[Rhapsody]

OK - let me see if I can explain this so that every one can understand and respect my THREAD....

While I do in deed believe in a HIGH POWER I do not necessarily believe that any one religion holds all the answers to the spiritual connection that most of us seek from within.... I am open to all the good and happiness that any ones Higher Power has brought unto them and their loved ones, family & friends.

So, with that I would like to ask all religions and beliefs...
To share with me what they love about their Higher Power.... their Spiritual Being that they connect with when seeking answers, love, understanding, healing and support.

I think JonB said it best in my other thread when it was stated as...
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JonB said:This isn't exactly coming from a Christian perspective, but personally, I believe that God is real because God is me and you are God and so is everyone else. Perfect beings on a path of perfection, continuing to be perfect as we are stuck along the path of realizing our perfection and the perfection of others. A perfect paradox - like work without doing. It drives the mind in the most perfect way I think - for me anyway.

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... <font color="purple"> a Higher Power, no matter what or who you call it </font>


Thank You,
LoVe,
Rhapsody -


<font color="red"> Disclaimer:

Please do not post if you do not believe in a Higher Power, for this is after all spiritual support thread, but you may PM me with why you do not believe in a Higher Power, for I am open to hearing both sides. And - Please do not post if you cannot accept the belief or reasoning of another persons post.... for I wish to find my spiritual connection and if that connection is indeed the GOD we all speak of, then He will accept my search and lead me back to Him, and Him only - with out rejection, fear or anger for me asking. </font>

He did say after all:

..........ASK and it will be given unto you.
.................................SEEK and you shall find.
...............................................Knock and it will be open unto you.

[seeker1950]

Gnosticism was a religion during the time of Christianity which believed exactly this...that we are God and God is in us, and we move toward enlightenment. Some scholars even believe Jesus and Paul were part of Gnosticism.
Patty

[Rhapsody]

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seeker1950 said:
Gnosticism was a religion during the time of Christianity which believed exactly this...that we are God and God is in us, and we move toward enlightenment. Some scholars even believe Jesus and Paul were part of Gnosticism.
Patty

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Thanks...... that is very interesting (and) I will be sure to look it up online to get a better understanding.

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[biplol]

Rhap, I agree totally with your statement, and I have to say this too, I like JonB very much, so it's easier for me to like the post, lol.
I don't want to extend myself too much, it can take me for ever to explain what I believe and what my feelings are about this whole thing.
But I know you are in the right path and our search for that higher power only shows once again how much we want our healing to keep going.
~hugs~

[Rhapsody]

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biplol said:
Rhap, I agree totally with your statement, and I have to say this too, I like JonB very much, so it's easier for me to like the post, lol.
I don't want to extend myself too much, it can take me for ever to explain what I believe and what my feelings are about this whole thing.
But I know you are in the right path and our search for that higher power only shows once again how much we want our healing to keep going.
~hugs~

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Thank YOU for the reply......... YOU have an unique way of making ME feel good from the inside out and for who I am....
Me the person - feelings, thoughts, heart and mind - all that comes with me the person and the life I have lived.

Thanks...
LoVe,
Rhapsody -

...................... ((( ))) ~ ~ ~ ~ ((( )))

[biplol]

OHHHH with much humility I accept your words.
~tons of hugs hun~

[Rhapsody]

My basis belief is....

We are not humans having an occasional spiritual experience, but rather we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

We are not separated from our Higher Power, but rather we are trying to find our way back home (place of being).... and we learn and grow as we do this.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

* * * * * * * *

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Rhapsody said:
<font color="red"> Disclaimer:

Please do not post if you do not believe in a Higher Power, for this is after all spiritual support thread, but you may PM me with why you do not believe in a Higher Power, for I am open to hearing both sides. And - Please do not post if you cannot accept the belief or reasoning of another persons post.... for I wish to find my spiritual connection and if that connection is indeed the GOD we all speak of, then He will accept my search and lead me back to Him, and Him only - with out rejection, fear or anger for me asking. </font>

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

[Raynaadi]

I like the whole Gnostic view. I've just beginning learning a bit about it. I honestly don't know what my Higher Power is, only that I have one and it works. There's a line in one of my favorite books, which uses the word God and his as a general reference to everyone's own higher power and it says,"It is when we make our will aline with his that we begin to use it rightly." To me, that means aligning my conscience to that of my higher power, and sometimes I think that's all my higher power is, my conscience, helping me to do the next right thing. But then there are occassions which make me think there's gotta be more than just my concsience so honestly, I don't know! Haha, I do have complete and total faith in a higher power though. =)

[Rhapsody]

<font color="red"> In simply Laymen's Term.... </font>

I am looking to hear every ones PERSONAL STORY behind when they FIRST EXPERIENCED their HIGHER POWER - (finally accepted there was some thing bigger than us out there).... for all believers have a story to share.... no matter what your spiritual guide is called.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[SerenitysWave]

<font color="purple"> I didnt get to your previous thread before it was locked ( I am not sure I can answer your questions though... I believe the proof is looking us in the mirror... in the face of every child.....the beauty in every detail of nature....

I was very young when I first believed that there is a God... I was not brought up in a christian home, much to the contrary.... I did however attend sunday school on occassion which is where I first heard the word of God. I beleive that there is only 1 God and I have surrendered my mind, heart and soul to Him as I have faith what the bible tells me to be true... That God sent His only son to die on the cross for my sins and rise again....I do have my struggles and certain am not without sin, but through prayer and fellowship my faith strengthens....

I am sorry I could not be of much help in answering your questions.... I will say that I did not see anything wrong with the questions you asked! </font>

[Rhapsody]

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FaithisAlive said:
I first experienced God when I was 7 years old and I was laying in my bed crying.. begging that I be allowed to die.. crying out asking the darkness why nobody loved me and why did I have to hurt so much...why was I even born...

He spoke to me... He said" You are loved my child.. I am here now and always"...

I knew it was God.. in my heart.. the deepest of my soul.. I knew it... and although I didn't always do what God wanted me to do in my life.. I have always had Him in my heart...

Faith

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Thank YOU... for sharing with ME the first EXPERIENCE you had with GOD -
... the one that said loud & clear..... I AM REAL to YOU.

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[Perna]

I have a kind of male/female belief system not that Either can't do Both but so it's easier for me to comprehend and understand in my own Life. There's both a personalness and impersonal, way-things-areness about interactions but the thing I like best is the support and sense of warmth and humor. I've never been struggling and seriously cried out and not been met with some sort of, "It's okay, I'm here, come in this direction" response.

[Rhapsody]

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Perna said:
I have a kind of male/female belief system not that Either can't do Both but so it's easier for me to comprehend and understand in my own Life. There's both a personalness and impersonal, way-things-areness about interactions but the thing I like best is the support and sense of warmth and humor. I've never been struggling and seriously cried out and not been met with some sort of, "It's okay, I'm here, come in this direction" response.

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Warm Fuzzy's ..... YES, I can relate, for when I cry out and need reassurance/love - then I am met with an inner warm glow that envelopes my entire body, a warmth that comes from no person, but rather from that of a Higher Power.


LoVe,
Rhapsody - ((( hugs )))

[Leslie]

That was nicely said Rhapsody

[Rhapsody]

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Leslie said:
That was nicely said Rhapsody

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Thank YOU Leslie......

* * * * * * *

Just wanted to say "Thank YOU" to everyone that contributed to my thread and shared with me that of your deep inner personal life...

Please know that I am still open and wanting to hearing about the Higher Power of all the religions that reside here within PC, and please do not let the notion that I am a Christian and happen to call my Higher Power "God" intimidate any of you from posting just because you may have with a different belief system than I do (or that any other person here on PC may have), for I personally believe God comes in all forms and visit all places.

LoVe,
Rhapsody - ((( hugs )))

[alphamicky]

Is there a god? Hmmm

Noone can prove to you the existence of God, as in a mathematical proof. But you still will be able to be certain of His existence:

There are many good, rational arguments. I will make them in a moment.

If you do not want to believe in God, you never will(in my opinion). There can be no scientific proof, simply because God is not physical or material, He is spiritual and infinite. Science is the observation of material phenomena in this universe, and then applying our reason and logic to understand and control them. By definition, God cannot exist as part of this universe, cannot be composed of matter, and cannot even exist in time.

But even things in this world cannot really be proven with 100% certainty. Entire books have been written about how the U.S. space program has been faked by the government. All you have to do is set the standards of proof high enough, and absolutely nothing can be proven. Proof is a tricky subject. As the old Greeks like Euclid discovered, all proofs have to rely on at least several assumptions (which they called postulates) which cannot themselves be proven. So a person who demands hard proofs is doomed to failure.

It is a doctrine of the Church that faith does not come to us through reason alone, but by the grace of God. If a person opposes even the possiblity of God's existence, then any arguments or evidence can be rationalized away.

Since it is impossible to "prove" with absolute certainty, any amount of belief in God has to come from your own spirit, from within your own heart, because it is the spirit of God that we are trying to find. The paradox is, you will only find this faith if God gives you the grace to find it.

A person of faith already knows why they believe. It is not for any selfish reason, or because they want to be "saved." It is because they know they are a true child of God, and that we naturally seek Him and know Him as only a child can know their true parents. It is a completion of our lonely existence. It is a feeling of coming home. And it is a certainty that goes far beyond all efforts at "proof." Our faith is a pure gift from God. It is the result of our having accepted the gift of His grace.

[(JD)]

IDk about all that... thinking.

I think there have been many ppl who were not looking for God, but because He was there when they needed someone they found him?

And again, God can prove himself to anyone who really wants to know. imo

My belief is that God did become physical. Yet not everyone even believed in Him then.

Before I accepted Christ, I searched for "God." I knew he was in the church house... I read his word... but there was a void within. I didn't know what to do with that, or why it was there..just that I knew if I could find God, it would be fixed (and it was.) It was very selfish on my part. I felt miserable, incomplete (and I was very young) without Him... lacking... I sought God for ulterior motives (though not defined as such.) I wanted to feel good and loved by Him.

[alphamicky]

Very nice post Sky...I could elaborate, but I think you gave the right 'feel'. Nice

That simple little post made a whole lot of sense to me. You shouldn't look for god because that is the way the neighborhood is structured. You shouldn't do it because your family wants you to. You do it because you WANT to.

And never, NEVER, feel selfish about that.

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
alphamicky said:
Is there a god? Hmmm

Noone can prove to you the existence of God, as in a mathematical proof. But you still will be able to be certain of His existence:

There are many good, rational arguments. I will make them in a moment.

If you do not want to believe in God, you never will (in my opinion). There can be no scientific proof, simply because God is not physical or material, He is spiritual and infinite.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I totally agree..... and that is why I am not debating the existence of God (my Higher Power) - but I am looking to hear the many stories that each and everyone of us have concerning our Lord, and His existence in our life.... these stories are our witness (to and of) God when we share them.
.............................. as they did in the Bible, in the old days as a witness unto others.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[alphamicky]

I get ya, Rhapsody. Good point too. I would like to hear about others feeling the presence of god as well. I will tell you about some of mine tomarrow...It's getting pretty late for me...lol...and I seem to write more that it is wanted...lol

[Rhapsody]

How I know a Higher Power does indeed exist..... My God ~ My Lord ~ My Savior

When I was only fifteen years old I meet the man I would marry one day - three years later, all though I did not personally know it at time, but my SOUL knew and all within 30 days.
... He was my Knight in Shinning Armor, as far as humans go.

This one MAN - This MALE had given his LoVe unto me within one month of meeting him, I now had every thing my heart and soul had been searching for since the day my father first left me at the young tender age of 1 year old, not to mention the years in between (2-12 years) - where I was sexual, physically and emotionally abused by others.... mostly males.

After a year of us being together as b/f and g/f and of me leaving my hellish home at 16 years old I found that I was pregnant.... we were both sacred, yet we carried on in hopes of taking good care of the baby I was carrying - Our First Born was to be a Bouncing Baby BOY!!

At the age of me being 17 and my b/f being 19 WE had our son (together) and we moved to a nicer two bedroom apartment to raise our son in, and we asked each other for forgiveness of our selfishness behavior and actions over the last year.... we recommitted our self to being a family.
Then the day came when a friend of my b/f (from work) asked us to go to church with him and his entire family..... we went and within a month or two we started to feel the pull of something spiritual forming from within us - we could not explain the love and overwhelming warmth we were experiencing, but we could tell (say) that it was real.

One day my b/f was out with his friend from work and they had gotten home rather late, but as soon as they walked through the front door I could see a smile beyond all smiles on my b/f face.... He had just accepted Christ as his Lord & Savior.
The two of them shared this moment with me and within minutes I got this overwhelming feeling of warm oil being pour into me.... my entire body was over come with a sense of belonging and of being loved and forgiven.... I was finally loved with out rejection or judgement of the sin I had allowed into my life.

I accepted Christ into my heart that night - the same night as my b/f did.... I was 18 and he was 20, and we were now a new creature and the sin we thought would never be forgiven (an abortion 2 weeks earlier) was taken from us that night - we were washed clean by the blood of our Lord & Savior.
My wounded heart and all of its heavy burdens instantly became lighter.... I was set FREE!!

AND..... the two of us lived as "friends only" for 6 months, until we were joined as a married couple before the eyes of God.

* * * * * * *

There you have it:

The STORY of my experience with Gods presence.... and the 1st time I have ever shared the abortion part of my life with another living human being...... sad but happy to finally be set free from my deep dark secret

LoVe,
Rhapsody -
.......................................

warm hugs..........pat

[Rhapsody]

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fayerody said:
warm hugs..........pat

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Thank YOU for caring Pat........................ ((( hugs )))

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[Rhapsody]

Weekend Inspiration...................................

Create a Sanctuary:
Is there a place in your home where you can always go to pray, write, or just sit quietly and reflect on your day? Our homes are full of high-stress zones. If you need to get away, don't hide in a noisy TV room or a cluttered entryway. Create a space that's just for you.
Whether it's in a bedroom or another quiet corner, choose a spot that's away from the high-traffic areas in your home. Then make it yours. Partition it off with a screen or a large plant. Paint the area a different color. Give yourself a comfortable place to sit, write, or pray. Use this area for your morning and evening prayers, your journaling sessions, or just as a place to consider the accomplishments and challenges of your day

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **

Jordan's Tip of the Day
From the author of The Maker's Diet

Let the Sunshine In
Sunlight and fresh air can make your special spot even more sacred. Choose a place near a window, so you can breathe fresh air, soak up the sun, and be inspired by the sights out your window while you reflect.

[alphamicky]

Well, everyone has their own opinion and I have mine. I disagree with 90% of this, but that is just me. Don't take offence. At least I hope you don't....lol