Search found 151 matches

by Speculum
March 25th, 2009, 7:36 pm
Forum: The Sand Box
Topic: prayer
Replies: 11
Views: 31039

Re: prayer

Like everything else along the spiritual path, prayer is intensely personal and intimate. It is a conversation between a seeker and God (however defined). Accordingly, I wonder if it is either appropriate or possible for someone to tell another how to pray. I can speak only for myself. For me, praye...
by Speculum
March 23rd, 2009, 4:32 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: "I" is all
Replies: 7
Views: 23515

Re: "I" is all

anything serious could send him over the edge Precisely. As I wrote earlier, the fruit on the vine metaphor really works for me. We muss and fuss along the "spiritual path" for years (lifetimes?), and then one day we realize it is all much ado about nothing (literally!), and so we stop, a...
by Speculum
March 11th, 2009, 5:22 pm
Forum: The Sand Box
Topic: just a small thing
Replies: 12
Views: 32752

Re: just a small thing

Nicely said; thanks for sharing it. My experience is that there is no "wrong" path. So long as the student or seeker approaches the task with enthusiasm, earnestness, discipline, respect, and confidence, the path will take care of itself. I cannot imagine that it makes any difference to Go...
by Speculum
March 11th, 2009, 5:04 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Why Can’t I Own a Canadian
Replies: 4
Views: 17253

Re: Why Can’t I Own a Canadian

TZF's friend and frequent Open Forum contributor ihavesayso called our attention to an interesting eZine called Super Wisdom . There is made the following excellent observation: It is vital to challenge ourselves over the spiritual ideas we entertain, or they too can settle down to an unproductive r...
by Speculum
March 11th, 2009, 4:35 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich
Replies: 1
Views: 11611

Re: Two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich

I like the paintings, particularly the monk by the sea, and your interpretation.

Very nice.
by Speculum
March 11th, 2009, 4:25 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Tarkowskij's "Stalker" as a lesson in spirituality
Replies: 1
Views: 11669

Re: Tarkowskij's "Stalker" as a lesson in spirituality

I have never heard of this movie, but it is intriguing. Thanks for calling it to our attention. I think I look forward to watching it! Here is the description of it from Amazon.com : Challenging, provocative, and ultimately rewarding, Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker is a mind-bending experience that defi...
by Speculum
March 1st, 2009, 4:22 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: "I" is all
Replies: 7
Views: 23515

Re: "I" is all

Nicely and clearly articulated. In my view, you are precisely correct. I cannot think of a single True Teacher who would not agree with what you wrote. Re Teachers and Gurus, I agree with you there too, and my sense is that so do they: Sit at their feet, hear their words, read their scriptures, cons...
by Speculum
February 15th, 2009, 3:55 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Re: Prayer

My previous post brought to mind U.G. 's powerful, not to say disconcerting, title, “the courage to stand alone”. Those words and the image they generate are like yeast to me: enlivening, changing, expanding everything they touch. “The courage to stand alone” is not about avoiding other people, beca...
by Speculum
February 14th, 2009, 8:38 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Re: Prayer

Even from early on along this way, I understood the concept that it was not about Stefan, that the outcome was not going to be Stefan’s enlightenment, that “Stefan” was the obstacle not the hero. I understood it as a concept, I had read it, I had talked about it, I had written it, but despite all th...
by Speculum
February 11th, 2009, 8:55 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Re: Prayer

Postscript: Years ago, as a guest speaker at a church, I gave a talk about living a prayerful life, and at the end of it, at the resident minister’s request, I led the assembly in a formal prayer (heads bowed, eyes shut) asking for the Divine’s active encouragement, assistance, and participation in ...
by Speculum
February 11th, 2009, 3:50 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Re: Prayer

I share what I take to be ihavesayso’s perspective here. I certainly like his image. Some years ago, when I was still speaking publicly on these kinds of subjects, I used to deliver a talk/sermon entitled “Let Us Pray”, the thrust of which was that, to be meaningful (and maybe therefore effective), ...
by Speculum
February 9th, 2009, 9:00 pm
Forum: The Sand Box
Topic: "Orthodoxy"
Replies: 12
Views: 31314

Re: "Orthodoxy"

So to her, it seems necessary that Jesus be born of a "pure virgin," one in fact having herself been born free of sin, so that neither she nor he would be made "impure’ by touching "sin." To the Jew (i.e., any New Testament writer) that idea would seem absurd, since they di...
by Speculum
February 6th, 2009, 8:02 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Re: Prayer

As noted above, I have split this new thread "Prayer" from the thread "Orthodoxy" in The Sand Box. This stuff seems okay here. It also explains why prayer works: a prayer for healing backed by enough intensity of desire and feeling can result in healing. Just so, the Gospels Teac...
by Speculum
February 3rd, 2009, 5:12 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Prayer
Replies: 12
Views: 31909

Prayer

Editor's Note: This thread started as part of a consideration of orthodoxy in The Sand Box ( here's a link ), which is why the post immediately below this note sounds like it begins in mid-sentence. If you do not already have access to The Sand Box, and would like to, please click here . red The co...
by Speculum
January 29th, 2009, 7:36 pm
Forum: The Sand Box
Topic: "Orthodoxy"
Replies: 12
Views: 31314

Re: "Orthodoxy"

A few comments: The word “orthodox” always makes me nervous. The Greek root means right or correct opinion or belief. In other words, some self-appointed authority figure says to me, “My organization and I believe that God has spoken to us, and only to us, and it is our opinion that He has appointed...