The immortality of the 'soul'

[Wanderer]

...asking others to share their thoughts on...

Why don't you share your own thoughts on the matter?

[mahler10th]

Why don't you share your own thoughts on the matter?

Maybe he doesn't have any well defined thoughts on the matter.  Nothing wrong with asking an open forum what they think so one can fine tune ones own opinions on the matter?
Why is everyone so hostile to Homo?

[Homo Aestheticus]

So what do you consider the 'most' important topic humans can ponder? Suicide? That's what your last three Hurrahs were about. Perhaps you're writing a thesis?

No.

The most important question I can ponder is whether or not there exists a benevolent supernatural being and what brought it into existence.

(Note: I have decided to change my name to one that more accurately describes my personality. This one is final)

[PSmith08]

No.

The most important question I can ponder is whether or not there exists a benevolent supernatural being and what brought it into existence.

(Note: I have decided to change my name to one that more accurately describes my personality. This one is final)

A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that is is the year 2008. The fora have had many such threads as the one you proposed. They do not try and fail; they try and die. Why? They are not discussions. They are a collection of people sharing and defending their own beliefs, while trying to convince people to give up their own deeply held beliefs. That is a recipe for disaster, which why a third-stage Guild Navigator has been sent here to discover your plans.

[Don]

No.

The most important question I can ponder is whether or not there exists a benevolent supernatural being and what brought it into existence.

That's really amusing.  Good luck to you.

[Sergeant Rock]

Why is everyone so hostile to Homo?

(Note: I have decided to change my name...

Wise decision, Mr. Pink 

Sarge

[Kullervo]

Wise decision, Mr. Pink 

Sarge

Well now we can just shorten it to Ardy. Or Pelle. Or maybe just T'ard?

[Sergeant Rock]

Well now we can just shorten it to Ardy. Or Pelle. Or maybe just T'ard?

T'ard I like    But no matter how many times Eric changes his user name, he'll always be Pink to me.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

So what do you consider the 'most' important topic humans can ponder?

"Debussy's gentle revolution"? . . .

[Wanderer]

Maybe he doesn't have any well defined thoughts on the matter.  Nothing wrong with asking an open forum what they think so one can fine tune ones own opinions on the matter?

Strange that you (a well-meaning bystander)  answer the question on his behalf whereas he chooses to ignore it. Speaks volumes, doesn't it? 

Even if intentions were as innocent as you speculate them to be, why wouldn't one specify this simple fact you mention or at least try to convey an idea of his supposedly inadequately defined thoughts in order to receive more relevant answers? Wouldn't you?

[mahler10th]

Strange that you (a well-meaning bystander)  answer the question on his behalf whereas he chooses to ignore it. Speaks volumes, doesn't it? 
Even if intentions were as innocent as you speculate them to be, why wouldn't one specify this simple fact you mention or at least try to convey an idea of his supposedly inadequately defined thoughts in order to receive more relevant answers? Wouldn't you?

Yes Wanderer.
In retrospect, it was clearly a badly formed question - it assumes we all know what 'the soul' is and indeed that such a thing exists.  I'm no 'soul man', so I guess I should not have jumped to his aid...it's the Humanitarian in me even though there was no concept to protect...so...I violently retract...what the hell do you mean OP, and why do you carry such a pretentious name "The Ardent Pelleastre"?      

[Mark]

John, strap on a pair, man. I'm sure you still stand by your original post that defended Eric, so don't allow yourself to be swayed from that position by a single post challenging it. Have the courage of your convictions.

To return to Eric's probing OP (), I was contemplating 'doing a Saul' by copying and pasting a lengthy tract of esoteric thinking into this post. Then I decided that wasn't fair. So instead, and in answer to this:

... whether or not there exists a benevolent supernatural being and what brought it into existence.

... I'll quote only the following from Alice A Bailey's book, 'A Treatise On Cosmic Fire':

There is one Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality which antecedes all manifested conditioned Being. It is beyond the range and reach of any human thought or expression.

The manifested Universe is contained within this Absolute Reality and is a conditioned symbol of it. In the totality of this manifested Universe, three aspects are to be conceived:

1.   The First Cosmic Logos, impersonal and unmanifested, the precursor of the Manifested.
2.   The Second Cosmic Logos, Spirit-Matter, Life, the Spirit of the Universe.
3.   The Third Cosmic Logos, Cosmic Ideation, the Universal World-Soul.

From these basic creative principles, in successive gradations there issue in ordered sequence the numberless Universes comprising countless Manifesting Stars and Solar Systems.

Pearls before swine, of course, but one has to try ...

[Homo Aestheticus]

Wise decision, Mr. Pink 

Yes.. I know.

[Homo Aestheticus]

"Debussy's gentle revolution"? . . .

Yes, that is third... 

[Homo Aestheticus]

Well now we can just shorten it to Ardy. Or Pelle. Or maybe just T'ard?

'Pelle' has a nice ring to it but I needed something similar to 'Wagnerian'... I checked 'Pelleastrian' in the search engine but not a single entry came up... Then 'Pelleastre' and there were three...

Actually, I shall coin a new word: 'Pelleastrian'



Someone who continually marvels at the sincerity, sensitivity, subtlety, immense sophistication, eloquence, and exquisite beauty of  P&M and who also considers it the finest of all operas.

[Homo Aestheticus]

what the hell do you mean OP, and why do you carry such a pretentious name "The Ardent Pelleastre"?      

My question was put forth with the best of intentions and I apologize if you were offended somewhere.

I chose the name 'The Ardent Pelleastre' because that is exactly what I am, someone who endlessly adores the most sophisticated of all operas. 

[Mark]

Actually, I shall coin a new word: 'Pelleastrian'

You realise, I'm sure, Eric, that there will be those quick to satirise your new word and point out, with cruel intent, its similarity to the word, 'Pedestrian'. They might even go further, linking this 'old' word with your most cherished opera.

[Joe_Campbell]

That's where I thought it cam from...

[PSmith08]

You realise, I'm sure, Eric, that there will be those quick to satirise your new word and point out, with cruel intent, its similarity to the word, 'Pedestrian'. They might even go further, linking this 'old' word with your most cherished opera.

I don't know that connections need be drawn to satirize "Pelleastrian."

[drogulus]

Quote from: Alice A Bailey

There is one Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality which antecedes all manifested conditioned Being. It is beyond the range and reach of any human thought or expression.

     So let me explain it to you....

     But not beyond the reach of Alice A Bailey, by a magical process she'll tell us about when she has the time. I suppose any aquatic tart who throws a sword at you is qualified to dispense information on the nature of the universe. Meanwhile those of us who say this is less than meaningless hot air are called arrogant for pointing out that you can't tell what you don't know.

     You can use words to create meaning or you can use them to obscure meaning to get something like old Alice here. Boundless Immutable Principle is one of those "look into my eyes" phrases that should send off bullshit detectors in a six block radius. It's one of those high-calorie low-yield devices that frustrate meaning deliberately so you stop thinking and start wanting what's being sold, most often Eternal Life Insurance.

     The funny thing about this pitch is it works even when you recognize that the salesperson really doesn't know anything, like for example when they say "beyond the range and reach of any human thought or expression". That's like a con man saying "I'm a con artist but here's my pitch"....I'd be lost in admiration if I didn't know how easy this is!

     Seriously, if L. Ron Hubbard can do it, why can't you and I and Alice and everyone here go out and do it, too. Everyone can hypnotize everyone else and play one giant game of Confuse A Cat.

     Oooooh, naughty, naughty Wikipedia:

     Her works, written between 1919 and 1949, describe a wide-ranging system of esoteric thought covering such topics as how spirituality relates to the solar system, meditation, healing, spiritual psychology, the destiny of nations, and prescriptions for society in general.

      Especially the destiny of nations, which deserves a _{(I wonder if there's anything about "Hister" or, as we Pythonists know him, "Mr. Hilter".  )}

     OK, now we can go back to the Immutable Absolute of the Infinite Perfection of the Boundless which, for some reason, is beyond understanding.