thoughts and musings, deep and shallow

[_harmony]

So... I'm home, tired, grumpy, a bit under the weather. And I start to thinking... if this life is all there is (and it's certainly all that can be verified), if religion doesn't matter, if this is the one chance I'm going to get to do whatever it is I hope to accomplish... how am I doing? Am I satisfied with my life? Is this what I would be doing, if I knew I'd be gone within a specified period of time?

Yes and no.

I'm proud of my family, even though there's things I wish I could change about our lives when they were young. Despite their early struggles, they still view each other as family, which to me is important. They love me, and even if we never see each other again after I'm dead, they will remember me for at least another couple of generations. So I'd definitely keep my family around me.

I love my job. I love believing that what I do is changing the world for the better. I've always been a crusader and this job suits me, since it allows me to fight a dragon every day. So even if there were no eternal consequences to taking the guy who spent last weekend flirting outrageously with me up on his hints, I wouldn't do it because that would jeopardize our staff/volunteer relationship (een though the man has a voice like melted butter...)

Given the opportunity, I'd sell my place to one of my kids and move to town. I think living closer to medical facilities would lengthen my lifespan considerably, and if this is all there is, then I want to stick around as long as I can. I don't know if I'd like it, because the only time I've lived in town was the year I spent in the dorm in college, but I'd like the opportunity to try.

I'd think long and hard about leaving the church and all its trapping behind, once my husband was gone. I have no faith in a manmade priesthood, and after years of contemplation and study, I've almost come to the conclusion that that's all this is. My faith remains steadfast in God, but there is nothing that binds me to the church besides my husband. I think the church could be much more than what it is, and I lay that lack and neglect right at the feet of the leadership, who seek personal glory and make decisions based on pride and fear. I can worship God anywhere, including the LDS church, so I'd have to weigh each factor of the church against my own inspiration, were I forced into a position where I could make that decision with impunity.

So where does that leave me? In an okay position, I think. Walking the walk and staying between the lines, but only because it currently suits me. If and when my situation changes... well, lots of things may change.

Although I have reason to believe in God and I think there will be an afterlife, I don't think it will be anything like the LDS church says it will be. Were that so, everyone who has a NDE would report degrees of glory, and none of them do, not even the ones who've been through that in my own family. So... I think the church has that wrong (among a lot of other things), not that I'm surprised about that.

[_The Nehor]

Were that so, everyone who has a NDE would report degrees of glory, and none of them do, not even the ones who've been through that in my own family. So... I think the church has that wrong (among a lot of other things), not that I'm surprised about that.

Know your religion. The degrees of glory aren't inhabited yet so why would someone see them. I think you're looking for Spirit World to fit in that part of LDS cosmology.

(Annoying Correction Off)

[_Ray A]

Know your religion. The degrees of glory aren't inhabited yet so why would someone see them. I think you're looking for Spirit World to fit in that part of LDS cosmology.

Didn't Paul talk about that? But harmony's point is relevant. What NDErs report is generally at odds with many Mormon teachings/beliefs. And shock, horror, even Gay NDEs report feeling completely accepted by "The Being Light". None have ever been told to "go back and change your ways". Their sexuality has never come into it, at least in none that I've read, maybe because The Light is a little brighter than we are?

[_The Nehor]

Know your religion. The degrees of glory aren't inhabited yet so why would someone see them. I think you're looking for Spirit World to fit in that part of LDS cosmology.

Didn't Paul talk about that? But harmony's point is relevant. What NDErs report is generally at odds with many Mormon teachings/beliefs. And shock, horror, even Gay NDEs report feeling completely accepted by "The Being Light". None have ever been told to "go back and change your ways". Their sexuality has never come into it, at least in none that I've read, maybe because The Light is a little brighter than we are?

Since other then a place of progression and a place of non-progression we don't have a lot to say about the Spirit World I'm not sure how we differ at all from most NDEs. Note, I am not saying that NDEs are all valid and good indicators of truth. I suspect many if not all are not.

[_Ray A]

Note, I am not saying that NDEs are all valid and good indicators of truth. I suspect many if not all are not.

Well I'll ask the standard questions here: How many books/studies on NDEs have you read? How many people have to personally talked to, who have had NDEs?

[_The Nehor]

Note, I am not saying that NDEs are all valid and good indicators of truth. I suspect many if not all are not.

Well I'll ask the standard questions here: How many books/studies on NDEs have you read? How many people have to personally talked to, who have had NDEs?

3 books. I've talked to two people who've had them and had an odd experience myself that seems to fit the model.

[_Ray A]

3 books. I've talked to two people who've had them and had an odd experience myself that seems to fit the model.

What you had was probably an OBE (out of body experience), which is what Paul seems to have had. Susan Blackmore also had an OBE. That's not the same in which a person is clinically dead, sometimes for as long as 45 minutes, yet comes back with vivid recollections.

I think you're right there is room for some doubt, since reports vary, even if the basics are consistent, but scientists are still studying it very closely. For that reason I wouldn't want to be dogmatic about it.

So judge for yourself:

Near-Death Experiences of Homosexuals

This is a common theme in NDEs:

EVERYTHING in the entire universe fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. EVERYTHING MADE SENSE.

I remember thinking, "I have to remember this."

[_neworder]

So... I'm home, tired, grumpy, a bit under the weather. And I start to thinking... if this life is all there is (and it's certainly all that can be verified), if religion doesn't matter, if this is the one chance I'm going to get to do whatever it is I hope to accomplish... how am I doing? Am I satisfied with my life? Is this what I would be doing, if I knew I'd be gone within a specified period of time?

I have been thinking a long the same lines. Even though I have faith/hope there is God I don't plan on living any religious extremes that is going to stop me from experiencing life as long as it does not hurt others.

I remember reading a Journal Entry from a past polygamist in the early Church History that said how Polygamy was hard to live but that it would be worth it because of the rewards in heaven she will receive.

Even though I can't read her mind, I am sure there were several polygamist that would have chosen very different lives if they didn't believe that this life was only a test and very short time compared to the eternities. They sacrificed many things believing that they will receive a greater reward in heaven.

Now what if none of it was true? How sad to hold back dreams and who you truly could be because some person convinced you that God wanted you to sacrifice for this life so you can receive your reward in the life after.

I am not only talking about Mormonism but your could put many Religions in the same category.

I agree that the afterlife will be nothing like the LDS Church teaches and nobody truly knows what will happen. Nobody really knows for sure and we can't control what is going to happen to us when we die, but we can control how we live. Don't let others control how you live with promises of what you will receive in the afterlife. There is a good chance you will not be able to track them down and demand a refund. :)

[_moksha]

Harmony, I'm sorry to read you are under the weather. Get well soon.

There sure is a lot of religious speculation out there, eh? Well, here is hoping that there is something!

[_The Nehor]

I find myself a little skeptical of this report when it includes this. What I had was not truly an OBE. It bears more resemblance to an NDE but it's a little off there too. I thought about trying to share it but it doesn't add much of anything to the extant literature.

I find myself a little skeptical of this report when it includes this:

A Scientific Analysis of Homosexuality

According to Dr. Ian Stevenson, the foremost reincarnation researcher, many of children with past-life memories show abilities or talents that they had in their previous lives. Dr. Stevenson's research led him to conclude that homosexuality is a natural human trait that results from the reincarnation of a person of one gender as a person of the opposite gender. Such people must adjust to their new gender and sexuality at an early age. Former girls who are reborn as boys may wish to dress as girls or prefer to play with girls rather than boys. Former boys who are reborn as girls may wish to dress as boys or prefer to play with boys rather than girls. Former men who are reborn as women will be attracted to women and will therefore be lesbian. Former women who are reborn as men will be attracted to men and will therefore be gay.