For some of us..the ONLY WAY we can find our true path is to beable to hear the differences of opinions and then come to our OWN conclusion about what we believe. (with the help of researching it ect ect)  Some on this board are very COMFY in their beliefs. I say more power to you all. Infact, that leads me to believe that if you truly believe in what you know, then nothing can take that away from you. But, the different perspectives is how I am learning. If I just heard just one view of how things are supposed to be, I would never learn. There are very few individuals on here that I don't want to see reply on some days. So I just see their name there and skip over it.  I hope this makes sense. I enjoy the people on this board very much. It is definately a learning tool for me. Keep creating those posts. I love to hear from all of you.  Sometimes, I shake my head at some replies..but I still learn from them.   Take Care, and thank you again.  L

Dear L,

To me one of the interesting aspects of Jesus' teaching is his refusal to offer public clarifications of His parables.  He taught that spirituality is better caught than taught and wanted his audience to meditate on what we might call the archetypal character of his parables until their intuition slowly grasped the truth through an Aha! experience.  I guess that's another way of saying that he deplored second-hand spirituality. 

I believe that no valuable spiritual learning occurs until you have the time to sort through your life experience and see if a new insight rings true.  Sometimes we who pretend to be teachers do more harm than good with our drive to be comprehensive and clear.  We leave our audience with a purely left-brain reaction to what we share and, as a result, we make little difference.  That's why I think spiritual learning is best conducted through warm relationships nurtured over time.  Timing can be everything.  The right  question or answer at the right time can transform, whereas, at the wrong time, it merely proves to be an intellectual distraction.  That's where prayerful meditation plays a crucial role. It can help the wannabe teacher discern when to shut up or change the subject to allow the learner the incubation period she needs to achieve deep-rooted spiritual breakthroughs.  I think your delight in sifting the wheat from the chaff is a healthy sign that your journey is truly unique and your ultimate insights will be reliable and deeply satisfying.  So keep on lurking here and critiquing us until you get what you want.  And if we occasionally disappoint you, emerge from the woodwork and give us a verbal thrashing to see what we're made of.   Maybe that can shake the right restatements from us.

Don

Don

Hi Dan,

I like what you wrote - reminds me of a parable Someone once told:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a person found and hid; and for joy of it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

Thank you for the reminder of this wonderful analogy.

With Peace and Blessings to All,
Judy