Featuring SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT
Thursday, March 5, 2015
TALKING
WITH GOD!
Part 1 of 2
(Includes song:
It's Such A Simple Thing)
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
2/22/2015
Note:
As I often do, I will append a song to this essay just to keep things in perspective for me. As I often say, too, I do not write for others as much as I write for myself. The reason for that is my writing is perhaps my main tool for learning. I write to learn. If you think I knew all I write before I sat down to write, think again; however, I suppose I have had some inkling of notions I might cover simply because for the most part,
I have lived much of what I write about.
But I learn so much too by asking myself questions and trying to answer them the best I can. I guess you could say that is "going within" to find answers. I do believe we should all do that because no one of us
should be any smarter than any other of us in terms of the ability to find truth.
Don't let some other bloke convince you he or she has some greater insight than what you can have. Simply ask your own questions -
and rely on your own intuitive power - which we all have, but few use -
to determine your own answers. You may be wrong, but probably no more so than any of the rest of us, know what I mean?
Now, let me take you on a journey and, together, let us explore the current subject of "talking with God." Caution: This may not be like any other trip you have taken; but let us see what we will see. OK?
Thanks!
FWB
Lord and God
When referencing God, I think, most people equate God with "The Lord." I know I did when I was younger. In retrospect, I think that was because others equated God with The Lord. I just fell into the same trap as my fellow men, so to speak. All I heard when I was growing up was tales of God as related to some "Lord." So I guess it was almost natural to grow up thinking that the two are the same.
Now, I see things differently, though. When I think of God now, almost the last thing I think of is a "lord." When I think of God now, I think of Infinity and Vastness and Immensity - and Source of All. None of those things equate to a lord in my mind.
Can there be such thing as an "Infinite Lord"? I don't think so. Can there be such thing as a "Vast Lord"? I don't think so. Can there be such thing as an "Immense Lord"? I don't think so; but there can be such a thing as an "Infinite God" and a "Vast God" and an "Immense God". In my mind, then, "Lord" and "God" are not equate-able. In fact, one should be capitalized and the other should not. That is how different they are. When I reference lord now, it is with a small letter - lord; but when I reference God now, it is with a large letter - God - and even GOD.
Lord and God are equate-able to most people, though, and have been equated since man ever put his pen to some page. It was in the minds of those who equated Lord with God that almost all of the so called "scriptures" have been written. The Lord God said this and the Lord God said that. The Lord God did this and the Lord God did that. It has been no wonder, then, that mankind has lived in tremendous confusion - always equating Lord with God.
That Paranormal God
How has God been translated by so many as a "Lord"? I think the answer to that is that in all likelihood, "we" have done it from beyond the arc, so to speak. I mean some of us live our lives in the mortal flesh as "gods"; and we simply keep it up after death.
Let me explain. When we die, I think, we enter into what could be considered to be the "paranormal" - or outside of what is normal. Normal for us in life is simply acting in the flesh, but acting in the flesh as souls. It is a total mystery to me as to how souls can conduct life after incarnation; but I do believe they do. The "natural" explanation, then, of how souls act as "gods" in some intermission between incarnation and reincarnation is that they simply continue being the souls they are without a body as they were in a body - to an extent. Consider the paranormal to be soulful existence without a corporeal body.
As offered in my previous essay - WHAT AM I DOING HERE? - I think that a soul can be equated to an attitude. Some souls with bodies have an attitude of having a right to command or control. Others have no interest in commanding or controlling; but as we live, we die. If we were ones to insist on commanding and controlling in life, we will simply retain that attitude when we die. One who commands or controls could be considered to act like a "god." If a soul continues after death of body like it was before it died, a "god" would simply continue to be a "god." Just think of it as: there are "gods" in "normal" life. So there are probably "gods" in "paranormal" life too. Makes sense. Right?
My guess is that souls can use the energies of body persons to conduct themselves as souls without bodies. Maybe this used body energy of another by a soul outside of "normal" incarnation limits is what allows some "paranormal" souls to "appear" to souls within bodies. Maybe a paranormal soul simply uses the energy of a body person who is willing to lend him or herself to a paranormal soul. The result could be that a paranormal soul could appear as some extraordinary entity that could be interpreted as a "god" - or a messenger of God.
If so, this could account for some within bodies experiencing "paranormal events" from without. It is hard to say how it all happens, but maybe paranormal events happen due to invitations by souls who have bodies. If as a "normal" human with a soul intact I "invite" some "spirit entity" into my life, I am providing that spirit entity the energy of my body with which to conduct what might seem as some interaction with what might seem as "God" - or an agent of God.
Of course, I am guessing. I admit that personally I have never had an experience with any "external entity." Without such an experience, I am pretty much left "in the dark" as to what such an experience might be - or might seem to be; but I suspect that such "paranormal" activities do happen. Just because I have had no personal experience with a "paranormal" entity and have not ever experienced some paranormal activity in my life does not mean that such as that does not happen.
In fact, I am almost sure it does happen that, in a way, multiple souls can occupy a single body. It is this phenomenon, perhaps, that can account for some "mental abnormality" such as schizophrenia or bi-polarity. It does make sense to me that one soul could be a main host of a body while allowing other souls to "visit," as it were - either intentionally or unintentionally. The key could be a matter of "invitation" in that a main resident soul could make room, as it were, for additional souls to occupy the same body.
If so, one soul might not know what another soul is doing; and that could lead to "multiple personalities." One soul could use the "facilities" of a single body at one time - and another soul could use them at another time while the other soul is like in recess. When recess is over, out comes the initial host - and it may seem like there are two people in one body. It might be that way too - if, indeed, multiple souls can occupy a single body; and who is to say it can't be so?
Speculating About The Paranormal
Anyway, given that paranormal activities can happen, I can speculate about them. Can't I? And maybe by speculating about them, I can offer some possibility for them happening in the matter at hand of "talking with God."
So, let me speculate. OK? Say that I am a Moses who "hears voices" and/or "sees angels" or the like. How could a "voice" speak to me if that voice has no body with which to speak to me? How could an "angel" appear to me when it has no body with which to "appear" to me? Maybe such a paranormal entity could use my own energies to temporarily "form" an impression (maybe resulting in an hallucination), using perhaps my own "brain" with which to form an impression - which I see. In other words, it might be that I am the source of my own "paranormal experience" in that through me and my facilities, another soul can interact with me and give me an impression that it is doing so with its own talents entirely.
Accordingly, some who are "open" to ideas about angels and devils and the like could actually "invite" like souls who "know" in some way that they can use expecting souls to make some impact on others. Any happening, then, that might "visit" an expecting person could be seen as "legitimate." If I were such a person as to believe in angels and devils and the like - as entities that exist in some paranormal fashion - I could well allow for them to interact with me by using my own energies with which to do it.
Back to Moses. Given that he really lived and believed that he "talked with God," he may well have experienced a real happening by his openness to "invite" another in. If I "expect" to meet with God on some mountain, maybe I will meet with some entity who may present itself as the God I expect.
Now this is where such an event would get interesting. Given that a paranormal soul has no memory or brain to act on its own, if it seems that another is acting with its own memory or brain, it might actually be acting with the brain - and the images - that I present it. In other words, in my "expecting" to rendezvous with an angel or assumed God entity, another paranormal soul - or entity - could use me and my facilities of brain and body to form an impression that I might believe is completely of its making - but which is only partly true. Sure, a paranormal soul acting using my brain and body as its source could be "acting on its own" in terms of starting a process, but in using me as its source, it would also be dependent upon me for its action. Consequently, we would be cooperating together to make something happen.
So a Moses could really experience some unusual paranormal event and take it that someone really did appear to him - on its own; but all the time, such an entity could be using Moses to "appear" to Moses. Accordingly, the "commandments" that Moses is thinking he is "receiving" are actually dictates of himself to himself.
You will have to admit, however, that if some angel or devil did appear to one, it would be impossible to dismiss such an event as nonsense. Don't tell me I am crazy. I saw it with my own eyes. An angel appeared to me and told me such and such. Given that it must be that if I should be "chosen" to receive such a fantastic revelation, then it would be for me to share with anyone who would listen what I was "told" to tell everyone.
Why do I offer this "speculation"? It is to offer a potential explanation as to why some people might have really "received" some "spiritual" dictation or revelation. If I were the recipient of such an experience, I think it would be impossible for me to dismiss it as perhaps having an explanation such as I have offered. Experiencing is Believing - even if that which I experienced is not objectively true.
Given that occasional paranormal activities relating to incarnated souls experiencing "mystical" events might have a "logical" or "natural" explanation, one can try to frame or explain how certain "revelations" from beyond the normal have occurred in the history of man. This is somewhat important in order to respect those who have had such experiences - and to put such experiences into some possible perspective.
With such an explanation in mind, then, one could "explain" why Jesus might have appeared to some - and why certain souls are absolutely convinced that they are the "messengers" of Jesus. In fact, they are probably their own messengers, but having no handle on how another soul (probably similar in attitude) might be "using" them, they could go forward and act like what they think is true is actually true.
Don't tell me that Moses was a victim of his own hallucinations. I "know" that he really did "talk with God" on that mountain. I am convinced of it because Moses himself was so convinced. Moses received those TEN COMMANDMENTS from God Himself and that is all there is to that.
A Reality Check
Did Moses have a "belief" before his experience on that mountain in Israel, though? Could a non-Moses kind of person have experienced receiving commandments from God - in the way that Moses did - or supposedly did? Could have a Chinese received those Commandments From God? Ah, that is the question - and I think the answer to that would suggest that "only" a Moses could have received those commandments. Moses probably was "chosen" as a recipient of "God's Commandments" because a Moses might "expect" such. In truth, Moses may have set himself up for his own experiences by the way he lived - and believed. Otherwise, any person on this Earth could have been "chosen" to deliver "God's Words" to all mankind.
Another "reality check"! Could have a Chinese who never heard of Jesus have received a "visit from Jesus"? Probably not. Now once a Chinese heard about Jesus and after the idea might have been "planted" in his brain that such a person might have lived, yes a Chinese might be the recipient of a "Jesus Revelation." But if Jesus really "visits" some who should receive his "revelations," how come a Chinese who has never heard of Jesus before hand has not been "chosen" to deliver some Jesus message? Why does Jesus appear only to Christians?
I am a very confident and dedicated Christian. Why has Jesus never appeared to me? People tell me it is because I do not believe. Jesus can only appear to those who truly believe. And I say to that - EXACTLY! You must believe to receive an invitation from beyond the normal - and therein is the explanation of why Moses believed he really received the Ten Commandments and why some of my fellow Christians believe that Jesus comes to them and tells them to go to all the world and preach the Jesus message. And not only that. In "believing" that they will go to Heaven when they die and be with Jesus forever, it will happen as they believe. Or so they hope!
But what about me? I believe in Jesus too, however I do not believe in the same Jesus that others do. I believe in a Jesus who never claimed to be a "lord" and offered that all should only be as "brothers" and that is the real essence of Heaven. Am I wrong? Or do my fellow Christians have Jesus wrong? Interesting questions, for sure. Don't you think?
My point, however, is that "you must first believe" to "talk with God"; and it is probably in the belief itself that it happens. It is possible, though, and I think quite likely that another soul in paranormal mode could be "using" a believer to convince a believer that what he believes is true.
Slain In The Spirit
I am reminded of an experience I had about 30 years ago or so. A friend of mine, Nancy Remmenga, and I attended a Christian evangelical service in Denver, Colorado. At the end of the service, the minister performed what he called a "slaying in the Holy Spirit" service by which he put his hand on the foreheads of willing members and spouted - Receive thee the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ!
As each one who "received the Holy Spirit" felt the hand of the minister on his or her forehead, he or she fell down. I guess that is why it was called a "slaying" service. Everyone fell down upon the minister's invocation; that is, until it came to me. Nancy thought it would be a good idea for me to join those who were going through this process just to monitor the process; and so I joined the line to "receive the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ."
When the minister put his hand on my forehead, however, and told the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ to enter me, nothing happened. All who had gone before me had been "slayed" and had gone down to the floor upon their being "slayed"; but there I stood. The minister looked surprised and looked me direct in the eyes and said again in a louder voice: Receive thee the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ! Again, I remained standing and did not fall to the floor.
The minister was becoming flustered then, but tried again: Receive thee the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ! Again, nothing happened. Then he looked at me and said: My son, you are not ready! Come back when you are!
And that is exactly my point. You have to be "ready" and "open" to receive a "paranormal" visit by another - be that other a "Holy Spirit" or a "Jesus" or an "Allah" or whomever. You must first believe to talk with any paranormal entity or invite any such entity into your life. That is what I believe. But does such a visit by anyone or anything really change you? I doubt it. When you close the door, if you close that door, the visitor leaves; and you are left as you were before.
But what happened to the others? Why did they collapse and fall to the floor upon the minister's invocation? I'm guessing, of course, but I think that it amounts to a usurping of a participant's body energy. I doubt very much that any expected "Holy Spirit" entered the body of a participant, but I do think something - or someone - did; and that something was probably a "paranormal soul."
I suspect that when a "foreign soul" enters a body that is already occupied by a resident soul, the foreign soul uses the body energy of the inviting host. Upon "depletion" - or at least "reduction" - of body energy when a foreign soul enters, a receiving body collapses - at least momentarily. It's probably a negative reaction - more than a positive one - that happens when a foreign soul or spirit enters an inviting person. It's negative because body energy is shared; although it's also probably positive in that a resident soul might sense an "addition."
It might be explained like opening a door on a cold winter's night to a visitor. Upon opening a door, cold air rushes in and causes the room temperature to decrease, but upon closing the door, the room temperature adjusts to an earlier temperature. In the end, it can be wonderful to sense a welcomed guest - and it might happen that way too upon being "slain in the spirit," but it might also be somewhat negative if the "guest" turns out to be unwelcome.
My guess, though, is that most occurrences of being "slain in the spirit" are very positive ones because it is likely that a host and a guest are similar in attitude, so to speak. Likes attract likes; and if an inviting soul is expecting an uplifting experience, it probably attracts an uplifting guest - or paranormal soul. If, however, one is angry or depressed when inviting a "Holy Spirit" - or "Jesus" or "Allah" or whomever - one might well end up with an "angry" or "depressed" "paranormal soul" as a guest. Perhaps, huh?
In the end, though, all "slain in the spirit" experiences probably have nothing at all to do with a "Real God." In every case, it is probably just another soul that "comes by" or "comes in." Of course, the minister himself - or herself - probably believes he is invoking "The Holy Spirit" of God - or Jesus - but my guess is that it doesn't really happen that way.
It is all very interesting, however. That which we think is happening probably isn't. In our ignorance, we merely judge it happens as we think it seems to be happening. Or so I believe.
Thus Saith The Lord!
Speaking of belief, it is my belief that ignorance about God - a Real God - is what has allowed so many to think that they might have actually spoken with God. I think you have to have a correct impression of a "Real God" before you can judge that you have experienced "talking with God." The so called scriptures, however, of at least three Faiths - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - are filled with assumptions that various faithful men have "talked with God." They have assumed that their impressions of God have been correct; and then they have jumped to conclusions that their idea of God has been verified in themselves.
Moses went up a mountain with an impression that God is really a Lord with a personality and all. Accordingly, he "experienced" a "God" with a personality that proceeded to give him detailed instructions on how he should tell his people how to act. But what if Moses had an incorrect impression - or understanding - of a Real God? What if the Real God is not anything like what Moses surmised that God must be? How valid would have been his instructions then? And if the instructions supposedly given to Moses were really virtually dictates of his own mind to himself, how foolish are we to abide such commandments when the source of them is Moses - not God?
That is not to say that Moses may not have believed that his experiences were authentic. My guess is that if that story about God giving Moses any instructions at all is true, Moses probably did believe it. In having no prior real understanding of what God is, indeed, Moses could have believed that he was supposed to be an instrument of the God he thought exists.
Likewise with all of those who think they have received "revelations from God." How could any of them have known a so called "revelation" was from God if none of them knew what God is? How can you judge something to be from someone - or something - you don't know if, in fact, you do not know a source for what it truly is?
What is your impression of God? Do you believe like Moses that God is a Person? Or do you believe like me that God is only an Infinite Presence that must reside in all? It all depends on which of us is right. Right? Is God really only a Presence in All - or a Person that can include some and exclude others?
Keep in mind that Moses believed that his "God" was only a God for the Jews and no one else. That God did not belong to the Egyptians or Persians or Greeks or whatever. That God belonged only to the Jews and I guess the Egyptians and the Persians and the Greeks had to find their own God; but that is to say a lot. The "God of Moses" is not my God because "My God" cannot choose simply because "My God" resides in All.
My point is, however, how could either Moses or myself know for sure what God is if neither of us know for sure what the truth of God is? I admit that I am only "speculating" about the reality of God; however I do believe that my speculation is correct; but how can I know for sure if I have no previous real understanding of God? Likewise, how could have Moses known he had really received commandments from God if he could not have known the reality of God in the first place?
Now, simply put all the many "Thus saith the Lord" claims of the past in perspective. If God is not a "Lord," then all claims that God is the source of any instructions to mankind must be denied - if we are honest; and furthermore, if God is not a Person, but rather only a Source or Presence, then God cannot be used as an excuse for one of us to command another. Or so it seems to me. How about you?
Who Needs a Lord?
In conclusion, I am given to believe that when Jesus was asked what a man has to do to be "saved," he answered thus, though I paraphrase: LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR SOUL AND ALL YOUR MIND. LOVE YOURSELF AS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD; AND THEN LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.
Indeed, I think the second injunction of that set of three suggestions has often been omitted, but a reasonable man must include it before the third and final injunction to complete the set. Wouldn't you agree? Just how can you love your neighbor as yourself if you don't first love yourself? But given you do all of that, who would really need more?
Let me finish, if I may, with a poem - or song. Enjoy it as you will; and thanks for listening!
Until next time,
Your Bella Vita host,
Francis William Bessler
It's Such a Simple Thing
By
Francis William Bessler
2/22/2015
It's such a simple thing
to do what is right.
All I have to do
is to love God with all my might.
Who really needs a Lord
to follow such a simple rule?
Perhaps if I do,
I really am a fool.
It's such a simple thing
to follow my own heart.
All I have to do
is to pay attention from the start.
Let me look at my life
and know that it is good
because God is in it,
we're all one great brotherhood.
It's such a simple thing
to know my own mind.
All I have to do
is to look until I find.
Let me search for the truth
in this Grand Paradise
knowing because we all are one,
we are all Divine.
It's such a simple thing
to love you without help.
All I have to do
is to first love myself.
Because we're all alike
I am just like you
and to love the one that's me
is to love you in truth.
It's such a simple thing
to do what is right.
All you have to do
is to love God with all your might.
Who really needs a Lord
to follow such a simple rule?
Perhaps if you do,
you really are a fool.
It's such a simple thing.
So let's begin today.
All we have to do
is to stand up tall and pray.
Let us pray to the God of All
knowing that we are all the same.
To know that is to know
we should be living without blame.
It's such a simple thing
and not at all hard to see.
All I have to do
is to commit to unity.
The future is all so clear
if we simply forget the past
and start anew today
with a new vision that will last.
Indeed,
It's such a simple thing
to do what is right.
All I have to do
is to
Love God & Life
with all my might!
After word:
Remember my commenting about that "slaying in the Holy Spirit" service that my friend, Nancy Remmenga, and I attended over 30 years ago? Basically, I believe the "Holy Spirit" in such a service to be only some "paranormal soul" that enters a person upon invitation; however by commenting on that event, a similar phenomenon called "speaking in tongues" came to mind. I do believe such an activity deserves some mindful exploration. Accordingly, I intend to explore that notion with Part 2 of this brief series - TALKING WITH GOD.
I have been thinking about this matter already, however, and I must admit my thinking is a bit upsetting. Right off hand, it looks like I am going to have to do an "about face" on a notion of memory. Previously I have believed that souls do not have memories; but I am thinking my pursuit of speaking in tongues is going to challenge my thinking on that.
If so, let that be a lesson to me. As I learn - or as anyone learns - we may find that a previous conclusion is wrong. It happens all the time; and my guess is that it is going to happen to me this time.
Being wrong is not so bad, though, as long as you are wrong in the pursuit of the truth. That which is bad is to insist you are right even if the "evidence" suggests otherwise. As a sincere truth seeker, however, I am prepared to take my lumps, so to speak; but hopefully the truth I may find will set me free even more than I have been free till now.
I am reminded of a verse in THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS that seems to apply to me now. In Verse 2 of that esteemed - and mostly overlooked - work, Jesus said: Let him who seeks, not cease seeking until he finds, and when finds, he will be troubled, and when he has been troubled, he will marvel and he will reign over the All.
Well, I don't have any desire to "reign over the All," but I do believe the gist of it is correct. Sometimes when we find, that which we find is a bit upsetting because it challenges some previous conviction, but if we let ourselves go free because of a new notion, then we will marvel. Quite frankly, I am looking forward to my "upcoming marvel."
Join me, if you wish - for Part 2 of TALKING WITH GOD!
Thanks! FWB