Narrow is the Way

[Thinker]

A scripture has been confusing to me - it's found in many places and says...
"For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
This seems strange - to give to those who have, but take from those who have not - it seems both illogical and unethical - like spiritual debt.

But I realized a new possible meaning of this symbolic parable.
Context: Jesus taught of seeds in various places - one being tosses along the sides and birds came and devoured them.
Maybe this represents people when they become skeptical and lack faith - so even when they're told something symbolically and spiritually edifying, because of their negative perspective or attitude, they become more angry or frustrated with apparent "trivial nonsense." Thus, their lacking faith becomes even more lacking (like spiritual debt) - "and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."

The parable of the talents mentioned a man was paranoid (negative/skeptical) of what bad would happen with his one talent. It ended up that his one hidden talent was taken from him.
Einstein said, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

Possibly, if you have even the smallest amount of faith - you have hope and it can grow. but if you've lost even that tiny amount of faith, because of too much negative thought and not enough nourishing intuitive/spiritual hope, it may become difficult to get your faith back. Truth is in perspective, however truth is also that which causes influence and ideally, that influence is positive. So, a negative perspective may be valid, but dwelling on it may subtract faith until it's gone and one is in spiritual debt. Some turn from religious group thought to Atheist or Nihilist group thought. There may be validity to their perspectives, but if such negative influence leaves one paralyzed with cynicism, then it may bankrupt one emotionally and spiritually.

To get faith back may require a lot - especially if one allowed oneself to be so mentally programmed that even basic hope is a challenge to wrap one's mind and heart around. The "narrow way" about all of this, is that, to progress beyond superficial group thought (Theist or Atheist), one must traverse the swampy literal theist traps, as well as the skeptical swampy traps. Somehow, one must manage to maintain both humble healthy doubt/reason - and grateful/hopeful faith.
Like Fowler's 5th stage of faith development.
http://www.psychologycharts.com/james-f ... faith.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JaredAlmond]

Word: Spiritual/symbolic energy

That's good!:).

[Thinker]

Thanks, Jared.
Your sig quotes are insightful...

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." -Albert Camus
Thoughts precede feeling - and we can control thoughts to be inspiring - and tap into the spirit within.

“Live life through the eyes of your Soul." -The Holy Ghost
Intuition - the spirit is the best guide, protector and means to receive and express love.

[Thinker]

A new consideration dawned on me.
The "narrow way" is unique for each of us.

God is love and truth and light, but if it's way beyond us, it's useless, so the love/truth/light is in proportion to what we can understand.
When I was a child, I remember sitting in our trailer - to get away from everybody to think and pray.
I wanted to be the best I could be - right then and there. I wanted to understand everything - especially exactly how the atonement worked, assuming the atonement was the secret to everything. Back then, if someone had told me, what I have written now (of my spiritual perspectives) I would have probably ignored it because I would have seen no relevance.

When teaching kids - if you start preaching about God and deep spiritual (abstract) concepts, it goes over their concrete-oriented heads.
But if you start talking about their parents - their families, friends - then it's relative. And kids - see those people as gods - especially parents.
Teens kind of see their peers as gods - and start breaking away from such "worship" and blind obedience to parents.
Then young adults, depending - may pick up a group belief system - religious, atheist, political - and deem that as god.
Slowly, little by little, breaking away from temporary, but "false" gods - toward something that helps them progress - ideally, getting closer to God.

It's not to say that parents, peers, religion etc. are bad.
Actually - they may be good - and really the closest thing they can relate to God.
But there is more.
There is no "arriving" at the truth about God - it is, IMO, an eternal work in progress.

Deep down, I know that I don't know much - especially about God.
Still, what I do believe and feel with all my soul is good for me now and I will continue to learn, by appreciating that each step is necessary and GOoD - even if it is not a giant leap right up to God. It is getting closer, as we all are.
Someone I respected said something that shook me up and got me thinking - and I started exploring. Thankfully, I was helped along the way to see much deeper perspectives, but it was after I inquired and started searching - it was when I was ready and anxious to learn more. At times, I fought it - especially growing up in a cult, I was taught my entire life to not question such - and some things (esp. the temple) is especially sacred and it was really hard realizing some less beautiful - even ugly - aspects that I couldn't deny. Still, that doesn't discount the good of it. There is good and bad in this cult-like religion, but in realizing it had some negative aspects, I stopped considering it my god - and came closer to God.

A good friend and I were crying as he told of his wife and my old friend passing away. But he found hope in the gospel message that we all will be together again, as families. Such a beautiful hope! It may not be exactly how either of us imagine - but maybe the belief creates it - who knows! Maybe truth is much more dynamic and interrelated with us (metaphysically especially - but also after-life) than we think.
Each of us have our own narrow way to go because truth is perceived subjectively - how we relate and connect with God is unique for each of us.

[Thinker]

Life is much about relating and connections.
Some connections are very superficial - maybe 2 strangers in line at the store comment on a product they've both had experience with.
Sometimes strangers can become friends even who will give each other a hug when their team wins the game.
We seem very tribal at times - we begin life in our own little family tribe.

As a member of the LDS/Mormon church, wherever I moved, I've had instant friends - like extended family.
One time, a bunch of us were kind of stranded in a far-away city.
Someone called a local bishop and he helped us out.
We've been blessed by the service of many and we've tried to serve.
It has often seemed that when a stranger & I come to find out we're both LDS, there is an instant trust or relating.
We have an amazing social network.

It can be a powerful thing to be part of a group, and in many ways it is good.
Yet, when it excludes others, or regards others as less than because they are not part of our group, it is not of God.
To only love those in our own tribe - or to only do as our tribe says - never questioning - never reaching out for truth outside - is not the best way.
Christ taught to love all - even enemies.
We are all spiritual brothers and sisters.
How awesome would it be to see the light of Christ in each person - to see that they are our brother or sister, and to see all as part of our tribe.
How would that be - especially if it is someone who rubs us the "wrong way," someone who may even have values so different from ours?
Jesus taught us to follow him - and I don't think he meant to just pick and choose with what we would follow him.
I believe that Jesus going through the Garden of Gethsemane was something we each need to go through - in our own way.
I believe that he showed us how to dig deep, to see the humanity in us, so we could love the humanity (beautiful and ugly) in others.

Moses meant it when he was inspired to give the commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" - and no engraven images for worship.
If we focus on Jesus as a white super-model God, we are disobeying both commandments.
And if we allow those images and some teachings or traditions to make us prejudice against people who look Middle Eastern or African or Asian, or Latino, or of a different religious background...
...Or if we allow ourselves to be deceived by our supposed exclusive self-righteousness, we will be disobeying the greatest commandments - which are to love God and to love others as ourselves.
The narrow way is to resist clinging to an exclusionary tribe mentality, and rather, to seek truth wherever it's found and to love others as ourselves, whoever they are, to sense the spiritual connection and bond we each have, with every other on this earth.
I'm not suggesting this is easy nor that I have mastered it - but it is a worthy goal.

[Simon]

A scripture has been confusing to me - it's found in many places and says...
"For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
This seems strange - to give to those who have, but take from those who have not - it seems both illogical and unethical - like spiritual debt.

I understand it that he that hath given all, shall receive all. He that hath not give anything, shall not receive anything.

It is amazing to ponder the deal. God, who is perfect, gives us all he posesses, if we give him all we posess. How can we possibly compare these two?

[Thinker]

A scripture has been confusing to me - it's found in many places and says...
"For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
This seems strange - to give to those who have, but take from those who have not - it seems both illogical and unethical - like spiritual debt.

I understand it that he that hath given all, shall receive all. He that hath not give anything, shall not receive anything.

It is amazing to ponder the deal. God, who is perfect, gives us all he posesses, if we give him all we posess. How can we possibly compare these two?

Good points, thanks, Simon.
That's another way to look at talents - gifts from God - "use it or lose it!"

[Thinker]

Another thought regarding the narrow way - or the not-so-narrow way.

I've come to a point in my faith journey where I can go a long time before finding someone with whom we share all beliefs.
Of course, no 2 people believe EVERYTHING the same, but it may take a while to realize that.
Consider young kids (toddlers) - they have limited awareness and things are pretty simple in their estimations.
If they both go to the same pre-school, same class, same rules etc. - they see their classmates as very similar to them just for being in the same class.
In church, growing up, when I met someone who was lds, it was really cool because it was rare, and I felt like we were the same - I had someone who understood me and I understood them - we shared beliefs, values and many other aspects.
Lately, I've been discouraged over and over in relationships and interactions - always finding some aspect I disagree with, having the unrealistic expectations that we should agree on everything, as it seemed was so common before. When really, we always had that disagreement before, it was just dormant, potential yet to be realized, until more searching happened.

I'll write more later....

IMO, soul-searching is at the heart of the gospel - and eternal progress. It is the means by which we best obey the greatest commandments - to love God and others as ourselves. "In each of us is a bit of all of us" - so soul-searching helps us understand humanity in general, as well as our own selves in specific. Yet, things look different when you look closer. Sometimes I wouldn't want to look in a microscope - to see bugs etc., because it would stir up some fears and make me worry more than is necessary. Add unrealistic expectations and dormant pessimism (or other cognitive distortions and life traps) and the deeper you look into "ugly" truth, the more disheartening it can be. The truth may set you free, but first it'll bother you. Seeing truth can be liberating because you can then see all possibilities and pick the best. However, it can also be scary and sad.

Life must be lived. "A conclusion is where you get tired of thinking" - yet if we waited before we knew everything enough to conclude, it would be paralyzing. Many of us may need not just a change of heart - but an overhaul and reprograming of our thought habits, if we are going to maintain HOPE in the face of ugly truths. We need to program genuine FORGIVENESS into our minds and hearts. We need such a strong, dedicated loyal forgiveness that when we come across betrayal after betrayal, we maintain peace and hope, accepting that we're all human becomings.

Ideally, I control my own internal camera. I choose where to direct its focus and how close or far to zoom in or out for more clarity (but also "ugly truths") or the big picture (to maintain hope).
The big picture, I see we're all so much alike - we have so much in common. We may disagree about this or that, but ultimately, we are all children of God, spiritual beings having a human experience. We're all striving to progress, to the best of our human ability. We all BELONG to the human race, and are spiritually part of the same big family.

[BrotherOfMahonri]

I was going to take a break from this forum, but I felt impressed to share something I read today.
It is from a friend who seems to be finding the narrow way - he has realized more profound truths and moved beyond certain cognitive distortions common in our church doctrine or culture, and yet has still maintained a respect and genuine appreciation for positive and spiritual aspects of it. He had posted this on a "New Order Mormon" - a forum that was originally meant to be the middle way, but unfortunately has become mostly filled with angry posts, rejecting any good about the church, which is why after crediting Josepth Smith, he added, "Beat me up later if you want."

"I've said it a million times, 'we could never survive the whole truth.' I went on a kick, demanding truth from God... Talk about my world unraveling! I'm practically begging for illusions... well, not quite...

Joseph Smith taught that 'all things are demonstrated by their opposites.' I know this is Newtonian Physics, but I accredit the idea to Joseph Smith. Beat me up later if you want.

One of the things about 'truth' that really opened my eyes was the 'harshness' of it... One of the worst things you can do is try to impose your will, or 'get what you want' through acts of kindness or good behavior. You enslave yourself to a path that might not be who you are, or what you want. The best thing is TRY to BE what you want to be, and let pieces fall into place around you, without trying to control them. Anyway, this list is based on what to expect for yourself (not how to change others, or get results from others, etc).

1. Do you want peace? Prepare to fight for it. Seeking peace through passive means, or pacifying your antogonist will never result in peace. Saying the words, taking the steps, etc., to protect your space and emotional state is the only way to have peace.

2. Want wisdom? Prepare to meet your ignorance. Truth happens, our suffering is based upon the truth that we ignore.

3. Want to accept and love others? Prepare to be rejected, hated, and shunned. To the degree you knwo how it feels to be rejected, you will learn to accept others as they are, without conditions or expectations. Accepting others when they have accepted you is easy. Accepting those that have shunned you... will test your metal.

4. Want strength? Prepare to have your weaknesses exposed. These are weaknesses that cannot be made strong, but merely survived. You will bleed when you are cut. You will hurt when you are rejected and betrayed. Strength is NOT measured by your numbness, or inability to feel the pain, but by your ability to feel and survive it.

5. Want to be right? Prepare to be proven wrong... so many times your head will spin. We often take the privilege of being right without testing ourselves. When you expose your lack of knowledge and get beat down a few times, the path of being right slowly reveals itself. One of the best ways to be right, is always keep your mind open to the possibility that you are wrong. I've always claimed that I get closer to the truth by my admission of ignorance then I will ever get by my claim of knowing.

6. Want patience? Prepare to be frustrated. It is easy to have patience when nothing is testing it. The desire to develop patience will unleash more frustration than any person can stand.

7. Want to be humble? Prepare to meet your ignorance. I had a vision once, about the nature of God, and I realized that there was no room for ego or arrogance in the Kingdom of God. 'The greatest among you is the servant of all.' God is the greatest, God is the servant of all. As we get closer to truth, our arrogance is exposed. This is uncomfortable as it has been part of our 'ignore-ance' for our entire lives.

8. Want truth? Prepare to have what you 'thought' was real crumble, fall away, and burn as if in fire. So many of us thought that truth meant 'understand this event, or that event,' but it doesn't. Truth impacts the ties that bind, the reasons for being, etc. As truth manifests in your life, relationships based on false ideas, or weak ideas, or for the wrong reasons begin to fail. One of the biggest reasons so many marriages are failing is because so many people got married for reasons that the 'truth' no longer supports. If you want your relationships to survive the truth... one must dig deep, and dig fast. Find truth in your relationship that doesn't rely on Mormon authority, or Celestial Kingdom ideas. Good spirit... always brings the truth. But it is almost impossible to maintain or sustain good spirit when you are depressed, frightened, or lost in doubt.

...When we 'ask' for things of god, (whether we believe or not - for asking God is merely having the desire) it creates an effect in our life. Be careful what you ask for or want. It might have unexpected results in your life.

...I've noticed something... it isn't so much about good and evil, right and wrong. It's more about truth and illusion. There are those that are willing to face the truth, suffer through the pain of it, and seek to find their place in the 'new truth' (thought it be far from the 'whole truth').
...Then there are those that continue to hold to the illusion, even desperately. As truth exposes flaws in their beliefs, in their systems of thought, they seek to cover up the pain. As relationships fail, some step back and assess what they really want and seek it, while others dash off to the nearest 'fix' of their illusions. Just as drugs and alcohol can kill our pain, so can a new lover, especially one that will tell us how special we are, how 'wronged' we were, how that other person is horrible, etc. Illusions are the source of our suffering, yet we still dare not see the truth.

Seeking the truth is going to break your heart. But the truth can mend it too. You just have to hang in there. It might not get better, but you will be able to deal with it better."

Wow, how did I miss this! Thanks for that and whoever bumped this thread. Made my heart leap within my breast.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Thank you for posting this.

[BrotherOfMahonri]

My thoughts on the church in the near future with the question the OP proposed.
http://voiceofanearthquake.blogspot.com ... hurch.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Enoch]

I wonder what this site will look like in 50 years and what the church will look like.
I'm not the only one who has noticed people herding themselves on 2 main opposing side, regarding principles.
No doubt, the most important battles are not fought on the battleground, but are between principles.

It seems that the cognitive distortion of bi-polar thinking - "It's either this or that" - is rampant. Few seem to be able to consider multiple perspectives and think for themselves, instead of adopting another's belief package.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." -Matt 7:13-14

I think few find it because they are too caught up in wanting to identify with and be accepted by one herd or another... On one hand, there are some who are justifying killing children (abortion) and legally redefining marriage to cator to homosexual fetishes... On the other hand, there are some who are justifying robbing from the poor and breaking Christ's most important commandments & charging for worthiness - simply because somebody in authority told them to. I love a sense of belonging and unity, but I do not prioritize that above God, and what proves to be truly good.

Now is NOT the time to trust in the flesh. Now IS the time to trust in God, and our God-given ability to study things out for ourselves and to receive inspiration, to make our way through the narrow path which "few there be find."

Wow! Great thoughts!

[Thinker]

Thanks for the comments and thanks.

My thoughts on the church in the near future with the question the OP proposed.
http://voiceofanearthquake.blogspot.com ... hurch.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Many good points, and made in a creative, memorable way.

Even a member (older ward missionary) told me that this church is not as Joseph intended and we agreed that if Joseph practiced spiritually today as he did before, ironically, he would be excommunicated.

[Thinker]

After the new bishop said some things to me that made me feel like I don't belong in the church (because I disapprove of church financial management), I've contemplated not going. But I was encouraged by some notes I'd taken a while ago, from someone who was finding a way to love the church & people without getting hurt by some of the cult-mentalities, and he had it particularly hard breaking from the FLDS. Although he is no longer in the cult, he loves and respects the goodness and especially the good people.

"If you want happiness in your relationship with TBM parents (etc.), chances are, you will need to be the 'understanding one'... love is more important than your ideas of god, truth, or independence."

"America is the most powerful country on earth. As long as I maintain my citizenship, exercise my freedoms, express my opinions, then I have some small influence on that great power. If I divorce myself from it, fight against it, etc., because of my differences, then I lose a lot. There is a spiritual concept that says, the only way to effect true change is from the inside... Personally, I think it is OK to claim membership and still express your personality and exercise your soul. Oddly, I think I can justify almost every position or belief I have from the teaching of Joseph Smith."

On a similar note, there's a story from ancient times, before a group knew what watermelons were, and feared them as monsters taking over their gardens. One soldier came, pulled out his sword and cut off the watermelon from the vein, sliced it up and ate it - and people gasped in horror - seeing what looked like blood gushing out. That group continued to fear watermelons.
Another soldier came to help the people - and listened to their fears, and expressed empathy and understanding, even though he knew the watermelon was harmless. He earned their trust and he taught them about melons, how their seeds grow and how they are food to many. Soon, the people overcame their fear and were planting and harvesting many types of melons.

[Thinker]

Sorting thoughts...

A thread about the baptism by fire (Holy Ghost) has me thinking about another expression for it: "Dark night of the soul" - which in my mind I thought it would be one really long and painful night - like Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. I do think Jesus showed by example some spiritual steps we take to become more Christ-like, however, I think it's more than just one night. I see it ongoing - line upon line - as much as we can handle at a time. Yin-Yang is partly like the idea, "there must needs be opposition in all things." If I were living the best life I could - practically Christ-like, there would still need to be opposition - it's almost like a gift - like gravity makes our muscles a bit stronger than without it. Yet, anybody who works out knows that if you work out too much, you can do damage - you must have some rest, stretch etc. Sleep is very restorative - and necessary. So, yes, there are "dark nights" but there are also "bright days." We need both. It is not all-or-nothing. We are here to learn to love ourselves and others well (which can be hard), but we're also here to have joy!

Truth is in perspective, and generally, the more perspectives, the more truthful. Some say we are like walking binoculars - we pick something to zoom in and focus on, and ignore a lot of peripheral information. Often, what we focus on is chosen because of subconscious reasons. The "carnal" part of us has another part within it called "pain body" - that which zooms in and focuses on pain - our own (being offended) or others.' Some say, this is why Jesus' suffering on the cross resonates with so many - it exemplifies how a part of us feels, or struggles. It's also why there's so much violence in media - people pay for it. The pain body focuses on the worst - it may be true - but it ignores the good, so it's illusional. Then again, some have a pain body that is buried deep under many layers, so they'll never admit to being negative, but they feel it, and sometimes because they suppress it so much, the body expresses it as "dis-ease." These are just some reasons why psych-ology - study of the soul - is so imperative to spiritual progress and happiness!

Ignor-ance is the root of a lot of suffering. Unhappy feelings have purpose - to motivate improvement. Suppressing them isn't good, nor is dwelling on them. It's good to keep in mind that most situations are not 100% good nor 100% bad - but a mix. Everything is in our minds - how we filter and interpret input. We are the artist of our own imaginings - or we ought to be. But often many of us adopt copies of others' work, especially our parents'. Some is good, but some make the world seem so ugly - distorted. We need to look at the filters we view the world with as objectively as possible and begin replacing distorted parts with healthier perspectives. The ideal is to investigate something before investing faith in, keeping in mind some human weakness, and then focusing on the positive.

Ideally, there is a harmonious mix of seeing things for what they are ("cold hard facts")... and being inspired and motivated by "functional illusions." It's appreciating how we're doing good in many ways, while searching our souls to see how we can and will improve. But what is "good" - who determines it? Good, bad - they depend on circumstances. IE: Usually, "Thou shalt not bear false witness" applies, unless it might hurt someone's feelings. There is a need to harmonize expressing feelings... and self control. Also, both solitude and socializing help in improving and enjoying. There are some things we can carry ourselves, but some we need help with. Harmony also is needed in being passionate... while being still to know God and reflect.

Forgiving is "giving" to go "for"ward. However, some time may be needed to process and be in the moment - to figure out what the best way to move on would be. Forgiving is not forgetting, nor is it blaming someone else for our own struggles, but it may be allowing someone else to be response-able for their own mistakes, as we take response-ability for ours - and thereby giving both to go forward. It's realizing we all often need to be forgiven because often we know not what we do.

These are all ideas that are much easier said than done.

[Thinker]

MJ Ashton said, "An egotists will never get anywhere in this world because he thinks he's already there."
Often, I've gotten the impression of the assumption that we think we have the truth - the fullness of the gospel - with testimonies saying, "I KNOW..." But I don't believe people really know or have a full knowledge of the gospel - otherwise we'd be more often doing miracles as Jesus did. Also, I believe that God designed for us to learn line-upon-line, being born again & again spiritually - our entire lives - to never stop progressing (eternally).

So... although this can be a bit humbling, it's good to remember that I don't know everything there is to know about God!
Yes, I pray to God and imagine God - but I realize it's not close to what God really is - it's just the best I can imagine at this moment.
If I fool myself into thinking I've learned all there is to know, I will be held back (damned) from learning any more.
As I consider I haven't "arrived" - and that there's more to know - and ask with active faith, God will give me more.

[Thinker]

Lately, I’ve been listening to J. Peterson’s bible series, but I’ll add my thoughts to what I’ve gathered from his. ( https://youtu.be/wNjbasba-Qw 1:08. ). He was talking about the need to have a moral hierarchy & how whatever is at the top & which other morals are subordinate to must be supporting and improving the structure, otherwise it collapses - otherwise you collapse & you hurt your soul. He compared this to the idea of denying the Holy Gost as the greatest sin. The highest moral is essentially the highest GOoD - which is our ability to be aware and give attention to (I AM THAT I AM) to make the unknown known (create order out of chaos) & communicate honestly.

Denying the HG used to concern me because often I have felt the spirit and not acted on it. But I consider sin to be incorrect thought & consequent feeling, intent and action. The sin in denying the spirit is not a one-time thing & you’re screwed but I think it’s more about patterns and habits. The more you lie to yourself, the more you are damnned - held back - from progressing.

[Thinker]

For some time I’ve known that the church cannot be looked to as an infallible god, but I thought the good far outweighed the bad. The way the church is falling for homosexual manipulation (like calling people by their sins or more politically correct term, “gay”), and the bishop & stake pres. taking advantage of members as a captive audience to preach homosexual lies during church, I’m feeling a need to guard myself & my children more. I teach my kids to think for themselves and often remind them when it comes to the church & similar things, “take the best, leave the rest.” I don’t want to obsess about anything nor do I want them to be unkind if they come across it, but I also want them to be aware of the evil of homosexuality that is deceptively being portrayed as fine - even in the church with websites like “mormon and gay.”

My kids often joke with me because I have taught them about cognitive distortions & logical fallacies, but considering the sly, sneaky way homosexuality is being portrayed, it is imperative to understand their distorted tactics like emotional reasoning, straw-man, red herring, and flat out lies repeated until they’re believed. It is essential to think things through not based on what he or she said but based on ongoing study, careful thought and the Spirit.

[Thinker]

The beautiful thing about many scriptures is that they are parables that are immensely rich and diverse in meaning. Anyone from a child, to a genius can derive meaning, and then you read it again later in life and new significance emerges. Maybe this is partly why gospel = good news.

Jordan Peterson’s bible series has been enlightening. Though not comprehensive, he’s given some great ways of considering scripture passages. He quoted the one I began this thread with: “Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, & broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, & many there be which go in thereat: Because straight is the gate, & narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life & few there be that find it.” He explained there is a fine line between chaos and order - and a need to balance both. This need is profound & why we have brains with left and right hemispheres.
About 1:22. https://youtu.be/6gFjB9FTN58

I’ll try to sum up my understanding of chaos and order, partly from JP, but also other ideas. God’s creations consist of both. Paradise means “walled garden” which is a mix of chaotic nature and orderly building. Of course, only superficially does nature look chaotic, but if you looked closer - even nature has a mix of chaos and order - some habitual normalities, yet breaking out of those to try new things over time. The yin represents in part, the space within a vessel - and yang the vessel... the unknown and the known. How we learn is by stepping out into the unknown and incorporating new knowledge with what we knew before. If we step out too much into the unknown we may become lost, disoriented and confused. But if we stick to only what we know - we are damned - held back from learning more. And if we sit on the fence about things, we’re luke warm and “will be spit out.” Ideally, we are on that fine line touching both the known and the unknown to benefit from both.

[Thinker]

In a more practical sense, maybe the narrow way could be the best balance between extremes...
Being active... and being still.
Doing for others... and caring for oneself.
Listening... and talking.
Laughing... and crying.
Focusing on the positive... doing something about the negative.

[Thinker]

Today, I was reading posts from many people on this forum - and I was really moved by the spirit. Tears came to my eyes realizing how beautiful and strong people are! It’s true that this world sometimes looks hopeless - but you all gave me hope today. Thank you! I love you guys!

I believe there are Angels among us... https://youtu.be/Ey0HrEvh44c

[Thinker]

“Without a test, there’d be no testimony.” - Marshal Alan Robertson (oldest son - Duck dynasty)

[Thinker]

Mother Nature is an incredible source of healing. As beautiful and popular as cathedrals and other religious buildings are, they are nothing compared to God’s direct creation! It’s no wonder that some of the most spiritually developed to ever walk this earth, made their way to mountains to get closer to God.

“Mountains are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” -A Boukreev

[justme]

Mother Nature is an incredible source of healing. As beautiful and popular as cathedrals and other religious buildings are, they are nothing compared to God’s direct creation! It’s no wonder that some of the most spiritually developed to ever walk this earth, made their way to mountains to get closer to God.

“Mountains are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” -A Boukreev

"The mountains are calling and I must go" John Muir

[Thinker]

Mother Nature is an incredible source of healing. As beautiful and popular as cathedrals and other religious buildings are, they are nothing compared to God’s direct creation! It’s no wonder that some of the most spiritually developed to ever walk this earth, made their way to mountains to get closer to God.

“Mountains are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” -A Boukreev

"The mountains are calling and I must go" John Muir

You know something funny (now, but not when it happened)?
My brother and I decided to hike up to camp Muir (named after John ^).
This was before I became “Thinker” and neglected to bring an apparatus like the snow board my brother brought to make the trip down easier. I did have a longer chance to enjoy the view at +10,000 feet.

[Thinker]

I had a cool experience as I was sitting, praying by a stream. Along the stream are trees that hang over, making kind of a web-like tunnel. As I was praying & meditating, I feel this, swoosh and look to see a big bird (hawk?) which flew right by me and through the narrow tunnel of tree branches. I would have never imagined such a big bird would be able to navigate flying through that - but it made it! … And I have hope and faith that we too will make it through narrow ways that at times, look difficult - with God’s help.