Top Christian Spiritual Resources

[Zigzag Idiot]

This will be a junction for all Christian perspectives.

The backbone of today's Contemplavtive Christianity feeds on the roots of Eastern Orthodoxy. I'll be adding videos with sparse commentary unless meaningful dialogue ensues with others.  I hope this is alright for this new community endeavor.

 

 

[Zigzag Idiot]

Many contemporary mystics study ACIM - A COURSE IN MIRACLES. It's channeled material.

It dovetails also in many ways with today's growing Christian Contemplative movement.

The following is a part of the preface of ACIM written in 1977.

 The first two parts—How It Came; What It Is—Helen Schucman wrote herself; the final part—What It Says—was written by the process of inner dictation described in the Preface.

How It Came

A Course in Miracles began with the sudden decision of two people to join in a common goal. Their names were Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. It does not matter who they were, except that the story shows that with God all things are possible. They were anything but spiritual. Their relationship with each other was difficult and often strained, and they were concerned with personal and professional acceptance and status. In general, they had considerable investment in the values of the world. Their lives were hardly in accord with anything that the Course advocates. Helen, the one who received the material, describes herself:

Psychologist, educator, conservative in theory and atheistic in belief, I was working in a prestigious and highly academic setting. And then something happened that triggered a chain of events I could never have predicted. The head of my department unexpectedly announced that he was tired of the angry and aggressive feelings our attitudes reflected, and concluded that “there must be another way.” As if on cue, I agreed to help him find it. Apparently this Course is the other way.

Although their intention was serious, they had great difficulty in starting out on their joint venture. But they had given the Holy Spirit the “little willingness” that, as the Course itself was to emphasize again and again, is sufficient to enable Him to use any situation for His purposes and provide it with His power.

To continue Helen’s first-person account:

Three startling months preceded the actual writing, during which time Bill suggested that I write down the highly symbolic dreams and descriptions of the strange images that were coming to me. Although I had grown more accustomed to the unexpected by that time, I was still very surprised when I wrote, “This is a course in miracles.” That was my introduction to the Voice. It made no sound, but seemed to be giving me a kind of rapid, inner dictation which I took down in a shorthand notebook. The writing was never automatic. It could be interrupted at any time and later picked up again. It made me very uncomfortable, but it never seriously occurred to me to stop. It seemed to be a special assignment I had somehow, somewhere agreed to complete. It represented a truly collaborative venture between Bill and myself, and much of its significance, I am sure, lies in that. I would take down what the Voice “said” and read it to him the next day, and he typed it from my dictation. I expect he had his special assignment, too. Without his encouragement and support I would never have been able to fulfil mine. The whole process took about seven years. The Text came first, then the Workbook for Students, and finally the Manual for Teachers. Only a few minor changes have been made. Chapter titles and subheadings have been inserted in the Text, and some of the more personal references that occurred at the beginning have been omitted. Otherwise the material is substantially unchanged.

The names of the collaborators in the recording of the Course do not appear on the cover because the Course can and should stand on its own. It is not intended to become the basis for another cult. Its only purpose is to provide a way in which some people will be able to find their own Internal Teacher.

 

Below is an overview of what it says.

 

 

[mandyjw]

The gospel of Thomas. http://gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html

The gospel of Mary Magdalene. http://gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm

 

 

[Zigzag Idiot]

@mandyjw  Thank you!

I'll put a Ted Nottingham talk about the Gospel of Thomas below.  Many contemporary Christians refer to Jesus as "Yeshua" as a lot of you will already be aware of.

 

[SoothedByRain]

@mandyjw I watched the 2018 movie Mary Magdalene the other week. Not perfect, but Jesus Christ is it on the right wave length 

Thank you for the links Xxx

[SoothedByRain]

Resurrecting Jesus - Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic by Adyashanti

Adya gives beautiful commentary on Jesus from an Awakened Non-Dual perspective

“Of course, there are those churches today that are inspired by the real living presence of Christ, but as a whole, Christianity needs new life breathed into it. It needs to be challenged to awaken from the old structures that confine spirit, so that the perennial spirit of awakening can flourish once again.” 

“Imagine if you took it on in yourself to reorient your life trajectory toward your divinity. Your divinity: I so loved the world, that I gave it all of myself. Imagine your birth as an act of pouring yourself forth into life as a loving means of redemption. Imagine your human life as what you have come to redeem. And when you’ve fully awakened to all of it, then you’ve fully redeemed your human incarnation.” 

“Spiritual autonomy is knowing who and what you are—knowing that you are divine being itself, knowing that the essence of you is divinity. You are moving in the world of time and space, appearing as a human being, but nonetheless you are eternal, divine being, the timeless breaking through and operating within the world of time. To Jesus, spirit is everything. Nothing matters more than spirit or, as I like to say, divine being. Divine being is what Jesus is here for; it is the vitality source from which he moves, from which he speaks, from which his critique arises. He is the living presence of divine being. He’s a human being too, but he’s here to convey divine being, and that comes out most clearly in the Gospel of Mark. This gospel uniquely conveys Jesus’ search for himself. Mark’s Jesus is a Jesus who is very much a searcher: he’s looking for his identity, he’s looking for his role, he’s experimenting, he’s finding out what works and what doesn’t. He’s on a journey, and he’s inviting all of us along for that journey with him as if we were also the disciples.” 

“Once again, eternity is peering through the latticework of time and space, and this sense of eternal stillness and deep freedom is what the iconic image of the seated Buddha conveys. What this image doesn’t convey is a sense of humanity, of a real flesh-and-blood human being. But in the Jesus story, it’s as if the still point that the image of the Buddha evokes within us becomes” 

― Adyashanti, Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic

UK Audible link:

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Resurrecting-Jesus-Audiobook/B00JFAL5GO?pf_rd_p=1f9c9693-8f74-4098-8f15-d9ce59415341&pf_rd_r=ECGR744PXNWBE18JCT14&ref=a_pd_Fallin_c5_PN_1_2

[Zigzag Idiot]

She's in a league of her own, as the saying goes. I've been digesting on parts of this for about two years. ?

[Zigzag Idiot]

@Ero  Articulate assessment and interesting quote.

It does indeed sound interesting,,,,, ?

[abrakamowse]

The Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross audiobook

https://archive.org/details/DNight

And e-Book

https://archive.org/details/darknightofsoul00sain

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The Ascent of Mount Carmel

by Saint John of the Cross --- audiobook

https://archive.org/details/ascent_of_mount_carmel_eh_1612_librivox

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The Cloud of Unknowing 

by Friar Ugo-Maria Ginex ESB

https://archive.org/details/TheCloudOfUnknowing_201808

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Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness

by Evelyn Underhill

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/mysticism.html

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Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/practical.html

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The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ignatius/exercises.titlepage.html

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THE IMITATION OF CHRIST BY Thomas à Kempis

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kempis/imitation.titlepage.html

(Audio version http://www.ccel.org/k/kempis/imitation/mp3 )

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Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes

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The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life

being Conversations and Letters of Brother Lawrence

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice

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Edited August 21, 2019 by abrakamowse

[Zigzag Idiot]

@mandyjw @abrakamowse @Ero @SoothedByRain @Stefano Provenzi ?? 

[Apparition of Jack]

Article suggesting a historical link between ancient Christianity and the Eastern traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.

https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2017/11/yoga-mudras-in-orthodox-christian-art.html

 

[Bill W]

@Zigzag Idiot Thanks for this thread!

Here is my contribution today, hopefully more contributions to come.

These clips are related to Alcoholics Anonymous but I think the message can be useful even if you do not identify yourself as an addict

 

 

[Bill W]

 

[Zigzag Idiot]

Thank you @Bill W  and I hope you continue to post here. The spirit is heartfelt with these guys but I differ in technical ways when it comes to understanding Jesus Christ and I remember the wisdom of Rumi. "Don't scold the lover, the wrong way he talks is better than a hundred right ways of others.

 

[Petals]

I just want to add two names. I haven't read anything of them yet. I just stumbled upon them when looking into Christianity. Maybe it is worthwhile doing some research on them.

The first ist THOMAS MERTON.

The second is ABHISHIKTANANDA. He was a French monk who moved to India. Maybe he has an interesting Christian perspective on Advaita and the East.

[Petals]

and two more.

MAURICE NICOLL. I think he was a disciple of Carl Jung at some point and he looked at the Gurdjieff/Ouspensky teachings from a Christian perspective.

THE PATHWORK LECTURES by EVA PIERRAKOS/THE GUIDE. Don't really know what to make of it yet. It's channeled material and very Christian.

[okulele]

Meister Eckhart:

"What is truth? Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could  keep to the Truth and let God go."

[Zigzag Idiot]

Ted Nottingham's YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4MMC-2xAHvKDPxQo_A1YA

[Zigzag Idiot]

Two short recent videos ( good samplers ) from Ted which I haven't posted anywhere else.

This first one addresses integration in a way,,,, 7:25

9:27  pointing toward the idea of Self Remembering as used in the Fourth Way

 

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Zigzag Idiot

[InfinitePotential]