Anyway, I think moderation is the key everywhere. We can’t follow the STO path without servicing ourselves sometimes (when would we eat?!?) nor can follow the STS path without benefiting others at least occasionally. Personally, I think it’s the most beneficial to include both in our lives with an emphasis on others but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there should be no emphasis.

Anyway, according to both Buddhism and Theosophy (both of which are very similar to what Erin beleives (or rather accepts), based on what she has written here), Ascension/Enlightenment is when one realizes the eternal truth of the universe and existance in their entirety and is able to return to God/the Universe (the Source is an equivalent term I have read Steve Pavlina use). This realization is the conclusion of either path, as neither path is wrong, just different ways of getting to same place.

Of course, these similarities make sense. The ultimate truth is truly universal and therefore all systems that approach the truth will be more and more similar until the truth is reached. Therefore, it makes sense that the the concepts differ practically in name only.

And what if the spiritual path isn’t about ascension (up=good, down=bad) at all but about embracing? Could it be that the preoccupation with judging and weighing things out creates barriers that separate us from an eternal sense of unity with the divine?

What if, as Jesus says, “the kingdom of god” really “is within you”? And what if the name of God/Source/Spirit/Oneness really is “I AM.” If we “are” THAT and embrace it, then why would we want to go up or down or break that blissful unity into good and bad/right and wrong? If we “are” all that was, is and ever will be, then why would we need to keep climbing? The only reason to keep climbing would be if we didn’t realize that that which we seek already lives and breathes our being.

So where do we draw the lines on what falls within the fear/control paradigm?

That’s a good way to explain it, thanks. I’ve been there myself on occasion. But, in the last year or so I saw that no matter what I bought it didn’t making me any happier in and of itself. The only exceptions were things that helped me acheive greater goals.

The reason I question the word ascension as it’s used here talking about the control fear context is because ascension to me is something that happens after death, so worldly possessions, economic status, physical beauty, etc, don’t enter into it. I guess I question what happens to someone who uses this context until death.

This week, my boss told me that if I stayed with my company until I was in my forties (15 more years) I could be the director of IT or a vice president of a fortune 100 company. Go me. Although meant as a compliment, I really want to put in my two weeks notice =)

There are different types of ascension: just think about “moving up the corporate ladder,” or gaining worldly power, or the entire competitive, dualistic model of perception. If you’re not constantly fighting to get to the top, then someone else ascends faster. These are real goals in a real paradigm, and some people really do get where they want to go. Telling someone who values money, fame and power that they can only really ascend by generosity, humility and unconditional compassion would seem ludicrous to someone who has fully committed to that paradigm, in the same way that the proverbial rat race seems weird to someone valuing a more spiritual-focused life. Ascension occurs in both paradigms.

Fear and control don’t always feel like a bad thing to people who choose that paradigm: they feel safe. Faith is risky. It’s a gamble that I personally believe pays huge dividends, but I know a lot of people who wouldn’t want to trade places with Mother Teresa or Joan of Arc or Ghandi. It’s a different kind of hard work, and if people are not interested in the particular rewards offered, then it probably seems TOO hard.

19 yrs ago, I had a daughter, and a very bad childbirth. I had to have an emergency C-section then nearly died from bleeders. I went in for emergency surgery and it took almost 6 hours before it was done. I spent a week in ICU, etc…I never felt completely like ‘me’ since then. For one thing, I’ve never been able to lose weight. I quickly gained alot of weight after that. I thought perhaps, during the time I was on the surgery table at deaths door (more than once), that perhaps I had picked up some residual energy from other spirits who were passing thru in the same hospital. NOw I’m wondering if during that state, that some of these guides found an easy way into my body.

I’m hoping that now, I’ve found this that I can really get rid of them now. Nothing I’ve done in the past has seemed to help

I don’t mean to be judgemental necessarily, just pragmatic. If love brings ascension to a place of greater love, fear and control sound like they would bring ascension to a place of total fear and control.

“It’s part of the spiritual contract you made before you incarnated.”

Do you really believe in reincarnation, or is it more along the lines of Maurice Cotterell’s interpretation of it? I think that Cotterell’s work is very interesting, but it still doesn’t explain why would there be a need for such an elaborate process. It just seems to fail occam’s razor test.

On another hand we have Zecharia Sitchin’s work. I’m probably dead wrong about this, but genetic manipulation, or some sort of “unnatural” tinkering with who we are, is what seems to make most sense. And his work compliments the bible nicely.

You can get in touch with your guardian angels, sure. Meditation works great for this.

Are we ever able to get in touch with our guardians (our Angles)? Have you been in touch with yours? I would like to learn more about this. Why do we choose to turn off their flow of council when I can use so much of their council at the moment?