alcoholrehabcoach
10-20-2009, 11:23 AM
Yes. I believe all those undesirable things happen for a reason, too.
Well, I would love to hear what your philosphy is on those grounds....
And before we continue with this dicussion, I would like to clarify (so that I may better understand you) - what is the basis of
your belief that "everything happens for a reason" and exactly how do you define that reason.
Thanks.
The word "philosophy" can be defined in many ways, but the definition I like best is "a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs." So when a person asks me what my philosphy is on any particluar subject, in order to respond, I must first consider the underlying principles that I believe are true. Then I have a way to assess my philosophy, to see how well it guides me in all of my affairs.
The first principles that come to mind are God, and with that comes my understanding that any attempt to define God tries to put God into a box. Tries to define the infinite. Tries to limit the unlimitable. I have come to understand that any attempt to define God is simply another sign of a mind doing part of what it was designed to do: Label things. Our minds label things to give us certainty. To give ourselves a way of understanding things and figuring out how to deal with them.
But I'm totally okay with accepting there are things I cannot know or limit. I'm okay with experiencing God without having to define It. There is a saying that "Those who speak It can't know It, and those who Know It can't speak It." Taken in context, that's just another way of saying that God cannot be limited.
If I say that God is Creative without allowing that God is also Destructive, then I am placing my own, human limitations on all the Infinite Power and Forces of the Universe. If I did not allow that The Forces of Nature can be "bad" as well as "good", if I did not allow that God can be cruel as well as kind, then of course I would be at a loss to explain the reasons for why things happen.
And yet I understand that many people get as much certainty and comfort in their ideas of God as I also get in mine. So I am very careful not to mess with other people's minds. When somone asks me what I believe, I seek first to understand, and then to be understood.
My understanding of your reason for starting this thread, is simply because you have a different view than mine about "the reasons for why things happen", and you are curious about my beliefs. Is that correct, or do you have some other reasons I might not be aware of?
Knowing I cannot really define or limit God in any way, the convention or definition I allow myself to use to communicate and relate to other people's understanding of God is simply an acronym:
G.O.D. = The Generating, Organizing, Delivering/Destroying Principles of the Universe.
That definition gives my mind the room to accept God as being both Finite and Infinite. Knowable and Unknowable. Limited and Unlimited. Defineable and Undefineable. It also allows for God to be Good and Bad. Cruel and Kind. Judgmental and Non-Judgemental. Or any and every other quality I ever care to attach to It. Human or otherwise.
That's why I am so fond of quoting one of my favorite teachers. A man named Yogi Bhajan (http://www.yogibhajan.com/) who said "If you can't see God in all, you can't see God at all."
Now all of that is very well and good, but it really only begins to address the first part of your question. What my philosophy or take is on "how bad things can happen for a reason, too." So let me answer parts 2 and 3 of your question, and then I'll shut up for a second and give the ball back to you.
"What is the basis of your belief that everything happens for a reason?" Personal experience. In 45 years of living I have never seen nor heard of anything that my mind couldn't come up with some kind of reason or explanation for, even if the explanation was simply "God's will" or "Some reason I do not understand". I never presumed to know, nor would I ever presume to know, what all the reasons are. Divine or otherwise.
And whether they are human reasons, God's reason's, or some combination of both, it still supports the statement that everything happens for a reason. I just no longer burden myself with thinking that I can know what all the reasons are. And that brings us to the third part of your question:
"How do you define that reason?"
I don't.
Well, I would love to hear what your philosphy is on those grounds....
And before we continue with this dicussion, I would like to clarify (so that I may better understand you) - what is the basis of
your belief that "everything happens for a reason" and exactly how do you define that reason.
Thanks.
The word "philosophy" can be defined in many ways, but the definition I like best is "a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs." So when a person asks me what my philosphy is on any particluar subject, in order to respond, I must first consider the underlying principles that I believe are true. Then I have a way to assess my philosophy, to see how well it guides me in all of my affairs.
The first principles that come to mind are God, and with that comes my understanding that any attempt to define God tries to put God into a box. Tries to define the infinite. Tries to limit the unlimitable. I have come to understand that any attempt to define God is simply another sign of a mind doing part of what it was designed to do: Label things. Our minds label things to give us certainty. To give ourselves a way of understanding things and figuring out how to deal with them.
But I'm totally okay with accepting there are things I cannot know or limit. I'm okay with experiencing God without having to define It. There is a saying that "Those who speak It can't know It, and those who Know It can't speak It." Taken in context, that's just another way of saying that God cannot be limited.
If I say that God is Creative without allowing that God is also Destructive, then I am placing my own, human limitations on all the Infinite Power and Forces of the Universe. If I did not allow that The Forces of Nature can be "bad" as well as "good", if I did not allow that God can be cruel as well as kind, then of course I would be at a loss to explain the reasons for why things happen.
And yet I understand that many people get as much certainty and comfort in their ideas of God as I also get in mine. So I am very careful not to mess with other people's minds. When somone asks me what I believe, I seek first to understand, and then to be understood.
My understanding of your reason for starting this thread, is simply because you have a different view than mine about "the reasons for why things happen", and you are curious about my beliefs. Is that correct, or do you have some other reasons I might not be aware of?
Knowing I cannot really define or limit God in any way, the convention or definition I allow myself to use to communicate and relate to other people's understanding of God is simply an acronym:
G.O.D. = The Generating, Organizing, Delivering/Destroying Principles of the Universe.
That definition gives my mind the room to accept God as being both Finite and Infinite. Knowable and Unknowable. Limited and Unlimited. Defineable and Undefineable. It also allows for God to be Good and Bad. Cruel and Kind. Judgmental and Non-Judgemental. Or any and every other quality I ever care to attach to It. Human or otherwise.
That's why I am so fond of quoting one of my favorite teachers. A man named Yogi Bhajan (http://www.yogibhajan.com/) who said "If you can't see God in all, you can't see God at all."
Now all of that is very well and good, but it really only begins to address the first part of your question. What my philosophy or take is on "how bad things can happen for a reason, too." So let me answer parts 2 and 3 of your question, and then I'll shut up for a second and give the ball back to you.
"What is the basis of your belief that everything happens for a reason?" Personal experience. In 45 years of living I have never seen nor heard of anything that my mind couldn't come up with some kind of reason or explanation for, even if the explanation was simply "God's will" or "Some reason I do not understand". I never presumed to know, nor would I ever presume to know, what all the reasons are. Divine or otherwise.
And whether they are human reasons, God's reason's, or some combination of both, it still supports the statement that everything happens for a reason. I just no longer burden myself with thinking that I can know what all the reasons are. And that brings us to the third part of your question:
"How do you define that reason?"
I don't.