May 16, 2024 – A

Posted byjimwdollarPosted in06/25/2020
Lake Haigler 2014 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Why do we see things the way we see them
and not some other way instead?

How many different ways of seeing/experiencing/
evaluating/interpreting/understanding/
comprehending/thinking about/believing in/...
things are there?

And yet, and yet...

Those who know, know the same things.
No?

What is the difference between
seeing and knowing?

Between thinking and knowing?

Between believing and knowing?

It is the difference between
being connected with our intrinsic intuition
and being told what is so and not so.

The main difference between groups of people
is not what they know to be so
but what they have been told is so.

Religion is the foundation
of our major differences of opinion
worldwide.

We go to war over what we have been told is so.
As in Israel and the Palestinians. 

They don't hate each other over 
what they know to be so.
They hate each other over
what they have been told is so,
over what they believe is so,
over what they think is so,
over their opinions about what is so.

Here is how to know what is so.

Take this list of words:

Original nature
innate virtues/virtuosities
(The things we do best and enjoy doing most)
intrinsic intuition,
imagination,
balance and harmony,
integrity,
sincerity,
vitality,
spontaneity,
emptiness,
stillness,
silence.

And reflect on the connection
between each word and you.

On how they relate to you,
and you to them.

On what they mean to you
out of your own experience.

On what your experience
of each word/term is.

As you do this exercise
repeatedly over time,
you will come to know
what these words mean--
and no one will have told you so.

–0–

Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters, five granddaughters, one great granddaughter, and a great grandson on the way, within about ten minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything.

One thought on “May 16, 2024 – A”

  1. Thanks for the list identifying those positive attributes. You’re filling in some of the missing pieces I’ve always wondered about!

    This book came to mind today – “Don’t Push the River” by Barry Stevens. I read it way back in the 70’s or 80’s. The title sums up the major takeaway I had from this book. Still something I try to keep in mind.

    https://a.co/d/0yajLtO

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