TonioTimeDaily

By Paul Dunion | October 1, 2013

Secular mysticism is the theme of my latest book, “Path of the Novice Mystic – Maintaining a Beginner’s Heart and Mind”. Unlike most spiritual traditions of Mysticism which are connected to a particular religion, Secular Mysticism is not oriented around religion. Secular Mysticism offers us an alternative to either believing we can triumph over life or see ourselves as victims, conquered by life. The goal of the Secular Mystic is to live intimately with one or more of the four expressions of life’s mystery. The first expression of life’s mystery is the Self. The second is other people and the third is Nature. The fourth is the Transcendent Other or God. We foster an intimate relationship with ourselves when we live a self-examined life accompanied by compassion. It can be difficult to see the darker elements of our characters such as arrogance, false modesty, jealousy and resentment, as well as claim the gold such as our gifts (talents), our intelligence, our kindnesses, and our capacity to love. We engender an intimate relationship with others when we speak our truth to them with compassion. Speaking the truth of how we feel treated and

what we want from others. Our truths are accompanied by compassion when we don not attack the character of others, but rather refer to their behavior with descriptions of what we need or want from them, with no diminishing remarks about the way they have acted toward us. We also promote living intimately with others when we accept the mystery of who they are, not pretending to be able to define them, but remaining actively curious about them. If we create a story about others, we remain intimate by telling them the story we have created about them, seeking their confirmation or disconfirmation of our stories. We remain intimate with nature when we approach nature with a reverence, grateful for the opportunity to live in harmony with the mountains, the oceans, the animals and the plant life.  The suggestion from a Secular Mystical perspective is that when we live a devotion to be intimate with ourselves, others and nature, a dynamic connection to the God of your knowing is created. The Divine is summoned as we live in truth, compassion and reverence."

"An intimacy coordinator is a staff member who ensures the well-being of actors who participate in sex scenes or other intimate scenes in theater, film and television production.

Function

According to Intimacy Directors International, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by Alicia Rodis, Tonia Sina, and Siobhan Richardson[1] that advocates for the function, an intimacy coordinator is expected to ensure that:[2]

The role of intimacy coordinator is not to be confused with that of an "intimacy choreographer", who specializes in the techniques of staging intimate scenes.[3]

In the television and film industry, in 2018, some production companies are hiring an "intimacy coordinator" to ensure that actors and actresses' sexual consent is obtained before shooting romantic scenes and simulated sex scenes.[4] To address concerns about the "vulnerability...and the massive power balance that can happen when a powerful showrunner or director asks an actress or actor...to get naked and simulate sex for the camera", HBO hires an intimacy coordinator for these scenes. The intimacy coordinator is a mix of an acting coach (who makes sure that scenes look realistic) and an advocate for actors and actresses who ensures that the onscreen performers' boundaries are respected and that their physical and emotional comfort is protected.[4]

I love sex toys, self-pleasure, masturbation (solo and mutual), erotica (visual, written, and audio): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_toy."

"I reject Eurocentric religion a.k.a racist religion because it promotes "divine colonization" and "divine imperialism." -Antonio Myers

"The way our sensibilities are shaped determines who we are, including the order of our loves. For many Christians, their politics has become more of an identity marker than their faith. They might insist that they are interpreting their politics through the prism of scripture, with the former subordinate to the latter, but in fact scripture and biblical ethics are often distorted to fit their politics.

Scott Dudley, the senior pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Washington, refers to this as “our idolatry of politics.” He’s heard of many congregants leaving their church because it didn’t match their politics, he told me, but has never once heard of someone changing their politics because it didn’t match their church’s teaching. He often tells his congregation that if the Bible doesn’t challenge your politics at least occasionally, you’re not really paying attention to the Hebrew scriptures or the New Testament. The reality, however, is that a lot of people, especially in this era, will leave a church if their political views are ever challenged, even around the edges."

I also noticed that racist religion means assailing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of females (which I am deeply displeased by.)

I like Social Justice Jesus, I like Jesus being a SJW (Social Justice Warrior). That's the only Jesus I like, admire, give acclaim to, and tread on the heels of. I read secular literature and religious texts. 

"On the flip side, many churches aren’t interested in catechesis at all. They focus instead on entertainment, because entertainment is what keeps people in their seats and coins in the offering plate. But as Jacobs points out, even those pastors who really are committed to catechesis get to spend, on average, less than an hour a week teaching their people. Sermons are short. Only some churchgoers attend adult-education classes, and even fewer attend Bible study and small groups. Cable news, however, is always on. “So if people are getting one kind of catechesis for half an hour per week,” Jacobs asked, “and another for dozens of hours per week, which one do you think will win out?”

"So many religious people have a bad habit of trying to control who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell and they have a bad habit of trying to be God." -Antonio Myers

"But, there’s more than that going on for you if you’ve decided that porn is your problem. Here’s some more real science that suggests some of the things that are going on for you : You like sex. Several empirical studies (here's a link to one) have found that self-identified porn addicts tend to be people with high libido. You are also a person who can get turned on very quickly (when you choose to). Further, you might have grown up in a home (or culture) where sex and masturbation were seen as morally wrong.

Having a high libido is not a bad thing. In fact, one of the things I often argue is that men (and women) who like sex have changed this world, and made it better. Rock stars, politicians, military leaders, and star athletes often tend to be people with high libidos, and a high desire to succeed. Sometimes, they actually want to succeed just so they can have lots of sex."

"But if you are a man who likes sex, and also likes porn, is that something you’ve ever really owned? I’m sad to say that our society has not taught men how to identify and negotiate their sexual desires or needs. We treat sex like a dirty secret. Then, when men get caught, they feed into that dirty-secret mentality, and treat sex like it’s the problem.

Those other men, who like sex, watch porn, and don’t get in trouble — how do they do that? One answer is that they understand themselves, and their desires. Sometimes, they sit down with their wives and girlfriends and have a real, open discussion about their use of porn, their interest in it, what it means and doesn’t mean, and their attraction to and interest in their partner. That’s a hard, scary discussion — not one for the first date, please — because it requires a man to stand up for himself and his sexual desires, to be willing to negotiate for those needs, to be willing to compromise but stay true to himself, while asking for the same in return."

"Another thing about those guys who don’t get in trouble for watching porn? They are paying attention to themselves, and doing the work that is needed to make good decisions. Some men have the internet or cable turned off in their hotel rooms, or install a net nanny on their own computer, so they have less temptation. That’s not because porn is the problem, but because these men are recognizing (when they’re not turned on) that they need to do the prep work in advance to make good decisions.

It’s okay to admit that you make poor decisions when sex or porn are involved. You’re not alone in that, and it’s not a sin. But the responsibility is on you to identify why and how you make bad decisions, and to take steps to make better decisions in the future. When you blame the problems on porn, you’re telling yourself, "Porn is more powerful than I am.” And I’m here to tell you: That’s not true. You can take responsibility for your life, your sex, your good decisions and your bad ones, and have the life you want.

Porn's not the problem; you are. But you know what? You're also the solution."

"The first three of these modes (literal, allegorical, and moral) were part of Christian tradition as expressed by Origen. St John Cassian (c. 360-435) added the fourth mode (anagogic) in 4th century.[4] His contemporary, St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) used the four fold interpretive method in his explanation of Christian doctrine, On Christian Doctrine. Due to the widespread popularity of "On Christian Doctrine" in the Middle Ages, the four fold method became the standard in Christian biblical exegesis of that period.[5]

"Based upon my own experiences, I have made the following additional observations about unhealthy and abusive church situations.

Do not knowingly say what is not true. But note that this does not mean you have to tell people everything. The Buddha said that whatever we say should pass three tests at a minimum, and often a fourth: Is it true? Is it useful? Is it timely? (And the fourth: Is it welcome?)

This links to the intention of non-ill will. Malice has to do with intention, but those intentions are often unconscious or fleeting. If you are about to say something but you’re getting a funny feeling, you probably shouldn’t say it.

“Harsh” is a matter of both content and tone. Sometimes the best course is to say something that is true, useful, and timely – even if not welcome – and the art is to say it in a clean way. Imagine a video camera is recording you and will be played back later; act in such a way that you will not squirm but will feel at peace with what you see. Or try out what you might say (or write) with others and get their feedback about harshness, including some that might just be leaking through in spite of your filters.

This probably originated as an admonition to monks and nuns, but it is also worth considering in householder life. How much of the time are we jabbering away to no good purpose – not even our own well-being – wasting time and energy, consuming the attention of others, avoiding what’s really important?

Much thought is internal speech: the verbal processes of the mind. Consider abstaining from false, malicious, harsh, or idle thinking!"

I live by all of the other words of this article: "https://www.rickhanson.net/the-noble-eightfold-path/.) 

"Jesus — whose parents had to flee to a foreign country to save his life — has followers who advocate to close the borders to desperate refugees. Christians shouldn’t be outraged about 666 pairs of so-called ‘Satan Shoes’ but completely resigned to voter disenfranchisement, the school-to-prison pipeline, the resegregation of public schools, the opioid crisis or the epidemic of mass shootings. And speaking of Little Nas X, believers should be horrified by his ‘Call Me By Your Name’ video — not because of the raunchy imagery but because we managed to convince a young boy that he was more likely to find love in Hell than inside the body of Christ.

I love the church. But I love Jesus more, and the church has done a terrible job being faithful to the way of Jesus. When we who love the church see these numbers, we shouldn’t kid ourselves. People aren’t rejecting Jesus — they are turning away from churches that represent him badly. Churches that are full of programs instead of prayer, full of doctrine but empty of mercy. Turning away from church that lies is the first step towards the truth.

Which brings me back to the prophet Ezekiel — who was called by God to prophesy judgment, not against outsiders, but against the egregious unfaithfulness of his fellow believers. In Ezekiel’s day, people loved the rituals of worship more than the God they worshiped, people loved their religious identity more than the shalom of God. And so, in anguish, God leaves their sacred building behind. But God never abandoned the people.

On the cross, Jesus cried out “it is finished.” Injustice is finished, greed and poverty are finished, hatred is finished, violence, enmity and alienation are finished. All of those old powers are condemned and crucified. On the cross, the righteousness of God’s self-giving love was unleashed to infect all the earth with holiness. Resurrection life has come. And the church, the true body of Christ full of his Spirit--the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-generational, full of love, generosity, healing, transformation, forgiveness, joy and mutual flourishing, real church welcomes all.

Local congregations may or may not be about the new thing God is doing. When they are — they are irresistible. When they are not, well, God may leave our buildings — but God will not stop being God.

What the church needs is not more members, but more Jesus — not revival but repentance. What we should fear is not people who refuse to belong to churches, but churches who refuse to belong to Jesus."