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http://musicmeditate.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,4702.msg28592.html?PHPSESSID=03528a6f9413d86dc30b2329036f525e#msg28592I disagree with your comment of no hope or no vision for the future but that doesn't mean there aren't people who feel similarly to your views. This is a reminder of how divided people are in their opinions over matters we scarcely understand. I appreciate your responding in a separate thread but would ask you leave my replies in their original place, I don't mind you quoting me when jumping around if it provides context. Isn't it lovely that today's wisdom from Hazrat Inayat Khan also references Maya?
Plato wrote that we live in a shadow world, where we confuse the shadow of ourselves with reality. This is the Nafs, the false ego, which stands in the light before God, causing, so to speak, a spiritual eclipse.... The Nafs turns us from the One to the many, enticing us with the things of this world. Then man attaches himself to one thing after another, which brings, at best, momentary satisfaction. Through his spiritual practices the Sufi learns to chain the Nafs, to perceive that it is only a shadow of reality; and finding the sun of truth within his being, looking upon it, one is no longer aware of the shadow.
Then the Nafs is not destroyed, but harnessed. The whole of man's being is attuned to God and everything within him serves God. This is the work of all on the path of illumination, of whatever school they may be. There is no other obstacle than this false self, and there is no better means of controlling it than by meditation and by practicing the presence of God.
~~~ "Githa II, Dhyana 2, Meditation", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)
Nice synchronicity.
Peace Brother!
Some people have funnel vision. They only see reality through very distorted and narrow vision. For instance in the case of Trump; He sees reality through only one focus... through business and the growth of business. In this limited vision it is impossible to see that growth is not necessarily positive. In fact some people think that companies are not growing but in fact it is a sociological condition and demand; A short sighted and one dimensional vision of reality. They may be increasing financialy but just not exponentially any longer. Is this a bad condition? No it is not. We must incorporate the view of entropy in a total gestalt of reality. In this expanded picture it is easy to see that the more we have and try to develop; the more there is disorder and chaos.
In this view it is difficult to see that actual growth is no longer helping our nation and the world. In fact it would be better to have stability instead of growth. It would be better in most cases to have less rather than more. More growth economically and in population is in fact adding to the distruction of our planet. We do not need to grow in this way. We need to decrease our population and business that is only destroying our nation and the world. HUMAN DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR HAVE LED TO THE GREATEST SLAUGHTER OF LIFE IN 250 MILLION YEARS. This is an alternate view that seems a very hard view to understand if we continue to live by the perspective that growth is always good. Which is maya and ignorance about what is actually happening on this planet because of growth.
I will keep your request in mind Eric; I can not expect you to agree with how and why I organize the forum...sorry for that.