Recieved a letter back last night and was debating whether or not to share this part of the story because somehow it always comes to a point like this where I get frustrated.
I think the couple that sent me these letters are Jehovah Witnesses.
My frustration stems from the undeniable fact that the miracle stemmed from two different places. The initial bridge was me randomly picking a quote from a course in miracles. Then the book instructed me to understand and believe that God is my creator, whoch i fully embraced and finally the miracle was fulfilled through a church going Jehovah Witness.
The issue I run into is I have never been the church type. Sitting through long bible readings and sermons from preachers becomes very difficult as it goes past 15 minutes or so for me. I have also never been one to worship.
Iām not sure what to make of this. The way this miracle was fulfilled makes me feel like I am ignoring a calling or something, like this is my invitation from God to see what I have been believing is wrong and I should follow his miracles to the church.
What I have settled on but I am not sure it is the right thing to think is that God is meshed into everything, every religion every church every temple etc. and at the time they were a channel of Godās that were available to rearrange space and time as the course says to fulfill the miracle.
My discomfort comes from knowing that through the church this miracle was fulfilled, and I canāt visualize my self as the church going type, now or in the future. It is not from a lack of trying either as I have set up private meetings with the local preacher in the past to seek guidance and have attended church multiple times to attempt to feel a connection.
Anyways, hopefully what I am saying makes some kind of sense. What do you think about this situation I have found myself in? It really feels like Iāve found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Sorry for dropping in like this, I know I havenāt responded to this thread for a while and I didnāt comment on the posts youāve written since. I have been following this thread though.
Personally I donāt think that a miracle being enacted by a member of a certain denomination of Christianity means you need to commit to that denomination or commit to going to church at all. The miracle from what you wrote wasnāt about going to church. It was about accepting who you are and seeing yourself as āof God.ā Thatās something you donāt need to go to church to do. I think God understand that the best place to worship is a place where there is spirit and a commitment to spiritual growth. If you donāt find that in the church, then thereās no reason for you to be there if you donāt want to be. That youāve tried church multiple times but it hasnāt taken feels to me like church might not be for you.
God can use people to teach you about spiritual matters. It doesnāt mean you have to commit to those people. They are simply the means God used. You can also get teachings from people who arenāt spiritual at all. They are great at showing you where you are not. They are great at showing you your aversions. Does that mean you have to commit to these people who you learned valuable things about yourself from? I wouldnāt say so. Teachings come in all forms. We take them, learn from them, work with them, and find places in our lives where we can connect with other who will help us process them.
Use that frustration as a barometer for the situation. Is is frustration of the ego? Or is it a deeper knowing (intuition) frustration, that something is off. Its often difficult to discern between the two, because so often the ego trys to pretend its the other. If it is pure ego reacting, then might be worth giving the church experience a try again, what do you really have to lose other than some time and $5 in the collection plate?
Becuase that feeling of synchronicity was so strong with the initial letter, may signal that you are ignoring somethijg. Try not to look at it as right or wrong beliefs, try to look at it as an opportunity to be open and curious. If what they are offering has deep meaning to you, it will sell itself. If not, then you have more evidence that organized religion in a church setting is not helpful for you at this time.
The beauty of the the bible, and many other holy texts is that it is a social book (same with A course in Miracles). The text can be extremely cryptic to people who are reading it on their own. When a preacher gives a sermon or when you study it in a bible group with different minds, the text gets illuminated in a different light, and often becomes much more meaningful.
The trick is to find a GOOD preacher, and a good bible group, people that have the knowledge of the texts and Christ and love in their hearts.
Purhaps attending this church ends up being a flop. But maybe its the start of a journey where you search for a church (mosque or temples) and congregation that really resonates with you? Or maybe if in person gatherings are totally out of thenquestion, ot stimulates you to find religious groups on social media, I dont doubt facebook has thousands. God is not a objective experience, the experience is highly subjective, people can give you insights, clues, and maps, but the path and leg work has to be done by you.
My advice would be to check out the bible group first, approaching it with an open mind, and see if anything resonates with you. Then do the same with trying out their church one sunday, or on Easter.
Worst case senario is it sucks and you dont vibe with the people. But even in that senario, you have an opportunity to share a miracle with the people there. I bet if you took a poll at the bible study group, very few people have heard of lucid dreaming and dream yoga, for many it may be their first time learning about it. If you share that gem with them, and plant the seed, then thst miracle may be of great benefit to them in a few years. You have a powerful gift, and can share the power of dreams with these people. I believe dreams are mentioned in the bible close to 2 dozen times. (The stroy of Joseph and the Egyption pharoh is very powerful). In the very least if you can convince members to start a dream journal, it may profoundly impact thier lives.
If you leave the group feeling good or energized or retitalized, then maybe it is something to continue attending. Follow your intuition. If the vibes dont resonate with you, thats great too, becuase it means when you do finally find a group, or priest, or monk, or temple that does really move you, you will know it, and there will be no doubt in your mind that that is the Sangha for you. Keep in mind that Howard Shultz had to visit and meet with over 200 venture capitalists, before he was able to secure a deal that helped him launch Starbucks into the big leagues. Finding the right Sangha can take years, but it is well worth the leg work.
Until I found Andrews work, I thiught I had a pretty good grasp of Buddhist teachings and the Dharma. Andrew showed me how ignorant I was, and how deep the teachings go.
Your post gave me some more to think about. Because of the series of events that took place Iām planning on attending the gathering to honor Christ that was recommended. My thought is I will be going with the intention of saying thank you for delivering such a beautiful and simple miracle to me. Anything past that I will leave open.
I think that is wise. I like the line: divorce yourself from outcomes, and have found it very helpful when dealing with new situations. Go in with no expectations or committments to outcomes the future will manifest, and I think you will find the experiences much more rewarding.
I think Sanghas are incredibily powerful in increasing faith, knowledge, and spirituality. But as @Bucket said, I think equally powerful, if not more so, is your personal relationship with then divine. Meditation is a great way to foster this, as is going out in nature for walks, a retreat, or camping. Getting away and enjoying Gods creation can be very powerful. It also makes you appreciate the creature comforts of home like basic plumbing and heat/air conditioning.
Adding to those things, I think prayer can be extremely powerful. One of my favorite lines of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is:
āPrayer is like a magical power that we all have and forget to use.ā
SO TRUE!
Keep in mind, I think God/the Universe will be much more willing to answer and accommodate your prayers, if they are fullfilling something you really truely deeply need, not something your ego really wants and desires for its short term gratification.
Having my prayers answered in unique ways over the years has been something that dramatically increased my faith. I would add the caveat: be careful what you pray/(wish) for, sometimes it will be answered in bizarre ways. (I have a great example of this in the Premonitions post I did last year, my first post to the forums.) PREMONITIONS, PROPHECY, and INTUITION (in dreams and wake life)
This took a strange turn. I was discussing this with my reiki practitioner yesterday and found out that she had been raised jehovah witness and disowned as she became more centered in acceptance of all religions. As a child she was āaware of the etheralā. She is a medium and has a very powerful gift of connecting to energies that are within her presence. I have experienced it first hand both from her explaining beings that have appeared in my dreams and when I was at a session with her and a voice entered my mind directly giving me an important message which has never happened in my life. It should not have been there and I donāt take lightly stuff like that. First hand experience was a true blessing because it allowed me to know that she had a true gift. That being said the more she became aware of this gift the more she was disowned and seperated from her family and church (they consider such things as a connection to the devil). She has a particular reverence for the Goddess Tara which I thought was worth mentioning.
Iāve always held the belief when you begin accepting someone into your life on a deep spiritual level you become intertwined with their projections and to me this makes a lot more sense now. Through experiencing the jehovah witness holiday I will be able to understand her upbringing a little better and it has me thinking about a theory I call opposition where her being forced into this religion as a child may have accelerated her driveā¦ hmmā¦ not to fully prove them wrong but maybe a good way to say it is find a place in spirituality that resonated with her and using her pastlife experience and her gifts she was then placed into a position to help a large portion of the local community (we have a lot of weird conversations and she was a student of Dolores Cannon who has very good at past life regression and also has some interesting some interesting stories about communication with the same spirit in different countries, through different people while placing them a type of hypnosis - it is very interesting and worth lookikg up if youāve never heard of it). She has already given me insights on their practices that I had no idea about and I donāt think I would have found out as an āoutsiderā. I feel like I am diving into the rabbit hole on this oneā¦ no going back now, wish me luck .
Dont let the closed mindedness of her parents and congregation become contagious, I would say there are probably Christians from all or most denominations who would view what she experienced with a closed mind, as with people from other religions as well. Dont think its particularly a jehovahs winess thing, more a human ignorance thing. And humans have a nasty tendency to poisen religions with their self serving bullshit. Why do you think there are so many different types of Christians? As churches get bloated, curruption and rot sets in, and then you have spiritual leaders like Martin Luther who step in and say enough is enough, and a new branch forms.
I think this line from this song really nails this concept:
āSun-bleached flies sitting in the windowsill
Waiting for the day they escape
They talk all about their money and how their babies are always changing
While theyāre breathing in the poison of the paintā
Not saying that the experience will be amazing, but keep an open mind and heart. If its horrible, at least you have an expereince of what you dont want in the future.
One final update, it was a very nice and casual experience. None of the people there were pushy, they were all welcoming and friendly to talk to. The service was quick and the speakers chose very good passages to go over for the occasion. I wrote them a letter just to say thanks for the invite and leave everything on a good note.
Iāve read a couple of his books. Very good author and Iāve watched a couple of his videos too, will check these out when Iāve got time this upcoming week.
I did not tell you, but a week or 2 ago, I had a conversation with a lady who brought up this faith, and how her relative was dating an ex practitionr, and she mentioned some unsettling stuff. I did not want to bring it up, becuase I thought it might taint your experience. I am glad I did not write you about it. Seemes like different branches are different in their strictness and practices. She alluded that the one she heard about, was similar to the Amish.
I try not to judge things or people until I have expereinced them. Was very happy to hear you had a good experience. Glad tou wrote that letter to them too, that was very cool of you to do.
Iām revisiting this topic because there is a significant update Iād like to share with everyone. Iāve been quiet about the synchronicities and letters Iāve shared with my friends Kenneth and Claudette, largely because there wasnāt much happening at the time. They reached out again and invited me to a convention, but I politely declined. However, their timing was a profound synchronicityā¦ again!
Iād like to start at the beginning as this all unfolded over a span of a few weeks. I wanted to properly educate myself on beliefs across all biblically based religions regarding Archangel Michael because he is a dominant symbol in my tattoo. In doing so I discovered a unique belief held by Jehovah Witnesses. They view Archangel Michael as Jesusās heavenly form. Several passages in the Bible hint at this, and ever since the synchronicity I experienced with their faith, Iāve had immense respect for their interpretations.
This revelation was astonishing. To me this was incredible. The first thing that raced to my mind was that Iāve been pulled out of my body by Jesus before. It was still to this day the most intense pull I have felt. He was in the American garb and had the American features, which I do not entirely agree with because of where he was living and the dates he was rumored to be alive. But this is besides the point. The main point is the sheer strength and speed of this pull clearly suggested the presence of an intense and very powerful energy.
Finding this connection brought me a sense of comfort and peace that I havenāt felt in a while. Seeing Jesus and working everyday with someone who was also pulled out of his body during a near death experience by Jesus demonstrated to me that I had a very powerful circle of protection around me.
I shared my findings with my mom and wife and continued my research. While writing back to decline the invitation to the convention I also wrote to Kenneth and Claudette, expressing my excitement about the discovery that Archangel Michael is Jesus, and asked them to guide me to further biblical passages to confirm my findings.
Now comes the part where the synchronicities multiplied, leading me to a profound sense of peace and comfort that I believe will stay with me for life. After discovering who Jesus was and discussing with my wife and mom about Jesus being Archangel Michael, a billboard was erected on my daily commute route. The billboard, still standing, reads āWho is Jesusā and beneath it, āRead Matthewās Gospelā. Matthew is my name. Interestingly, the other side of the billboard advertised my current workplace. Talk about synchronicities!
It doesnāt end there. This billboard is stationed right across the road from where I once recorded what I call my ā911 miracleā on my dashcam. I call it that because I never changed the date or time on it and when the recording happen it had ā911ā in it, but I digress. Going past the billboard while listening to the book āThe Laughter of Godā, a power line transformer exploded, vividly painting the night sky purple. The timing was chillingly precise; the book was saying, āWhere is the father?ā The explosion took place right as the question was finished being asked. It then went on to say if I knew who was walking beside me I would walk in peace.
Short clip:
Whole drive home:
This, to me, is one of the most remarkable series of synchronistic events Iāve experienced to date and I felt compelled to share. I was once told in a dream that the number of beings accompanying me in my journey here was in the double digits. Now, I know one of the beings .
Returning to the letter: thereās another synchronicity in this series of events. I had excitedly explained the synchronicities to my wife and mom, and since the billboard is a bit out of the way for my wife, she hadnāt seen it yet. As we drove past it, I pointed it out to her and we took a picture. When we returned home, she went to collect the mail and found the return letter from Kenneth and Claudette. Upon opening it, there was a pamphlet titled āIs Jesus Archangel Michael?ā The first words on it were āPut simply, yes, he is.ā
One more that just happen. We were on our way to pick up take out food from a new restaurant in the area. Look what was next to it. Gotta love God and the Angels, they have a knack for timing and an incredible sense of humor.
Found one more while I was re-listening to my drive home. @NightHawk999 we have had synchronicities revolving around ravens before. In the video of my full drive home the book mentioned ravens. That was a stream of consciousness that carried a high power of synchronicity with God. The final result (above) being pretty intense. . That video has been up for 2 years. Wild stuff.
The link starts right where the book talks about ravens.
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