Ecstatic radiance?

[Katrine]

Hi Doc

 

quote:Thank you. No problem on this end. Please accept my apology as well for misinterpreting your comments.

Absolutely, Doc

Thank you!

[Katrine]

Hi All

About the "lost-godess/saint/celestial-realms" thing....
The only discription selected from above I can honestly say I have directly experienced is...LOST. It happens all the time !

That's it, folks.
Sorry to disappoint you ]

We all are the equation (as Doc so appropriately put it). It is you who inspire the writing!

Thank you

[Katrine]

Hi Christi

 

quote:When you use the word "Shine", does that mean that you see the radiance? I do not see it, I only feel it. I have heard you talk about this Shine before but did not realize that you were talking about the Energy radiating out from us. I thought you were talking about everything in the world shining from within.

Yes and no.
Do I see the shine? Yes......I don't know if this can be described properly....but I perceive the shine. Everything is chrystal clear...even the smallest rubble in the street is permeated by this....clarity. It is beautiful.....no matter what it looks like. Everything is ...tydelig (sorry...Norwegian word...means sort of explicit)....nothing is hidden. It is so clear that it is brilliant. Everything everywhere has this quality of clarity.....the unified perception of it is like everything "shines". But my eyes cannot describe the light.....cannot really see the light....only the clarity that is the result of it. Puh....umph.....how do you describe colorless light....it can't be done, really.

Whether it is the energy radiating from me or not - I never think about it - I am always in such awe when it happens. In the beginning it was accidental; but now it happens every time I am not self conscious. I am just here, quiet. If i am not mentally relaxed (for some reason or other) i cannot perceive the shine. I eventually figured out that when I am not relaxed (mentally) - i am self conscious (one way or another). The two are one and the same - a contraction inside. At the same time; I cannot "fake" the "not-self-conscious state" (obviously...since any falseness is related to the person I think i am). But when i relax and stay quiet, when I forget myself, the shine is always here now.

Also - the shine presents itself with different.....qualities. It is always a presence. It is a Joyous shine (like unheard laughter) sometimes, a Loving shine other times (my chest is throbbing with it) ; another time it is ....immensly Strong....an incredible Strenght that is almost too much to take...
All these always happen both "inside" and "outside" the body.....it is one homogenious field.

   

quote:quote:
The increased radiance.... is not really an increase - it is simply less obscured, that's all.

I don't get this? If someone feels the radiance more strongly when they are close to me, then does that mean they are simply more aware of what is already there, because of some kind of harmonization with my mind state?

Yes and no.
They are not harmonizing with your mind state.....somehow your radiance draws them closer (harmonizes them) to Reality (which is constant). Exactly what happens to you at the same time. They feel the same pull you do. Except you are pulled inside....and they are pulled to you (they are pulled into contact with reality throughyou.) That's why I said that the crucial point is you. How you embrace the radiance by being quiet inside. Don't leave yourself and start worrying/noticing how it affects others. Don't fret. Be still. Stay with it. The Love will know what to do.

Hm...
Somehow....I can't describe the shine as "energy". No....it doesn't sound right. The shine is....like the vapour from a boiling kettle......it is what happens when the heat (energy) transforms the matter.....or "melts" the matter. Energy can be seen and felt, but the shine is perceived only (sorry....I am not being very clear....but this is the best i can do).


 

quote:Does this mean that you don't adjust the level of your radiance according to who you are with? You just trust that they will be O.K.?

Yes. I stay with the shine. Or act if I feel the pull to do so. That's all. Of course - if I contract inside; if I react....if i become self conscious - then this resistance to what happens might maybe cause energy happenings also (in the other body)? I don't know, Christi. Nobody ever reported getting troubling symptoms (other than the usual reactions between interacting people).

 

quote:I am longing to ask another question which seems to be implicit in the way you write. Do you see other people as seperate from yourself?

When the contraction inside is where the attention goes - then yes; i see everything as usual. I see both other people and myself as separate. I identify with the bodyperson, then. If I don't listen to the sadness this brings....if I resist the lostness.....and continue to go with the straining inside...then usually something "slaps" me into being aware of what is going on. If i still resist - something will happen that is too painful to ignore.

But when the shine is perceived......oh, ....; being everywhere; highlighting everything;.....then I still see all the bodies....but there are no "people" to attach them to. The shine is all. The shine is the unifying fact. The shine is the only thing real. Everything else is just....paintwork. It is like being all alone in the world - and not feel lonely at all. Everything is just as it should be. Nothing is wrong.

[Manipura]

shiny pennies are real too

[Doc]

Hi Meg:

Oh, yeah....especially those with 'Mint' freshness! LOL And they may even be quite valuable...as described below:

What's So Special About the 1943 Copper Penny?

"According to the American Numismatic Association, the 1943 copper-alloy cent is one of the most idealized and potentially one of the most sought-after items in American numismatics.  Nearly all circulating pennies at that time were struck in zinc-coated steel because copper and nickel were needed for the Allied war effort.

40 1943 copper-alloy cents are known to remain in existence.  Coin experts speculate that they were struck by accident when copper-alloy 1-cent blanks remained in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies.

A 1943 copper cent was first offered for sale in 1958, bringing more than $40,000.  A subsequent piece sold for $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981.  The highest amount paid for a 1943 copper cent was $82,500 in 1996.

Because of its collector value, the 1943 copper cent has been counterfeited by coating steel cents with copper or by altering the dates of 1945, 1948, and 1949 pennies.

The easiest way to determine if a 1943 cent is made of steel, and not copper, is to use a magnet.  If it sticks to the magnet, it is not copper.  If it does not stick, the coin might be of copper and should be authenticated by an expert."

Hari OM!

Doc

[VIL]

Katrine,

Please forgive me, but I was beginning to think you were on drugs or not of sound mind, until I read this:

 

quote:The shine is....like the vapour from a boiling kettle......it is what happens when the heat (energy) transforms the matter.....or "melts" the matter.

That is almost verbatim of how I described my experience of what I can only describe as my true Self looking through my body.  It was as if I was looking through a heat vapor, but with light.  Although, I couldn't describe the light.  I had this experience, once, and I'm curious why you have this often.  Hmm... maybe I have a lot more work to do, and now that I think of it, "shine" is a more apropos way of describing what objects look like.  And in my, one, experience, I could hear the workings of my body, as if it were a machine, with the constant distant ticking sound like that of a bell.

Good for you, Katrine:



VIL

[Doc]

Hi Katrine:

I'm wondering if the "shine presence" you have referred to might bear some similarity of relationship to the ancient Jewish perception of God's Presence as 'Shekinah'?  Check this out, and see what you think.

http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/images/SHEK3.gif
http://shekinah.elysiumgates.com/imagesblue/shekinah.jpg

The Wisdom of Solomon

Shekinah is the Supreme Spirit
devoted to the good of all people . . .

She shines bright in the bloom of ignorance;
She is unfading;
She is easily seen by those who love Her;
easily found by those who look for Her,
And quickly does She come to those who seek Her help.

One who rises early, intent on finding Her, will not grow weary of the quest--
For one day he will find Her seated in his own heart.

To set all one's thoughts on Her is true wisdom,
And to be ever aware of Her is the sure way to perfect peace.
For Shekinah Herself goes about in search of those who are worthy of Her.

With every step She comes to guide them;
in every thought She comes to meet them . . .

The true beginning of spiritual life is the desire to know Shekinah.
A desire to know Her brings one to love Her.
Loving Her enables one to follow her will.
Following Her will is the sure path of immortality.
And immortality is oneness with God.

So the desire to know Shekinah leads to God
and His Kingdom - - a never-fading Kingdom.
With all your thrones and scepters you may rule the world for a while,
But take hold of Shekinah and you will rule the world forever.

The Wisdom of Solomon (50 BCE)
was written by an unknown Jewish sage living in Alexandria.
By custom, however, it is ascribed to King Solomon (10th century BCE).

Hari OM!

Doc

[Katrine]

Hi Doc

The poem is beautiful!
Thank you for sharing it.

The pictures in your links above are....of the arc? And the woman is?

I am not very familiar with Jewish terminology - I don't know what Shekinah means. Why is it gender bound? I can't really attach the shine to any kind of knowledge .....it is what it is. It is here and now. It makes everything beautiful. What I am sure of, though, is that were it not for years of meditation and self inquiry.....I would not have been able to perceive it. The best thing ever happening to me, was the English aviator I briefly met when I was 23 (I worked as a musician and teacher in Oslo at the time)...who convinced me to take a course in meditation. Meditation has since been a diamond in my life. Had it not been for daily meditation, I would not have had the courage to face myself. To question myself. To admit to myself all the crap I am capable of when i am not aware.  Meditation gave me compassion instead of guilt. It made it bareable to look at myself. I am eternally grateful to that Englishman .

I can call the shine anything....the words won't make it any more real. The menue is not the food. That is why we do AYP, is it not? Practises will take us closer and closer to the taste of a delicious meal. The meal might not be so delicious in the beginning (mine wasn't). First I needed the courage to eat. I could only take small bites at first.....then; as the stomach became capable of digesting more of it succesfully; slowly the meal kept changing. It became less heavy; more tasteful......until one day i had the first experience of a truly delicious meal. After that....nothing could go back to what it was. After all - who will dispute the rain when you are standing in it?

So. Nothing of this means anything....unless one finds out for oneself. Doubt is good. Coupled with insistant inquiry it actually becomes a vehicle. Then - when I find out for myself, the doubt dissolves too. So far; deep meditation (as in AYP) coupled with self inquiry is the best tool I know of. I am sure there are other ways; but i can only speak from my own experience.

Thanks again for the poem.
It is lovely!





 

[jongler]

Shehinah (SH + CH'/HINAH) = when God is speaking through you, you are under the wings of God, you are a clean tool for God's will, when your will and God's are one.

"Shehinah"(n) - from the word "Shahan"(v) meaning = "To live in(a place)" but for a higher power.

[Doc]

The Shekinah as Light.

The Hellenists, both Jews and Gentiles, characterized the god of the Jews as unseen, and translated the Tetragrammaton by "invisible" (#7936;#972;#961;#945;#964;#959;#962;). In like manner #7716;ag. 5b declares that "God sees, but is not seen," although  was rendered by #948;#972;#950;#945; ("glory"), even in the Septuagint (Deissmann, "Hellenisirung des Semitischen Monotheismus," p. 5).

According to this view, the Shekinah appeared as physical light; so that Targ. to Num. vi. 2 says, "Yhwh shall cause His Shekinah to shine for thee."

A Gentile asked the patriarch Gamaliel (c. 100): "Thou sayest that wherever ten are gathered together the Shekinah appears; how many are there?" Gamaliel answered: "As the sun, which is but one of the countless servants of God, giveth light to all the world, so in a much greater degree doth the Shekinah" (Sanh. 39a).

The emperor (Hadrian) said to Rabbi Joshua b. Hananiah, "I desire greatly to see thy God." Joshua requested him to stand facing the brilliant summer sun, and said, "Gaze upon it." The emperor said, "I can not." "Then," said Joshua, "if thou art not able to look upon a servant of God, how much less mayest thou gaze upon the Shekinah?"(#7716;ul. 60a).

Rab Sheshet (c. 300) was blind, and could not perceive when the Shekinah appeared in the Shaf we-Yatib synagogue of Nehardea, where it rested when it was not in the synagogue at Huzal. In the former synagogue Samuel and Levi heard the sound of its approach and fled (Meg. 29a). The Shekinah tinkled like a bell (So#7789;ah 9b), while the Holy Spirit also manifested itself to human senses in light and sound.

The Holy Spirit had the form of a dove, and the Shekinah had wings. Thus he who acknowledged God took refuge under the wings of the Shekinah (Shab. 31a; Sanh. 96a); and Moses when dead lay in its pinions (Sifre, Deut. 355; So#7789;ah 13b; Targumic passages in Maybaum l.c. p. 65). The saints enjoy the light of the Shekinah in heaven (Ber. 17a, 64a; Shab. 30a; B. B. 10a).

Bibliography: Lexicons of Buxtorf, Levy, and Kohut;
Herzog-Plitt, Real-Encyc. s.v. Schechina;
Hastings, Dict. Bible, iv. 487-489;
Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 566, 1080-1082;
Luzzatto, Oheb Ger, Vienna, 1830;
Bähr, Symbolik des Mosaischen Cultus, 2d ed., i. 471 et seq.;
Gfrörer, Gesch. des Urchristenthums, i. 272-352;
Maybaum, Anthropomorphien . . . mit Besonderer Berücksichtigung der . . . Schechintha, Breslau, 1870;
Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, 3d ed., p. 43;
Weber, Jüdische Theologie. 2d ed., Leipsic, 1897, Index;
Dalman, Die Worte Jesu, i., Leipsic, 1898;
Bousset, Religion des Judenthums im Neu-Testamentlichen Zeitalter, pp. 309 et seq., 340, Berlin, 1903;
Davidson, Old Testament Prophecy, pp. 148, 220, Edinburgh, 1903.K. L. B.

Light to All ~

Doc

[jongler]

Hello Doc,

Light and sounds are just a few of the many manifestations, but sometimes in the Jewish stories one word can be translate by many ways for example: Light can be a saying for brighter seeing, clearer sight but not with the eyes but by "KNOWING" the true meanings/nature of all.

[VIL]

I emailed a member, here on AYP, and explained my experience of the Self being within the heart and yet, at the same time, I was able to  look through my eyelids, which were closed at the time, to perceive the environment, a contradiction.  Connected to the body, but not connected.  The light is within and without at the same time, and yet, there is no way of determining its source of origin.  It is just there.  Abdul Baha calls the Kingdom, 'A place of light'.

The perception of the "shine", as Katrine calls it, is also like looking through a sheet/glass of rising vapor, as water gently ripples down and yet there is perfect clarity.  Again, a contradiction, since vapor rises, yet, water falls. One would expect an obscure view, yet it is clear.  Another contradiction.  It's almost like opposing poles connected to form a circle of contradiction/opposites, but there is perfect harmony.  It's hard to describe and I had one experience.  Obviously, Katrine would know more about this, since I still perceive duality and her experience my vary.

My experience was connected to the full moon that was at perigee, on Jan 3rd, actually when the moon was closest to the earth for the year.  It felt like a rebirth.  Born again of 'water and spirit' and so I'm investigating the affects of the gravitational pull of the moon on the body, et al, in its relation to science/reality:



VIL

[Doc]

Hi jongler:

Agreed and understood completely.  Thanks for your input.

In this particular instance, however, I am attempting to relate the concept of Shekinah as the Light of God's Presence to the "shine" which Katrine wrote about here. As such, the other varied meanings of the term 'Shekinah' are not specifically as relevant to this discussion, IMO.

Light to All ~

Doc

[VIL]

Wonderful post, as usual, Doc:

quote:The Shekinah tinkled like a bell

That's what it sounded like to me:



VIL

[Doc]

Hi Katrine:

My take on the picture links is that the first picture is an artistic rendering of what the Divine Light of God's Presence, the Shekinah, might have looked like hovering over the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle Sanctuary of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem during ancient times.

The second picture depicts another artist's rendering of the Shekinah as the Divine Feminine, which is implied by the feminine gender assignment of the word Shekinah, holding the Divine Light Presence out as God's gift and blessing of Spiritual Illumination to those who seek it with sincerity and devotion.

Light to All ~

Doc