A good friend urged me to ponder this two part question and provide an answer:
Are we ever really satisfied?
If not, is it because of the Adam and Eve story?
Satisfaction- as per the wiktionary article is:
1. A fulfillment of a need or desire.
2. The pleasure obtained by such fulfillment.
3. The source of such gratification.
4. A reparation for an injury or loss.
5. A vindication for a wrong suffered.
In looking at the definition, I notice two distinct and opposite aspects which define the concept of satisfaction:
Pleasure and Fulfillment on the one hand and Injury, Loss, and Suffering on the other. Can we ever really be Satisfied or achieve Fulfillment? I've answered that question in a previous blog post HERE. But I'll answer the question in the context which it was asked.
Satisfaction, according to the biblical idea, is that of paradise, or the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived there prior to the Fall in a state of perpetual and unlimited peace and contentment ..... Satisfied. The common notion is that we've been trying, through all time, to get back to that state and spend eternity in Heaven, where we had originally been. In the Garden there was no need or desire, no concept of gratification, no injury or loss; only fulfillment and content. All those conditions must be a result of our physical existence(because of the Fall of Man).
We accumulate through life a set of ideals, primarily set by ourselves; yes, there is the suggestion of ideals from our culture, family, etc., but we, in our hearts and minds are the ultimate decider of what is the epitome of satisfaction. We determine these ideals by faith or belief as a personal choice. If we believe that a condition is unattainable, then it will remain beyond our grasp.
God wants for us a life of peace and contentment; to know and love Him forever. This is the belief that IT is attainable; the idea that nothing is impossible, that Heaven is reachable and near at hand- it merely requires faith and belief in it.
Simply enough we can have the belief that it is NOT attainable, that we live with limitation and boundaries which keep satisfaction outside of our full experience. Consequently it is our personal choice to believe in whatever we think is true. A limited experience is just as true as a boundless one, according to the nature of our belief.
So, "Are we ever really Satisfied?" my good friend asked. I must answer: "to the level of your understanding of Satisfaction, Peace, Contentment, All things good and right ...... These things shall be yours, but only to the extent that you have sought them out and understood them. Only as much as you believe, will be yours." So if we allow in our hearts and minds personal statements that say "I'm not good enough" or "I don't deserve that", we build the case for a belief in that outcome ......Cause and Effect. If we promote the proper Causes, we achieve the corresponding Effects. Right cause=Right effect.
The Question Part 2:
"If not, is it because of the Adam and Eve story?"
What really happened in the Garden? Yes, its controversial and debated for centuries. Believe in it or not there is still a philosophical inquiry that begs for definition. Eve is tempted by the Serpent to eat the Fruit of the the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We could pick that statement apart until our head spins with all the analysis.
Eve is tempted from a life of peace and contentment.... hardly likely! Perhaps this is a human construct to relate the event to our current physical experience. Even so, she ate the fruit and so did Adam. They were revealed to a self consciousness, a revelation of Right and Wrong, removed from the grace God and ultimate beauty of the Garden, and cast out.
My good friend asks if it is because the Fall that we can't achieve satisfaction in this life. We are told that all we can attain in this life will be associated with great labor and pain (Genesis 3:16-19). Nothing will come without blood, sweat, and tears. We come by this from the Choice. We now have the privilege to choose right or wrong, and we'll be given the full measure of the choosing. If we focus our hearts and minds on anything, we're given the consequences of the choice of our focus. If we direct that focus properly, without thought to ourselves and with love to our fellow man, unconditionally, we take steps toward true Satisfaction. Not for the benefit and promotion of the Self, but for the expansion of God's kingdom here and now.
Granted that I think this is a lifelong endeavour. Nothing is instantaneous. Satisfaction is earned by a sincere and earnest searching for Gods will in our lives. We will stumble, lose heart, and feel defeat, but there is a definite hope of achieving the Ideal!!
So to respond to Part 2...... "If not, is it because of the Adam and Eve story?"
The story has some weight in determining our choice of path toward Satisfaction, but it is our choosing of a path that is the determiner of our experience. How we let the story influence us is the key. We can focus on the curse or the return journey back home to Heaven in hope, it's the choice and it's yours to make. Create your destiny my good friend!!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Thoughts are Things PART 1
There is a theory, notion, or idea that everything in our lives is generated by our mind; nothing is real until we first think it into existence. Seems pretty far fetched at first. Most people will dismiss the idea as ridiculous and move on. Why not take a closer look at the statement? Dwell upon it for a while. Reality, Existence, Being is determined by our state of mind. If all we had to do was think in a certain way, we could perhaps change the world as we know it.
Initially this is an overly simplified assessment. If all we had to do was think of something and Zap it was real, we'd have some pretty big messes to deal with. There are elements we are forgetting about. Important aspects of this process are being left out of the equation. Investigate your world around you. What sort of state is it in? How does it relate to your inner state of Mind.....and Spirit? How do they correlate to one another? You have to be honest now. No cheating by telling lies to yourself.
What has made the state of your physical environment what it is today? It's too easy to blame things on chance or on the volition of others, inaction is still a choice, it"s just negative will. It will give you exactly what you might expect...... nothing! If our thoughts are scattered and inconsistent we achieve scattered and inconsistent results; positively or negatively. There is no denying the results. Once the truth is revealed it cannot be denied. This is where you need to be honest. If we are confused about life, our life will be confusing. If we foster angry thoughts about life our life we be filled with strife and turmoil. There is a correspondence between the two states; the mental and the physical.
If we understand the relationship between these two states things get a little easier, but not much. We cant discount the influences that determine our modes of thought. Primarily, thought is influenced by emotion, principally, our own emotions. Emotion can possess a full range of characteristics; limitless combinations and variable states. We also have to take into account the emotions of others. Our relationships with those around us. What is the nature and character of those relationships. Are they good, bad, indifferent? All of the above? How do our emotions correspond to those of others, and how do we react to the expressions and impressions of other peoples emotional states. It can be pretty tricky. We can get tossed around in this ocean of competing, escalating, and diminishing emotions from others and within ourselves. It helps to have an anchor, something to steady the direction.
That anchor is conviction, or Belief ...... faith. We all have some measure of this virtue. Truth is, we all have the same amount; how much we actively use and to what purpose is the defining factor which determines our ultimate outcome, our Reality. For Galileo, the world was round. For everyone else it was flat. As a whole, the common belief was shared by all. Centuries later we laugh at the false belief. Ha, ha, ha, they thought the world was flat ...... but they believed it, it was their reality. The new knowledge, distributed through individual understandings, demonstrated by experiences, instituted by faith, determined the New Belief.
Belief. A central principal of understood truths. A meter or measure of universal absolutes, helps to calm the sea. Belief will tame the emotions and keep our sight upon the right path ahead, influencing our thoughts and thus effecting our physical reality.
MORE TO COME ............... TO BE CONTINUED.
Initially this is an overly simplified assessment. If all we had to do was think of something and Zap it was real, we'd have some pretty big messes to deal with. There are elements we are forgetting about. Important aspects of this process are being left out of the equation. Investigate your world around you. What sort of state is it in? How does it relate to your inner state of Mind.....and Spirit? How do they correlate to one another? You have to be honest now. No cheating by telling lies to yourself.
What has made the state of your physical environment what it is today? It's too easy to blame things on chance or on the volition of others, inaction is still a choice, it"s just negative will. It will give you exactly what you might expect...... nothing! If our thoughts are scattered and inconsistent we achieve scattered and inconsistent results; positively or negatively. There is no denying the results. Once the truth is revealed it cannot be denied. This is where you need to be honest. If we are confused about life, our life will be confusing. If we foster angry thoughts about life our life we be filled with strife and turmoil. There is a correspondence between the two states; the mental and the physical.
If we understand the relationship between these two states things get a little easier, but not much. We cant discount the influences that determine our modes of thought. Primarily, thought is influenced by emotion, principally, our own emotions. Emotion can possess a full range of characteristics; limitless combinations and variable states. We also have to take into account the emotions of others. Our relationships with those around us. What is the nature and character of those relationships. Are they good, bad, indifferent? All of the above? How do our emotions correspond to those of others, and how do we react to the expressions and impressions of other peoples emotional states. It can be pretty tricky. We can get tossed around in this ocean of competing, escalating, and diminishing emotions from others and within ourselves. It helps to have an anchor, something to steady the direction.
That anchor is conviction, or Belief ...... faith. We all have some measure of this virtue. Truth is, we all have the same amount; how much we actively use and to what purpose is the defining factor which determines our ultimate outcome, our Reality. For Galileo, the world was round. For everyone else it was flat. As a whole, the common belief was shared by all. Centuries later we laugh at the false belief. Ha, ha, ha, they thought the world was flat ...... but they believed it, it was their reality. The new knowledge, distributed through individual understandings, demonstrated by experiences, instituted by faith, determined the New Belief.
Belief. A central principal of understood truths. A meter or measure of universal absolutes, helps to calm the sea. Belief will tame the emotions and keep our sight upon the right path ahead, influencing our thoughts and thus effecting our physical reality.
MORE TO COME ............... TO BE CONTINUED.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)