quote:

That is so beautiful, Kristi. I was moved by your sharing this...Mother Mary is apparently answering the yearnings of your heart to know love.

I do believe so, Shahsa. As I began praying the Rosary, getting going was kind of tricky, in that I felt like I had windshield wipers on my eyes, brushing away images of the guru as I focused on the Holy Mother Mary. I had talked of my Christian roots with the woman who initiated me into the guru practice and she asserted that Mother Mary and the guru were one and the same. I did not realize how affected I was by her statement until I withdrew from the association. It was hard for me to call on the Holy Mother Mary without seeing the image of the woman who I was infact worshipping as an incarnation of the Divine Mother. BIG difference! I prayed and I continue to pray that the distinction, and the truth of Mother Mary's heart, be made clear to me.

Kristi

quote:

I prayed and I continue to pray that the distinction, and the truth of Mother Mary's heart, be made clear to me.

I believe my recent experience (and like experiences continue to come) shows one obvious distinction. The guru thing took me away from my own self. Mother Mary is bringing me, already, ever nearer to my self.

Kristi

quote:

Originally posted by gail:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by KristiMarie: And, oh, Gail, what is the "Jesus prayer" you referred to? I feel like I am just a baby Christian and I just want to be sure I don't come across and pray any loopy Jesus prayer.


Kristi-The sinners prayer is a staple in (Protestant) Evangelical world, it is the ticket to eternal life. There is nothing wrong at all with the prayer itself, it is just the teaching that once you have said this prayer you are saved forever. "Once saved always saved," and perseverance doesn't matter. If you once walked the aisle to the alter to say this prayer, you were going to heaven...
It is a lovely prayer, so no worries on getting into something unchristian, I was writing out of my evangelical baggage, God is gracious and this prayer can be a starting point. I wish I had the time to say more, this is brief, for the record I hope I am not stepping on any toes here!

Hi dear Gail---You're not stepping on the toes of this Protestant...and please take this in the context of my warm regard; but being a longtime member of several evangelical churches, I've heard the "once saved always saved" idea more than a few times and it's usually much more nuanced and meaningful...though undeniably it has been miscontrued by some preachers.

I'll get out of this good thread now...and please don't mind my saying anything.

Speaking of Jesus Prayers...

I went online to order a single chaplet rosary and a few prayers cards (the Apostle's Creed and Hail, Holy Queen, as I don't have these two memorized yet). I did end up purchasing a few more, but the supplier sent me more than twice as many cards as I ordered. Gracious, and touching. Anyhow, one of them contains this Jesus prayer which I have already fallen in love with. I imagine some here are familiar with it:

Lord, I offer you all of me, all that I am and all that I am not. I offer you every good decision and every regrettable mistake, every great accomplishment and every missed opportunity, every divinely inspired gift and every unapplied talent, every success and every miserable failure. I offer you all joy and all heartache, every kindness and every bitterness to be forgotten, every twinkle in my eye and every tear flowing down my cheek, every great love and each lot or irrecoverable act of charity. I offer you every quiet reflective moment and all of the unneeded chaos around me, all things holy and good in me and all things in need of greater purification. I give you every joyful memory and every bitter foul pain, each future moment and every missed opportunity to love, every kind act and each regrettable harsh word, all meekness and humility within me and every misplaced prideful thought, every virtue and every weak vice, every laugh and all misery mixed with weeping. I give you every healthy breath and every weakness of mind and body, every attempt at chastity and every unworthy lustful thought, every restful repose and every anxious sleepless night. O Lord, you can have all of me, the beauty that you've deposited deep within me and the emptiness of my sinful faults. I love you and am yours completely. Amen.

quote:

It is a lovely prayer, so no worries on getting into something unchristian

This response should have been before my last one. It sure was posted, but disappeared! What happened to it?!

I will not be able to re-create it verbatim, but what I said was:

Thank you, Gail, for clarifying and for sharing the Jesus Prayer.

I also thanked you for sharing the scriptural references counseling and encouraging perseverance. I took the time to read the surrounding context of each.

Kristi

[QUOTE]Originally posted by KristiMarie:
Speaking of Jesus Prayers...

Oh, the wonder that flooded my heart while reading the prayer, such a gift. Thank-You for posting this! I would love to know the supplier that you ordered from. Would you send me a personal message with info? In His Love & Grace, Gail

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ariel Jaffe:
[I'll get out of this good thread now...and please don't mind my saying anything.

I don't mind at all... I'm with Pop-pop on love for you and what you write here, you have such a spirit of grace!

quote:

Would you send me a personal message with info?

Coming your way, Gail! Just as soon as I figure out how to send a personal message!

In Christ's Love,
Kristi

Thank you all for the above discussions. Mother Meera is coming to Ireland next week for a three day retreat, and I received a phone call from a friend recommending that I should go to her to receive Darshan, as I have been ill for some time now, and feeling very low. Reading all your honest experiences, has been very rich, and I realise that I dont need to go to anybody to receive Darshan or Shaktipat or whatever, and as I sit and am reminded of this - "Be still and know that I am God"; that God's divine presence is within me bidden or unbidden, especially at times when I don't 'feel' God, And the truth is that we dont need to physically or psychologically whole to be filled with God's Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart and my body with your Divine love, and renew my faith

Amen to your prayer, Clare.

Personally, I don't have a problem with energy therapies, as long as they help to liberate and balance one's own energies. Some forms of massage can do this, also chiropractic interventions. Darshan is a little different in that it entails a mediation through the consiousness of another person, and it would seem that some kind of pattern of their consciousness would be impressed upon one's own. I suppose that's the reason darshan like approaches haven't found traction in Christianity. The closest we come to this is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, or something like icon gazing.

Hi, Clare, I'm sorry to read of your difficulties. Perhaps Mother Meera will do it for you. Blessings!

P.S. If you think Christian Meditation might help you, here is a list of groups you can go along to: http://www.christianmeditation...ups_by_county/Dublin

Bliss, it's the "Mass," not the "mess." (Yes, we do have some poorly done liturgies, however! )

Sure, I see the parallels. It's just that I trust what comes through the gaze of Jesus or the blessing of the Spirit imparted in his name infinitely more than I do through a Hinduish mystic.

It seems to me that if Christ is your master, it may not be a good idea to receive darshan from a guru who doesn't have Christ as his or her acknowledged lord. The energies might not mix very well. It's like when two rivers meet and come together on the way to the ocean. There can be a lot of turbulence. On the other hand if one can row through the rough waters, maybe that confluence can be spiritually rewarding. Maybe a "God-realised" guru is implicitly one with Christ. But how would we know?

Christ is the Master of all masters. Lord of lords. If we acknowledge him as our personal lord, that's really all we need in terms of spiritual health. Those who are led to other, lesser masters can of course be blessed, but unless they come under the banner of the Holy Spirit, their energies might just be troublesome.

I make no judgement on Mother Meera or any other guru. Christ however is the true Master.

Samson wrote:

quote:

Maybe a "God-realised" guru is implicitly one with Christ.

Yes, they have a very close relation. There is for example this story with Ramakrishna who went trough many paths till the end, the revelation and union with them , Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, Christianity. In case of Jesus, after worshiping Mother Mary and Jesus, Jesus appeared and approached him in his meditation garden, greeted him and the finally entered into him. It is said that RK then stayed in a Christ-transe for a few days.

A few years later, when a representative of a Christian church visited RK, he suddenly fell on his knees before him, because instead of RK, he saw Jesus standing in front of him.

Also at Christmas during a Christmas celebration Jesus raised the consciousness up of a hole group of RK monks.
(forgive me, i just write this out of my memory, i cannot give you the links for all of that.) And there are many other stories where Jesus appeared people of other religions.

And yes, samson, you are right, even RK, who has gone through and experienced so many religious paths, says, one should not mix the paths. One should choose one, and then one should go this way 100%ly. If you mix them, it is like climbing up a house from many sides simultaneously, which practically is not possible. What depends me, comparison with other religions gives me, as i think and imagine, a deeper "understanding" of spirituality.

Phil, sorry bout my bumpy english. Right now i m here in the Philippines, and everybody pronounces it as "mess", so this lead to my confusion. Another example of christian darshan is the Confession, a Sacrament too, (as you write).

There are similarities between the religions, but it is never a one - one map. (otherwise God would not have created so many different religions, one then would be enough.)

Reminds me also of some NDE stories, where Jesus Himself gave the person/soul some hints and advices about other religions, even gave them hints to read a certain book. He said to one soul, that those souls who want make _other_ spiritual experiences, they choose another culture and religion while incarnating. But for instance if they choose Buddhism, they have to get a very close relation to Buddha, otherwise it would not help them very much. (the same way as it works in Christianity: one should MARRY Jesus!)