05.19.10
Posted in articles at 8:41 pm by MPJ
Someone sent me this story not long ago. I have not interviewed him,
but I do believe his story shows the trajectory of Mystic level
development. There is the early formal literal belief in traditional
religion. Following that there was a period of questioning. Then a
move back toward religious participation, even though he does not
accept all the beliefs of his church. Note his comment: "a fair
portion of what the pastor says goes in one ear and out the other"
and he refuses to accept explanations that are contrary to his
"innate sense of what a wise and loving creator of the universe
would possibly be like."
Lance's Story:
My journey through the stages of belief has been somewhat non-linear. I
was raised in an alcoholic household (both my father and mother died of
cirrhosis, my father being a brilliant man but the most hopeless Read the rest of this entry »
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11.06.08
Posted in articles at 12:17 am by MPJ
Now that the election is over I can say it without anyone accusing me of trying to influence the election! About a year ago, while reading “the Audacity of Hope,” I got the notion that Barack Obama may be at the Mystic level of spiritual development - that is at the fourth of four stages we have enough data to address.* That of course was not reason enough to vote for him as president and I really did not think too much about it after that. It was only today, while I was recalling some aspects of some of his speeches, that it hit me: I am pretty sure: Read the rest of this entry »
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10.19.08
Posted in articles at 10:26 am by MPJ
I generally try to stay out of politics - a dirty business if I ever saw one! But just about the time I was writing my “Greater Good” article: ( http://beliefstagesandgrowth.com/blog/on-intercessory-prayer-reiki-and-the-greater-good/#more-139 ) a thought occurred to me: “What about the “Greater Good” in this upcoming election?”
It just seems this time there are less clear cut answers than in prior elections I can recall. People I have spoken with seem confused about which candidate would be better and many are still undecided. There are conflicting factors on either side, which, in my attempt to Read the rest of this entry »
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10.15.08
Posted in articles at 8:57 am by MPJ
Intercessory Prayer is when you pray to God that something you want will happen or that something you don’t want will not happen. In these cases, you are asking God to “intercede” on your behalf. It has been a part of most religions for ages and ages. But, does it work?
Well, a few years ago a study ( Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: a multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. Am Heart J.2006 Apr;151(4):934-42) was completed by a group of researchers (Benson H, Dusek JA, Sherwood JB, Lam P, Bethea CF, Carpenter W, Levitsky S, Hill PC, Clem DW JR, Jain MK, Drumel D, Kopecky SL, Mueller PS, Marek D, Rollins S, Hibberd PL.) The study tested the effect of prayer on the rate of complications following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Three groups of patients were included in the study: those who were told they would definitely receive intercessory prayer Read the rest of this entry »
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10.13.08
Posted in articles at 10:05 pm by MPJ
Sorry I have not posted any articles here in a few weeks. Excuses include the fact that at first I was working mostly on my upcoming book. Then I could not access the blog for a few days while I was having it upgraded to a newer Wordpress version. Then my husband returned from spending a year in Alaska. Shortly thereafter, I had Read the rest of this entry »
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