Sacrifice

Don't know which one was the hardest for me...really hard to compare...

I agree strongly with you, Apakhana that whatever we give to others, comes back to us, "it is in giving that we receive and it is in forgiving that we are pardoned." and "whoever lives by the sword, dies by the sword".

I think I can relate to what you said and understand what you mean by being over-empathetic.

Those who had used to hurt others badly in the past and realized it later, and more or less repented, tend to have a strong egos of guilt and fear related to it which can create a very biased view of reality.
I remember when I started my work as the security guard, I tried hard to be very nice to everyone no matter what...but then it was obviously used against me, used against others and used against those who paid me for doing that job...
Another example can be cursing all martial arts as something opposed to spirituality, but then those who were threatened for real, know how great it can be to have effective skills helpful to protect yourself and others... accidents do happen and police is not always around and is willing and able to help.
But then, if the only thing you do, is hitting nails with the hammer, then it's very difficult not to see nails to hit everywhere...

It's hard to find this balance line.

I think, this whole issue of hurting others depends so much on the level of internal development.

Even words, body language, impression we give...everything can be weaponized.
If we are not aware, we can say one thing, but it could be actually an ego underneath and the intonation would hurt others; or we can mean one thing with our best wishes, but others can be in a different psychological state from us and each would interpret our words accordingly.
Usually we learn the best in the hard way, this is true, I think, but thinking about it can be self-justification also...

Anyway, I am sure that all egos of violence have to be sacrificed totally in order to live free from "hurting to hurt and be hurt back", so we can Love our Brothers and Sisters.

Thanks for starting this thread, it helped me to ponder about certain things.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Vadim

Nice thread!

Giving in to Lust either sentimentally or carnally is one BIG sacrifice that I am working on in order to progress.

Another one is my image.Towards friends, family, gnostics etc etc It is hard to sacrifice it because after all it is "me"...

One more thing that is hard, if not impossible, is to make the sacrifices we think are needed to improve one's situation.

We all have to make choices and sometimes we don't have the means or financial sustainence to mabey move near a center, or give up everything else in life and hurt friends and family in order to improve a situation we think we need to create.

It's hard to distinguish what is a selfish choice and what is self-less alot.

I guess one shouldn't worry about what one might "think" they need to do, because what we actually know is very little and the Divine is very powerful, and able to put the things on our path we need if we can not exact them on our own.

It is obvious that we need to be typical in our obligations towards other people but first of all we should do what we feel right for ourselves, for our revolution, despite what the others think. Even if they are close friends or relatives.

As I see it the Divine helps someone that fights for something and not someone that just waits for help.

How much do you need to give to a family and friends is bit of gray area. Because the expectations or entitlements others feel they are owned, depends how large they are used to living. When in reality having food, shelter and clothing is all we really need to survive.

My kids want every computer game in the store, my wife wants to give it to them (she loves them to death), I don't think they need all that (they need to learn to live in the moment and not be stuck behind computer all day). This divide is to be seen in every circumstance to giving. Is it wrong to make a judgment or just give them what they want, even when it leads to Abyss, its their experience?

We give money to the homeless on the street that is holding bottle in a paper back. More likely he will head back to the liquor store instead of grocery store. Are we to make judgment here or just give it to him and pray he does the right thing. Not all homeless will be like that, yet we know lot of them are hooked on escape from the senses. Most will not go to homeless shelter, only those who have just fallen down on bad luck will have the sense to receive help and use it right way. Those that were down on luck for a long time have lost hope, so it seems.

The more we give, we pay our own debt, it is a good thing to do. Ophrah have chosen to help built schools for African children instead helping kids here in USA. She asked American kids what they need the most and they asked for MP3 players, cell phones, items to burn time with. Where in Africa they asked for educational books. WOW! Best giving then is to those who are ready to receive the help.

Wishing you all a great spiritual morning.

I was disowned by my family and friends. I'm not from a culture of individuality. Where i'm from, if you are on your own you are expected to wither and die, so it's a BAD thing to be abandoned like i have. In fact it's the ultimate curse.

That's my sacrifice.

Next sacrifice: Christianity. I feel it. Pretty soon i won't be a Christian anymore. We'll see what happens though.

It's pretty hard to be turned away by family and friends.
Christianity offers alot to alot of people but there is too much confusion surrounding it for me.
Truth is so simple, that it often becomes so hard to find because of expectations and alot more.

for some odd reason I pretty much grow up with the notion that I do not need to be like the other and I do not need to do what they do. I see great moral in being my self and that is what has guided me through most of my life, for better or worse.

I wish you much strength. With disaster comes opportunity. You have been given harsh gift of loosing your family involuntary perhaps too soon, but that is what you would be doing later on in the path of revolutionary transformation. Family is identification that must be eventually dissolved in order to incarnate Christ in us. Once we incarnate Christ in us, then all of creation becomes our family.

Wishing you all a great spiritual morning.

Some people make the mistake of leaving family and friends behind because they interpret that those things are what is needed to be what is dissolved, but it is the identity with them or the "group ego" that must be replaced with awareness.
That's sort of tangent to what I had posted earlier.

Otherwise, one would end up hurting all those people that did nothing to them, a pretty selfish reason - aware of it or not.

Even if we are surrounded by those people that are just living the ordinary life, we can still be working inwards with our own self awareness.
It's just hard, and also difficult to not upset anyone else by rejecting a group invitation to take part in a selfish act or something similar.

Diplomacy is definately something I agree with Samael on, regarding how necessary it is to learn it.

Hi everyone,

I think you are all making a big sacrifice just by doing the great work. Spending your time and energy seeking wisdom and the truth for the evolution of humankind is noble and selfless. Lots of people in the world live complacently disregarding their spiritual responsibility, so it's inspiring to see a group of people devoted to the growth of humanity. God has a special place in his heart for you all.

Keep up the great work,

Red