"Stupidity and superstition unite mankind more readily than knowledge and enlightenment." Joseph Jacobs, Former Prez of the Jewish Historical Society
There are so many apps these days that my phone is always giving me a "low storage" message and I am shuffling and deleting and re-installing things at least once a week.... my niece told me to install "Timehop", which is an app that goes through your pictures, facebook statuses, instagram posts, etc. daily and shows you what you posted on that date "years ago" ....
The above quote was my Facebook status 5 years ago today.... and so apropos really since I am dealing with a female stalker... stupid and superstitious.. who has united with "someone" on my "friends" list on facebook to obtain all of my personal information... instead of trying to "know" me, she has formulated her own assessment of me and has made me her focus...even to go so far as have strangers send me "friend" requests... I have blocked her from making contact me as best I have been able to, however, we all know that that is impossible.....
Anyway, I am not wasting my energy on writing about her today (but I did have to get that off my chest) ... Today, I choose to be an "enlightened" one.... again, with the idea that uniting with people, who are of the same morals and convictions as you are.. uniting with people that are ready and willing to lift you up... uniting with people who want their hearts filled with light... and uniting with people who thirst for knowledge of God... all those things and more.... brings us to "enlightenment..."
When we hear the word "enlightenment", we think of the "New Age" ... I have written about the "New Age" before... I think around the time that the world was going to end on 12-21-12 ... (according to the Mayan Calendar) ... as a Catholic, I am not supposed to entertain these "New Age" thoughts of enlightenment, however, as a Catholic, I do read documents and letters written in order to make sense of the whole phenomenon and to make sure that I am not deviating from my faith.... In February of 2003, the Vatican released a provisional document titled "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian reflection on the New Age.". .. and though it does "warn" about the problems of following this "New Age" thinking, it does not forbid it completely.... it says, "you have to look at your understanding and worldview to see if it is in concert with the Catholic faith." .... that is kind of broad maybe because my understanding of my faith may not be that of my brother... but at least, it allows for growth in the "faith" .... and, in my belief, a strengthening of my faith..... there are charts that compare the teachings of the bible with the teachings of the New Age movement... and frankly, as hippie and progressive in the way I live my life, I do not agree with "New Age" ..... I look to my religious groups and the spiritual adviser, who oversees them, for "enlightenment"...
Since you all know that I like to connect with my Jewish friends, I read something about their connection with these beliefs... In 2005, two groups of Jews attempted to move towards the "New Age" thinking, however, their beliefs were not compatible with Judaism and fell outside the teachings of the Torah and the Jewish Law.. thought to be of an Atheist nature by changing the Jewish prayers into chants and songs that ended with dancing similar to Native American dances and other Pagan rituals.... there is a lot of controversy with "New Age Judaism" as well... this movement is using Jewish mysticism as a back door into adopting "New Age" philosophies... probably the only thing that can tie the Jews and the New Agers, is their similar beliefs in reincarnation... but, they cannot even agree on that....
If you are interested enough, here is a link to "Religion Facts": www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm ... you may find that you believe in some of the ideas or practices in a religion that is not yours, however, as I went through it, I found that there is over-lapping themes... prayer, meditation, services, fasting, etc... Anyway, I am no expert in any of this... I can make some statements about what I have read and my interpretation of all the information out there, but I offer these statements for you to question and research and grow in your knowledge and your faith (whatever it may be) ....
so..... back to "enlightenment" ... Merriam Webster defines it as: the state of having knowledge or understanding: the act of giving someone knowledge or understanding... that's pretty simple and can be used is so many different types of sentences that have nothing to do with anything I have written... (but then, you all know how I go off on random tangents) .. if we go back to the opening quote, without going into any deep philosophical thinking, it is a clear and precise statement that can be explained like this........... People who do not have some kind of faith.. people who do not follow some kind of religion, culture, ritual, etc., will unite with the same kind of people...and though we would like to stay away from the word "stupid", these people may just be considered that...(ignorant might be a better word) .... they live their lives in fear.. superstition brings them together in a frantic way... they believe nothing can help them...they cling to one another hopelessly...
This is how people of faith and beliefs in the same things should behave... I can see how we may actually find it harder to come together simply because we all have our own opinions regarding our "common" knowledge of our faith... or maybe we do not understand it well enough and do not want others to think we are ignorant... this opens it up to more discussions and the likelihood that we will have to defend our beliefs... I think that maybe the "New Age" belief (that is so prevalent right now) and basically says that "we are equal to God" might play a part in us not being as unified as we really think we are or as we should be as the blessed people we are.......
Alright already... let me get off the podium...... of all the things I read this morning, this statement by G.K. Chesterton, A Christian apologetic, probably gave me the most "enlightenment" ..... "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing — they believe in anything." ...
Unite with your people... share your knowledge.. tell stories.. listen to stories... enlighten others.. be open to be enlightened by others in return.... .believe in God and trust that you can know yourself through Him..... and remember that you are loved beyond measure...
Much love and light,
Elena
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