Difference between revisions of "Indulgence"
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==Romance== | ==Romance== | ||
"Avoid falling in love. When we say falling in love, we are talking about creating a fantasy with another. Romantic love, fantasy, is the epitome of the personal mind's self-indulgence. In an attempt to validate itself and to justify its existence, it seeks union with another for this purpose. It cannot join with another; it can only use another to validate itself. This is the basis for romantic love. What you must find instead is recognition and the ability to participate with another. A beautiful face, a lovely set of eyes, a wonderful image, a charming or exotic personality, anything that attracts you and mesmerizes you, anything that holds your attention against your will, anything that keeps your mind fixated on its own ideas and prevents it from gaining access to Knowledge--these things represent a romantic approach to relationships, and these you must avoid." | "Avoid falling in love. When we say falling in love, we are talking about creating a fantasy with another. Romantic love, fantasy, is the epitome of the personal mind's self-indulgence. In an attempt to validate itself and to justify its existence, it seeks union with another for this purpose. It cannot join with another; it can only use another to validate itself. This is the basis for romantic love. What you must find instead is recognition and the ability to participate with another. A beautiful face, a lovely set of eyes, a wonderful image, a charming or exotic personality, anything that attracts you and mesmerizes you, anything that holds your attention against your will, anything that keeps your mind fixated on its own ideas and prevents it from gaining access to Knowledge--these things represent a romantic approach to relationships, and these you must avoid." | ||
| − | <ref> | + | <ref>[[Greater Community Spirituality]], Chapter 14</ref> |
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==Seeing== | ==Seeing== | ||
"Our words are not for speculation or debate. That is the indulgence of the foolish, who cannot hear and cannot see. You are terrified of the Revelation, for it will change your life. But you desire the Revelation, for it will change your life. It is your conflict of mind that blinds you. | "Our words are not for speculation or debate. That is the indulgence of the foolish, who cannot hear and cannot see. You are terrified of the Revelation, for it will change your life. But you desire the Revelation, for it will change your life. It is your conflict of mind that blinds you. | ||
It is the purposes that run counter to one another that keep you in a state of confusion and do not allow you to see."<ref>The Recitation (April 1, 2011)</ref> | It is the purposes that run counter to one another that keep you in a state of confusion and do not allow you to see."<ref>The Recitation (April 1, 2011)</ref> | ||
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==Higher Purpose== | ==Higher Purpose== | ||
"You have come to help save the world, to give humanity a future and to give your race a greater opportunity—an opportunity to unite, to develop and to become stronger, wiser and more capable, an opportunity to outgrow its tribal divisiveness, its religious fanaticism, its violence, its selfishness and its self-indulgence." | "You have come to help save the world, to give humanity a future and to give your race a greater opportunity—an opportunity to unite, to develop and to become stronger, wiser and more capable, an opportunity to outgrow its tribal divisiveness, its religious fanaticism, its violence, its selfishness and its self-indulgence." | ||
| − | <ref> | + | <ref>Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 11, p. 135</ref> |
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==Peace or war== | ==Peace or war== | ||
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"Do not think if you are a great consumer of energy and resources that you can promote peace in the world, for over-consumption of resources is really the engine of war." | "Do not think if you are a great consumer of energy and resources that you can promote peace in the world, for over-consumption of resources is really the engine of war." | ||
<ref>How to Live (October 29, 2008)</ref> | <ref>How to Live (October 29, 2008)</ref> | ||
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==Who will help?== | ==Who will help?== | ||
"You are living at the end of the age of indulgence. It is beginning now the age that will require human unity and cooperation and immense human courage and ingenuity—not the courage and ingenuity of a few saintly people, or a few gifted people, but of you and your neighbor." | "You are living at the end of the age of indulgence. It is beginning now the age that will require human unity and cooperation and immense human courage and ingenuity—not the courage and ingenuity of a few saintly people, or a few gifted people, but of you and your neighbor." | ||
<ref>Adapting to Great Change (May 22, 2008)</ref> | <ref>Adapting to Great Change (May 22, 2008)</ref> | ||
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==Beyond Addiction== | ==Beyond Addiction== | ||
"To really break an addiction you must have a different kind of focus for the mind that must really be all-consuming. It may even look like another addiction. But it must be strong enough to displace and replace what has captivated your mind previously, and what still tends to captivate your mind. Instead of being addicted to a drug, you become addicted to God. You become addicted to the experience of Knowledge within yourself, the deeper intelligence that God has placed within you. You become addicted to serving others. You become addicted to maintaining your health. This new addiction may be temporary but it serves as a bridge." | "To really break an addiction you must have a different kind of focus for the mind that must really be all-consuming. It may even look like another addiction. But it must be strong enough to displace and replace what has captivated your mind previously, and what still tends to captivate your mind. Instead of being addicted to a drug, you become addicted to God. You become addicted to the experience of Knowledge within yourself, the deeper intelligence that God has placed within you. You become addicted to serving others. You become addicted to maintaining your health. This new addiction may be temporary but it serves as a bridge." | ||
<ref>Freedom from Addiction and Obsession (January 23, 2009)</ref> | <ref>Freedom from Addiction and Obsession (January 23, 2009)</ref> | ||
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==Consumption== | ==Consumption== | ||
"You will have to control your population size; you will have to control the distribution of wealth; you will have to provide for the poor; and the wealthy will have to moderate their behavior, their appetites, their greed and their consumption to achieve stability and security." | "You will have to control your population size; you will have to control the distribution of wealth; you will have to provide for the poor; and the wealthy will have to moderate their behavior, their appetites, their greed and their consumption to achieve stability and security." | ||
| − | <ref> | + | <ref>[[Life in the Universe]], Chapter 5</ref> |
"Half the world’s forests should be preserved. Fuel should be rationed. It should have been rationed twenty years ago. You will have to control human population growth and human consumption if you are ever able to attain stability and security." | "Half the world’s forests should be preserved. Fuel should be rationed. It should have been rationed twenty years ago. You will have to control human population growth and human consumption if you are ever able to attain stability and security." | ||
<ref>Nature & Natural Disasters (September 8, 2008)</ref> | <ref>Nature & Natural Disasters (September 8, 2008)</ref> | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 18:57, 29 August 2013
The Age of Indulgence
"No one is going to come and rescue you. There is no returning to a golden age in the past. There is no magic formula or secret technology or extraterrestrial gift that is going to take this challenge away from you. Give up demanding solutions and face reality. You are living at the end of the age of indulgence and now must enter the age of human unity and cooperation. The age of indulgence is coming to an end, and for many it will be overwhelming. Do not be overwhelmed. For many it will be a disaster. Do not allow yourself to go through that disaster. For many it will be such a profound disappointment that they will not know what to do. Do not be amongst their number." [1]
The age of indulgence is coming to an end. Its dangers are immense. Its opportunities are immense. Its challenge will be overwhelming. Its opportunity for contribution will be profound. You cannot hold yourself back here. You cannot remain neutral, disassociated from all these things. And the degree to which you can recognize this now, accept the shock of this now, will have a great bearing on whether you can survive in the future, build a strong foundation for your life and fulfill yourself through service to others—to become a person of integrity, a person who is deeply responsible, a person who has gained a greater worldly wisdom, a person who can feel the grace and the power of Knowledge within themselves in times of peace and in times of great difficulty. [1]
Romance
"Avoid falling in love. When we say falling in love, we are talking about creating a fantasy with another. Romantic love, fantasy, is the epitome of the personal mind's self-indulgence. In an attempt to validate itself and to justify its existence, it seeks union with another for this purpose. It cannot join with another; it can only use another to validate itself. This is the basis for romantic love. What you must find instead is recognition and the ability to participate with another. A beautiful face, a lovely set of eyes, a wonderful image, a charming or exotic personality, anything that attracts you and mesmerizes you, anything that holds your attention against your will, anything that keeps your mind fixated on its own ideas and prevents it from gaining access to Knowledge--these things represent a romantic approach to relationships, and these you must avoid." [2]
Seeing
"Our words are not for speculation or debate. That is the indulgence of the foolish, who cannot hear and cannot see. You are terrified of the Revelation, for it will change your life. But you desire the Revelation, for it will change your life. It is your conflict of mind that blinds you. It is the purposes that run counter to one another that keep you in a state of confusion and do not allow you to see."[3]
Higher Purpose
"You have come to help save the world, to give humanity a future and to give your race a greater opportunity—an opportunity to unite, to develop and to become stronger, wiser and more capable, an opportunity to outgrow its tribal divisiveness, its religious fanaticism, its violence, its selfishness and its self-indulgence." [4]
Peace or war
“Regarding your relationship with the world, do not insist upon peace. There will not be peace in the world. But what can happen is that conflict can be minimized through the sharing of resources and by the rich learning to live more simply and providing for those in need. You cannot provide for those in need if you are using too much of the world. You cannot be an advocate for peace if you are consuming too many resources yourself. If you are a big consumer of resources, well, you are making war inevitable.” [5]
"Do not think if you are a great consumer of energy and resources that you can promote peace in the world, for over-consumption of resources is really the engine of war." [6]
Who will help?
"You are living at the end of the age of indulgence. It is beginning now the age that will require human unity and cooperation and immense human courage and ingenuity—not the courage and ingenuity of a few saintly people, or a few gifted people, but of you and your neighbor." [7]
Beyond Addiction
"To really break an addiction you must have a different kind of focus for the mind that must really be all-consuming. It may even look like another addiction. But it must be strong enough to displace and replace what has captivated your mind previously, and what still tends to captivate your mind. Instead of being addicted to a drug, you become addicted to God. You become addicted to the experience of Knowledge within yourself, the deeper intelligence that God has placed within you. You become addicted to serving others. You become addicted to maintaining your health. This new addiction may be temporary but it serves as a bridge." [8]
Consumption
"You will have to control your population size; you will have to control the distribution of wealth; you will have to provide for the poor; and the wealthy will have to moderate their behavior, their appetites, their greed and their consumption to achieve stability and security." [9]
"Half the world’s forests should be preserved. Fuel should be rationed. It should have been rationed twenty years ago. You will have to control human population growth and human consumption if you are ever able to attain stability and security." [10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Adapting to Great Change (May 22, 2008)
- ↑ Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 14
- ↑ The Recitation (April 1, 2011)
- ↑ Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 11, p. 135
- ↑ Achieving Peace in the World (September 10, 2007)
- ↑ How to Live (October 29, 2008)
- ↑ Adapting to Great Change (May 22, 2008)
- ↑ Freedom from Addiction and Obsession (January 23, 2009)
- ↑ Life in the Universe, Chapter 5
- ↑ Nature & Natural Disasters (September 8, 2008)