Aloha, fellow human beans

[Coxhere]

That’s fair. I’ve always refused the idea that I should be the subject of a funeral after I die because it’s so gloomy. I would rather people celebrate the life I had and my connections with them then openly talk of only my loss, so I think that’s great and makes sense why you enjoyed and connected with your mom even after her passing. That’s love, in my opinion.

What made Mom's funeral so wonderful was because, at least for me, it was so very spiritual. Rather than an emphasis on missing the loss of a physical body, there was the release of a spiritual body instead.

 

[Coxhere]

Yeah I don’t disagree with the fact that it’s a necessity whatsoever, nor do I think it’s negative. Celebrating someone and your relationship with them is a way one can grieve. I just feel like people barely see me now and can only imagine my funeral being an opportunity for people I’ve barely connected with to soothe their vanity and pay respect to our non exist relation. Funerals feel like such a spectacle to me, when I’ve barely interacted with anyone actually able to maintain deep healthy connections with others nor themselves so people mostly grieve regrets. And I’m not a regret nor do I want people to say goodbye after my death centered around regrets when I very loudly am against regrets, I’m a do it now, do it while scared so I don’t regret it or miss a chance to experience new things type of person so the notion of a contemporary funeral is infuriating.
I also don’t want to be buried in a casket that takes 1728728 years to decompose with my relatives paying an awful lot of money for a mere location.
I understand grief as “love with nowhere to go” and so it’s inevitable but if it’s from love and not performative reasons then a funeral ceremony is not needed. The whole thing with a dress code, whatever food depending, in a sad looking room… just too icky to celebrate the death of a complex human being.
I would rather have an altar ceremony or an alternative that’s more personal than a funeral.

What happens with me in graveyards, whether at a present-moment funeral-burial or just being in a graveyard alone, is the feeling of the specific spirit being released or sometimes spirits who are merely dwelling there. I think that, if people could just put their feelings of sadness, loss, guilt, or whatever aside, there's a possibility of feeling the spirit of someone just dead. It makes for a very different kind of experience.

 

[MerCsDs]

What made Mom's funeral so wonderful was because, at least for me, it was so very spiritual. Rather than an emphasis on missing the loss of a physical body, there was the release of a spiritual body instead.

In my opinion that’s more important because death is the end of the person’s physical body. And spirituality is felt in a way that can’t be mistaken and ultimately is personal. I think not wanting it to be focused on the loss of the physical body is something I would prefer for people to strive for because connection reaches beyond the physical level.

 

[Crossbreed]

I have all kinds of hope for the Believers in my family.
It does not seem to stop the grief, though.

 

[Coxhere]

In my opinion that’s more important because death is the end of the person’s physical body. And spirituality is felt in a way that can’t be mistaken and ultimately is personal. I think not wanting it to be focused on the loss of the physical body is something I would prefer for people to strive for because connection reaches beyond the physical level.

Yes!

 

[MerCsDs]

What happens with me in graveyards, whether at a present-moment funeral-burial or just being in a graveyard alone, is the feeling of the specific spirit being released or sometimes spirits who are merely dwelling there. I think that, if people could just put their feelings of sadness, loss, guilt, or whatever aside, there's a possibility of feeling the spirit of someone just dead. It makes for a very different kind of experience.

In that sense it makes sense to bury people in a cemetery but cemeteries are like dumps, they further and an isolated dedicated area to discard remains from my pov. I don’t see why one couldn’t connect more personally with an altar or even ashes although incineration also has its environmental impact.
I remember coming across a post somewhere that mentioned how psychic are simply people more attuned with other realms and metaphysical experiences but everyone has access to those and I honestly feel that if we put more care and attention in things like how we bury our loved ones, how we connect to them and other non physical things it could help exercise the abilities.

 

[Coxhere]

In that sense it makes sense to bury people in a cemetery but cemeteries are like dumps, they further and an isolated dedicated area to discard remains from my pov. I don’t see why one couldn’t connect more personally with an altar or even ashes although incineration also has its environmental impact.
I remember coming across a post somewhere that mentioned how psychic are simply people more attuned with other realms and metaphysical experiences but everyone has access to those and I honestly feel that if we put more care and attention in things like how we bury our loved ones, how we connect to them and other non physical things it could help exercise the abilities.

But so many people are thinking that anything spiritual is demonic. I think this thinking is the product of fear.

 

[MerCsDs]

But so many people are thinking that anything spiritual is demonic. I think this thinking is the product of fear.

Fear that has been used to condition people and divide people, yes. So many ideologies pushes it down our throats from colonialism to evangelization. It’s so weird because people used to be way more openly spiritual and notion like Satan at most were related to an example of a mischievous character, not a representation of evilness, I can’t imagine what it was like to not have most people react in fear to anything that beyond a defined “normal” or beyond what the social scale would allow. Like even tools like astrology are torn antagonized or tarot which are both at most are tools that are part of what people used to make sense of things people knew to be there but couldn’t understand, tools for connection not for conjuring demons or anything to do with made up a made up demon king.

 

[Coxhere]

Fear that has been used to condition people and divide people, yes. So many ideologies pushes it down our throats from colonialism to evangelization. It’s so weird because people used to be way more openly spiritual and notion like Satan at most were related to an example of a mischievous character, not a representation of evilness, I can’t imagine what it was like to not have most people react in fear to anything that beyond a defined “normal” or beyond what the social scale would allow. Like even tools like astrology are torn antagonized or tarot which are both at most are tools that are part of what people used to make sense of things people knew to be there but couldn’t understand, tools for connection not for conjuring demons or anything to do with made up a made up demon king.

Fear of anything different is what has made human beings kill each other. If it's different, kill it! This is why people of different religions say that the different religions are dangerous, evil, and are "not the right way." The Inquisitions, The Crusades, European wars of Roman Catholics and Protestants are examples of tribal gods clashing with each other.

I remember when I was a little boy growing up in a southern town that Roman Catholics were forbidden from going into Protestant churches and Protestants were forbidden from going into Roman Catholic churches! And then the-no-longer-so-recently Christian preacher takes copies of the Qur'an and burns them in Florida. The on-going death threats regarding the writing of the book, The Satanic Verses.

I think that the end of the world coming via "fire" as mentioned in the Bible will be because human beings aren't able to get over their fears of differences and unknowns, their refusal to learn about others who are not from their particular tribe. I think that the peoples of the world had better get over their fears, abolishing the dualistic, tribal religious systems, cultural systems, and political systems. We'd better get used to and embrace non-dual, universal religious systems, cultural systemss, and political systems.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. . . . The one who fears has not been perfected in love. . . .If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." Quoted from Saint John's First Epistle, chapter 4, verses 18 & 20.​

 

[MerCsDs]

Fear of anything different is what has made human beings kill each other. If it's different, kill it! This is why people of different religions say that the different religions are dangerous, evil, and are "not the right way." The Inquisitions, The Crusades, European wars of Roman Catholics and Protestants are examples of tribal gods clashing with each other.

I remember when I was a little boy growing up in a southern town that Roman Catholics were forbidden from going into Protestant churches and Protestants were forbidden from going into Roman Catholic churches! And then the-no-longer-so-recently Christian preacher takes copies of the Qur'an and burns them in Florida. The on-going death threats regarding the writing of the book, The Satanic Verses.

I think that the end of the world coming via "fire" as mentioned in the Bible will be because human beings aren't able to get over their fears of differences and unknowns, their refusal to learn about others who are not from their particular tribe. I think that the peoples of the world had better get over their fears, abolishing the dualistic, tribal religious systems, cultural systems, and political systems. We'd better get used to and embrace non-dual, universal religious systems, cultural systemss, and political systems.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear. . . . The one who fears has not been perfected in love. . . .If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." Quoted from Saint John's First Epistle, chapter 4, verses 18 & 20.​

I only wish people were more used to challenging the uncomfortable things while being fearful: being scared of something shouldn’t be a thing that people use to spread hatred. How low the number of people who own the skill of empathy currently is even more striking now since a lot of uncomfortableness, fear, etc. are based on lack or refusal to share empathy, or sympathy, or compassion.
I had a thought regarding the cleansing with fire recently, where I feel like the justification of burning things to cleanse them is, at times, a black and white idea since it deems what was before to be “bad” or feel the need to discard it even though no one has the right to determine such a claim about the worth of anything. I fear that’s more of an idea pushed by imperialism, colonialism, racism and even contemporary evangelization since it’s one thing destroying another. I am in no way trying to debate religion, this refers to how colonialism has shaped it and that form being forced upon so many.
I thought about it and I feel like nature uses fire in a different more powerful way. For instance, as I write upon a piece of paper and then burn it to manifest a new goal for myself. I use the transformation of the solid paper to gas to reach immaterial energy and both forms are respected. I “cleansed” with fire by simply using it as a tool to communicate with energies, for myself and with the help of other energies or beings. That feels more natural and unoppressive to me.

 

[Coxhere]

I only wish people were more used to challenging the uncomfortable things while being fearful: being scared of something shouldn’t be a thing that people use to spread hatred. How low the number of people who own the skill of empathy currently is even more striking now since a lot of uncomfortableness, fear, etc. are based on lack or refusal to share empathy, or sympathy, or compassion.
I had a thought regarding the cleansing with fire recently, where I feel like the justification of burning things to cleanse them is, at times, a black and white idea since it deems what was before to be “bad” or feel the need to discard it even though no one has the right to determine such a claim about the worth of anything. I fear that’s more of an idea pushed by imperialism, colonialism, racism and even contemporary evangelization since it’s one thing destroying another. I am in no way trying to debate religion, this refers to how colonialism has shaped it and that form being forced upon so many.
I thought about it and I feel like nature uses fire in a different more powerful way. For instance, as I write upon a piece of paper and then burn it to manifest a new goal for myself. I use the transformation of the solid paper to gas to reach immaterial energy and both forms are respected. I “cleansed” with fire by simply using it as a tool to communicate with energies, for myself and with the help of other energies or beings. That feels more natural and unoppressive to me.

A few responses to what you have written here, MerCsDs.

"I only wish people were more used to challenging the uncomfortable things while being fearful. . . ." I wish we human beings were more capable of living with ambiguity and with arbitrariness, challenging our fears of differences.

Do you think that, in general, humans are evolving into a higher, more spiritual species?

Your comments about fire makes me think of an Old Testament passage from the book of Malachi, chapter three, verse three: "He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross (with fire). He will purify the Levites, refining them (with fire) like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices. . . ."

 

[MerCsDs]

A few responses to what you have written here, MerCsDs.

"I only wish people were more used to challenging the uncomfortable things while being fearful. . . ." I wish we human beings were more capable of living with ambiguity and with arbitrariness, challenging our fears of differences.

Do you think that, in general, humans are evolving into a higher, more spiritual species?

Your comments about fire makes me think of an Old Testament passage from the book of Malachi, chapter three, verse three: "He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross (with fire). He will purify the Levites, refining them (with fire) like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices. . . ."

I actually think we devolved into what we are now, since many nations in the past were way more spiritual than we are now and it is noticeable that after most of the world was colonized for being "uncivilized" we lost a lot of that capability "of living with ambiguity and arbitrariness." Many professionals, people, mention how it was easier for us to be divided and weak minded as we are so we don't form oppositions against the oppressors. I believe their theory, I feel how much we were robbed of being able to connect with each other more genuinely and we're antagonized for connecting with spirits, immaterial things, etc.

I am understanding that the quote talks about refining an object as to make it an acceptable offering or for it to be used to "offer acceptable sacrifices" and I do see that theme being more how fire "cleanses" in the more natural way.

 

[Coxhere]

I actually think we devolved into what we are now, since many nations in the past were way more spiritual than we are now and it is noticeable that after most of the world was colonized for being "uncivilized" we lost a lot of that capability "of living with ambiguity and arbitrariness." Many professionals, people, mention how it was easier for us to be divided and weak minded as we are so we don't form oppositions against the oppressors. I believe their theory, I feel how much we were robbed of being able to connect with each other more genuinely and we're antagonized for connecting with spirits, immaterial things, etc.

I am understanding that the quote talks about refining an object as to make it an acceptable offering or for it to be used to "offer acceptable sacrifices" and I do see that theme being more how fire "cleanses" in the more natural way.

MerCsDs, I think we also are being "refined" and "purified" by the fires of adversity and life challenges such that we are more able to offer ourselves as "sacrifices" in the world for those who want and need more quality-filled lives.

Being a "sacrifice" reminds me of something that I wrote decades ago:
A Wounded Healer
Grind me
Pulverize me
Mash me into fine powder
Break and smash my recalcitrant
Lumps until they are not
Make me into a million
Billion parts, particles
Prepare me.

Then, when ready, bring the soft,
Sifted truth of goodness and
Blend my brokenness within it
Mix well and bake
Transform me into a living meal
Bread for the journeys of many
A Wounded Healer

“. . . .accept the truth of this moment. . . .”
The Quiet Answer, page 11,
Hugh Prather
(https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Answer-Hugh-Prather/dp/B007EEKLPO)

 

[MerCsDs]

MerCsDs, I think we also are being "refined" and "purified" by the fires of adversity and life challenges such that we are more able to offer ourselves as "sacrifices" in the world for those who want and need more quality-filled lives.

Being a "sacrifice" reminds me of something that I wrote decades ago:
A Wounded Healer
Grind me
Pulverize me
Mash me into fine powder
Break and smash my recalcitrant
Lumps until they are not
Make me into a million
Billion parts, particles
Prepare me.

Then, when ready, bring the soft,
Sifted truth of goodness and
Blend my brokenness within it
Mix well and bake
Transform me into a living meal
Bread for the journeys of many
A Wounded Healer

“. . . .accept the truth of this moment. . . .”
The Quiet Answer, page 11,
Hugh Prather
(https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Answer-Hugh-Prather/dp/B007EEKLPO)

I definitely agree that our challenges are helping shape a better quality of existence connected to our adversity and our struggles.

I’m not sure about being a sacrifice since that seems to have a negative connotation and if my life but a planned sacrifice, I am enjoying myself more than I could imagine a martyr ever be able to.

 

[Coxhere]

I definitely agree that our challenges are helping shape a better quality of existence connected to our adversity and our struggles.

I’m not sure about being a sacrifice since that seems to have a negative connotation and if my life but a planned sacrifice, I am enjoying myself more than I could imagine a martyr ever be able to.

It is, of course, metaphorical. For me, "sacrifice" means how one assists other people. I think a different metaphor would be better for you.

 

[MerCsDs]

It is, of course, metaphorical. For me, "sacrifice" means how one assists other people. I think a different metaphor would be better for you.

I honestly didn’t think of it as a metaphor, I guess this is where my “literal” thinking has decided to manifest itself.
I’m unsure what you mean “a different metaphor would be better for (me),” if you literally want to give me a metaphor that fits my perspective or if formulating another metaphor should make it easier for me to understand the matter of sacrificing. I think I did understand what you meant, I simply wasn’t leaning towards comprehending it as a metaphor so I discarded thinking further down that path. So, then I chose incorrectly C: bc I didn’t feel like it was the correct way.

 

[Coxhere]

I honestly didn’t think of it as a metaphor, I guess this is where my “literal” thinking has decided to manifest itself.
I’m unsure what you mean “a different metaphor would be better for (me),” if you literally want to give me a metaphor that fits my perspective or if formulating another metaphor should make it easier for me to understand the matter of sacrificing. I think I did understand what you meant, I simply wasn’t leaning towards comprehending it as a metaphor so I discarded thinking further down that path. So, then I chose incorrectly C: bc I didn’t feel like it was the correct way.

For me, you do NOT choose "incorrectly!" I am WITH you in your being correct for yourself. It's after 1 a.m. here where I live, so I'm gonna go to bed now. Nite-Nite. . . .