Satan is referred to as the adversary. So, what does Satan have to do with adversity? Is adversity simply opposition? If so, then adversity is only adversity if a person perceives it as such. It must be opposite to what a person expected. Trials, challenges, etc. are simply opposite to what we had thought or believed would happen; or, opposite to what we have been taught to believe or expect to happen. Adversity is adversity because it is opposite, or different from something.
So, we look into the lives of others and label their experiences (pioneers, martyrs, etc.) as adversity when it may very well not be. If they did not perceive it as such it could not be defined as adversity. Did it have to be opposite from what they expected for their situation to be considered adversity to them?
We have to have meaning for suffering. We have to put labels on people and situations to provide motivation or inspiration for our own challenges. Is that it? We read or hear a story and affix our labels when perhaps those labels are quite false indeed.
Is Satan's only weapon his ability to be opposite? Is he clearly opposite? Perhaps more so than people will admit...
carry on.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
spirit in two or more places at once?
Is it possible? When I feel disconnected - a floaty feeling I can't quite describe - could my body be here and my spirit be in another dimension? It's such a strange feeling - And I wonder about the consciousness of my spirit - or what my spirit knows (because of its existence BEFORE earth life with body) - It knows, must know, things I'm not consciously aware of; so, then isn't it possible that it could be or do things dimensionally that I'm not aware of? My spirit knows what it's like to be without a body, but my body doesn't consciously know what it's like to be without spirit and that's what the weird/strange feeling is - is it possible to be conscious without spirit? No? So, can thoughts be physical - of the body alone? I guess not or we'd be dead, or?...
That was written several months ago. I just read a book this week about synchronicity of the soul with the universe. At one point the author describes what he believes to be the two parts of the soul - local and nonlocal. The local soul is our individual essence and exists at the quantum level and our nonlocal soul is part of everyone and everything and exists in the virtual or spirit level. I wanted to change some of the authors terminology and plug his concept into the plan of salvation because he was talking about things that made sense from an ethereal perspective. His point about our local spirit existing at the quantum level made sense to me.
A quantum leap is a change in status from one set of circumstances to another that takes place without passing through circumstances in between. When an electron is in orbit A and the next moment in orbit B there is no traveling through the space in between. It's simply there. Even though this author had a definition of the soul that I didn't totally agree with, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a possible continuation of my thoughts about a spirit being in more than one place at the same time. A sort of quantum leap between dimensions would make sense to me.
carry on.
That was written several months ago. I just read a book this week about synchronicity of the soul with the universe. At one point the author describes what he believes to be the two parts of the soul - local and nonlocal. The local soul is our individual essence and exists at the quantum level and our nonlocal soul is part of everyone and everything and exists in the virtual or spirit level. I wanted to change some of the authors terminology and plug his concept into the plan of salvation because he was talking about things that made sense from an ethereal perspective. His point about our local spirit existing at the quantum level made sense to me.
A quantum leap is a change in status from one set of circumstances to another that takes place without passing through circumstances in between. When an electron is in orbit A and the next moment in orbit B there is no traveling through the space in between. It's simply there. Even though this author had a definition of the soul that I didn't totally agree with, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a possible continuation of my thoughts about a spirit being in more than one place at the same time. A sort of quantum leap between dimensions would make sense to me.
carry on.
Friday, July 3, 2009
What's in a lifetime?
I can't believe I haven't written for so long; and yet, I have a notebook full of scribblings for the past two months.
I just got back from visiting my 87-year-old dad and 90-year-old stepmother in St. George, Utah. They will be married six years in September. One of my favorite parts of my visit was swimming laps in the pool at the subdivision where my dad lives. I was always alone in the pool and it was fantastical. smiling. I think I should have been a swimmer. I'm a good swimmer. I love how it feels, how it sounds, how it relaxes me to float on my back when I'm done swimming. When I used to work as a lifeguard the owner would sometimes let us swim after hours and I would float on my back and look up at the stars. It was a hot springs out in the middle of nowhere; or, Haines, Oregon, if you know where nowhere is.
It was interesting to go with my dad and Ettie to the assisted living center where they have just been assigned to help on Sundays. I looked around at the 15 or so elderly people and thought about all of the incredible life experience in that room. I wonder what those people's lives had been like and what kind of wisdom they could impart.
What does it mean to grow old - living beyond what people did in the past? Will we care for people with dignity and respect? Consider what it means to age and live beyond...
I couldn't help but see that the better-abled old were caring for the less-abled old. Why do people age differently? Why is one healthier than another?
I couldn't help but wonder what my life would be like. How long will I live and how will I live?
I looked around the room and wondered about people's past lives. Each had a
lifetime of prayer
of trusting God?
of faith
of challenges and
wonderings of how God works.
A lifetime of relationships
all kinds of experiences
and many, many different choices.
*How have they come to understand how the Holy Ghost works in their lives?
*How have they come to recognize and feel the power of God in their lives?
I thought about talking to each of them but communication is a bit of a challenge, and I'm not sure how cognizant all of them were. It still doesn't take away from their life's mission and experience.
What do they think about?
How do they feel?
What is their purpose in their infirmity?
How do they see their past life and present situation?
Curious.
I asked dad and Ettie the two starred* questions above. It was interesting to think about how they related experiences at different points in their lives, and I thought about how we might give up on God when He is waiting to speak to us when we are 65, 78, or even older. Something to consider...
There were three dining tables and each one had a quote in a plastic frame sitting in the center. I wrote down one of the quotes from Joseph F. Smith.
"The test, then of our soul's greatness is rather to be sought in our ability to comfort and console, our ability to help others, rather than our ability to help ourselves and crowd others down in the struggle of life."
And, there you go.
I just got back from visiting my 87-year-old dad and 90-year-old stepmother in St. George, Utah. They will be married six years in September. One of my favorite parts of my visit was swimming laps in the pool at the subdivision where my dad lives. I was always alone in the pool and it was fantastical. smiling. I think I should have been a swimmer. I'm a good swimmer. I love how it feels, how it sounds, how it relaxes me to float on my back when I'm done swimming. When I used to work as a lifeguard the owner would sometimes let us swim after hours and I would float on my back and look up at the stars. It was a hot springs out in the middle of nowhere; or, Haines, Oregon, if you know where nowhere is.
It was interesting to go with my dad and Ettie to the assisted living center where they have just been assigned to help on Sundays. I looked around at the 15 or so elderly people and thought about all of the incredible life experience in that room. I wonder what those people's lives had been like and what kind of wisdom they could impart.
What does it mean to grow old - living beyond what people did in the past? Will we care for people with dignity and respect? Consider what it means to age and live beyond...
I couldn't help but see that the better-abled old were caring for the less-abled old. Why do people age differently? Why is one healthier than another?
I couldn't help but wonder what my life would be like. How long will I live and how will I live?
I looked around the room and wondered about people's past lives. Each had a
lifetime of prayer
of trusting God?
of faith
of challenges and
wonderings of how God works.
A lifetime of relationships
all kinds of experiences
and many, many different choices.
*How have they come to understand how the Holy Ghost works in their lives?
*How have they come to recognize and feel the power of God in their lives?
I thought about talking to each of them but communication is a bit of a challenge, and I'm not sure how cognizant all of them were. It still doesn't take away from their life's mission and experience.
What do they think about?
How do they feel?
What is their purpose in their infirmity?
How do they see their past life and present situation?
Curious.
I asked dad and Ettie the two starred* questions above. It was interesting to think about how they related experiences at different points in their lives, and I thought about how we might give up on God when He is waiting to speak to us when we are 65, 78, or even older. Something to consider...
There were three dining tables and each one had a quote in a plastic frame sitting in the center. I wrote down one of the quotes from Joseph F. Smith.
"The test, then of our soul's greatness is rather to be sought in our ability to comfort and console, our ability to help others, rather than our ability to help ourselves and crowd others down in the struggle of life."
And, there you go.
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