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Poor Sister St. Aloysius. Between her ban on going to the fabric store during the month of October and the fact that I am banned from going to the fabric store ever again, we are between a rock and a hard place with Halloween bearing down on us once more. Perhaps she needs to first make a costume for me so I could arrive at Jo-Ann's Fabrics incognito.
I am all for collecting old linens and making everyone go as ghosts. The little kids only need a pillow case. The whole point of Halloween is the celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. All those people are ghosts, aren't they?
We don't talk much about "ghosts" in the Catholic church, although we understand that the dead have shown up from time to time. That's because you are not allowed to dabble around in trying to conjure them up yourself lest you inadvertently conjure up Beelzebub or one of his pals.
But since we're celebrating those who have passed on and are, or may be, in Heaven and praying for those who are in Purgatory, why not dress up like them? Get a sheet, cut a couple of holes in it, throw on a hat and go as Aunt Sally. I don't see the harm. As long as you don't assume where Aunt Sally has landed in the afterlife, pray for her intercession (unless she's been canonized), or try to conger her, I think she'd make for a good costume.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, what with me being banned for life from the fabric store.
Which brings me to today's question from Tom in Vegas:
In Christianity, as well as in other non-Catholic/ non-Christian religions, there is much talk about the soul. But what part of me is the soul? Is it in the brain? What part of it continues? And how do we know it does?
This is one of those overlooked discussions that doesn't get that much attention, and is accepted by some without adequate understanding.
I don't know what rock you've been under there in "Vegas", Tom, but that area gets quite a bit of attention, especially that last part, "How do we know it continues?" The answer to that is the difference between you and Christopher Hitchens (I hope). If we don't believe the soul continues, we can toss out the Bible and Jesus and the Catholic Church and the Lutherans and the Muslims and the Baptists and the Church of the Latter Day Saints and their magic underpants. We can even toss out the Buddhists. Good-bye everyone!
We really never STOP talking about the fact that the soul goes on after death. Care of the soul, because it is immortal, is practically our whole topic of discussion.
What part of you is your soul? It's all of you. It doesn't just ride around in your head. If it were just your brain, then if you were brain dead on life support your soul would be gone, wouldn't it? Would your soul just be sitting there in your useless skull? I think not.
Your soul is what gives you life and you have life until your soul takes off for parts unknown. You will go to one of three places, but unless you are canonized (which means you definitely went to Heaven), we won't ever know which one until we join you. It seems that God does allow some departed souls to pay a visit occasionally.
For example, many saints have been visited by souls who were suffering in Purgatory.
You aren't dead until your soul is gone from your body. I think even Christopher Hitchens would go along with that. He must have noticed some type of life force in the living and a lack of one in the dead. If you've ever seen a person die, or a dead body, you understand the difference between the soul being present in the body and the soul having taken off for parts unknown (to us).
All of your soul continues. I'm not sure why you think your soul comes apart at all. It's not made of matter, so there's nothing to come apart.
That's why making a ghost costume is so easy! Now if I can just get Sister St. Aloysius on board.
Credit: http://wiccancommunity.blogspot.com
Your kindness is a mighty force, as it raises your consciousness above and beyond the petty concerns of the human personality, the personal mind, into the heights of the consciousness of the Higher Self. A major concern of those who become self-aware is the differences in beliefs between oneself and others, and many spiritual seekers have become very self-righteous in an egoic, lower-self sense as a reaction to this heightened perception of "differences." However, to heal this, a shift in one's self-awareness to the Higher Self-in other words, to a feeling-sense of Oneness-must be made in order to traverse the bridge of consciousness from fear and anger to love and compassion.Kindness transcends differences in beliefs. Indeed, kindness transcends all appearances of differences, of contrast, as it is an out-pouring of the Spiritual Heart.
At times you may feel that your kindness is not reciprocated, and as a result you may feel irritated, annoyed and angry that your offering of love doesn't appear to be returned. In such instances it is always a case of "mistaken identity." In other words, you are identifying with the lower self, the ego, that feels victimized and abandoned. This "self" feels a lack of love; in fact, this is its defining characteristic! Identifying yourself with the common false belief, "Well, I am only human," is a sure way to avoid the spiritual fact that you are actually a perfect, immortal Divine Being that is temporarily playing a role as an ego, a personal "I," a human being. The "mistake" is assuming that you are human. You are not. You are Consciousness.
The human part is just that; it is part of your Higher Self and not the whole of who and what you are.Your True Identity is expressed in loving-kindness. Your kindness shows you and others who and what you really are. Negative behavior never shows anyone's "true colors." This common human perception of seeing one's "true colors" is nonsense, for the True Self actually has no colors, Itself being Pure Light that has no opposite and no shades of Itself. Yes, you may indeed perceive the so-called "true colors" of your brothers and sisters, but unless you realize that these are but temporary, illusory personality aspects that are reflected in the persona, in the aura of the individual, you are making the same error of mistaken identity in not clearly perceiving and identifying with your Higher Self, your Divine "I AM."None of you are actually here to figure out the minds of other people, but actually to gradually awaken to the Divine Mind, the Universal Mind, that is One.
It is suggested here that you identify with the FEELING of kindness rather than with the human definitions of kindness. Throw your labels and definitions to the transformative winds of higher awareness. Likewise, in this process of Self-realization it is very important that you surrender your specific expectations of how you think others should react to your kindness. This is of utmost importance! Your kindness, your compassion, is not firmly grounded and anchored if you have knee-jerk negative reactions to those who may not behave in the manner that your ego would like them to react. Let go of such defensive, self-destructive attitudes, for they do not characterize the True, Enlightened Inner Person that you really are.Understand that your soul actually enjoys differences; it delights in contrast, or else there would be no range of expression, and thus no human experience at all.
You, as soul, enjoy and appreciate ALL experiences. You will not clearly understand this with your human intellect, so the sooner you realize the futility of "intellectual enlightenment," the better. True intellectual enlightenment belongs to the Divine Intellect, the Divine Mind, and not to a mind that heavily relies upon its human intellect for its understanding of things. True kindness is that compassion that perceives all as One, in a deep, feeling sense that is beyond words, definitions and descriptions. ANY expression of kindness may lead to transcendental awareness, provided that you allow yourself the benefit of acknowledging your Inner Self. This is but a simple recognition of your empowerment, your Divine Reality.
Cherish those that believe differently than you, for in truth no one else actually has "identical" beliefs to yours, anyhow. There is no such unity in the perceptive arena of "difference" and "separation," which is why separation is totally an illusion. Unity is only found in crossing the bridge of consciousness from fear and lack to Abundant Love. Your kindness is mightier than any perception of lack. You lack nothing! Let the emphasis of this Truth ring throughout your vibrational being, until you are vibrating in perfect alignment with Source Reality, and the evidence of this Truth will surely be found in your delicious FEELING of well-being. Be kind unto yourselves, beloved ones, and thus all are served well. :)Namaste.
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