Peteitorial

Spirituality of Man

So this is where we are.  I am a man of spiritual being.

I have three distinct, yet connected parts; the body, the mind, and the soul.  I have one indistinct part that I believe derives from the soul and that is my aura.

The Body

My body is my physical being that carries around my mind and soul.  It is not the essence of me; it is just a vessel.

That is why there is the saying "you can't tell a book by its cover".  The cover may be many things but in and of itself has no content.  It is the content of the book that makes the reading.

In like manner, you can not judge a person by what they look like, or how they dress.  Yes, there is a relationship between what a person chooses to wear and sometimes that will tell you something about their content.  But on the other hand, you may be deceived.  Use care when judging appearances.

My experience is that the most human among us are the most unfortunate of looks.  Many people that I hold dear are wrinkled, fat, balding, crooked of teeth, have big feet or wear glasses.  They are of every color and skin type - some with skin conditions - some just plain ugly.  None of that matters in the big scheme of things.  It is what is on the inside that counts.

My brain is part of my body.  What the brain does when it is operating makes up my mind.

The Mind

My mind is a complex contradiction made up of many parts, all functioning for one goal.  That goal is to interpret my physical reality with my spiritual reality.  Herein lies the confusion.

My body reacts to the tellings of my mind.  My mind communicates with the body and is the intermediary between my body and my soul.  My mind is like a switchboard that receives and re-connects and re-routes messages between my spiritual and physical realities.

My mind defines my will and enacts it.  It works in the realm of unconsciousness on the level to which I have determined it to be my steering mechanism - it does so on reflex - autonomically.

The Soul

My soul is an actual entity that is the communication link between my being (mind, body and soul) and my higher power.  The soul manifests itself through an outward presence that can be measured but seldom seen, in the aura.

My soul is the essence of me and I can chose to either free it and let it be with me, or, I can contain it and never let it see the light of day.  Those who contain it are rat bastards.  Those who free it are Human Beings.  Those who are it are angels.

I have seen people's souls before.  When I have seen people die, I have seen the life leave their bodies.  I have seen the skin ripple from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head and then stop.  Like peeling a banana skin away, I have seen "something" leave living persons and bequeath them a corpse.  What I have seen leave, I believe to be their soul.

My soul is what will live on as the essence of me when my spiritual body dies.  My soul is the only part of me that really lives because it is eternal.  All of my other parts are mortal, so they do not truly live.

Dreams and Dreamers

Biology of Dreaming

Research in recent years has clarified many of these aspects of dreaming, but what may be of greatest significance has been the discovery of a biology of dreaming Starting with the work of American sleep researchers Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman in 1953, studies have shown that a dream does not consist of fleeting imagery that occurs while a person awakens from sleep, but instead a dream takes place during a biological state of its own.

Thus, two clearly distinguishable states of sleep exist. The first state, called S-synchronized sleep, or NREM-sleep (non-rapid-eye-movement sleep), occupies most of the sleep period and is associated with a relatively low pulse and blood pressure, little activation of the autonomic nervous system, and few or no reports of dreaming. The second type of sleep, known as D-sleep (dreaming, or desynchronized, sleep), or REM-sleep (rapid-eye-movement sleep), occurs cyclically during the sleep period and is characterized by activation of the autonomic nervous system, rapid eye movements, and frequent dream reports. Typically, a person has four or five periods of D-sleep during the night, whether the dreams are remembered often, rarely, or not at all; they occur at intervals of about 90 minutes and altogether constitute about 25 percent of the night’s sleep (as much as 50 percent in a newborn child). Evidence indicates that a dream period usually lasts from 5 to 20 minutes.

Such stimuli as sounds and touches impinging on a dreamer can be incorporated into a dream if they occur during a D-period. These stimuli, however, do not initiate a D-period if one is not already in progress, so that, at least in such cases, dreams do not protect sleep in the way that Freud suggested. Although mental activity may be reported during NREM-sleep, these are usually short, fragmented, thought-like experiences.

Ancient cultures believed that dreams were spiritual in origin, often foretelling the future. Aristotle believed that dreams originated from within the dreamer, arising from the heart. Modern dream research has focused on two general interpretations of dream content. In one view, dreams have no inherent meaning but are simply a process by which the brain integrates new information into memories. In the other view, dreams contain real meaning symbolized in a picture language that is distinct from conscious logical thought.

The Dream Time

The Dream Time in Australian Aboriginal mythology the period of creation in which the known landscape took shape and all life had its source. The Dreaming represents a distant mythic period in which Wondjina (ancestral spirits) traveled across Australia, establishing the essential fabric of life and depositing the spirits of unborn children. The Wondjina were born from the earth, and their journeys during The Dreaming are recorded in the oral traditions of the Aboriginal peoples of different regions of Australia with great attention to local geographical detail and specific events. After passing on to humans the knowledge necessary for survival and social living, the Wondjina disappeared back into the earth or, according to other traditions, married into humankind. The waterholes they created on their wanderings later became sacred sites.

The Dreaming is also considered to be a part of the present. It can be reentered through rituals using totems, in which the participants themselves become the Wondjina and retrace their journeys, reliving the so-called strong time of creation.

Visions and Visionaries

Visions may well be the self-communication of God; that is, God's disclosure of divine being or divine will to human beings. Most of the major world religions affirm revelation in some sense as a basis for their doctrines and practices. Revelation may be in the form of a vision, often accompanied by words, or may consist only of words. In the Old Testament, Moses saw a burning bush and heard God's voice proceeding from it (see Exodus 3). Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, heard a noise like a bell that resolved itself into words. As recounted in the Hindu epic the Bhagavad-Gita, Prince Arjuna saw his charioteer Krishna transformed into his true form as a divine being. Historical events may also be understood as revelation—for instance, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, or the life of Jesus Christ. General revelation refers to the knowledge of God communicated through the order of nature, a conception that is found in Eastern religion and in some romantic poetry, such as that of the English poet William Wordsworth. Special revelation refers to the knowledge of God that comes through specific experiences, such as visions, dreams, or events. The two kinds of revelation may be complementary. Christianity and Islam both teach that the natural order is revelatory of God, but their emphasis is on the special revelations communicated by their founders. In Judaism too the special revelations given to Moses and the prophets, which are described in the Bible, are fundamental to the faith. In all revelation, the primary element is the encounter with the divine, which it is the task of religious doctrine and of religious tradition to interpret and convey.

Here are a few myths and dreams that I have written.