they are without superimposing how I think things should be.Fair enough - not sure I would call myself "timid" though - I try to see the divine in everyone - even those who feel a need to call me "timid"
Not always easy - but I enjoy a good challenge!
Since my understanding is that "nothing exists but God", then all of those are God in interesting forms and that we're all in a great dream from which we will someday wake up.
So.....you dream of me, eh.
I prefer "I Dream of Jeannie"
The show....not the hottie?
So you like to dream
Depends upon what I'm dreaming about.
syo
Well-Known Member
exactly. we should tell it to teachers who scare little kids with the devil if they don't believe in god.
Can you elaborate on this a bit? I ask because that is not how it works in my own tradition. For some types of theism this is no doubt true, but I guess I'm not sure what your line of thinking is here.
As for the OP, I'm not sure I'd say that relationships involving fear (or any other emotion generally labeled as negative by our culture) necessarily means that relationship is unhealthy. On the contrary, if the relationship is generally adversarial, emotional responses like fear is quite healthy and normal. The gods are frequently adversarial to human existence. When the spirits manifest a hurricane, I'd be more concerned about the person who does not react to that with fear than the one who does.
YmirGF
Bodhisattva in Recovery
It assumes divinity is an existential reality. (If everything is divine, then nothing is divine as the whole concept is muddied down to triviality.) In theory, even an ashtray is divine unless one limits this to the anthropomorphic opinion that only sentient beings are worthy of the designation.) So, it is an assumption about reality and is not necessarily representative of reality. Does one extend this sense of divinity to a robber or a mugger or someone who unfriends you on FacePalm?
Due to the above, one can miss important clues because they are literally seeing something that may or may not be there. It can also be used to nullify less savory aspects of human behavior. Like, it's pretty easy if a child is smiling back at you to assume, but is it really so helpful when encountering a belligerent drunk or someone off their meds or you ordinary Democrat (I know, I'm terrible.
)