Originally Posted By: Bill S.

Would you consider relevance to be of any particular importance?

How would you define relevance? If you believe that all things and people are intimately linked together, like the cells in a body, then there are no random actions, thoughts or feelings.
Originally Posted By: Bill S.

What makes you think I imputed any degree or depth of thought to your response?

It was the standards thing that you mentioned, regarding overconfidence, originality and expectations...
Originally Posted By: Bill S.

Are you referring to some judgemental trait of your own, or making an assumption that because you think there “are bound to be judgements” your perception is some sort of universal “truth”?
Perceptions are perceptions. Everything is imbued with consciousness, even a cell has the ability to perceive another cell and what it experiences. Universal truth exceeds the individuality of personalities and singular idealism created thru separation of the ego.
There are judgments that come from innocence, experience, wisdom, stress, anger, self awareness, belief... etc.
From the KJV of the bible:
John 5:
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son
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Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Psychologically speaking we can put this in relative terms as well as spiritual terms.
Every Child is influenced by their parents. The first words, thoughts, beliefs in reality inclusive of fear, superstition etc. All of our thoughts about what the world is, and how we begin to analyze what the world should accept and reject, in the idealisms or policies created from our first acceptance in thought of what is real, right and wrong.

History shows us that from the very beginning humanity has sought out a universal mind that can rise above the petty differences that exist in the separation of mans idealistic ego. No man who stands alone can accomplish what a group of dedicated individuals can, when creating something.., whether it is for the good of all or the destruction of all.

John Donne once said: "No man is an Island". We are a species of men/women who are linked in our expanding evolution of awareness and understanding.
Any one man who sets himself apart from the whole and pretends to hold the ideal philosophical perspective cannot imagine the extent of what humanity can achieve in its ultimate goals or what man might aspire to.

The story of Jesus the Christ was an example of mental power and wisdom as was the Buddha and every other ascended sage written down in the scriptures of religious texts throughout history.

If you would imagine a tree of life, religion idolizes its own branch on the tree. It might accept the idea of other branches but all religions water their branch and none water the root of the tree itself.

Communion of the ego with the root, is thru the filters of the individual branch.

No matter how wise and accommodating one becomes when filtering thoughts thru the branch of individual belief, it does not encompass the unbounded universal mind. All thoughts and ideas of universality are going to be altered by the colors of the branch. Just like wearing rose colored glasses or any color of glasses.
Clear perception of the source of all things when filtered thru the changing beliefs of the ego are going to be limited.

Since this thread is about religion or the philosophy which inspires religion there should be some reference to Universal truth and its reflections in relative truth.

When Jesus or Buddha or any sage spoke of union with Universal Mind.. "I and my Father are One" "What the Father witnesses in me I witness in the Father" kinda thing. It was in reference to having the ego as the servant rather than the master and the ability to stand outside of individuality without abandoning it.

One foot in one world (the relative) and one in the absolute (Universal mind).
Originally Posted By: Bill S.

Do expectations necessarily equate to ideals?

Good question. Where does the mind sit when it idealizes the reality of things and projects its experiences that are filtered thru those ideals?
Is the mind sitting in its own branch or is it settled in the root or the tree of life?

If God/Consciousness/Universal mind, has judgement but does not judge man, then what judgment of man does man have when in union with universal mind?
Originally Posted By: Bill S.

Interesting that you bring God into the discussion at this point. Who would you have define what is good and for whom?

Relatively speaking each individual prescribes his or her own medicine. However in turn, the individual would like to prescribe his or her own prescription for life onto every other individual. What each person needs is good for that person, but what one needs may also be something that does not benefit another.

Which inspires the question: Is there anything that is good for all?
The answer is yes, but it cannot be found thru individual idealisms or contained in any belief, religion or ministry.

The philosophy of spirituality is that there is only one reality. How one gets to know that will be unique to the individual and so there is no prescribed relative path that is deal for all of humanity since all are in different stages of comprehensive growth. You can't hand a three year old a college physics book unless that child has an understanding of the principles within the text.
However, since the universal reality can be seen, felt, heard, tasted, experienced. All of humanity has within them the faculties to become self aware.

The psychology of humanity is that it spreads its awareness in all directions rather than taking the awareness and focusing it on the one.
Because the senses are tuned to the dualistic nature of projection, following the 100,000 thoughts that the relative mind thinks every day. The mind rarely settles into the present moment of stillness that all thoughts come from and return to. The absolute.

When the ego is attuned to the chatter of thought, it ignores the stillness of potential.
When the mind is stilled, the subtle senses expand upon the subtle absolute and all that is, is revealed.

Originally Posted By: Bill S.

Enlightening assumption there! A simple comparative carries an implication of “high standards” only if that to which it is being compared is acknowledged to be sufficiently elevated in itself. In spite of your assumptions, value judgements of that nature tend to be peculiar to those who need, for their own personal reasons, to strike comparisons at an individual level.
Exactly
When you made the comment:
Quote:
Could there be a slight lack of originality creeping in here, TT?
One might have expected something better of you.

The thought of origin or originality was introduced, as well as expectations.

What you focus on grows

IF from the universal mind all things emanate from the source and then return to the source, all that comes and goes is imbued with that which is the source. It has energy, direction, and it has purpose. Nothing is random and without that which inspires or creates it.

How one idolizes themselves or what they perceive as real is going to be relative to where the mind is situated.

If it sits in the bibliography of the past constructs of reality that are filtered thru the glasses that are the branch of the idealized Tree of life. Then no other branch is known (because the mind stays in the neighborhood of ones self identification), and the root of the tree is foreign to the mind because all of the attention has gone outward thru the senses riding the thoughts of belief.

Every thought feeling and action. Every desire and intention of will is leaving the foundation of reality that the individual has idealized as real, ignoring the infinite potential that is flowing thru all of humanity and thru all dimensional timelines of past future and present.
That multidimensional potential that is inclusive of all moments outside of time and space and inclusive of all moments is what Tolle called the NOW.

Physics is beginning to substantiate the reality of the NOW as being always now. Where there is really no distance between past present and future other than the filters of cognitive functioning of the outward sense oriented (relatively based) mind.

Any Idea of willing ones self to be good is irrelevant if they are ignorant of the fact that all that they are creating is unique and purposeful for them already. The inability to understand or grasp the reality that choices are being made at levels of the mind that are unknown to the ego only reveal that free will can be blinded by levels of conscious awareness.
There are things the senses can perceive that are not normally accepted or trained to do.
Intuitive cognitive functioning mentioned in religion and spiritual philosophy as well as some psychological studies had atrophied in humanity and is only now beginning to reawaken. The evolution of the species is not just scientifically validated but is being individually validated thru the spiritual experience of witnessing ones own growth and understanding of life and the awareness of who or what we are.


"Nothing is what the inside of your head looks like to your eyes, yet what resides inside your head is watching everything" -Alan Watts-

I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey, but then I turned myself around!!