My Support Forums - View Single Post

(JD) · Dec 25, 2006, 01:43 PM

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SPIRITUALILTY FORUM This Sanctuary is a place for people of all spiritual beliefs and faiths to offer support and compassion to each other in the form of prayers, meditation, and expressions of spirituality. This forum is for support, not religious debate.

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Merriam-Webster Online defines Spirituality this way:
spirituality
One entry found for spirituality.

Main Entry: spir·i·tu·al·i·ty

Pronunciation: "spir-i-ch&-'wa-l&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
1 : something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such
2 : CLERGY
3 : sensitivity or attachment to religious values
4 : the quality or state of being spiritual

and Spiritual:
Main Entry: 1spir·i·tu·al

Pronunciation: 'spir-i-ch&-w&l, -i-ch&l, -ich-w&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French espirital, spiritual, from Late Latin spiritualis, from Latin, of breathing, of wind, from spiritus
1 : of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit : INCORPOREAL <spiritual needs>
2 a : of or relating to sacred matters <spiritual songs> b : ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal <spiritual authority> <lords spiritual>
3 : concerned with religious values
4 : related or joined in spirit <our spiritual home> <his spiritual heir>
5 a : of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena b : of, relating to, or involving spiritualism : SPIRITUALISTIC
- spir·i·tu·al·ly adverb
- spir·i·tu·al·ness noun

prayer:

Main Entry: 1prayer
Pronunciation: 'prer
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French priere, praiere, preiere, from Medieval Latin precaria, from Latin, feminine of precarius obtained by entreaty, from prec-, prex
1 a (1) : an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought <said a prayer for the success of the voyage> (2) : a set order of words used in praying b : an earnest request or wish
2 : the act or practice of praying to God or a god <kneeling in prayer>
3 : a religious service consisting chiefly of prayers -- often used in plural
4 : something prayed for
5 : a slight chance <haven't got a prayer>

meditation:

Main Entry: med·i·ta·tion
Pronunciation: "me-d&-'tA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation
2 : the act or process of meditating

expression:

Main Entry: ex·pres·sion
Pronunciation: ik-'spre-sh&n
Function: noun
1 a : an act, process, or instance of representing in a medium (as words) : UTTERANCE <freedom of expression> b (1) : something that manifests, embodies, or symbolizes something else <this gift is an expression of my admiration for you> (2) : a significant word or phrase (3) : a mathematical or logical symbol or a meaningful combination of symbols (4) : the detectable effect of a gene; also : EXPRESSIVITY 1
2 a : a mode, means, or use of significant representation or symbolism; especially : felicitous or vivid indication or depiction of mood or sentiment <read the poem with expression> b (1) : the quality or fact of being expressive (2) : facial aspect or vocal intonation as indicative of feeling
3 : an act or product of pressing out
- ex·pres·sion·al /-'spresh-n&l, -'spre-sh&-n&l/ adjective

support:

Main Entry: 1sup·port
Pronunciation: s&-'port
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French supporter, from Late Latin supportare, from Latin, to transport, from sub- + portare to carry -- more at FARE
1 : to endure bravely or quietly : BEAR
2 a (1) : to promote the interests or cause of (2) : to uphold or defend as valid or right : ADVOCATE <supports fair play> (3) : to argue or vote for <supported the motion to lower taxes> b (1) : ASSIST, HELP <bombers supported the ground troops> (2) : to act with (a star actor) (3) : to bid in bridge so as to show support for c : to provide with substantiation : CORROBORATE <support an alibi>
3 a : to pay the costs of : MAINTAIN <support a family> b : to provide a basis for the existence or subsistence of <the island could probably support three -- A. B. C. Whipple> <support a habit>
4 a : to hold up or serve as a foundation or prop for b : to maintain (a price) at a desired level by purchases or loans; also : to maintain the price of by purchases or loans
5 : to keep from fainting, yielding, or losing courage : COMFORT
6 : to keep (something) going
- sup·port·abil·i·ty /s&-"por-t&-'bi-l&-tE/ noun
- sup·port·able /-'por-t&-b&l/ adjective
- sup·port·ive /-'por-tiv/ adjective
- sup·port·ive·ness /-n&s/ noun
synonyms SUPPORT, UPHOLD, ADVOCATE, BACK, CHAMPION mean to favor actively one that meets opposition. SUPPORT is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given <supports waterfront development>. UPHOLD implies extended support given to something attacked <upheld the legitimacy of the military action>. ADVOCATE stresses urging or pleading <advocated prison reform>. BACK suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling <refusing to back the call for sanctions>. CHAMPION suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause <championed the rights of children>.

and debate:

Main Entry: 1de·bate
Pronunciation: di-'bAt, dE-
Function: noun
: a contention by words or arguments: as a : the formal discussion of a motion before a deliberative body according to the rules of parliamentary procedure b : a regulated discussion of a proposition between two matched sides

sub category : contention= discord:

Main Entry: 1dis·cord
Pronunciation: 'dis-"kord
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English descorde, discord, from Anglo-French descorde, from Latin discordia, from discord-, discors
1 a : lack of agreement or harmony (as between persons, things, or ideas) b : active quarreling or conflict resulting from discord among persons or factions : STRIFE
2 a (1) : a combination of musical sounds that strikes the ear harshly (2) : DISSONANCE b : a harsh or unpleasant sound
synonyms DISCORD, STRIFE, CONFLICT, CONTENTION, DISSENSION, VARIANCE mean a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony. DISCORD implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism <a political party long racked by discord>. STRIFE emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved <during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife>. CONFLICT usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires <the conflict of freedom and responsibility>. CONTENTION applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy <several points of contention about the new zoning law>. DISSENSION implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions <religious dissension threatened to split the colony>. VARIANCE implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest <cultural variances that work against a national identity>.


From my POV, though I am not alone in this, the reason this thread even had to be made is because there are those who are posting in this forum who have no belief in anything of God, or a Higher Power, or are so conflicted in what they offer as belief, that they are bringing their arguments with themselves (and imo with a higher power) here to the forum, in the form of contention with those who come to the forum for the support it was intended.

This is a new forum. I know there were members who outwardly suggested that it didn't belong on a mental health support site. Perhaps some others who would rather it not be here, rather than voice it outright and leave it alone, have unconsciously been drawn here trying to stop the support of this nature. IDK.

I would heartedly suggest that we return to where some never began, and that is with the original intent of the forum: SUPPORT. Don't begin a thread where you are not personally seeking support for your own accord, or giving support and encouragment to others in the way of prayer, meditations, or other spiritual expressions (which imo includes verses from texts.) Positing a request for information as though one is seeking support only to find debate as the probable goal is not what this forum is about, according to what I read from administration. It's as if the originator thinks no one can see the intent. And indeed, perhaps no one can truly know the intent of the heart, but the evidence displays itself shortly after the action.

Perhaps if we can succeed at the above, the forum can grow into helping others more fully understand our way of believing. But unless we know that to whom we are posting carries our own belief also, this can't work right now, imo.

The above definitions are quite clear. Spirituality cannot exclude GOD or a higher power, the spirit within which is unseen and unscientific, and the supernatural aspect of that.

Some of the postings in this forum are nothing but contentious, imo, sowing discord where many want to come for solace. This needs to end, imo, NOW. I'm trying to believe that this wasn't a direct intent of the wayward posts to disrupt what should be some of the happiest celebrations of the year. I'm not doing very well with that belief, btw.

The very act of responding to an administrator's warning/explanation with disagreement is unacceptable, imo, as it shows a haughtiness of SPIRIT in an attempt to reconcile misbehavior.

It has been far too easy to be lead astray as discord ensues. Ha! That is what discord does. Let us all determine now if we believe in something other than ourselves or not and make the right decision as to whether this forum is for us, or not. Not all forums are for everyone. This one is the same way. Because it is of a strong force within those who do believe in a higher power that makes the contention here so much stronger, imo. Others who post discordantly in another forum, though also incorrect, do not receive as much negative response as here, imo. The angst that results from non-believers mixing it up with believers who wish to maintain the rules is tremendous, imo.

Anyway, that's how I sense it.