Do we have a spirit and, if so, what role does it play in our relationship with God?

No judge follows that rule....... the good deeds does not veto the bad..
Wrong .. a judge will take previously good character into consideration for minor sins.
Major sins, such as murder or adultery, carry severe punishment regardless.

However, I think you'll find that a Catholic priest will seek repentance from their
subjects on death row. G-d forgives whomsoever He wills, and punishes whomsoever He wills.

What do you believe, what is the eternal fate for a sinner?
See above..

How many times do you have to sin to become a sinner? (I am pretty sure you can't do anything to lose the title of a sinner)
We are ALL sinners .. and even major sins can be forgiven with sincere repentance and not repeating the sin.
 
On the other hand, if a person is serious about growing spiritually, wouldn’t he or she seek a deeper and fuller understanding of spirituality? If, in fact, he/she has a spirit that is assigned to them with such consistency as to be considered his/her own spirit, wouldn’t it behoove him/her to learn about it and use it? Failure to do so might at some point be considered willful ignorance.
How would they do that?

Then again, why have leaders of religion not emphasized the concept and experience of an individual’s spirit?
Are you sufficiently au fait with the teachings to make this statement?

I only comment because to my knowledge the 'leaders of religion' do.

Was it considered too difficult for the congregants? Too dangerous, as in “don’t try this at home?”
Christ taught prayer, and that's about it. Love of neighbour. Self-denial. What particular message do you see missing?

I have decried the failure of mystagogy as a living practice within my own church, but then I have not seen much of an appetite for it.

Then again, 'do your own thing' is exemplified in the US, resulting in 1,000s of denominations where each one thinks it has the golden ticket.

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It may well be that those who are serious in the pursuit of spiritual growth do so, but not in the public eye, and nor do they seek it.
 
But I do agree with you that my being arises out of the Ground of Being ... and there is a continuity there, a commonality between myself as this particular self-referent instance of being and Being/Mind.

I think previously I have argued a kind of mind-being dichotomy – my being v your mind – and that was my mistake. I tend to regard them now as synonyms.

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Also wanted to add that the spiritual search has no end, as it's end in in the hidden-ness of God, a God who lies beyond Mind, that is beyond all categories and intellections.

It is here, in this 'divine darkness' that we arise and in it we have our lives and our being, and the full, spiritual expression of that is in the simple and the everyday acts of warmth and generosity towards oneself and others, and the life of prayer which is the communion with that darkness.

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How would they do that?
The main way I am doing it is creating a mindset of looking forward to my “night school” sessions as I sleep/dream. I take advantage of a naturally “thin veil” situation. It seems to be a specific form of lucid dreaming in which I try to encounter a character or characters representing my spirit in each dream.
I realize that I need to test other techniques also, since not everyone even recalls their dreams, much less meaningfully interact in them.
One technique was before actually falling asleep. I look for lights in my mind’s eye with my eyes closed as I prepare to fall asleep. Recently I saw indigo light emerging in the dark, streaks of light. I had the goosebump-like chill of excitement as though sensing a presence. Later the next day I returned to that feeling while seeing beautiful clouds and feeling harmony and awe. Apparently my spirit originally summoned prior to sleep reappeared the next day, as if to say “Hi. I’m here.”
Contemplating beautiful scenes with or without the dream work might help our spirits reveal themselves as well.
Understand that I do not rule out that this is an act of imagination that creates a way to relate with the spiritual/connective potential within me. It may be a matter of projection and reclaiming the projected spiritual potential. But whether it is an actual spirit assigned to me in such a way that I can call it my spirit, or it is the mere essence of my spiritual potential, either way, it works!
I must investigate other ways to get to know my spirit. Otherwise, I won’t have anything particularly useful to write about.
Your question was a really good one.
You mention prayer. If God individualizes His nature to work with the uniqueness of an individual, would not God Himself be at that moment akin to that person’s individual spirit? So, prayer, even if to Spirit/God seems to be a way to get to know “ one’s spirit.”
 
It is here, in this 'divine darkness' that we arise and in it we have our lives and our being, and the full, spiritual expression of that is in the simple and the everyday acts of warmth and generosity towards oneself and others, and the life of prayer which is the communion with that darkness.
I love the way you said this. It rings so true to me. Whether it is a deep part of mind or something beyond mind, something in us seems able to explore this “divine darkness” from which splotches of indigo light emerge (referring to my meditation experience). We CAN explore. And I love it. And I would feel good/purposeful if I was able to encourage others to love to explore it also.
Thank you for the inspirational way you put it to words.
 
I have decried the failure of mystagogy as a living practice within my own church, but then I have not seen much of an appetite for it.
Meaning that you also have an appetite (as I) for exploring mystical experiences and/or explorations other than standard prayer and loving others? Is that what “mystagogy” means. I haven’t seen that word before.
 
I think previously I have argued a kind of mind-being dichotomy – my being v your mind – and that was my mistake. I tend to regard them now as synonyms.
Maybe you and I are meeting somewhere midway between some of our previous arguments? I recently acknowledged that I believe that God and the God/Spirit realm is of a different dimension, but then proposed an individual spirit and a soul as portals allowing continuity between the other side and this side (because the whole accessibility and spiritual empowerment thing is still something I feel that I should promote, encourage). I realized as I was typing out those thoughts (about a spiritual dimension) that I seemed to be sounding more like Thomas!
We both seem to like Tillich’s “Ground of Being,” as a way to think about God.
Maybe you and I are more interested in the fountain flowing than in arguing about where spirit ends and physical being begins?
 
The main way I am doing it is creating a mindset of looking forward to my “night school” sessions as I sleep/dream. I take advantage of a naturally “thin veil” situation. It seems to be a specific form of lucid dreaming in which I try to encounter a character or characters representing my spirit in each dream.
Have you looked into the Imaginal Realm in the spiritual literature ... Cynthia Bourgeault? The Mundus Imaginalis by Henry Corbin?

You mention prayer. If God individualizes His nature to work with the uniqueness of an individual, would not God Himself be at that moment akin to that person’s individual spirit?
I would say God is, inevitably, the mystery of mysteries. I would caution the idea of God 'individualising His nature' because that leads many to assume they are, in some way, God, and also that there are qualitative and quantitative distinctions in the divine – an introduction of category – when the Divine Nature is One, Simple, and so on ...

... however, when one says "I", two things happen. One is that "I" stands in relation to others. I think, as developing people, we are conscious of others before we are conscious of ourselves. But in reality there is only one subsistent "I", and that is God, and that, mysteriously, God allows His creature to participate in that sense of "I".

The Fall, then, is when that "I" sought its independence and equality with that prior, singular and eternal "I" from which it rose, and in so doing sundered that primordiality, that recognition, that contiguity, between "I" and "Thou".

So, prayer, even if to Spirit/God seems to be a way to get to know “one’s spirit.”
Inasmuch as one's spirit exists as an interface, a veil, which is translucent, and reveals as much as conceals.

But all this is, on my part, somewhat speculative.
 
And as for my favourite theologian-of-the-moment, David Bentley Hart, one admirer noted:

"We walk in several worlds at once. Waking consciousness itself is a poetic construction of mind ... "

"We shouldn’t think of this in the modern 'multiverse' sense of parallel universes, but dimensions. Imagination is truth-bearing: not escapism, but a faculty for perceiving overlapping realities."
 
Have you looked into the Imaginal Realm in the spiritual literature ... Cynthia Bourgeault? The Mundus Imaginalis by Henry Corbin?


I would say God is, inevitably, the mystery of mysteries. I would caution the idea of God 'individualising His nature' because that leads many to assume they are, in some way, God, and also that there are qualitative and quantitative distinctions in the divine – an introduction of category – when the Divine Nature is One, Simple, and so on ...

... however, when one says "I", two things happen. One is that "I" stands in relation to others. I think, as developing people, we are conscious of others before we are conscious of ourselves. But in reality there is only one subsistent "I", and that is God, and that, mysteriously, God allows His creature to participate in that sense of "I".

The Fall, then, is when that "I" sought its independence and equality with that prior, singular and eternal "I" from which it rose, and in so doing sundered that primordiality, that recognition, that contiguity, between "I" and "Thou".


Inasmuch as one's spirit exists as an interface, a veil, which is translucent, and reveals as much as conceals.

But all this is, on my part, somewhat speculative.
Individual spirit as God’s Individualized Education (or Treatment) Plan is an interesting and somewhat promising (potentially useful) way to look at it.
Got to thinking (actually, hardly ever stop!), God can do being, while humans can only do actions. We can throw a baseball. God can manifest a being. If God manifests a spirit on the other (His) side to be an individualized education plan for the being he manifested on this side ( ours), it is all in a day’s work, whereas we are doing good to throw a baseball 100 feet. When we dream or write a novel though, the characters come close to having being, but not quite real. Artificial beings with some of the characteristics of the beings that God “throws” into existence on this and the other side.
 
Individual spirit as God’s Individualized Education (or Treatment) Plan is an interesting and somewhat promising (potentially useful) way to look at it.
Got to thinking (actually, hardly ever stop!), God can do being, while humans can only do actions. We can throw a baseball. God can manifest a being. If God manifests a spirit on the other (His) side to be an individualized education plan for the being he manifested on this side ( ours), it is all in a day’s work, whereas we are doing good to throw a baseball 100 feet. When we dream or write a novel though, the characters come close to having being, but not quite real. Artificial beings with some of the characteristics of the beings that God “throws” into existence on this and the other side.
We CAN do beingness, which is what I mean by “being” , in terms of my being, relating and doing skills discussion. But we can’t do being as in creating them. We can nurture being but not create beings
 
We CAN do beingness, which is what I mean by “being” , in terms of my being, relating and doing skills discussion. But we can’t do being as in creating them. We can nurture being but not create beings
My wife and myself created a son and a daughter. They have done so in their turn.
 
Wrong .. a judge will take previously good character into consideration for minor sins.
It does not cancel the sin, no matter how big or small the sin is.
G-d forgives whomsoever He wills, and punishes whomsoever He wills.
This is not righteousness. Every soul should be judge by a certain standard, for ex. the Law.
We are ALL sinners
Yes, so we are all guilty, we will be judge accordingly and receive our punishment.... God is Holy and do not accept sin/sinners, that is why Lucifer was kicked out of His Holy place. How can a sinner become holy?

Jesus made me holy through His blood, He paid for my sin. Since He is God He was sinless and sacrificed Himself for us on the cross. This is how I can know that I am Saved, that I am forgiven and know that He loves me. I do not know of any other religion/faith where God loves people that much, that He will sacrifice Himself. All the glory goes to Jesus for Salvation and not my deeds. For I am a sinner.

🙏
 
It does not cancel the sin, no matter how big or small the sin is.

This is not righteousness. Every soul should be judge by a certain standard, for ex. the Law.

Yes, so we are all guilty, we will be judge accordingly and receive our punishment.... God is Holy and do not accept sin/sinners, that is why Lucifer was kicked out of His Holy place. How can a sinner become holy?
That is so in Hinduism also. For a small good deed, perhaps half-a-day in heaven. For a small evil deed, perhaps half-a-day in hell.
One gets what the deed deserves. Total proportionality.
Even Gods cannot interfere.The Lord of Death, Yama has his rules. No partiality, even when it concerns souls who were not Hindus.
Well, Hindu Gods have no problems with sinners. They are allowed further births to improve after they have served their time in hell. Gods cannot do much about that. But sinners get a total of 8.4 million life-times (Lakh Chaurasi). Gods are kind. :)

So too in Sikhism:
"Chaurasi Lakh refers to the concept in Sikhism of 8.4 million life forms or lifetimes that a soul can experience through the cycle of reincarnation. It emphasizes the importance of human life as a rare opportunity to achieve spiritual liberation and connect with God."
SikhiWiki sikhchic.com
 
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God is Holy and do not accept sin/sinners, that is why Lucifer was kicked out of His Holy place. How can a sinner become holy?

Jesus made me holy through His blood, He paid for my sin..
That is contradictory.
You imply that Lucifer was "kicked out", but you are not, merely because Jesus "paid for you".
Makes no sense .. we are all responsible for our own sins (crimes), regardless of belief.
 
LOL, I have no idea what you're on about, now ...
This may help. Wrote a couple of days later after concept clearer in my mind (not necessarily in anyone else’s though!):

Getting Back in the Game

If we decide that we do, in fact, have a spirit, the next step is getting to know it. Knowing it means more than just recognizing it. It means we learn how to work with it and allow it to work with us, like how a person on a sports team knows the moves and the timing of his/her teammates so he/she can pass the ball effectively to them.

Two nights ago, I had a dream that helped me be particularly spiritual throughout the next day. Which came in handy, since the next day was Sunday, a good day to be spiritual (even though ANY day is a good day for that).

In the dream, I was busy trying to do some writing as a psychologist/healer when I became aware that my earthly father (deceased) had entered the area (a psychology office space within a prison). Enough time had passed since his attempted visit, that I became concerned that he might have concluded that I wasn’t there, and that he might have left.

I finally stopped what I was preoccupied with and found, much to my relief, that he was waiting for me. I hugged dad. I was so happy to be with him again. He was younger than when he died, by about 40 years, in his early 50s maybe. We then proceeded to sit down and chat. As he was seating, I woke up from the dream.

Here's my take on the dream:

Earthly father has been used by my dreaming mind as a symbol of my Heavenly Father before, and I think I repeated that symbolism in this dream. When dad was about to be seated, it was my spirit reentering my body. In the dream, I knew my Connected Self was nearby (Apparently, I was viewing the drama from the perspective of my Concrete Self.), but I wasn’t allowing myself to be available.

The night school lesson taught me that there is an advantage to the Concrete Self being receptive to the Connected Self. Otherwise, my Confused Self might have made an appearance and cause me to be frightened of the “Stranger’s” intrusion. My awareness of my Connected Self allowed me to be lovingly longing for it, instead of being afraid of it. But I still needed to intend to be with my Connected Self.

But why would my spirit appear as my earthly father symbolizing my Heavenly father instead of being a character reflecting my own spirit? Why the conflation of the universal with the particular? God is not the same as my individual spirit, is he/it? If so, how can that possibly be?

I have a good theory about that. I had come up with the theory a day or two before this dream.

God’s individualized education (and/or treatment) plan takes the form of a being on the spiritual side. That plan/being is my Connected Self, my spirit. Without my individual spirit, God could not tailor his message to my way of being. His energy and his message would not fit my gift. In this way, my “Heavenly Father” and my individual spirit are one and the same. It also fits the notion that we are “God pieces.”

A regular teacher would use books or chalkboards or laptops as the mode of teaching. A regular therapist would use talk therapy or imaginative techniques or behavior modification techniques. But God can use a spiritual being, my Connected Self. If I’m a good student or client, I begin to identify more with my spirit than I do with my physical form. Although I think the education and/or healing process would be undertaken regardless of whether I was doing well or not.

It seems that the spiritual realm (at least the part of it related to the Good Spirit, God) gives priority to learning, growing and healing. That would explain why my dreams tend to recycle symbols related to education, clinical psychology, and prison. “Prison?” you ask. The prison of our spiritual ignorance that leaves us trapped in our small minds and mere bodies. The education, therapy and liberation interventions are all part of the overall mission to bring a disconnected world back into connection with Ultimate Reality and Ultimate Being.

The following day, after my dream, I was peaceful and more spiritual than usual. I had my act together. But I also had my ears perked up for ways that the Divine spoke to me throughout the day. For instance, I deeply appreciated the Sunday School class that Becky and I attended. I did better at both listening and responding. I was more “on point” than usual.

The book we were reviewing emphasized Jesus’ way of relating to God as a loving father. I read the assigned chapter the night before, prior to my dream. It’s no wonder then, that I dreamed about my father/Father and our loving embrace. The writing shaped my dream, and my dream made me much more receptive to the God-inspired writing that our group discussed the next day. Each “begat” the other!
 
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