TRUE or FALSE: What Goes Around Comes Around ?

Bitchdom here I come.

hephzibah wrote:

Bitchdom here I come.

Ha ha, thanks for the laugh Hepzibach. You have every right to do that, it's called rebellion -- backing away from something in order to see it, examine it, objectively.

I traveled through bitchdom, at times my anger scared me, but I let everybody have it, learned to swear at people whom others thought may even hurt me. Got fired from 2 jobs, walked out on one, like Take-this-job-and-shove-it.

I lived this way for a few years (well, 8), no work, riding horses, loving life, met some unbelievable people. One was a tiny very beautiful blond lady who had been raped by two guys, another a woman who had been raped by a priest at 18. These kinds of people just crossed my path, we raised each other's self-esteem, self-respect and self-confidence, laughed hard, and cried.

Some of these people I met at a large Unity church in Michigan, jeez, the whole conversation was angry, getting it out, taking all these weird classes, attending support groups. I loved the place, so did the other 2000. Studied at their ministerial college.

Now, I'm a little calmer, getting used to the new me which is a combination of the two -- the wimp and the bitch. I don't attend any church because they all seem a little silly considering what I can study on my own.

I learned a lot from the horses, how to control your mind (they know what your thinking). I had been such a scaredy cat all my life but I pretended to be brave on that animal's back because they know, Oh, they know when you don't know anythng. I took my riding lessons, no more thumping that poor mare's back, jabing her teeth with the bit. After awhile I convinced myself, considering all those fits I threw, that I am the director of my life and can do anything I please, just by learning how.
So, I do.

You know, all those bitchy things I did didn't disappear but maybe I was lucky. I got jobs, somehow, without filling out resumes. When my jobs were through, someone would simply offer me another.

David,

The mind is a powerful thing.
The imagination can take people places
that don't even exist.
I've been there. I wonder now if this "white" light that people claim to see, feel, etc... isn't really something that our society has conditioned them to believe enough that the mind actually just prior to actual death somehow creates for them.

Hephzibah:

Quote:

Has got to be THE biggest load of crap that has ever crossed my lips. Well my fingertips actually. You know who makes it in this world? The people who don't allow themselves to put anything else above what they want. The people who don't become a doormat for everyone to wipe their feet on. The people who do whatever it is they need to do no matter who they hurt in the process, as long as it isn't themselves, it's all good.

Bitchdom here I come.

Well, in my opinion, the people you describe might get all the "stuff" they want, and they may get the admiration of all the people who think that the shiniest, prettiest lives are the best, but they still miss out on what's important.

If you **** on people and put your gain above treating people fairly, you may get to party with the Donald Trumps, but you will never know what it's like to have a family and friends and a significant other who love you and respect you. You may get to strut and stick out your chest for a season, but you will never have the lasting satisfaction that comes from knowing that others have your back, and would sacrifice for you and who miss you when you're gone.

I'm sorry for whatever disappointments led you to the "change of heart" you've been sharing about on A2K for the last few weeks. But if all the whining you've been doing is a reflection of the quality of faith you had, then you were always living only for yourself in the first place, so now that you're headed for "bitchdom" - there won't really be any change.

Edit:

Changed my mind about that response.

I suppose you believe that all this crap is happening to me because I've turned from "God" right snood?

Because you see I am no longer in "His favor", therefore I must be punished.

Rather than just letting me live my life He must make my life on earth hell too.

THEN send me to eternal hell as well.

Man. What a just God you serve snood.

Oh yes, and I must add what a fine example of this "God's" mercy and compassion you are as well.

I think I'll put on my tutu and dance right back into the arms of Jesus now.

However... point taken.

I'm done.

You may get to strut and stick out your chest for a season, but
you will never have the lasting satisfaction that comes from knowing
that others have your back,

Can u PROVE this ??
U deny that she can hire competent bodyguards ??

Folks who have died
have reported encountering a White Light of unconditional love.
I have seen such a Light, tho I have not died

David wrote:

Quote:

Folks who have died
have reported encountering a White Light of unconditional love.
I have seen such a Light, tho I have not died

.

I've see it too David. It wasn't so much a visual light though, as being engulfed by warmth that my mind interpreted as light. I just felt calm, peaceful and overwhelmingly cared for. It reminded me of how it must have felt to be a child before you are able to consciously worry about anything.

It's blissful and otherworldly and does change your whole perspective on this life
and everything in it.

But I can't imagine firearms fitting in with it. Can you explain that?
I think you should change your avatar to more fully represent who you really are.

snood wrote:

Hephzibah:

Quote:

Has got to be THE biggest load of crap that has ever crossed my lips. Well my fingertips actually. You know who makes it in this world? The people who don't allow themselves to put anything else above what they want. The people who don't become a doormat for everyone to wipe their feet on. The people who do whatever it is they need to do no matter who they hurt in the process, as long as it isn't themselves, it's all good.

Bitchdom here I come.

Well, in my opinion, the people you describe might get all the "stuff" they want, and they may get the admiration of all the people who think that the shiniest, prettiest lives are the best, but they still miss out on what's important.

If you **** on people and put your gain above treating people fairly, you may get to party with the Donald Trumps, but you will never know what it's like to have a family and friends and a significant other who love you and respect you. You may get to strut and stick out your chest for a season, but you will never have the lasting satisfaction that comes from knowing that others have your back, and would sacrifice for you and who miss you when you're gone.

I'm sorry for whatever disappointments led you to the "change of heart" you've been sharing about on A2K for the last few weeks. But if all the whining you've been doing is a reflection of the quality of faith you had, then you were always living only for yourself in the first place, so now that you're headed for "bitchdom" - there won't really be any change.

Heph:

Quote:

Edit:

Changed my mind about that response.

I suppose you believe that all this crap is happening to me because I've turned from "God" right snood?

I didn't say anything about God - this thread was talking about what goes around comes around, and I was agreeing with that, after a fashion. Your problems with God are your own affair. I was talking about things I consider to be universal truths involving reaping what you sow.

Quote:

Because you see I am no longer in "His favor", therefore I must be punished.

Rather than just letting me live my life He must make my life on earth hell too.

THEN send me to eternal hell as well.

Man. What a just God you serve snood.

I believe that when you set up an argument that someone has not made, and then knock it down, it is called erecting a straw man. All that stuff about God punishing someone came from right between your ears, not from me.

Quote:

Oh yes, and I must add what a fine example of this "God's" mercy and compassion you are as well.

I was saying that I think a life lived to fatten one's purse and swell one's resume nets a lot of empty rewards. You're talking about me being some kind of representative of God. Again, your issues, not mine.

Quote:

I think I'll put on my tutu and dance right back into the arms of Jesus now.

However... point taken.

I'm done.

You're also quite thoroughly indulging yourself in a historically proportioned wallow of self pity.

It came upon my perception quite unexpectedly,
after lunch, while I sat listening to a lecture.

Because there were no words,
there was no identification.
On other occasions when I have mentioned this,
people have pressured me to say that I saw God.
I cannot say whether I saw God, or an angel,
or my higher self, or anything beyond what I described.
Even remembering it, is a very emotional experience.

Inter alia, it suggested that the diversity of life is an illusion,
and that only one life exists, being shared by humans, animals, plants, etc
If that be true, then the joy or misery that u dump upon others
u mete out to yourself.

( I am reminded of an illusion I had in the ante-chamber to the bathroom
of my suite at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas,
when I saw myself reflected in 6 mirrors, at once:
I counted 47 reflections of myself. There was only ONE real me. )

" The quality of mercy is not 'strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the Earth beneath. It is twice blessed,
blessing he who gives and he who takes. "

I armed myself with a .38 revolver at the age of 8.
When I saw the White Light, I was already middle-aged.
I did not have the sense that the issue of firearms,
nor the attendant political freedom,
was significant, at that time.

Unlike my client, in my case,
no words, telepathic nor otherwise, were exchanged.
I just had a feeling that I shud worry less.
I felt like a kid being patted on the head.
At the time, I had been a bit nervous about some litigation.

Heph,
I don't want to make you feel bad.
Believe it or not, I think I am the kind of person that is actually more likely to help a person up than kick them when they're down.

It's just that, for some reason it concerned me when I read your posts that seemed to be saying, in essence, that life was unfair and that you were not going to take it lying down anymore. It seemed to me a self-destructive way to go, and although I probably went about it in a hamhanded way, I wanted to help, not hurt. Sometimes when I am down, the best thing anyone can do is to give me a little reality check to make me let go of my negative feelings. In my experience, I don't like it at the time they do it, but it always seems that the ones who are willing not to buy into my bullshit are the best friends.

I know "God" is a touchy subject. When I say "faith", I don't think I'm talking about the same God/Jesus/Holy Ghost/Guilt/Ceremony deal that one might think.

I happen to think there is a lot to what Aidan said about a God of "one's own understanding", and not trying to adapt to someone else's understanding.

If I hurt you I'm sorry. I generally have enjoyed your "company" on A2K. I understand what you mean when you say that you generally bounce back without being bitchslapped. If what I provided amounted to a self-righteous bitchslap, it's not exactly what I intended.

Quote:

It came upon my perception quite unexpectedly,
after lunch, while I sat listening to a lecture.

Interesting. Was there anything in the lecture that was related to this experience in any way No. , or were you just daydreaming?

Quote:

Because there were no words,
there was no identification.
On other occasions when I have mentioned this,
people have pressured me to say that I saw God.
I cannot say whether I saw God, or an angel,
or my higher self, or anything beyond what I described.
Even remembering it, is a very emotional experience.

That's exactly how I would have described it. Absolutely silent, but unmistakeably real and present.
Thanks for the link, but I prefer to trust my own experience, as opposed to comparing it to others.

Quote:

Inter alia, it suggested that the diversity of life is an illusion,
and that only one life exists, being shared by humans, animals, plants, etc
If that be true, then the joy or misery that u dump upon others
u mete out to yourself.

Someone else on this forum mentioned something about this.
I liked the idea of the connectedness of all life.
I think if we kept that in mind more completely, this world would be a much more pleasant place.
I doubt that Saddam wud have run folks
thru industrial strength shredders
( sometimes against their will )
if he thought of them as part of his OWN life.


But I also think "intent" has to play into it.
You may cause someone misery without knowledge or intent.
Is that inadvertant misery revisited upon someone? I 'm not sure; ergo, the link.

Quote:

( I am reminded of an illusion I had in the ante-chamber to the bathroom
of my suite at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas,
when I saw myself reflected in 6 mirrors, at once:
I counted 47 reflections of myself. There was only ONE real me. )

David, you're funny as hell. When you post stuff like this I have to laugh, but I also wonder if you're not pulling my leg.

Quote:

" The quality of mercy is not 'strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the Earth beneath. It is twice blessed,
blessing he who gives and he who takes. "

That's nice. Is that a Bible verse? What's the scripture- or never mind - I can google it.
Shakespeare; "The Merchant of Venice"

Quote:

I armed myself with a .38 revolver at the age of 8.
When I saw the White Light, I was already middle-aged.
I did not have the sense that the issue of firearms,
nor the attendant political freedom,
was significant, at that time.

I don't mean to harp on the gun issue.
Obviously something caused you great anxiety when you were a child
and cemented your impression that you needed to be prepared to protect yourself.
No; I was at home alone a lot, at age 8,
and I felt ill-at-ease about defending the place,
if that became necessary, until I armed myself.

I remember lying in bed, at age 3, contemplating the
misappropriation of the revolvers and bandoliers
of police officers, or of bank guards,
as I lusted after the guns.


I was just joking, but maybe it's not a joking matter to you.
Anyway - the avatar is catchy and dramatic -
It looks a lot like my first gun.
it just seems that you're equally as interested in other issues and concepts as well- and the gun tends to present a pretty one-dimensional and maybe misleading first impression..none of my business though.

Quote:

Unlike my client, in my case,
no words, telepathic nor otherwise, were exchanged.
I just had a feeling that I shud worry less.
I felt like a kid being patted on the head.
At the time, I had been a bit nervous about some litigation.

Exactly, twice I've felt something really palpably calming and present with me - and both times I was nervous and afraid. Both times, out of the blue, I was suddenly just assured that I needn't worry. That everything would be alright.
A non-believer might say - "That was just your coping skills kicking in" - but I'd ask, "Why do I get to have coping skills while other people just as deserving get to have panic attacks?"
On a more routine, daily basis that's what God does for me in my life: gives me confidence and the assurance that whatever happens, I'm not alone. Maybe it is a crutch or a delusion, but it's always been a positive in my life. So it's no worse than any other crutch or delusion people choose to live with, because everybody does choose something.

I also think it's good to find something more important and/or worthy than oneself to focus gratefulness on. If only for the simple fact of the beauty of the world we live in - I'm led to focus that gratefulness toward a presence I know is greater than me or any other human.

Besides I know what I've felt is real to me- and that's all that matters (to me, in terms of believing or not believing).

You've had some interesting experiences David and you seem surprisingly open-minded.
I'm glad I didn't go with my first impression-it's turned out to be totally wrong...imagine that :wink:

" The quality of mercy is not 'strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the Earth beneath. It is twice blessed,
blessing he who gives and he who takes. "

Shakespeare; The Merchant of Venice.

I remember lying in bed, at age 3, contemplating the
misappropriation of the revolvers and bandoliers
of police officers, or of bank guards,
as I lusted after the guns.

Quote:

" The quality of mercy is not 'strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the Earth beneath. It is twice blessed,
blessing he who gives and he who takes. "

Quote:

Shakespeare; The Merchant of Venice.

I knew I'd heard it somewhere. I thought it sounded like Psalms.

Quote:

I remember lying in bed, at age 3, contemplating the
misappropriation of the revolvers and bandoliers
of police officers, or of bank guards,
as I lusted after the guns.

So you saw yourself as either a foe or friend of lawlessness at the age of three?

That's interesting, but I don't want to assume what you meant, as your statement can be taken a couple of different ways. Did you mean-
1) You were worried about what happened to the guns and gunbelts stolen from police officers and bank guards, because they were taken by bad guys.
2) You thought about the fact that guns and gunbelts were often stolen from police officers and bank guards, but you didn't worry about that fact, as much as want them for yourself.
3) You're totally pulling my leg.

Whatever, you sound like you were an interesting child.

Life is full of surprizes
and gifts, sadnesses and consequences, deserved or not.
That whole connectedness issue makes me look at your original question differently, though.

If we're all connected then how can we know if what goes around comes around?

If you're caring of the people and world around you, individual behavior and
responsibility becomes even more vital to your individual happiness.

But if you're the type of person who shirks individual responsibility, you might look at it as an opportunity to continue to receive good outcomes through the good deeds of others who are acting benevolently, without needing to contribute to that fund of goodness.

Do you see what I'm saying? If we're all connected, we might be receiving the negatives or positives deserved by someone else- which in fact we all do.

So I think it's impossible to ascertain on an individual basis if what goes around comes around. There are too many outside variables to ever know.

That's scary for me to admit though, as it takes away at least one incentive for doing the right thing. And though I don't think it's right to do things solely for the reward or good it might bring an individual, in today's world, I do think that
individual gain is the reason most people do
whatever it is they do-either good or bad.

" The quality of mercy is not 'strained. It falleth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the Earth beneath. It is twice blessed,
blessing he who gives and he who takes. "

That's nice. Is that a Bible verse? What's the scripture- or never mind - I can google it.

our biggest danger is boredom.