Janos Abel's Blog – November 2009 Archive (12)

[Our actions to heal the world] are not broad mandates to eradicate poverty, end famine, or stop violence in war-torn countries... They are specific projects created to restore Hope in the lives of children and communities that have lost it. Spiritual Activism is active Compassion... from these Seeds, Change will grow.

This is the problem with spiritual activism. It seems to be restricted to practicing charitable acts in the name of compassion. "restoring hope" of… Continue

"I thought these books might be a good point of discussion for Peace Studies programs in Universities. but I got almost no response... sent them to many different peace organizations... the same response---nothing. Tolstoy speaks of the wall of silence to teaching simply that Jesus taught loving your enemies and one should not participate in war."



The "wall of silence" syndrome indicates a serious systemic obstacle to change. Even people who should know better are prone to it.… Continue

Author George Williston brings to consciousness, in the first part of his book, This Tribe Of Mine, the ancestral "sins" of the Anglo Saxon ethnic group that is the core of British/American cultural inheritance.



The second part is the "good news" message about overcoming a historical "ethnocentricity" that prevented these nations from respecting as equals less aggressive and materialistic ethnic groupings.

Although American and English people profess to be Christian, in… Continue

Wise teachers occasionally warn spiritual aspirants about judging their development: those who reckon themselves to be well advanced spiritually, are often at the very beginning of the path of discipleship.



...There is the emergence of a new kingdom in nature, the fifth kingdom; this is the Kingdom of God on earth or the kingdom of souls. It is precipitating on earth and will be composed of those who are becoming group-conscious and who can work in group formation. This will be… Continue

It is generally agreed and well known that getting too immersed in the practice of looking at the bad things in the world damages mental and physical health.

But are there no dangers, albeit of a different kind, in the opposite extreme --- seeing nothing but the good and positive and not recognising weaknesses and threats?
Is that not an unhealthy denial of the shadow side of earthly reality?

I went through a fairly serious illness recently and lots of friends were praying about the outcome. Everything went well and I seem to have made a good recovery. But the point I need to make is that for the prayers to be effective it was essential to have a good surgeon at the "cutting edge".



In the same way, praying for the healing of a sick world needs to be followed up by appropriate inspired action.



God's Kingdom (and it will not be an exclusively Christian, Buddhist,… Continue

Living in the now means knowing that this is the place where we can make decisions and act on them.



It does not mean that the past or the future is irrelevant only that we have no direct access to them via the senses of our physical survival machine.



The future is not yet, the past is already gone. However, the future is determined by action now and the kind of future that action shapes is determined by how and what we learn from the past in order to make the right… Continue

God needs co creators to finish His Kingdom. We are them, alongside Angels. God's work will be completed on earth when the possible good world arrives. But we are the midwives needed to usher in this new world.

--------------------------------------------



I called the group "Extending the Kingdom on earth" alluding to the much-used phrase in "A Course In Miracles".



Jesus said, "the Kingdom is within". But the idea is that It will be extended from the within to the… Continue

Are the people responsible for what their government does?



Yes, according to Willis Harman, author of Global Mind Change:



"...[N]o matter how powerful the economic or political or even military institution, it persists because it has legitimacy, and that legitimacy comes from the perceptions of the people. People give legitimacy and they can take it away. Challenge to legitimacy is probably the most powerful force for change to be found in history."



The… Continue

The best language for communication is silence.

It helps us understand and realise the eternal truths about the self, God and the world. In silence we are able to comprehend and express sincerely and powerfully the true values of the soul such as peace, love and joy. Silence is not the absence of thoughts but it is a state in which the mind is engaged in pure elevated thoughts that nurture these values within. The power of silence develops all mental and spiritual powers that are needed to… Continue

I plucked up the courage and started a group to discuss the nature of love in action.



I went through a fairly serious illness recently and lots of friends were praying about the outcome. Everything went well and I seem to have made a good recovery. But the point I need to make is that for the prayers to be effective it was essential to have a good surgeon at the "cutting edge".



In the same way, praying for the healing of a sick world needs to be followed up by appropriate… Continue

Copied from another community



A religion is a set of beliefs.

The beliefs may include a divine messenger, directly sent or inspired by God; a sacred text inspired by God, the belief that this is the only true religion, or beliefs that are not normally associated with religious ideas or divinity.

This latter set seems to go by the name of secular religion, like Humanism, Socialism, Market capitalism,… Continue