--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > <snip> > > > Isn't that, after all, AnonAkashaGabbyMoose's > > > issue? He wants the experiences of enlighten- > > > ment that people have had to fit into the > > > descriptions of them he has heard over the > > > years. He's so used to the map that he wants > > > people's experiences to have creases in them > > > in the same places his maps do. :-) > > > > No, I don't think that's what he's saying at all. > > Unless you believe experiences should never be > > discussed, you have to find ways to describe them; > > and a standardized vocabulary for such descriptions, > > to the extent possible, facilitates understanding > > and comparison. Otherwise not much communication > > takes place. > > Just to add, I'm not suggesting one should strictly > limit oneself to a standardized vocabulary. It's > something to start from, to use as a basis, then > elaborate on, depart from, whatever, as appropriate. > It can even be used negatively--e.g., "It *wasn't* > like this. Instead, it was like..."
But what's the *point* of all this "communication?" Seems to me that often it's people who have not had a particular experience trying to "understand" the experience, on the basis of hearing it described or theorized about. With many spiritual experiences, I've found that the people who *had* the experiences don't understand them. Many of them are honest enough to say so. I guess the bottom line from this point of view, is that I'm just more of a fan of having experiences than sitting around talking about someone else's experiences. That can be fun if one finds the discussion or the experiene being discussed interesting, but I'm not convinced that hearing about it is going to either really help you understand it or prepare you for the experience itself. *On the other hand*, from another point of view, there may be some value in hearing the vibe "behind" the words that a person uses to describe an exper- ience that they know is indescribable. The words themselves mean nothing, but perhaps the vibe behind the words can provide a "pointer" to an intuitive feeling about the actual experience, a finger pointing to the moon. Given the second point of view, I would say that there is a greater likelihood of profiting from a discussion of a spiritual experience with someone who has actually had the experience than from a discussion among people who haven't. In the former case, the "vibe" might slip through underneath the words; in the latter case, there is no "vibe" to slip anywhere, only theory. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
