Dalai Lama Speaks on Physical & Mental Comfort

By Yeshe Choesang, The Tibet Post International

Riga, Latvia: - 'The material development provides relatively short-lived physical comfort, but not mental peace,' the spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama said during first day of his two days of teachings in Latvia.

Many thousands of audiences gathered at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on 5 May to hear the teachings of Heart Sutra by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate emphasized why religion or spirituality is relevant in today's world and answered it by explaining that spirituality is related to inner values and so to inner peace. "If material and technological development brought complete peace and happiness, people in advanced, developed countries should be really happy, and yet many are not. Material development provides physical comfort, but not mental peace," His Holiness said.

"We may feel pain and pleasure on a sensory, physical level, or on a mental level. Pleasure on a sensory level, like that derived from watching sport or listening to beautiful music is relatively short-lived, whereas satisfaction on a mental level, for example, love and faith, which do not depend on our senses, is more durable," His Holiness responded and said.

The Buddhist spiritual leader. said that 'while physical pain can be subdued by mental satisfaction, mental unease is not allayed by physical comfort. If we are worried, stressed or frightened, having a beautiful house or listening to delightful music brings little relief. A disturbed mind is not calmed by mere physical satisfaction.'

Questioning about his practice, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said he had been meditating on love. He noted a sparkle in his eyes that indicated his tremendous satisfaction. "On the other hand I've met billionaires who have all they need and more who are very unhappy. Scientists have findings that show that a calm mind is good for our physical well-being. They also have evidence that mental training can change our attitudes, enabling us to be happier. Our human intelligence can be a source of happiness, but if misused it can also be a source of stress and worry."

The Buddhist leader said that 'only human beings develop religious faith. Such faith may have begun with worship of the sun, but in time the idea of God the creator emerged and with it the idea that since he created everything, there is a spark of God in everyone. All religions convey a message of love and compassion and because hatred is an obstacle to that, they teach tolerance and patience. And because greed is also an obstacle they teach simplicity and contentment. Non-theistic traditions like the Samkhyas, Jains and Buddhists instead of turning to a creator, teach the law of causality, the principle of cause and effect, which resembles a scientific view.'

Going through the 'Heart Sutra', His Holiness explained that things exist in dependence on other factors, so they do not exist independently. Emptiness does not make things empty; phenomena themselves are empty, because they do not have independent existence. He alluded to the interdependence between cause and effect, that something is a cause only because there is an effect.

The 'Heart Sutra' shows that independent existence is an illusion by saying "Form is empty, emptiness is form." Emptiness is a property of the form, and form is the basis of the property of emptiness. When you look for form, you find emptiness. This is what undermines clinging to intrinsic existence. He remarked that consciousness too is empty and mentioned that meditation on emptiness is effective in undermining our negative emotions; it is not just an intellectual exercise. Negative emotions are not of the nature of the mind; they do not taint its luminosity.

original link: http://www.thetibetpost.com/news/international/4014-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-speaks-on-physical-and-mental-comfort

Did the Angels and Women Mate? Part 2

Continued from Did the Angels and Women Mate? Part 1

Did the angels take and mate with women we now conclude our findings.  We learned several points of data, with the greatest being the angels did NOT marry or take for themselves daughters of men.

So let’s look for more evidence now in Gen. 6, specifically then what do we have here in verse 4? As we now examine it and if you did not know Genesis is a book of genealogies—it is a book of the families. The sons of God is referring to the godly line who have come down from Adam through Seth, and the daughters of men belong to the line of Cain.   So, what you have here now is an intermingling and intermarriage of these two lines, until finally the entire line is totally corrupted (well, not totally; there is one exception and this is Christ Jesus). That is the picture that is presented to us here in this recording of the intermingled lines of taking ungodly women for wives.

The godly men took for themselves wives of all; that is, of the ungodly as well as the godly families, without any discrimination. "Whom they chose," not for the godliness of their lives, but for the goodliness of their looks.  The ungodly mothers will not train up children in the way they should go according to the Lord God Almighty; and husbands who have taken the wrong step of marrying ungodly wives cannot prove to be very exemplary or authoritative fathers.

Up to this time they may have been consistent as the sons of God in their outward conduct, but a laxity of choice proves a corresponding laxity of principle. The first inlet of sin prepares the way for the flood-gates of iniquity. It is easy to see that now the degeneracy of the whole race will go on at a rapid pace and why humans need a Savior to deliver us from being ungodly.

Let’s look at the verse “they took them wives”, could possibly be more than one for each of them, after the example of those wicked families into which they were matched; of all which they chose, i.e. loved and liked, as the word choosing is taken, Psalm 25:12, Psalm 119:173, Isaiah 1:29, Isaiah 42:1, compared with Matthew 12:28. This is noted as the first error, that they did promiscuously choose wives, without any regard to their sobriety and religion, minding only the pleasing of their own fancies and lusts, not the pleasing and serving of their Lord and Maker, nor the obtaining of a godly seed, which was God’s end in the institution of marriage, Malachi 2:15, and therefore should have been theirs too.

Folks I recognize, and I want to insist upon it, that many fine teachers/clergy take the opposite view that the 'sons of God; are actually angels from Heaven above who did this act. Therefore, if you accept that view, you will be in good company with those who also succumb to this falseness too.  However, I am sure that most of you want to be right and will want to go along with the word of God, not man with what ‘they feel’ is proper.

Lastly, the idea that angels had sexual relations with earthly women is preposterous. As one can imagine, such speculation in the scriptures provides ample opportunity for the heathen world to exploit the scriptures.

Countless books, movies, documentaries, and false religions have exploited such misinterpretations of Genesis 6:1-6. One such exploit is the alleged lost Biblical BOOK OF ENOCH, which teaches that fallen angels had physical intimacy with earthly women that produced offspring 450-feet tall?

Without a doubt, the primary claim of the Book of Enoch is that fallen angels had sex with human women and produced 450-feet tall giants upon the earth. This teaching is ridiculous, unscriptural, and has no solid evidence to support it (Biblically or scientifically). This is another sound reason as to why the Book of Enoch should continue to be rejected as it is nonsense.

If, as some theologians believe angels did have sex with earthly women, then why has it not occurred since Genesis 6:1-6? The scriptures are not silent on this matter, as we have read in Mark 12:25, for "they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven." The demonic succubus (a female demon) and the incubus (a male demon) are believed by demonology experts to have sex with sleeping humans. Of course, this is not a scriptural teaching. Angels cannot marry, nor be given in marriage.

For it is not to angels only that the term "sons of Elohim," or "sons of Elim," is applied; but in Psalm 73:15, in an address to Elohim, the godly are called "the generation of Thy sons," i.e., sons of Elohim; in Deuteronomy 32:5 the Israelites are called His (God's) sons, and in Hosea 1:10, "sons of the living God;" and in Psalm 80:17, Israel is spoken of as the son, whom Elohim has made strong.

These passages show that the expression "sons of God" cannot be elucidated by philological means, but must be interpreted by theology alone. Moreover, even when it is applied to the angels, it is questionable whether it is to be understood in a physical or ethical sense. The notion that "it is employed in a physical sense as nomen naturae, instead of angels as nomen officii, and presupposes generation of a physical kind," we must reject as an unscriptural and gnostic error!

In addition, the entire suggestion that God allowed angels, which would have possessed FULL knowledge of divine realities, to tempt mankind is against the plainest teachings of the Scriptures. 1st Corinthians 10:13 states... "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." It would have been extremely UNCOMMON for women to be tempted by angels into marriage, not to mention the fact that the temptation would have been ABOVE THAT YE ARE ABLE.

We do know that there were giants in the Old Testament, as Goliath himself was 9' 6" tall (1st Samuel 17:4); however, as mentioned earlier, Genesis 6:1-6 fails to state directly that the "giants" of those days were the offspring monsters of bizarre extraterrestrial marriages.

Carefully notice Genesis 6:4 again... "There were giants in the earth in those days; and ALSO AFTER THAT, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." "Also" means in addition to. "After that" means later. Clearly, even from reading the Bible at a childlike level, it is obvious that the "giants" were not the same people as the "mighty men which were of old, men of renown."

Remember people if it doesn’t line up with the word of God properly then we must reject it as falseness from the pit of Hell.

Rev. Brad Luoma, Exorcist & Deliverance Minister
Savior Christian Deliverance Ministries

Did the Angels & Women Mate? Part 1

This two-part blog is written to discuss this notion that Angels and humans had intermingled together and as a result ‘giants’ were produced.  So let’s examine Genesis 6:1-5, specifically the notion that fallen angels copulated with women as depicted in Gen. 6:2 which states "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Many people think that it was the angels who took for themselves human women to produce marry and seduce for their pleasures and produce 'Giants'. So what then do we know?

Let's lay this out to help you understand several aspects to see if this lines up with the bible as truth.

A. First of all, we have scriptural proof that the angels and mankind cannot marry. There were NO extraterrestrial relations and 1st Corinthians 15:39,40 proves it.  “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.”

For you see from this scripture above that the passage plainly states that men are men, animals are animals, fish are fish, birds are birds, and angels are angels.  There is not one Scriptural reference which would even remotely lead us to believe that the angels and humans ever had sex. For Christ Jesus plainly stated in Mark 12:25 concerning the departed saints, "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven."

I acknowledge this scripture verse is self-explanatory from above, that Christ Jesus said no marriage in Heaven. Carefully notice that Genesis 6:2 states... "and they took them wives of all which they chose."  Furthermore, Mark 12:25 says that angels cannot marry; but Genesis 6:2 says that the sons of God married the daughters of men. Clearly there would be a serious contradiction in the scriptures here if the sons of God were then angels!

B. This matter of "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men" is something that has caused no end of discussion. There are a great many good men/women who take the position that "the sons of God" were angels.  So we have to examine the word of God and learn about the righteousness of God.  Many Clergy/teachers have taught (and still are) that these sons of God were angels and I recognize that a great many of the present-day preachers/believers take that position.

However, I cannot accept this view and maybe you need to examine this for yourself as well. We know from the word of God about righteousness and evil. Therefore, follow me here, if these were good angels who then took for themselves women (AFTER THE FALL), they would commit an act against GOD thus - Sin. So then we have a second fall of angels right? Where is that recorded? The word of God would have certainly discussed this.

What is it then that we do know?

1. Is that the evil angels could never be designated as "sons of God."

2. The offspring here were men; they were not monstrosities.

I do not know why it is assumed by so many that the offspring were giants. We will look at this more closely when we come to verse 4.  “And the Lord said, my spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years [Gen. 6:3].”

Understanding that Noah preached for 120 years, and during that time the Spirit of God was striving with men. The Apostle Peter makes it very clear that it was back in the days of Noah that the Spirit of God was striving with men in order that He might bring them to God—but they would not turn.

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison" (1 Pet. 3:18–19).

These spirits were in prison when the Apostle Peter wrote, but they were preached to in the days of Noah. Now how do we know that? Verse 20 reads: "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." When were they disobedient? During the long-suffering of God in the days of Noah—during those 120 years.

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown [Gen. 6:4].

It says, "There were giants in the earth in those days," but it does not say they are the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men. It does say this about the offspring: "the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." These were not monstrosities; they were men. The record here makes it very clear that the giants were in the earth before this took place, and it simply means that these offspring were outstanding individuals.

So let us examine this more closely. The literal translation of this verse is, And the sons of the “Elohim” saw the daughters of the Adam that they were good (beautiful); and they took to them wives whomsoever they chose. Of the sons of the Elohim there are three principal interpretations:

1. That of the Targums and the chief Jewish expositors, that they were the nobles, and men of high rank.

2. That these were angels. St. Jude, Jude 1:6, and St. Peter, 2 Ep., 2Peter 2:4, seem to favor this interpretation, possibly as being the translation of the manuscripts. But even if this be their meaning, which is very uncertain, they use it only as an illustration.  Remember from above “a higher authority says that the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage.”

3. This is the most generally accepted interpretation in modern times, is that the sons of the Elohim were the Cainite and Sethites, which that when they married for mere lust of beauty, universal corruption soon ensued. But no modern commentator has shown how such marriages could produce “mighty men . . . men of renown;” or how strong warriors could be the result of the intermarriage of pious men with women of an inferior race, such as the Cainites are assumed to have been.

So we now know the daughters of man are in general, without any distinction of a moral or spiritual kind, and therefore including both Cainite and Shethite females. "And they took them wives of all whom they chose." The evil here described is that of promiscuous intermarriage, without regard to spiritual character.

Stay tuned! Read Did the Angels and Women Mate? Part 2

Rev. Brad Luoma, Exorcist and Deliverance Minister
Savior Christian Deliverance Ministries

More Death & Violence Due to Occult Factions

Sadly more death and blood shed in the name of Satan and his demons. I came across the below article @ dailymail (and below I posted link for the entire article.) Below is just part of the story I believe. Just like with Slender Man. Those two girls were trying to kill their friend as a sacrifice so they could live in the mansion in the woods with slender man. Those are their own words. What is going on? Anyway the below I felt was noteworthy:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3480241/Restaurant-worker-Mexico-tortured-death-satanic-ritual-friends-trying-turn-vampire.html#ixzz45jJpObf4 

'A teenage girl, 18-year-old student Iveth Lopez, is among those being held. The other two suspects were named as Gustavo Dorantes, 18, and Omar Sanchez, 25.

They face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.

Police say Edwin, known as Piwa, was killed after being fooled into taking part in an initiation ceremony to become part of a satanic cult called the Sons of Baphomet 1.

Instead he was tortured after having his hands tied behind his back after one of the alleged killers persuaded the others their victim should be sacrificed so he could return to life as a vampire.

Police were alerted last Tuesday after his body was found abandoned in the street wrapped inside two plastic bags in what detectives believe was a botched attempt to pass the murder off as a drugs-related crime.

Officers found traces of the victim's blood inside the cyber cafe, which they say belongs to the older of the two men being held, after obtaining a search warrant when a protected witness told them how Edwin had been killed."

So disturbing. Awful to even think about it. Demons are fallen angels sent to torment us just as we have God's Angels making sure any limitations are kept. I found a few articles of this nature online and it disturbed me to know all this is going on. I just know what hell is being unleashed into our world. Their ignorance will have consequences. The news is so depressing many hate to even watch it. It's mostly so negative. 

I found on wfaa.com this following little diddy:

'though police said he already confessed.

Instead, O'Neal said, it was a close friend of his. He told KHOU 11 News, that friend was jealous of O’Neal and Robert’s tight-knit friendship.

He claimed the day of the murder, he was at a park with Robert, his friend, his friend’s girlfriend, and the woman’s baby when his so-called jealous friend began stabbing Robert.

O’Neal said he ran for his life and didn’t tell anyone out of fear. During the conversation on Sunday, O’Neal would tap his foot quickly and tremble slightly.

The day Robert’s body was found, O’Neal said his dad took him to the psychiatric ward. Court documents revealed O'Neal tried to commit suicide.

He told KHOU that doctors prescribed him medications used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

He said he hallucinates and that the devil has been a part of his life for years. He claimed to also believe in God and when he tries to read the Bible, the devil gets upset with him.

O’Neal wants Christina Roberts and the public to know the wrong person is behind bars.

He also mentioned that if he is convicted, he hopes for the death penalty instead of living with the anguish knowing his friend is gone.'

Is that not very disturbing and sad or what? He could be mentally ill no foul but it could be oppression or even possession when these things happen. This world needs prayers against the enemy in a bad way. Satan and his army of demons  break you down piece by piece little by little and you won't even know it. Our minds are the enemies playground. We must always stay in the armor Of God and stay prayed up for lack of better words. It's your best defense. In my humble opinion. This world is getting worse by the day. Terrible things are happening. I wouldn't know where to even begin. But remember we have power over the enemy through Jesus Christ. No ones perfect, we all make mistakes. 

Written By Jennifer L Auld

Can You Be a Christian and Believe in Ghosts?

By Reverend Mark Hunneman

Can you be a Christian and believe in ghosts? If you were to ask me if you could be a Christian and believe in abortion, I would respond,. "You are either abysmally ignorant of the Bible or you are not a Christian...probably the latter." In a biblical worldview, it helps you to see God's priorities regarding different issues. The sanctity of human life is so central to God, that any serious deviation raises a red flag. However, belief in ghosts is in a different category. The short answer is "Yes, you can be justified/saved if you believe in ghosts". We are justified by grace through faith alone...through the finished work of Christ, plus nothing. We are not justified by faith. Plus a proper view of ghosts...or a proper view of politics...or a proper view of the death penalty and so on.

I have a linebacker-esque quality to my writing when it comes to tackling the issue of ghosts. That stems from a holy hatred and loathing of demons/Satan, as well as the unspeakable suffering they cause. But unfortunately, I am certain I have lost subscribers due to my hard-hitting style. When I preached the whole counsel as a pastor, many visitors did not return...Not brimstone sermons but meaty ones, which they did not have a stomach for..The message itself has enough built in "offense" (ghosts are demons), that I don't need to inadvertently further turn them off by a grating or offensive style.

So, it is possible to be a Christian and believe in ghosts. I'll go further and state that some of these folks love Jesus way more than I do. Justification is by faith alone....And I rejoice in this for many reasons, one of which is nobody has a perfect understanding of the bible. But as the great Cornelius Van Til said (I think it was him), Reformed theology is the most biblically consistent expression of Christianity. I concur. But my Armenian brothers are justified just as freely and fully as I am.

Belief in ghosts is not a core issue in terms of what is necessary for salvation. The deity of Christ and the Trinity are core issues and you cannot be saved with a deficient view of either.

But here are my concerns...

1.  Belief in ghosts usually comes about by putting human experience above the authority of the bible...will a genuine Christian put their experience above the bible? Will that grieve the Holy Spirit?
2.  The intellectual starting point must be man's autonomous reason...not a healthy spiritual sign.
3.  Is not one of the crucial facets of the cross to defeat Satan?
4.  The singular honor ad dignity of Jesus is diminished if ghost theory is right
5.  Specifically, Jesus defeat of, and sovereignty over death is denied.
6.  Huge emotional and spiritual ramification makes a consistent walk with Jesus problematic
7.  We are ordered not to speak to the dead...this is done routinely through EVP gathering.

There are more concerns but I will stop there. Yes, we are justified by faith alone, but not ny a faith that is alone. That is, genuine faith will bear fruit...showing that Christ is Lord (not perfectly, but really) over us.

Yes, you can believe in ghosts and be a Christian, but only God knows if this embracing of a forbidden practice crosses the line, showing where your true allegiance is.

Again, I invite feedback please. I very much desire it.  Blessings.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Dalai Lama & Secular Ethics

New Delhi, India, 7 April 2016 - To start the day in Delhi this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave an interview to Sonia Singh of NDTV Dialogues before an audience of Indian and Tibetan students. It will be broadcast first tonight. Topics included what he had learned from Nehru, the prospects for his reincarnation and whether he still hopes to see Tibet again in this life.

For the remainder of the day His Holiness participated in a meeting convened to hear and discuss results of the first steps to implement guidelines from a curriculum entitled ‘Secular Ethics in Education’ compiled and published by the Emory-Tibet Partnership towards the end of 2015. Prof Meenakshi Thapan introduced the occasion recalling that His Holiness has emphasized the importance of warm-heartedness in education stating that compassion is a core educational ideal. She noted that his stressing a secular approach is particularly attractive.

She explained that teachers who had shown an interest in trying out the new material had been advised to see how two modules - Emotional Awareness and Forgiveness - would work in practice. She requested His Holiness to address the gathering and he opened with words of gratitude:

”First, I would like to thank you for taking these issues seriously and for attending this meeting. Right now we’re all comfortable here together and yet in other parts of the world people are killing each other - the violence is unthinkable. Meanwhile millions of children are dying of starvation, while elsewhere preparations go ahead to prepare ever more dangerous weapons. The urge to employ violence is very much alive. Corruption thrives and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. Here in Delhi some people enjoy fine facilities, while there are beggars on the street. Is there any way to change our habituated ways of thinking?

“Fortunately, as a result of experiments, scientists have concluded that basic human nature is positive. At the same time there are findings that suggest that constant anger, fear and suspicion undermine our immune system. We all share the common experience of our mother’s giving birth to us. This is even true of ruthless dictators. Without their mother’s love and affection they too would not have survived. Since scientists conclude that basic human nature is kind and affectionate, there is hope.

“By deploying our intelligence we can expand and develop our education. We can look into the value of warm-heartedness and enquire whether anger has any worth. We can extend our natural sense of warm-heartedness by applying our intelligence. We need to learn about our emotions and develop a kind of emotional hygiene. My friend Paul Ekman has been working on developing a map of emotions to help us do this. Many other scientists used to be sceptical that there was any mind apart from the workings of the brain, but their understanding has changed. They have discovered neuroplasticity. This meeting here is not an academic forum so much as an opportunity to discuss how we can change the world.”

Representatives of the team at Emory University, who compiled the draft curriculum on secular ethics, spoke about their work. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin cited the reference in the World Happiness Report 2016 Update to what His Holiness has said about the need for a secular ethics. Jennifer Knox showed how examining responses to different photographs of people can help teach us about the judgements we make. She illustrated this with two different photos of Kelly Gissendaner, an American woman who was executed in September 2015, after many years on death row. She suggested there is a need for trust to be able to change habituated ways of thinking.

His Holiness remarked that learning about inner values affects students. It is our common experience that when we are more compassionate our minds are calmer. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin noted that there are now ways to measure competency in relation to developing compassion.

Teachers from Springdales School, Pusa Road, Convent of Jesus and Mary, GD Goenka Public School, Ghaziabad, Bal Bharti Public Schools, Pusa Road and Rohini and Rishi Valley School, Andhra Pradesh made presentations of their experiences and findings during the pilot study of the secular ethics curriculum. Most of them are working with younger children and had opted to work with the module on Forgiveness of Others. They described using story-telling and role play to lead children to reaching their own understanding of forgiveness and its role in conflict resolution. One eight year old was quoted as saying, “When I say sorry I'm happy because a burden is lifted from my heart.”

His Holiness described the reported findings as ‘wonderful work’. Ven Tenzin Priyadarshi spoke about the work of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT and the potential for use of technological tools, gaming and apps. He remarked that we don’t want so much to teach values as to teach with values. On a practical point, it was noted that taking time for reflection was important for children and teachers alike to process and digest what had been learned.

Summing up the morning Meenakshi Thapan said that values had to be part of what is going on in the school. Where the good student has previously been the achiever in terms of grades, now a different model emerges. It was found that the curriculum needed to more flexible and less didactic. The project clearly requires taking a more holistic view. She concluded by asking how the curriculum conveys the idea of the good human being we are trying to be.

After a break for lunch His Holiness began the afternoon session:

“The long term purpose of our meeting is to examine how to create a more peaceful world through education and awareness. We need inner peace and we need joy. We need to introduce emotional awareness from an academic point of view. Everyone wants to live in a peaceful world, but it’s necessary to understand that what destroys peace is anger and hatred. This is why the long term goal is to create inner peace within individuals, so contributing to a more compassionate humanity.”

He mentioned that the curriculum in its present form is only a draft. It needs to be tried and tested, the results observed and the content, if necessary, amended. If it is successful it can be implemented more widely. If further meetings can be convened to exchange findings and experience a natural evolution will take place.

On behalf of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility Rajiv Mehrotra described projects to cultivate peace within and without - peace building, non-violence and co-existence, as well as ethics and education. His Holiness responded that he would like to see the Foundation extend the scope of its activities to other parts of India and neighbouring countries. He remarked that although he has several hands to help him, the time has come for those hands to be active. There is an urgent need to act now, to start now.

Dr Meenakshi Gopinath introduced a presentation of the activities of Wiscomp - Women in Security, Conflict Management Peace - but also wisdom and compassion. Wiscomp has been involved effectively in mediation and reconciliation of the Indo-Pak conflict and the troubles in Kashmir.

In the concluding discussion Geshe Lobsang Tenzin pointed out that the material for the curriculum had largely been drawn from His Holiness’s work such as ‘Ethics for a New Millennium’ and ‘Beyond Religion’. Ven Priyadarshi stressed the need to make ethics appealing and relevant. Geshe Lhakdor suggested there was a need to examine what are the obstacles to secular ethics in the 21st century. He also noted that most of the conversation had related to the aspects of method with little consideration of the discerning awareness or wisdom aspects. Naresh Mathur passed on the observation of a friend involved with the Aurobindo Ashram and working with integral values that the curriculum in its present form is too prescriptive. Geshe Ngawang Samten concurred with need for a more holistic approach.

In his conclusion His Holiness suggested that the important thing at this point is to try the ideas out and observe the results. When he proposed meeting again in a year, Meenakshi Thapan intervened and suggested that more frequent workshops in the coming weeks would be a more effective way of maintaining momentum and building on what has been learned so far.

The meeting was concluded with a vote of thanks acknowledging everyone who had participated and supported this ground breaking occasion.

Original link & photos http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/1380-meeting-on-secular-ethics-curriculum

It's Never Safe Conducting A Exorcism Or Deliverance

I think the title obviously explains why you should not attempt to do such a thing. I have to put this out there and hopefully some may hear this. I know It's very upsetting for me to know of the pain and hurt people are going through. This world has turned darker. Everything is leaning to it. Movies, TV, Internet etc...I'm not speaking of shows like Supernatural I'm speaking of very disturbing and dark antics through the world and it just makes me wonder? Everybody wants to summon demons! Then things start to blow up everything in your life. I learned how badly these want to hurt people or cause strife within families. I just wish it wasn't glorified so much. 

Now topic at hand. We have people with absolutely NO knowledge of Deliverance or Exorcism out there doing them! Half these so called celebs are fakes. They make it worse. The ignorant are opening way to many doors. Most don't realize. We need God and His Mercy. Watch the news. There is a urgent need for psychological and medical guidance when one receives an exorcism, which is a requirement by the Roman Catholic Church. It's just very dangerous to attempt this without the proper back up too. Everyone taking part of it is in danger. I thought that was noteworthy. It's a very serious issue. I couldn't be more serious about this.

So many people ask if demons can terrorize us through our dreams at all? Adam asked me: 'Are they merely a sub-conscious thought already there, or can there exist in our dreams a real spiritual battle? I am not aware of the fact that Satan can control my thoughts, as much as I am aware that my sinful nature desires to m impure thoughts. I am fully aware that God knows my thoughts. Does God allow our dreams to give us insight to the spiritual world that is unseen?' That is one of the many questions we may not ever know until we do get to the other side.

The devil does not want people reading the Bible or attempting to gain any knowledge of Father God’s love or the Biblical Laws definition of good and evil. Consequently, the devil tries to reduce or eliminate the importance of the Bible, and sadly, his efforts are paying off very well. Recent surveys reflect that succeeding generations of Christians tend to study the Bible less than the previous generation.

A Demonic Stronghold Possibly?

Demons or anything powerful enough to hold you in its claws to keep you from receiving God’s love and truth.  Once a stronghold is established, you provide an open door for the enemy and become exposed to demonic control and oppression in that area of your life. The existence of a stronghold can be recognized because it will be that area of your life in which you consistently have problems and cannot cope in life. Our thoughts influence our emotions and our physical reactions. A thought may seem harmless, but it can become physically, emotionally or spiritually dangerous.  Satan will bring evil thoughts into our minds. We cannot entertain these. This will only give way to the enemy. We need to rebuke the evil thoughts from our minds as soon as they start. This is so important. 

Stain has limitations though as I've said before:

Omnipresent

• Satan is an individual personality, so he can be in only one place at a time (as seen in Job 1:7). So when we say that the devil is person all tempting us, more than likely it is his power working through his network of demons.

Satan is not omnipotent

Because of this,  many references to Satan or the devil include his whole kingdom. The person of Satan does not personally tempt each of us for he simply cannot do that. Satan must rely on the following agents to carry out his temptation: His Army of demons, the world system which lies under his carnal or ignorant Christians he is able to use as he did Peter (Matthew 16:22-23), unbelievers under his influence or domination therefore, he can surely be resisted and made to flee in the name of Jesus Christ. but only by the strength of God all mighty made available to believers in Christ (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Satan is not omniscient

Satan is an angel and angels don’t know everything (1 Peter 1:11-12). There is no indication in Scripture that Satan can really read our thoughts despite it is a common belief. Because he’s an expert on human nature, he’s pretty good at predicting our behavior and can easily tempt and corrupt weak humans.  

Satan is not self-existent.

He was created by God . It can even been said that God created and uses Satan to his own ends (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Another one of Satan’s limitations is that he is not allowed to reveal himself, being forced to work solely by deceit. He is our enemy to all human souls, but non-appearance is a significant containment of his power. 2 Thess­alonians tells us that Satan must content himself with an appointee, the man of sin, who will appear on his behalf at the end of time, only to be immediately destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ. We have already won this battle. 

Written By Jennifer L. Auld