tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post116238383834833014..comments2023-08-28T09:36:46.713-04:00Comments on The Sovereign Soul: FaithMusawwirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07881504732381538113noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-732642954354264012011-02-05T17:36:45.889-05:002011-02-05T17:36:45.889-05:00I feel close to God everywhere...I love the church...I feel close to God everywhere...I love the churches. I think I bring God in them (as God is me, he is in man.) I greet God in church. I feel his presence strongly. Anyhow, God is equally in the field I visit, in the daisy I pick, in a man's hand in mind. It's just how is it.. ;) LeahAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11344949978398712717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1163036730697328482006-11-08T20:45:00.000-05:002006-11-08T20:45:00.000-05:00GreetingsIn our western society i believe to some ...Greetings<BR/>In our western society i believe to some extent that Christianity itself has a lot to do with our lack of spiritual faith. As children a majority of us are taught religion at home, church, or in school. Some of the religious doctrines can be very "full on", and the Bible stories taught as a truth. Then as we grow older we come to question the stories "fairytales"; a boat that can fit 2 of all living animals in it?, people turning into salt pillars?, all life began from two people?, and so on. When we search for answers they are never seem to have much substanceto them.<BR/>Then some of the more rigid religions with restrictions on activities such as dancing, eating of various foods. How can something so joyful as dancing be criminal? So we begin to wonder, our faith stumbles.<BR/>Some of us make our way we look else where find more information which we disseminate for ourselves. Processing we find what we perceive to be truth for ourselves, and we have faith in what we perceive. <BR/>That is also the point of no faith, cultural and societal practices, all that we perceive is processed by the mind who and what we are influenced by. Our EGO. For some incumbent to their EGO, spiritual faith is hard to find.<BR/>Blessings JulesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1162966109203250832006-11-08T01:08:00.000-05:002006-11-08T01:08:00.000-05:00And trust also; the unconditional trust of which H...And trust also; the unconditional trust of which HIK has written. Faith, belief, hope and trust -- not interchangeable but in support of the journey towards the One, whatever the One may be. Hugs and Smiles....SaburaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1162904671762090562006-11-07T08:04:00.000-05:002006-11-07T08:04:00.000-05:00Musawwir,Thank you for writing about the differenc...Musawwir,<BR/>Thank you for writing about the difference between faith and belief. i will have to look at that some more. Also where hope falls into that. Probably closer to belief...and that's what probably changes based upon the outcomes of our experiences.mollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03602749025543254274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1162612165327224542006-11-03T22:49:00.000-05:002006-11-03T22:49:00.000-05:00I always wonder at people who say "there is no God...I always wonder at people who say "there is no God." What do they mean by that? That they don't see the presence of God in the world? That they have been disappointed in life and the idea that God had failed them was somehow unacceptable, therefore there isn't One? That they can't reconcile the world as it is with the idea of God? I don't understand how anyone could truly believe that there is no God. <BR/>I was raised with legends and myths of God, the patriarchs and Jesus. This was the foundation of understanding how to be in the world. One of my favorite books was a comic book version of the bible. I think the drawings were what inspired me to believe and also to be an artist. I don't know that, as a child, I had faith by your definition. Songs like "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" and "This Little Light of Mine" leant a sweetness to the beliefs of childhood.This Little LIght of Mine continues to inspire me. <BR/>Today I feel the realness of God in every thing, every one and every event. And God becomes more and more awesome with the passage of time and the culmination of the practices you guide me to. (thank you)<BR/>I wonder what I will believe and have faith in next decade?<BR/>Love, <BR/>SaralaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1162594326829583852006-11-03T17:52:00.000-05:002006-11-03T17:52:00.000-05:00Dearest Musawwir, With myself, I went to chu...Dearest Musawwir,<BR/> With myself, I went to church every sunday, well I was made to, sung in the choir too. I really had no idea what my Priest was talking about, after all he was a bad drunk and a child molester I found out years to come. One of the victims was my brother. Speaking on God, I truly do believe if you allow yourself to open up and do some homework then one can decide what they want to. I for one, has had many I mean many downs, very few ups and for me, I am a strong believer that MY GOD is everything I see, feel, experience and everything beyond that I do not see in this life. God is great, make him/she as you wish and enjoy the love that embraces everything that comes with it. I do and I am. And many thanks to you for many of my findings, you have opened me up to a new world, I'm not crazy.<BR/>Beloved Blessings<BR/>ShaktiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15560139.post-1162586302701872362006-11-03T15:38:00.000-05:002006-11-03T15:38:00.000-05:00I’ve also been thinking about faith lately. I’ve ...I’ve also been thinking about faith lately. I’ve always said that I have faith but now I discover that there are certain areas where my faith is completely lacking, especially if nothing changes over an extended period of time. <BR/>Those people who emphatically state that they do not believe in God, really mean that they don’t want to have a discussion on the topic. They may have been disappointed after their initial childhood believe in God. All religions have their “stories” which come to be recognized as fairy tales and decidedly untrue. And so, religion, the idea of a God, Spirituality, etc. are all thrown out together. <BR/>Your “nice guy” image reminds me of the Mel Brooks movie “Blazing Saddles” when Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp say “What a nice guy” about Bart played by Cleavon Little. <BR/>I was not raised in any religion at all. But there was no negation of God, either. I was given a choice. So, my faith in God had to come from something else. What? – desperation?, positive answers to prayers? In my adult years, the faith has come from a much deeper place – far beyond being calm. It has come from experiences of inner light, expansion and an a experience of my essential self where there is no felt deficiency. <BR/>But now you’ve got me thinking of the areas where I have no faith at all. How does one reverse that? Or does one simply accept it? Perhaps simply being aware and present to those specific areas with all the sensations, emotions, thoughts and history accompanying them would be the answer. The subconscious mind must play an enormous role. It is my belief, or rather experience, that whatever the subconscious mind has accepted to be true becomes your actual experience in life. <BR/>Inayat Khan has a saying, “Shatter your ideal upon the rock of truth.” This is something that we need to do from time to time.<BR/>Going back to the quote of Inayat Khan, “True Spirituality is not a fixed faith or belief; it is the ennobling of the soul by rising above the barriers of material life. <BR/>Faith reaches what reason fails to touch." -- it is encouraging to note that Spirituality is not fixed, that our life in this material world does present barriers but rising above our difficulties does ennoble the soul. <BR/>Can we simple state to ourselves “Keep the Faith” or “May our faith increase.” Faith is self-confidence and self-confidence is faith. <BR/>Love,<BR/>MajidaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com