God vs. the Devil?

As a kid, I really bought into the the story and imagery of God who lived in Heaven at war with the Devil who lived in Hell. As I matured and my ability to reason developed, I realized how much utter and complete bullshit this really was! lol!

What would bring me to such a conclusion? It's not so hard to come to this conclusion yourself, if you take a look at all the qualities humanity has assigned to these supernatural entities and you are open to asking yourself a few real questions.

Let's begin with God's qualities. He is the creator of everyone and everything. He is good and just and forgives all. He is eternal, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He is basically Love personified. Now the devil is pretty much the opposite. He tries to oppose good intention and destroy the quality of all life. He personifies all negativity.
 

Now some questions. Why or how could "God" have enemies if He created everyone and everything including the devil? And what would He supposedly do to His "enemies"? Wouldn't "God" or his angels wielding weapons with murderous intent be a contradiction? How could "God" ever feel slighted or vengeful? Doesn't that sound like people trying to project their own feelings of in adequacy onto a being too grand to ever feel that way? How can Love personified ever be hateful? How can an intelligence as complex as the Creator who made the stars in the sky and the bio-machinery that makes your cells function really care for such triviality?

What would the devil feel about those who support himself and his ideals? Love possibly? More contradiction? If the devil succeeded in destroying all that is good, then what? Would there even be a point? Is what "God" would do with his wife considered sin?

We could go on with questions like these, but you probably get the point. There are way too many holes in the dogma for me to take it seriously. I came to the conclusion a while back that heaven & hell are actually frames of mind and the traditional views and explanations of "God" & the devil are two sides of the same coin. Neither exist without or outside the mind of man. Both images and ideas only have as much power as you give them.

If you dwell on being god-like, you will act as you believe God acts, working for the greater good of all and life will feel heavenly. If you submit to your lower instincts and allow yourself to stay in low spirits, you'll be doing the devil's work and life will feel hellish.

You would be the vehicle for either force to act. The choice and the power is always yours.



Related posts:

• Blinding Light & Blinding Darkness
• The Illusion of Opposites
• The Contrast
• Morality is Relative
• Blur the Lines
• Does Evil Really Exist?
• It's All Good Intention - It's All God Intention
• Heaven or Hell
• The Peace Loving Warrior

When Music Hits

What up everyone! I haven't posted on this blog in a couple of months. I will be posting regularly again soon.

In the meantime check out my other blog: Feel Really Good Music



My definition of "FEELING" is feeling good!

No matter what, if you really FEEL the music you're listening to, you can't possibly feel pain at the same time. You can feel pain before you listen to it. You can feel pain after you're listening to it. But If you really FEEL the music, you can't feel pain while you're listening to it.

Watch Yourself

From moment to moment, if one thing can be maintained, we will watch our lives take on a very different tone. It will be a much lighter feeling than the usual serious nature. Even if you never took life too serious to begin with, you will gain an understanding as to why. This one thing to be done from moment to moment is to watch yourself.

"Watch yourself," has less to do with keeping track of how you look. It has much more to do with observing your being. Observe the way you are being. This means what you are focused on, what you are feeling, what you are thinking, who you think you are, and if you remember who you are behind it all.

This is watching of yourself will bring about a separation in who you think you are and who you know you are. You will realize that you are not the passing thoughts and feelings, but that you are what allow those thoughts and feelings to exist. You are not simply a character in the show, but the stage on which the show presents itself. You are more like the screen on which the movie plays as opposed to an actor in the movie.

There is a lot of power and freedom in recognizing the responsibility you have in putting the whole experience together. Even the way you choose to respond to it affects what comes next.

Watch yourself. It will only be a dull show if you want it to be. And you can make every moment a happier one if you choose to. The hardest part is to maintain this observant stance on your being. But it gets easier with practice.

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• 'I' of the Beholder
• Who Are You [Part II]
• The Tape Is Always Rolling
  

The Light Source Within

Light doesn't actually reach the part of your brain where vision is created and experienced. The light that you are seeing right NOW is actually coming from you. This isn't simply a deep sounding philosophy. It's science.

You are the source of the brightness in anything you see. The light is simply an external stimulus that triggers the unveiling of this eternal inner luminance. This is not hard to understand and accept when you think about how light, alone, is meaningless without eyes or some other type of receiver and an intelligence to define it. Light without an observer affected by its stimuli doesn't exist.

To illustrate further, when you imagine or visualize anything, you are literally seeing by the light of your being. When you have dreams at night, you can see with no problem despite the fact your eyes are closed. How else can you explain the source of light?

You can even picture any and all vision you have as a TV or movie screen. In any case, there is always a backlight. There's a light in the projector. There's a light behind your screen. You are that light.

We are luminous beings. You are as bright or dark as you allow yourself to be. In a sea of infinite possibilities, focus navigates.

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• The Only Thing
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You Are the DJ

There's really no escaping it. You can play dumb or ignore it, but it doesn't make it any less true. There's always a vibe going on. You always FEEL one way or another. Even when you don't think you feel any particular way at all, that in itself, is feeling a certain way.

There's always a mood. There's always an atmosphere. There's always a tone, a pitch, a FEELING of what life feels like right NOW. Who sets the tone, changes the pitch, sways the mood, and fills the atmosphere? It's all YOU.

Just as the DJ of any party has the ability to either get everyone on their feet and really enjoy themselves or stink up the joint having people ready to curse him out, YOU have the ability to control the vibes you are experiencing right NOW.

The experienced DJ manages to move the crowd by first being aware of the crowd and what they might respond to. He first has to accept the crowd for who they are. Then the music he selects and plays in the arrangement he chooses is in direct response to the way the crowd feels. He adapts from moment to moment. A known paradox: Control is attained through acceptance.

In your life, you are both the crowd and the DJ. The crowd is simply how you feel right NOW. It is the tone of the moment. The DJ is your mind. What does the DJ play? The thoughts, situations, circumstances, visions, memories, calculations, insights, etc. that constantly fill the time line in your mind. Whatever you are "playing" will absolutely and directly affect the way you feel. You set the tone of how you feel. Your crowd always responds to your DJ.

This is a doubled edged power. If you continue to dwell on things that you don't like but can't change, you create suffering and stress for yourself. You also weaken your position in affecting any change. On the other side, if you continue to dwell on all the world's beauty, abundance, and everything you love, you enjoy how life feels right NOW and gain an advantage in making changes you want to see.

Life's a party. Do you want it ruined by playing garbage? Or do you want to hear all your favorites? The choice is yours. The power is yours. The time is NOW. Enjoy yourself.

Related posts:

• The Tape Is Always Rolling
• Music To My Ears
• Adapting = Accepting
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Money Can't Buy It

There are a lot of rich people who are not happy. Don't take my word for it. You have seen them for yourself. The news or the tabloids are usually always talking about some high profile case or another. This is mentioned to validate one point. Money can't buy happiness.

Of course, this is a very old saying. It has stuck around for so long because of the undeniable truth it represents. In the past I, myself, have questioned the validity of this saying. I used to think, "If I had all the money I wanted, there is no way I could possibly be unhappy." I later came to realize the ultimate truth behind it though.

This truth goes for more than just money. It goes for everything that you desire in life. It is not what you want that makes you happy when you get it. It is how you feel when you are experiencing it. It really all starts and ends with how you feel.

A man can have nine figures in his bank account and still be bent out of shape about a relationship or some other problem that money does not solve. Another man can be one pay check away from being penniless and feel like he's on top of the world.

This intangible feeling is why they say, "The best things in life are free." Money really can't buy this feeling. It is only accomplished by being in total acceptance of reality. When you can say YES to everything in your present moment; you have no choice but to be happy.

Though money can't buy happiness; happiness might get you paid. Happiness actually attracts money. Take a good look at life and see if you agree.

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You Complete Me?

The phrase alone doesn't really sound logical. On the other hand, we all know exactly what it means because we know how it feels to long for, or "need" another person. But does this really mean that the other person 'completes' you? Let's look further into this.

It's a fact that we are all born alone (even if you're a twin or etc.) and we all die alone (even if you die with others). Your journey and experience is yours alone. Knowing this, how can you need anyone else to complete you?

It only appears that it takes another to complete us. In reality, it is always us as an individual, that completes us. To illustrate, when John and Jane met and got to know each other, they formed a great attachment to each other. They became inseparable. If any significant period of time had to pass without them being together, they would miss each other greatly. But the clues to why they feel this way also provide the answers we're looking for.

John has formed an idea of a his perfect mate. He had this idea long before he met Jane. Jane so happens to fit John's idea in almost every way. John's idea of Jane is his alone and only affects his experience of her. Even when John is physically with Jane, John only ever experiences his own impressions of her. He only experiences his interpretation of who she is, how she looks, and how she acts. So in reality, it is John's idea of how his mate should be that he is attached to. It's not Jane, herself, but the idea that John has of Jane. The exact same thing goes for Jane and how she feels about John.

People have convinced themselves that it is "other people" who make them feel the way they do. In reality, no one can "make" you feel anything. It is the ideas that you hold so close that truly affect your mood. If John should suddenly drastically change in behavior or looks and deviate from Jane's idea of what her perfect mate is, Jane would not hold him in the same regard. While the attachment might remain for a while, she would be stressed out or heart broken. Only after the attachment is severed would she feel relief from this stress. She would feel indifferent about John because she reclaims the idea of her ideal mate. Once reclaimed, she's once again ready to bestow it on someone else.

Realizing that it is only our own ideas that complete us, we can see that we really only use others to bring these ideas into the physical world. By concentrating on your ideal mate and feeling the abundance of their company (even if they don't physically exist right now) you can be just as happy and fulfilled as if they were walking beside you. In contrast, you could be in a relationship with your ideal mate right now, but if you are not appreciating them or are only feeling a lack of what you want, you will not be happy with them.

When you really think about it, you always have your perfect mate with you. Your perfect mate is an idea that you created and if you give it the proper attention, you can feel the abundance of this presence at anytime. Not only can you feel better by appreciating this fact, but it actually helps to physically attract a person of this nature to you.

Happiness starts and ends with you. Once you can be happy with yourself, you have an unlimited supply to share with others. A relationship works out so much easier when you have two whole people complementing each other, rather than two needy souls looking for validation from each other.

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• Be Mine
  
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Life Through a Child's Eyes

Can you remember when you were a kid? Go back as far as you can. Remember when everything was new? The ever unfolding brand new parade of stimulus for your senses to experience. Exploring the world around you; feeling new fabrics, and textures; exciting new food to taste; new smells and scents from everything; new situations to deal with and learn from. In general, your sense of perception back then was considerably magnified compared to your senses most of the time today. Have you ever thought about why?

It is only natural for our perception to be heightened when our level of expectation is very low. In other words, the less you think you know what's going to happen next, the more aware and alert of the present moment you are. As a result, perception is heightened when your focus is in the present. People tend to enjoy themselves a lot more in the present moment as well.

Think about it yourself. You will notice that the newness of the moment is the secret ingredient in everything you enjoy. Are you a sports fan? You can't appreciate a game without being in the newness of the moment. Like to travel? The joy of traveling to new places is in the newness of the experience. Do you like to dance? Do you like music? How about movies, books, parties, meeting people, web surfing, everything! There is nothing that you can enjoy without acknowledging it in the present moment. You connect with life in the present moment.

So what's new? What is new? Of course 'new' has many uses and relative definitions but it is no coincidence that 'new' and 'now' have similar word origins. In order to be new, something must have just stepped out of the now; the present moment.

We often hear of people chasing their 'inner child'. It is easy to see why. The feeling of everything being brand new; the heightened perception; the zest for life; the wide eyed perspective; and the fun loving spirit are all still within you right now.

All it takes to bring it to life is attention. Focus navigates...

The Logic of Acceptance

Acceptance is a major life changing perspective and can be used as a tool to dramatically increase the value of your life right now. Regardless of your views on life, religion, science, philosophy, cultures, politics, or any other possible topic, you have almost no choice but to agree to the logic of acceptance. Check it out.

positive + positive = positive (+ and + = +)
Say yes to the yes...... in your perspective and you will enjoy life.

negative + negative = positive ( - and - = +)
Say no to the no...... in your perspective and you will enjoy life.

This is allowance of life situations. This is acceptance. This is adaptation. This is the root of happiness.

positive + negative = negative (+ and - = -)
Say yes to the no...... and in life you will feel pain or stress.

negative + positive = negative (- and + = -)
Say no to the yes...... and in life you will feel pain or stress.

From the teachings of Buddha to your nearest psychologist, it is agreed that the key to peace and happiness in life is to be in acceptance and not resistance to what is. Suffering is indeed a state of mind; and if you can change your mind (train your mind), then you can change your life experience.

This logic is true, mathematically, philosophically, and most importantly, it is true to your experience of life.

Your Thoughts Shape You

Or you could say, you shape yourself by the thoughts you give most attention to. Sounds like a common enough observation, but you'd be surprised how often it's overlooked!

The face you have as a child is the face you were given. The face you have as an adult (especially the older you get) is the face you shape. This isn't simply some philosophical saying. It is easily proven scientifically.

An experiment requires controls and a variable. Using human DNA as the control and "thought" as the variable, we can easily see how thought shapes a person. Identical twins share the same DNA code. Their DNA originates from a single source, thus their genetic makeup is the same and the characteristics that are determined by genetics will be the same.

Taking a look at the picture above illustrates the point very clearly. The sisters' thoughts, which influence their habits and their environment, have made a clear impact on their appearances. In even more extreme cases, plastic surgery, exercise, diet, and other incidents have dramatically changed the appearance of twins. This is all still the result of thought. The power of your thoughts can not be denied.

Just a little reminder to be a mindful conductor of your train of thought! Each one is a building block of you and your world.

Related posts:

• Perish the Thought
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• Crown of Thorns