what.is.truth
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How do you experiencing being spiritual?
Do you spend much time focusing on your spiritual life?
Do you spend much time focusing on your spiritual life?
Being spiritual is a lot of work.
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Longfellow
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Studying and practicing together with other people, with continual conscious efforts, to improve our own attitudes, behavior, character, conduct, and qualities and capacities for service to others and to society, under the influence of what in Abrahamic scriptures is called the spirit of God. Everything in my life, whenever I’m acting in accordance with that.
No.
I spend much more time playing video games, watching YouTube videos, and arguing with people in an online forum instead of what I think would be more beneficial.
from the Paradise of the Desert Fathers:
How To Become A Disciple:
It was said of abba John the Dwarf that one day he said to his elder brother, "I should like to be free of all care, like the angels who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God." So he took leave of his brother and went away into the desert. After a week he came back. When he knocked on the door he heard his brother say, "Who are you?" He said, "I am John, your brother." But he replied, "John has become an angel and henceforth he is no longer among men." Then John besought him, saying, "It is I."
His brother did not let him in but left him there in distress until morning.
Then, opening the door, he said to him, "You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat." Then John made a prostration before him, saying, "Forgive me."
Abba John said, "A monk is toil. The monk toils in all he does. That is what a monk is."
How To Become A Disciple:
It was said of abba John the Dwarf that one day he said to his elder brother, "I should like to be free of all care, like the angels who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God." So he took leave of his brother and went away into the desert. After a week he came back. When he knocked on the door he heard his brother say, "Who are you?" He said, "I am John, your brother." But he replied, "John has become an angel and henceforth he is no longer among men." Then John besought him, saying, "It is I."
His brother did not let him in but left him there in distress until morning.
Then, opening the door, he said to him, "You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat." Then John made a prostration before him, saying, "Forgive me."
Abba John said, "A monk is toil. The monk toils in all he does. That is what a monk is."
RJM
God Feeds the Ravens
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Well, can you expand on that? Do you have some thoughts and ideas?
How do I not... Except maybe when suffering through political advertising on tv.
Depends on what you mean by focusing.
what.is.truth
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having a personal focus on finding meaning, purpose, and a deep connection to something larger than yourself, example God, or other deities. How to find it within.
what.is.truth
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Focusing as in inward insight
wil
UNeyeR1
Why focus? Just live.
what.is.truth
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wil
UNeyeR1
If that is focusing on spirituality... I am down with that.
I remember it simply as a feeling, like of wonder at the world as if seen with new eyes. Open to everything, calm, peacefu.
Then I had a family and started a business, and the mundane stresses of life eroded it away! It is hard to feel the same way now. I think perhaps I just need to make more effort to consciously focus on that.
JustGeorge
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This is a hard question for me, because I am spiritual most of the time, I think.
It looks no different to anyone else, but I am in prayer a lot. The sun is alive, and has names. He is my friend, and I talk to him. There are spirits in the trees, in the flowers; I am experiencing these. I sense the powers of love(and they have names, too) in the couple walking down the road...
The Gods are not far, and something I must reach for. They're already here.
Yes. All day, and night, too.
Bloodshot
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Lovely, I can't say it better than this.
Simply being present and open and grateful.
Tony Bristow-Stagg
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The best experiences are always when we practice faith by service to family, friends and community, when deeds are our adorning.
These forums tend to make our words exceed our deeds, which is not a good thing.
Regards Tony
I can't argue with that, but I would add one other to your list. Environment. The natural environment is sacred to me and I have done environmental work with like minded people. It was deeply satisfying plus something else besides.
Tony Bristow-Stagg
Well-Known Member
My position would be that service would require us to be all mindful of and active in the care of our environment. We should all be producing food in some quantity. Our own garden, albeit small, is always a priority part of our commitment to family and community.
For the first time in a very long time, we now live in a climate where a garden produces and keeps on display many wonderful flowers. The world is so beautiful.
Maybe we can have an OP showing our own parts of the environment and what but we do in looking after it.
It is spring in Australia, and the blooms are emerging.
Regards Tony