"Why won't God heal amputees?"

Hey archimedes, you may want to lighten up on this “I am” Jesus character. He seems crazy to anyone to tries to understand him from a perspective of ‘reason’ as he is primary a man of faith, and faith and reason never go together. Faith in a sense is unavoidable – you break down logic, math, and physics way down enough and you get to an area where science cannot go because it is an area where no experiments can be done (ie the superstring level). So ultimately the basis of all knowledge systems is a leap of faith.
Just a few days ago I would have agreed with you as to the ‘craziness’ of this “I am” Jesus guy.
But now I think that he is crazy, and good for him. Because the more I study people who have gotten to unbelievable levels success (fame and fortune wise) the more I realize that these folks are completely crazy from the prospective of ‘reason.’

Some examples:

- Imagine a prince who gives up all he has to pursue a life of renunciation and a particular form of yoga that involves lots of self-mortification. After 7 years of this madness, he is near death from fasting, and then finally accepts some milk from a poor girl. Right them he then gives up the whole quest of pursuing ‘enlightenment’ and proclaims himself to be enlightened. This is the story of the Buddha. He seems crazy to me but he’s had an influence on human culture more than anyone else perhaps.

- Imagine an investor that is so cheap that he refuses to invest in fast growing industries/companies because he doesn’t understand them and he prefers to fight the trend and buy low thinking he’s getting a good deal. That’s crazy. Yet Warren Buffet did just that and no one comes close to replicating his success.

- Imagine a Nobel Prize winning mathematician, who thinks he can outsmart the market by day trading it using algos when all academic literature says that day trading is gambling and that market is more or less efficient making consistent profits impossible. Yet he runs the biggest quant trading hedge fund in the world (Jim Simmons).

- Imagine the biggest female pop star in the world falling for an unemployed guy who just dumped his pregnant girlfriend. This crazy girl then dumps the guy and begins to showcase her vagina to the world to signal she’s single and ready to mingle. Yet this is the story of Brittany Spears.

- I can go on about guys who have fame and fortune and families yet continue to risk life and limb for their sport.

- Or how about Jack Hershey, who claims anyone can be on the ‘right side of the market at all times’ and can extract 3 times the daily range for ES with ‘no risk’. He has zero evidence to back up any of his assumptions and claims yet this guy has the biggest following on ET.


Now back to this “I am” Jesus guy. In a few years who knows, maybe he will have a huge following and have all the money he wanted but couldn’t make thru trading. Guys that are crazy and go ‘all in’ to whatever they believe in an do without any doubts will always come out ahead of the ‘reasonable’ guy who’s always has fear and doubt in him. Faith is a high risk – high reward thing. Faith isn’t perfect but I respect it a lot more now cause it takes courage to go ‘all in’ and give everything you have to something – primarily because our whole system of education is geared towards producing unthinking and unfeeling cogs for some machine.
So Jesus, go right ahead and up the ante, go all in and all out. Because this is all drama anyways. A game of dare to see how ‘far out’ one can go and how lost one can get.
 
Quote from llaterallus:


- Imagine an investor that is so cheap that he refuses to invest in fast growing industries/companies because he doesn’t understand them and he prefers to fight the trend and buy low thinking he’s getting a good deal. That’s crazy. Yet Warren Buffet did just that and no one comes close to replicating his success.
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This is one of the worst representations of Buffet's investment method. You believe too much of the media hype.

Two key ingredients in Buffet's success (neither have anything to do with value):
1. Market timing.
2. Insider trading.
That's a killer combination. It's not crazy. Just smart.
 
Quote from llaterallus:
Hey archimedes, you may want to lighten up on this “I am” Jesus character. He seems crazy to anyone to tries to understand him from a perspective of ‘reason’ as he is primary a man of faith, and faith and reason never go together.
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Disagree. I think he's bored, or ambitious, or both, but not all that crazy.

I'm hard on him because it annoys me to see useful truth distorted by hokum. Like taking a nice piece of prime rib and slathering it with hershey's chocolate sauce.

Nor is it necessarily true that "faith and reason never go together." That is just a one-dimensional cliche.

Quote from llaterallus:
Faith in a sense is unavoidable – you break down logic, math, and physics way down enough and you get to an area where science cannot go because it is an area where no experiments can be done (ie the superstring level). So ultimately the basis of all knowledge systems is a leap of faith.
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This is just another way of saying there's no such thing as absolute certainty. Which is true.

But when this argument is brought out, the user typically has a "can't we all get along" type agenda. That is, they want to suggest or imply that all proclamations and belief systems are equal, because all go back to an untestable source.

This is a deceitful assertion. There is no such thing as absolute certainty... but there are certainly degrees of certainty. Some things asymptote just below the line of absolutely true. Other things asymptote above the line of absolute bullshit. From a pragmatic standpoint, it is necessary to assume certain things absolutely true, even while reserving a theoretical caveat.

Wisdom is the ability to separate wheat from chaff. A true wise man, in my opinion, has the ability to call bullshit when the situation calls for it. To be open to any and all representations of truth that saunter along, regardless of their intrinsic quality or lack thereof, is simply to be gullible and undiscerning.

Skepticism is not an anti-spiritual trait. If anything, skepticism is a healthy and necessary ally in pursuit of true spirituality. You need the ability to filter out all the crap and pap you will encounter along the journey. There is a lot of it.

Anyone who has not spent time or effort on developing their bullshit detector, in my opinion, is not serious about the pursuit of truth.

This is another reason that I Am pisses me off. He makes a parlor game out of observations that should be taken more seriously. It's like reading a Stephen Hawking book on how the universe works, and then having Shirley Maclaine show up and start babbling about the cosmic love that emanates from dwarf stars.


Quote from llaterallus:
the more I study people who have gotten to unbelievable levels success (fame and fortune wise) the more I realize that these folks are completely crazy from the prospective of ‘reason.’
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That's a nice thought. But again, misguided. The universe does not reward irrationality for its own sake. You don't get points for being a cuckoo puff.

The universe does, however, reward willingness to break from the norm in a general sense. Those who would enjoy unconventional success must, by necessity, think and do unconventional things on the whole.

If anyone can make a claim to being 'crazy' on this board, it is me. My intelligence levels and emotional ranges are both off the charts. (Yeah, it's arrogant to say that out loud. So sue me.) The combination of extreme passion and prodigious talent in a given area (or areas) is what makes for the prototypical 'good' representation of crazy. The same intellect / emotion profile is true of my father and grandfather, with the same recognizable extremes. My two half brothers have similar tendencies. It is very much a gene thing.

So yeah, I know about crazy in the sense that you're talking about. I've lived it and observed the consequences of it in my family... both good and bad. It's like trying to ride a tiger. You either get a grip on the passion or it kills you.

But again, I don't get that sense from "I am." I dont' buy that every dude who comes along saying crazy shit is actually enlightened, or even all that interesting.

And by the way, you know what would really be 'crazy'?

Communicating the importance of zenlike truths in a way that is powerful, sensible, and unadorned by bullshit. That would be crazy. Helping people find freedom without sucking them into a cult, or distracting them with silly baubles, or swapping out one crutch for another. To communicate life changing truth on a large scale, sans hype, would be a truly noble and 'crazy' goal.

But telling people you are God, getting high on all that new age crap that fills row after row of used bookstores... that's not 'crazy' in the desirable sense. That's boring and tired and lame. Don't give me that shit about crystals and healing and jibber jabber spiritual integration blah blah blah. The real wise man is the guy who can articulate a powerful philosophy that makes sense from a multi-faceted and multi-disciplined perspective, without relying on tired and boring tropes and without pursuing fantastical claims.
 
Quote from james_bond_3rd:

This is one of the worst representations of Buffet's investment method. You believe too much of the media hype.

Two key ingredients in Buffet's success (neither have anything to do with value):
1. Market timing.
2. Insider trading.
That's a killer combination. It's not crazy. Just smart.
More...


No. He certainly didn't make his first $100 million that way.

The first fortune was all about scooping up mispriced assets and fixing broken companies. Buying the kind of stocks that are so offbeat and illiquid you practically have to trade them by appointment. Hiring workout guys to go ream the management. That kind of thing. If anything, Buffett is more of a private equity guy than a trader or value investor.
 
Quote from llaterallus:

Hey archimedes, you may want to lighten up on this “I am” Jesus character. He seems crazy to anyone to tries to understand him from a perspective of ‘reason’ as he is primary a man of faith, and faith and reason never go together. Faith in a sense is unavoidable – you break down logic, math, and physics way down enough and you get to an area where science cannot go because it is an area where no experiments can be done (ie the superstring level). So ultimately the basis of all knowledge systems is a leap of faith.
Just a few days ago I would have agreed with you as to the ‘craziness’ of this “I am” Jesus guy.
But now I think that he is crazy, and good for him. Because the more I study people who have gotten to unbelievable levels success (fame and fortune wise) the more I realize that these folks are completely crazy from the prospective of ‘reason.’

Now back to this “I am” Jesus guy. In a few years who knows, maybe he will have a huge following and have all the money he wanted but couldn’t make thru trading. Guys that are crazy and go ‘all in’ to whatever they believe in an do without any doubts will always come out ahead of the ‘reasonable’ guy who’s always has fear and doubt in him. Faith is a high risk – high reward thing. Faith isn’t perfect but I respect it a lot more now cause it takes courage to go ‘all in’ and give everything you have to something – primarily because our whole system of education is geared towards producing unthinking and unfeeling cogs for some machine.
So Jesus, go right ahead and up the ante, go all in and all out. Because this is all drama anyways. A game of dare to see how ‘far out’ one can go and how lost one can get.
More...

You are very close to the Kingdom of God. Faith and desire are so close as to be almost synonymous...one. And desire is the first key to the Kingdom. You believe in what you desire. After you desire, you see what you believe, literally. In this world - which operates under the law of perception - "seeing is believing". You cannot see unless you first believed it...having first desired it. Therefore, you can look around at any moment to see what you have believed...and what you have desired. If you see a mountain, you must have desired it...you must have had faith in it.

If you want to see something else, you must first desire something else. If you want to see Heaven, you must desire it. Faith will follow...then vision. That is why I said, "blessed are they who have not yet seen, yet still believe". That is because they will see. "Vision" is gifted to those who desire it above all else. When I said, "seeing, they see not", I was referring to eyeball type sight. This type of sight is "blind" relative to true vision. Vision sees the world utterly heavenly, relative to eyeball type sight. This vision is what leads you to Heaven, enticing you with the beautiful and lovely. This vision "sees" where miracles are placed behind every "problem". Miracles will light the path back Home out of this world.

How are you able to envision a world that is heavenly? Realize that the world is an outpicturing of what is on your mind. I am reminding you that your mind is powerful beyond limits. What is mainly on your mind is your ID. The world you see with eyeballs is a projection. The projection is basically a denial of who you are. But if you are Heaven, and believe it, you will see it everywhere. And I assure you, you are Heaven. And as Heaven, you think heavenly thoughts. These are clouded by unreal thoughts, like a bushel hiding the light of a candle. Therefore what you currently "see" are the effects of unreal thoughts. Therefore what you see is unreal.

Faith is imperfect, yes...because it is part of the world of perception that you made up. It's part of the machinery that outpictures what is on your mind so that you can "see" it with perception. Anything you can see with perception is not really there. That is why I say such sight is "blind".

Perception engenders a world of doubt...reflecting doubt about yourself. It is not part of Heaven. You can be certain of nothing while you yet perceive with eyeball type sight. Eyeballs themselves are a projection, made to deceive. They actually see nothing. What you "see" is an illusion. To see an illusion, you had to first desire to see it. To desire an illusion, you had to deny the truth of who you are. Absolute certainty and knowledge are your natural attributes. This is what you had to deny in order to see a world of illusions. That is why this world reflects doubt about who you are. That is why all choices in such a world reflect who you think you are. If you are Heaven, and you deny it, what is left to see but "hell"?

Therefore faith implies you are not certain about yourself...and this is imperfect. Yet if you have used faith to imprison yourself in a world of illusions, you can use it to free yourself by believing in the truth about yourself. The truth is, "the Kingdom of God is within you". That is why you are "Heaven". You can never lose this identity no matter how much you deny it. All you can do is experience "hell" when you wish to be something other than as God created you. While yet in a world of perception, you can use it's laws and leverage faith to take you in the direction you want to go...until you no longer need it.

God Created you equal to Himself. He is "greater" because He is your Creator. Yet he has given you everything...quite literally. To look for something beyond everything...that is what you are attempting to do in this world. It is impossible, and that is why it is a hellish experience. Those who confuse Creator with created are begging for more hellish experiences. This is why I am always careful to distinguish between the Father and the Son...between Cause and effect. Confuse them and be confounded. Turn on it and watch the world you made instead turn on you and attack you.

As you were created, you are Life. If you deny this, what else can you experience but death? That is why this world is the opposite of everything that you are...everything that Heaven is. That is why it is hell, and that is why everything I say seems to be "crazy" to those who are following the "reason" of this world. It seems crazy because it is opposite and upside down from reality. My words seem crazy because this world was made to hide the truth about you from yourself. It's purpose is to make reality seem crazy, replacing it with a "reasonable" facsimile. It is self-deception on a grand scale. It is persistent because it is self-deception. It is persistent because you can only be deceived if you desire to be deceived. You can only be deceived if you are "crazy" enough to deny the truth...which you did, or you would not be experiencing something less than truth. Thus, this is a world of "s-i-n" -- seriously insane notions.

When I say that the Son of God is sinless and innocent, I am denying the reality of this world...a world built on "sin". In this way, I am placing my faith in only one power, and not two. In this way I unify a split allegiance and heal the mind. So I am "all in" on the side of innocence, rather than seeing some as innocent, and others as "guilty". It's all or nothing. That is the power of holiness: seeing all others as "all in" and completely innocent...even archimedes.

You do not need to be vigilant for the Kingdom of God but you do need to be vigilant about what would keep you from seeing it..."primarily because our whole system of education is geared towards producing unthinking and unfeeling cogs for some machine."

I appreciate your comments.

Jesus








:)
 
Quote from archimedes:

No. He certainly didn't make his first $100 million that way.

The first fortune was all about scooping up mispriced assets and fixing broken companies. Buying the kind of stocks that are so offbeat and illiquid you practically have to trade them by appointment. Hiring workout guys to go ream the management. That kind of thing. If anything, Buffett is more of a private equity guy than a trader or value investor.
More...

That's the myth that was propagated (the first part of your comment).

He was a fund manager before all this, and demonstrated impeccable market timing. Made his first millions that way. After that, he could afford to be "a private equity guy." But not an average "private equity guy." He strong armed his way around and made full use of any insider advantage he had (always legally).
 
Quote from james_bond_3rd:

That's the myth that was propagated (the first part of your comment).

He was a fund manager before all this, and demonstrated impeccable market timing. Made his first millions that way.
More...


Okay, I'll concede that possibility. I know a little about Buffett, but I'm definitely no Buffetologist.

Just to point out though: Kirk Kerkorian funded his first business with poker winnings... yet he is hardly known for being a poker player. If someone asked how Kerkorian became a multi-billionaire, 'Vegas hotels' or 'property development' wouldn't exactly be a wrong answer. Nor would 'poker' exactly be the right one.
 
Quote from stu:

and when you have "reached God", just + 1....
to "reach Gilbert"

:)

stu
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:)

Er, does "overreach" mean anything to you? When you are everything, and you reach beyond, what is there to grab in one's greedy little hand?

First, there must be a hand. The hand must be small and greedy. Finally, the hand must not exist, for what can exist beyond everything?

It's like the proverbial monkey that is trapped by grabbing a nut inside a hole that's only big enough for an unclosed fist. As long as he holds onto the nut, he is stuck. As long as he is a "monkey", he will be stuck in the matrix.

If the "monkey" realizes he is everything and has everything, he may realize how silly it is to hold on to the nut, thinking he is deprived of something...or that there is anything beyond everything.

The nut symbolizes an "idol"...a power beyond omnipotence, a place beyond everywhere, a time beyond eternity. Such is this world.

There must be a hand to grab with, for the seeker of idols must believe he is deprived of something. The hand must always be grabbing, for the seeker beyond everything must always find nothing. And when it is found, it must disappear like sand through his fingers. Fort what is beyond changelessness, but change?

The hand must be small, for what is beyond limitless magnitude? What can be different from magnitude? Aha, it must be small and limited! Such is this world, where everything is little...even in Texas. What could be smaller than a hand that grabs? What could be longer than eternity? Aha, there must be so many idols, and so little time to grab them! The hand must be greedy, for who can be given everything and be unwilling to share it? It must be separated from all other hands, for who can be united and wish to go beyond perfect unity? It must be the hand of a slave, for who can be perfectly free and wish to be even more free? Who needs to be more free but a slave? The hand must be poor and deprived for who can be rich and think he lacks anything? Such is this world...built on the belief in scarcity...ever manifesting the quality of it's believers thought.

Such is this world. It is filled with idols in a thousand different forms. Each hand seeking the one that all others do not have. If your natural state is total health, you must grab something less than healthy to go beyond. Such is this world. Is the world sick? Aha, I will be sick + 1! It's stern decree is, "seek and do not find". For as soon as you are sick + 1 the hand grabs death. Death seems original until you realize this world is for dying, and everyone is dying. So the world makes death + 1 for everyone else but death itself, perusing the dead beyond death into "hell". Even that is not good enough, so there are different levels of hell to tell everyone else to go to.

What is an idol? Nothing! Such is the hand that grabs them. Such is this world, made to find something beyond everything. That is why I said, "seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you". Let go of the nut, and be free. It is the belief you lack nuts that binds you to this world.

Jesus:)
 
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