Dalai Lama Quotes, Quotations, Sayings, Words, Wisdom

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”

“I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…”

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”

“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.”

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.”

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

“If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.”

“If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.”

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

“As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery… we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness.”

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.”

“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.”

“It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.”

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness … the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”

“It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.”

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

“Be kind whenever possible.It is always possible.”

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.”

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

“Sleep is the best meditation.”

“Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.”

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”

“The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.”

“There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.”

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

“Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.”

“We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.”

“Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.”

“With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”

Thank you to the Dalai Lama Renaissance documentary film for these wonderful quotes!

The Greatest Resource to the Supernatural

By V.K. Bronz

When it comes to the supernatural I have had some pretty freaky experiences. The main thing I have found in my 35 years of expel demons/ghosts is what is needed. I have heard some really strange and yes stupid things people say is needed. I am not stepping on cultural beliefs here because most have there basis in God the creator. I am referring to things modern day followers of the paranormal have made up. In the last fifteen: ever since Ghost Hunters came on the scene, there has been a desperate push to separate the supernatural from religion, you can’t, they are one and the same. The bottom line is what happens to you when you die? This push to separate has its basis in our refusal to except it is God that rules, not us.

Matter of fact this refusal to submit has always been here, when the prophet in biblical days told the leper to go wash in the river he became very indignant and asked “why should he wash in that river; the river in his country was better.” Obstinacy and arrogance seem to go hand in hand; the man was not willing to listen to what the lord told him through the prophet, even though he was the one that had sought out the prophet of God for his healing.  So it appears to me God was looking for the man to humble himself and listen to God.

Have you ever heard the story of the daughters of Zelophehad? It is one of my favorite stories. It’s on the surface a story about a families’ inheritance but you know how writers are they tell a surface story with a deep underlying truth.

There were five daughters born to Zelophehad; at the time, the law was, women could not inherit or own land. (Same as it use to be in the United States).  When it came time to divvy up the land amongst the MEN the daughters of Zelophehad stood up in front of the entire congregation (millions of people) and in front of all the Royal Leaders of the land and said: “Our father died in the wilderness, he was not in the company of them that gathered against the Lord in the company of Korah but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away with because he had no sons? Give unto us a possession among our brethren.”

Oh my word, millions of men must have fainted. They were saying their father was a righteous honorable man that didn’t have sons and had not turned his back on God; These five women had the courage to stand up in front of the most powerful leader in the land and tell them it wasn’t right to refuse them an inheritance because they were women. What they were actually saying was “what your father told you is wrong; what your grandfather told you is wrong; what you have been told all your lives is wrong.”
 
That isn’t even the best part, although it took an incredible amount of fearlessness to stand up in that male dominated land, considering this was in the Middle East, No the very best part is what the leader of all of them, Moses, said back to them. He didn’t say “this is the way we have done it for centuries,” he didn’t say “shut up and sit down how dare you come against what has been told to us and how we have done things;” No, this wonderful humble man of integrity and honor said; “let me inquire of the Lord” and he honestly did. He was interested in the truth as much or more then the daughters of Zelophehad were.  Guess what God said?  “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right!”

We all know what people are like; we want recognition, our 15 minutes of fame. We want people to look too us, it makes us feel important. Like silly fools we just take peoples' word for things with out really finding out, we see someone do something and we just run with it never even questioning it; how stupid is that. We let these people influence us and tell us what and how to do something without even researching it. What’s even worse is the incredible damage we can do to other peoples’ lives. We don’t see the harm we are doing because we are to busy being the important person

All we need do to find out what is in our heart is ask our self; could I be wrong? In asking ourselves this question we then “feel” the reaction or resistance and pride in our gut; that is what answers our question. Moses asked that question and got the shock of his life when God said the daughters speak right!

Whether it is a person or a house (they are both vessels) that is possessed what you need is the same, the name of Jesus; you wouldn’t sprinkle salt over a human being would you? Sounds pretty stupid doesn’t it then why would you do that in a house?

My sister and I took a woman to a friends’ house for prayer. This woman was so totally possessed she quoted the book of Romans word for word as we were dragging her kicking and screaming into the house. (She was diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic) We sat her in a chair in the basement and began to pray; using the name of Jesus. We prayed for hours, and in the middle of the prayers she/Satan, just like in the movies, spoke in this raspy hideous voice to me, and said “do you remember when so and so happened to you?” “I did that to you,” and he began to laugh. He had repeated something that had happened to me many years before that no one knew.

We stopped praying and went home with no outward change in the woman. Weeks went by and I was in a church singing and out of the blue there she was. Before the prayers we couldn't get her in a church and here she was standing in the front row, how she got there and why is beyond me. (Probably so I could see a change had taken place).

A few more weeks went by and the Lord spoke to me and said she was going to die and come to be with him. To prove it to me she would be leaving me money. Now this woman wandered the streets homeless so I thought I was just hearing things and dismissed it.

True to his word two weeks later this woman died. Her social worker called and said she had not spent her check and she was sure she would have wanted my sister and I to have it! This woman was set free enough in her spirit by our prayers that day to accept Christ as her savior before her death.
 
So I ask again, do we really want the truth? There is no greater resource to the supernatural than the one who created it. We don’t need to be a holy roller running down the aisle of a church all we need to do is ask and mean it. If you don’t believe in God than what could it hurt if you ask: is he real? but ask really wanting to know the truth. Ask every day until he shows you the truth. He did say he would prove himself to us.

These supernatural experiences we seek can be in our own life. When I gave my life to the Lord, all of a sudden I could see demons and angels; scared the living daylights out of me; God has created some pretty freaky spiritual creatures. I then began having dreams and visions about people or things that were going to happen.

I am not saying every person that comes to the Lord will have the same thing happen but what I am saying is: we should not be as others so seeped in other people’s ways that we can’t even entertain the idea we may be wrong. Do we really want the truth or just gimmicks that make us look good. Just honestly ask “God are you real”…

What is a Demon?

Question: Dear Father Fortea, can you explain what exactly is a demon? Do they have bodies? Where did they come from?

Answer: A demon is a spiritual being of an angelic nature that has been condemned for eternity due to his rebellion against God. As pure spirits, demons are not made up of matter. Because they do not have bodies, demons are not inclined to any “sins of the flesh” (i.e., it is impossible for them to commit the sins of lust or gluttony). The sins of demons are exclusively spiritual. But they can tempt human beings to sin in matters of the flesh.

Demons were not created evil. (In fact, it is impossible for God, who is Goodness itself, to create anything evil.) Remember: demons are just “bad angels.” After God created the angels, He tested their fidelity to Him before admitting them to the Beatific Vision, the sight of His very essence. For purely spiritual beings, this “seeing” of God’s essence would be a purely intellectual vision. Some angels obeyed the divine test; others did not. Those who disobeyed were irreversibly transformed into demons and cast out of heaven.

It may seem surprising that some angels would choose to hate God. But we need to understand that those who rebelled saw God no longer as a good—as the Good—but as the oppressor of their freedom. Hate was born as their wills resisted the call of God and held fast to the decision to leave the Father’s house.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Rv 12:7-9).

How can purely spiritual beings fight among themselves? What weapons do they use? Angels are spirits, so their battles must be purely intellectual. The only weapons that they can use are intellectual arguments. The angels gave reasons to the rebels for why they should return to obedience to God. The rebel angels countered with their reasons to support their position and spread their rebellion among the faithful angels. In this epic angelic battle, some who were inclined to rebel returned to obedience, while some of the faithful angels were seduced by the evil arguments of the rebels.

In art, demons are depicted as deformed and grotesque beings. This would seem appropriate given that demons have definitively decided on a destiny far from God. The interior loneliness in which they find themselves forever and their envy of the faithful who enjoy the Beatific Vision continually bring them face-to-face with their sins. They hate God, themselves, and all those who seek to serve God.

But not all suffer the same pains. Some angels were deformed more than others in the battle. Those who were more deformed suffer more; the least deformed suffer less. The intellects of the rebellious angels were deformed and darkened by the very reasons they used to justify the rebellion of their wills against God.

Their plight is similar to the moral debasement that humans can suffer through sin. We need to remember that we are composite creatures made up of soul and body. Aside from the sins that are proper to the body, the internal psychological process that leads a good person to end up in the Mafia or as a guard in a concentration camp or a terrorist is essentially the same as the sequence of acts of intellect and will that led to the fall of the bad angels.

Though we are body-soul composites, we as humans have only to look into our own interior life to understand how we can fall into sin. In this light, the sin of the angels becomes more easily understood.

To learn more about spiritual warfare and demonology, Catholic Spiritual Direction recommends Fr. Fortea’s excellent book, Interview With An Exorcist – An Insider’s Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance.

This article is provided by the website: Catholic Spiritual Direction. Here is a link to the original article

Forgiveness

By Stephen Piersall 

Deliverance Personal Ministry, Central NY                                                                     

Years ago my oldest son got involved with drugs/alcohol and a life of crime. I hated what he was doing but my love for him never wavered. The same can be said about God who loves us deeply, but hates the sin we do in our daily lives. Forgiveness and reconciliation is the most important part of the gospel and without forgiveness of our sins, we will face greater consequences from God. When we die, we ALL go before Him and have our life reviewed before our eyes. If you have already accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, you will enter Heaven and for those who have rejected God they will be sent to Hell a place where there is no relief from the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).

Now when a person sins against us, Satan loves it when we place a wall up against that person. Our way of loving that person as Christ loved us is through forgiveness. Jesus died to tear down the roadblocks caused by our sin between God, and us and we are required to do the same to those who wrong us (Matthew 6:15)”But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions”. There may be times when we need to try to restore a broken relationship with another person. Jesus told us to love one another as Christ has loved us, and sometimes this may involve going to the person and telling them that you regret what you have done. (Matthew 5:23-24) ”Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering”.

It is a lot easier to forgive somebody when they come to us and confess their wicked deed. When you go to somebody and ask him or her for their forgiveness, what you are doing is also helping them to break down the roadblock that Satan may have put in their way of loving you as Christ loved them. I am not saying that we must go back to everybody we have wronged and apologize for everything we have ever done wrong. What I am saying is that there may be times when you may have damaged a relationship with somebody, and it is important to restore it but you just cannot remember every single instance in your past life. Pray and listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance, you may have wronged someone ten years ago you dated and now that person is happily married and has children and you trying to contact them could do more damage than good to that person.

 (1 John 1:9-10) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”. In order for us to receive forgiveness, first we must recognize that we have sinned, confess our sins, and then put our faith in Jesus after all He died on the cross so that we might be forgiven. (Matthew 26:28). Repentance includes turning from our sins, and not continuing to do them and know Satan knows this weakness and may and will tempt you. If you seem to struggle with compulsive sinful habits, you may need to be free from a demonic influence. It may be necessary to renounce your sins aloud, and command them to leave.

I know for myself that forgiving “ME” is the hardest thing to do. It is often harder to forgive ourselves then to forgive others. However, what we must focus on is when God has forgiven us; we are CLEAN. (Psalms 103:12) “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us“. Sometimes we blame ourselves for not being good enough, and we must accept the fact that our sins have been forgiven. (1 John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. The Devil is notorious for putting guilt on people, and is the accuser of the brethren. (Revelation 12:10) “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night”. Guilt can serve two purposes, it can show us the problem so that we might repent and receive forgiveness, or it can rub our mistake in our faces and make us feel hopeless. How can you tell the difference between condemnation (bad for us) and conviction (good for us)?

Start asking yourself, "Why am I feeling guilty? What is the purpose of this guilt?" You are feeling guilty because you have probably done something wrong, but there is a reason why you are feeling guilty. There is a source of your guilt; it could be God or it could be the Devil. God uses guilt to convict us (conviction) of our sins so that we make changes and make things better (receive forgiveness), while Satan uses guilt to burden us to feel hopeless about what we have done. When God convicts us, it is so that we might recognize the problem, and work on fixing it. Therefore, ask yourself "Is this guilt trying to bring me to repentance, or is it trying to tell me what a failure I am?" God does not tell us what a failure we are, His desire is reasonably that we may be reconciled with Him and receive forgiveness from our sins. If you have sins that you have not repented from, then by all means, repent and turn from your wicked ways. Do not try to blame your guilt on Satan or someone else if you know you are guilty and you have not repented of your sins.

If your sins are forgiven (1 John 1:9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Then Satan is burdening you down with guilt, you may have to renounce the spirit of guilt, and command it to leave. In addition, resist the Devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7) “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you“. It is God's aspiration for us to believe in His Son Jesus for the dwindling of our sins, and to have a clear sense of right and wrong that has been cut off from our past guilt (Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:2, Hebrews 10:22). He wants to forgive us of our sins for HIS sake (1 John 2:12) and He even chooses not to remember our sins (Isaiah 43:25). What a loving God we have to show us the way to walk the straight and narrow.

The Problems With Believing That Energy Is Ultimate

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

“Come this way, please.” The life coach and wellness expert pleasantly coaxed his client into his office. “Our goal today is to teach you how to raise your vibrational levels…this will relieve stress, enhance overall health, build confidence, and make you more successful in every area of your life. Just think, you will be tapping into the same cosmic energy that surges through our galaxy —synchronicity! I can guarantee you that your public speaking as well as your love life will take a quantum leap forward!” Sounds enticing, does it not? And no holy God that we have to be accountable to…yeeaay!

Energy…our country has become fixated with it. The scene above, with ten-thousand variations, is played out in similar fashion everyday across our country. We saw last time that the notion of ghosts did not just pop out of thin air; it is no coincidence that the birth of the New Age (around 1990) occurred at generally the same time that the notion of ghosts started taking off in popularity—moving from a few fringe groups to where CBS says that now one-half of Americans believe in trapped spirits. I personally do not know of another significant belief that has grown this quickly in such a short period of time. The point is that the belief in ghosts is under the extensive umbrella of what we call New Age…or occult/pagan. First is the worldview shift—energy displaces God as ultimate reality—then aberrant beliefs (such as trapped spirits) start mushrooming across the landscape of our culture. Very few in the supernatural community seem to be aware of the causal connection between the two. And frankly, many don’t want to know because they simply have too much personally vested in the notion of ghosts.

The energy worldview is monism or one-ism. We saw last time that Energy has displaced the infinite/personal God of the bible as our concept of ultimate reality. Dr. Peter Jones has suggested that we think in terms of One-ism and Two-ism to describe the two fundamentally opposed worldviews. There is such a bewildering array of different beliefs and techniques that express this shift, that it is helpful to have some way of organizing all the data. (Peter was desk-mates for several years with John Lennon in Liverpool). John went on to be one of the most influential one-ist proponents ever, and his pal Peter one its biggest opponents.

One-ism is the belief that all reality is one…in this case, there is a divine energy that undulates throughout all the cosmos—making everything an expression of Energy—and by raising our energy vibrations to match that of the world around us, we begin to fire on all cylinders. You should note that, at the very heart of one-ism, is the obliteration of the distinction between Creator and creature. Energy is ultimate reality, but since everything is infused with this energy, then everything is one—all we have to do is have a spiritual chiropractic adjustment in order to maximally experience this divine energy. Sin and salvation take on an entirely different meaning in this worldview. Instead of us being saved from the clear and present danger of God’s holy wrath due to our trespasses against Him, instead our basic need is to be released from our ignorance regarding our divine nature and this is achieved via enlightened teaching or direct experience.

Two-ism is shorthand for designating the biblical worldview…there are two kind of reality: primary (the Creator) and derived (the creation). The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is primary or ultimate reality, and He is distinct from His creation, which derives its very existence from Him. He created it out of nothing (ex nihilo…Gen.1:1), and He continues to sustain and uphold its existence (Col.1:16). The two-ist or biblical worldview upholds the Creator/creature distinction…two utterly distinct kinds of reality. (Do you see why a depth awareness of God’s holiness is so crucial?).

The one-ist worldview, (New Age or pagan/occult Energy) overhaul of our culture is so comprehensive and diverse, that it is easy to miss the forest for all the trees…the forest being a one-ist worldview, and the trees being the innumerable beliefs, methods, and techniques that are expressive of a one-ist paradigm. Whether it be Reiki, incarnation, astral travel, quantum jumping, acupuncture, the chakras in yoga, and so on—all are one-ist trees—that comprise the one-ist forest or mindset/worldview. That is what drew me to Dr. Jones simplified means of making sense of all this mind-boggling variety…it explains so much: Energy as ultimate reality is the one-ist worldview which is in vogue today. But as I mentioned last time, it is not without its problems..

In classical philosophy there is epistemology (theory of knowledge), metaphysics, ethics, logic, and aesthetics. Few of us are philosophers in the technical sense of that being our academic specialty. However, we are all philosophers in the sense that we all have a worldview (albeit usually unconscious) through which we interpret the world. In this series, I wish to show the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical necessity of the infinite/personal God really being there and having spoken to us. Often, Christian leaders despise philosophy and discourage any interaction with it. This is sad because the questions philosophers have asked for millennia, can only be answered satisfactorily by biblical Christianity—philosophy and biblical theology fit like hand in glove—and for this, I bow before the Lord in worship. It isn’t just that biblical Christianity has the best answers; it has the ONLY satisfactory answer.

Today there is not so much a generation gap, as there is an epistemological gap…we view truth differently... Epistemology is that branch of philosophy that deals with how we acquire knowledge, whether it is of the natural or the supernatural. This where we must start, especially when it comes to this notion of Energy as ultimate reality.  I would gently insist that without the God of the bible, and the bible of God, we have no sufficient basis for knowing anything. I have a friend (call her Laura) who is well known in paranormal (whoops…I said it!) circles, she has written a book and has been investigating the supernatural for over 35 years…specializing in what she refers to as hostile haunts. Laura was deeply angered at me after reading my book and told me so. Thought I was too narrow…siiigh. She explicitly states that she does not believe in religious absolutes, and incredibly, after many hundreds of investigations of active houses, she says that she has never run into a demon! Never…

I mention this as an illustration of the paramount importance of epistemology. The starting point for her in analyzing the supernatural is, well, herself…not any beliefs external to her. The fact that she is convinced she has never once happened upon a demon is terrifying to me, and it surely shows that 35 years of operating on a false presupposition, will only lead one ever deeper into darkness and folly (Rom.1:18ff). Consider this verse I happened upon in my quiet time yesterday, “And the angel…who swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay.” (Rev.10:6 emph. added) The Greek word for heavens (ouranos) can mean the sky, the place where God dwells, and the supernatural realm. Regardless, John is emphatic and explicit in noting that it is the Lord who created the different realms and (this is key) what is in them. Since God is the Creator of the inhabitants of the supernatural realm, we must see reality through His eyes if we are to identify His creation accurately. His word is the necessary epistemological foundation for gaining true and accurate knowledge of the supernatural realm and its inhabitants… as they really are. On the contrary, the more experience and time one has spent analyzing the supernatural without reference to He who created it, will only lead to an intensification of ignorance and foolish conjecture.

The one-ist worldview states: In the beginning, there has always been impersonal energy, and this impersonal energy + time + chance = the current complexity of the heavens and the earth. That has many ramifications, but the epistemological are most fundamental. How do we acquire knowledge of the world?  Now, please consider this: suppose you are doing your thing (which is not God’s thing) and investigating the supernatural. You are observing with your five senses, while also using instruments…the observer and the thing being observed. If ultimate reality is impersonal energy, then you as observer are the result of: impersonal beginning billions of years ago + time + chance. Specifically, your eyes and your brain are the result of an impersonal beginning, plus time, plus chance (that is how evolution rolls). I gently insist that you do not import any notion of intentionality or design because that is being inconsistent (You can’t have your autonomous cake and eat it too).

In this scheme, you have no intellectual basis for claiming that what is coming to you is data. Call it blah, blah, but you have no epistemological basis for saying that you are receiving data. Why do I say that? How can you trust your brain which is a bunch of chemicals and billions of firing synapses? How can this process kick up a brain which conveniently has categories which corresponds with external reality? Your eyes…again, nothing but energy in motion, configured by chance. How do you know that what you perceive as a red apple is really red in color, and is really shaped as you perceive it? It was Immanuel Kant who dropped this bombshell on the philosophical playground about 200 years ago. To make matters more complex, in this scheme (impersonal energy is ultimate reality) how can you trust the information transfer from eyes to brain? How can we be sure that we are acquiring accurate knowledge regarding anything? What is the basis for believing in the basic reliability of our senses?

I have briefly sketched the epistemological problem of the one-ist worldview of Energy, which is the root of this explosive rise of interest in spirit beings/ghosts. I want to close with showing how biblical Christianity alone supplies the answer to the epistemological problem. God is infinite and personal, and we are finite and personal. When it comes to His infinity, God is utterly dissimilar to us…and all of creation (this is the essence of two-ist thinking), but when it comes to God being personal, then we are similar to God—we are made in His image. The same God who formed the external world for our enjoyment, also created our five senses to operate or function in this environment: do you see how massive this is epistemologically? A personal God of reason made our reason; a God who hears prayer made our ears to hear; the Creator who sees all and knows all created both our eyes and our minds—with categories which correspond to what is out there. We have a sufficient basis for knowing that what appears to be a red apple is precisely that. We have a sufficient basis for trusting in the basic reliability of our five senses. When it comes to the problems of this worldview now in vogue (energy is ultimate reality), we see that only the God of the bible, and the bible of God, provide the only solution.

The Fine Line Between Knowing The Paranormal and Consulting It

By Lisa Grace

We are called to know about otherworldly beings especially those consigned to our world, to watch out for them, and not fall prey. Yet, we are not to consult or “play” with them.

Again if you have the proper view of supernatural creatures, remembering they are more like a grizzly bear and not like us, you will have an easier time.

We can learn to observe and recognize them, but just like you would not engage a grizzly, neither should you engage supernatural creatures.

Angels that are sent to do God’s will, do just that. They help, act as messengers, or protectors, and then they leave. Chances are, you will only recognize they were sent from God after the occurrence or maybe during, but then they are gone. They do not hang around and act at our will.

Those creatures who are willing to hang around, only do so out of malevolence towards us. Their goal is our destruction. They see their consignment to this world as our (humans) fault.

If you are not saved or are on the fence, they may appear friendly, because they know your destruction is assured. If you are communicating with any purpose other than getting them to leave the place, person or object they’ve attached to, they know you are on the wrong path. They will do actions to appease you, so they can be left to their devices.

When confronted with someone who realizes what they are up to they usually react in one of two ways: Silence (hiding) or outright attack, they know we are at war, even if we (humans) don’t.

God can and will let paranormal beings attach to even believers. This is why allowed Satan to attach and afflict Job. (Job 1:6 - 1:12)

And Paul in the book of 2 Corinthians verse: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Unbelievers in Holy Scripture interpretation and unbelievers, cannot drive out these creatures permanently. Neither can most believers. (Acts 19:13 - Acts 19:17)

We need to be able to recognize paranormal workings, know our Holy Scriptures, and understand God’s will. While observing is inevitable (once your eyes are opened) you should be armed spiritually, and even then do not engage the paranormal equivalency of grizzly bears.

Issue 89 – Christianity, Buddhism & "I Am Six" News

By Kirby Robinson

We've never been as busy at the Eye as we have been over the past few weeks. Soon you'll be able to read the results of some shocking things we uncovered—and we don't get shocked easily.

A while back I took part in what was to be a fair and balanced interview but turned out to be an ambush interview on a radio show that I won't name. The group of "ladies" that took part showed their ignorance about Eastern religion and philosophy by making such statements as: the Hindu religion only has one god that they worship. Someone claimed that I couldn't be a Christian and study Tibetan Buddhism. I'd like to address this issue.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama isn't a God-King and he claims to be nothing more than a simple Buddhist monk. To study Tibetan Buddhism you don't worship anyone or anything. It's a system of belief that is meant to train your mind to follow the middle way and to show love and compassion.

I've been attacked by the misinformed, the misguided and those who seek to keep the deceptions going within the paranormal field that I must be a bad student. They allege there is lots of judging that goes on in this blog. Christ doesn't want doormats, He wants warriors who stand up when they witness those who take part in bad deeds.

Here are some books that show a linkage in Christianity and Buddhism:

The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus

By The Dalai Lama

http://www.amazon.com/The-Good-Heart-Perspective-Teachings/dp/0861711386/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Without Buddha I Could Not be A Christian

By Paul F. Knitter

http://www.amazon.com/Without-Buddha-Could-Not-Christian/dp/1851686738/

Living Buddha, Living Christ

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-Thich-Nhat/dp/1573220183/ref=pd_sim_b_3

By Thich Nhat Hanh

From Buddha to Jesus: An Insider's View of Buddhism and Christianity

http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Jesus-Insiders-Buddhism-Christianity/dp/1854249568/

By Steve Cioccolanti

If one takes the time to read any the above books, you'll see that a person can embrace the code of ethics and mind training and never violate the teachings of Christ. It's through Christ, and no way other than Him, that can you reach heaven.

NEVER MOCK GOD, NEVER MOCK THE DEVIL

Repeatedly I've stated that I was done with publishing books on PRS/Paranormal State. And I meant what I said. But back in August the phone rang at 4 AM and started a journey like no other that I've ever experienced and an investigation that changed my life.

We've heard about the case, watched the episode and heard the spin put on it by the para-celebs. Everyone connected to the case has been profiting from it for the past four years. Later this month, Ryan Buell/PRS will be hosting a 2-night event online for $75. You can watch them spin more tales, tell more lies, and show more fake footage.

Here's a recent post from Ryan Buell's page:

"I Am Six" is one of PRS's most talked about cases even to this day. Find out what happened after the cameras were turned off and how we held it together.

“I Am Six”: The story of Lara and her family’s struggle against darkness. The community rallied together around this family and now is your chance to find out what happened. Join PRS in a two part webinar series, Oct. 19th and 20th, where they will discuss the case, shed some new light on it, and interview some of those who witnessed it. 

In our forthcoming eBook, you'll learn the real story and you won't have to spend $75.

You'll follow us to Quincy, Illinois and read what some of the locals have to say about the case--and about Lara who is known locally as Paranormal Girl. We visited the house, looked around and talked to the neighbors. What did they see and hear during the filming? We break down both episodes like no one else can and reveal the tricks and deceptions. We show the reader how the wounds could have been self-inflicted. We got our hands on a key piece of tape that the public wasn't ever meant to see. Most shocking of all, we stumble onto a secret that PRS and a certain para-celebrity hoped no one would ever discover.

We have returned to our realistic, hard hitting writing style and don't hold back. You'll want to read it from start to finish. And you'll learn why you don't mock GOD … or the devil.

Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of INVESTIGATING PARANORMAL STATE, PARANORMAL STATE EXPOSED and PARANORMAL TEACHINGS: THE BEST OF SHEDDING SOME LIGHT and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/