Note » This entry is PART 2, continued from » Part 1. Today's entry was split into three parts in order to adhere to principles of web site optimization.
And now, here is the continuation of » Righteousness & the Fearless Hoverboard of Faith.
» The Hoverboard of Faith & Living in the Moment
Tho the faith stuff is cool .. cuz is kinda feels like you're riding a hoverboard of sorts .. that is the impression, tho it would take too long to explain right now. A hoverboard that you build by a process similar to gardening. =)
An invisible hoverboard that you "step on." Just cuz you can't see it however, doesnt mean you can't "detect" or perceive its presence. Very clear sense.
A hoverboard that takes you to places you can access no other way.
So while you might not know when you're out of it, you definitely know when you're in it, when you're in faith (.. like how you know-that-you-know .. when you're in love).
Speaking of love .. that's the fuel for your hoverboard. Seems we get an endless supply. That's good news, cuz I go thru quite a bit myself.
And there is only one rule, far as I can tell .. so it's not like you're gonna have trouble remembering.
On the surface, the rule seems certainly noble, but almost dismissibly simple. And it IS simple, but the complexity seems to be in the implementation, which is » not so easy.
And here is the deal [ i just noticed ] » you run into parts of yourself .. parts that may be less than perfect. So a commitment is required .. on this end. And I have committed, but left the actual implementation to him.
My strategy here is simply to » get in the flow (alignment) .. and let the flow do the work. And how do you do that ? » by faith, of course.
[ Uh, I am starting to recognize a pattern here. It's not like I havent tried other ways. ]
That is an interesting design, no? Simple yet sophisticated. Very discriminating, wouldnt you say? Highly discriminating.
One unusual thing about faith .. is that it seems to operate only in the present. It can certainly operate ON the future .. tho the future does not yet exist .. and the past is gone. The past has been relegated to history.
So learning to live IN THE PRESENT is one of the main things I've been working on lately. But that's a whole nuther story .. and I am still working on it.
But if you think about it a sec, you'll see that you can't believe anything yesterday, cuz you're not there and the past is forever gone.
And you can't believe anything tomorrow, cuz you're not there (yet) and "the future" never arrives. Now, you CAN believe something tomorrow .. but only when tomorrow becomes today. Is this not intuitively obvious? .. to even the most casual of observers? But there's no need to wait.
So .. far as walking-in/by-faith is concerned (ala Habakkuk) the only time that matters/counts is » the ever-present now. .. which poets & philosophers & lovers call » LIVING IN THE MOMENT.
[ Yoga, and especially meditation, is very much about » being 'present' .. in the (continuously-self-updating) now. Mastery of which is trickier than it might otherwise seem.
Also note how Paul seems to suggest that the things we can see are somehow connected-to or related-to or limted-by » TIME (.. which is the great insight that Einstein gave us). ]
The effect here -- and I know this sounds a little strange -- is that you » stop time. Or that is at least the effect. Hard to describe, I admit. But very cool.
» The Coolest & Most Artistic Signature
I am not positive, but I think .. that the way the deal works .. is that ..
.. if this here what you're reading is indeed true .. and not merely more religious dogma .. then God could / should / would .. let you know.
Oh .. hold on a sec. "What's that?" Okay .. he says, "He will. Most definitely! So you can count on it." =)
.. tho we're not supposed to SEEK signs .. but rather believe .. seeing that the highest form of faith is that which believes the word only .. regardless. Come what may.
And He always does it in the coolest way .. in a way that nobody else could, and in a way that has meaning to you, personally. In a way that would have never occurred to you (.. to your mind).
Cuz, if you could have thought of it yourself, that means it coulda came from you. (Obvious, no?) I think the word here is » confirm.
And I hear He doesnt play favorites .. so you will see what I'm talking about. (When you least expect it.)
My experience is .. these are 'things' that likely mean nothing to ANYBODY BUT YOU. If you say to somebody, "Look at that! Look at that!" .. they will shrug and say, "Look at what?"
One may be easy to write off as mere coincidence. Two would be more difficult, but still possible. But after the third, you think, "No way can that be mere coincidence."
Oh, and TIMING .. pay attention to timing. Cuz time is really part of space (.. even tho is doesnt seem that way). It is always a cool thing when a glitch-in-the-illusion created by our brains (electro-chemical impulses) enters the spotlight of our consciousness. Very cool.
Tho never underestimate the power of doubt. Even if a guy wearing clothes that shine walks up and shows you daylight thru the holes in his hands and gives you his Calling Card ..
.. with an address that says, "right-hand of the Father" .. you will STILL need to exercise your faith (.. cuz that's the way the system works).
» The Signature that Spans the Centuries
Notice how closely the word 'signature' is to "sign". In other words, God 'signs' his work. And he has the coolest signature.
His signature spans generations. Centuries. Millenia. Epochs. The ages. Time itself.
I mean, they don't call him the 'Master' for nothing. He's an Artist. And sometimes, you even get to be a paintbrush.
[ Paul said » "To me, the LEAST of all saints, was this grace given..." So there's hope for us all. (Because you can't earn grace.) ]
Which is why Paul cautions believers against "thinking more highly than they ought" .. cuz you eventually learn » it aint you, hoss. =) [ .. a point I now make explicitly for the first time. ]
Tho it certainly feels that way, sometimes. Easy to get the big head when God starts pulling strings and prep'ing his canvas.
I dont know why it is .. but you usually can't notice the signs until AFTER the fact .. even tho they were right there in front of your face .. sort of like the way an economic bubble works, or a credit bubble .. in that you can only recognize it AFTER the fact.
Seems like it would make things a lot easier .. if you could see in real-time .. instead of navigating by faith.
And lest you think me something special .. I should note that God confirms HIS WORD .. never the person. (Unless, of course, the person IS the Word.)
That much becomes clear. Rather quickly.
[ There *is* a personal confirmation .. but that is done, uh .. personally. (Inwardly.) ]
In other words » it Aint Me, dawg (.. notice that I've said it twice, now) .. which is the same thing that ALL the prophets down thru the ages have said. Not hard to figure that out. If I recall correctly, this is very similar to what Jesus said.
Isaiah suggests that God flexes his muscle (bares his arm) on our behalf thru our faith. Paul says a similar thing.