Esoteric approaches to Foundations of Christianity

[taijasi]

Foundation??

Id like to know what everyones idea of the foundation. Since the foundation has been brought up on 2 different threads now.

I’d like to offer a response to this question, which originally was posted under the Christianity forums. A forewarning, to anyone of a strictly Christian mindset, is that this post will almost certainly seem controversial to you. But rather than offer an opinion where it will almost certainly be misunderstood or misinterpreted, I would like to give a response where it will not be out of place.

In simple terms, I would agree with anyone who states that Christianity’s foundation is that Being Whom we refer to as The Christ. And the implications for me of invoking such a name, title and Being, are so broad that even this simple statement needs elucidation. If the immediate association is made by some with the man known to history as Jesus of Nazareth, then I would have to say, yes – Christianity’s foundation was rooted firmly through the contributions of this Great Initiate, and without his assistance, the task could not have gone forward as it did!

The further implications, just in considering the contributions of Jesus of Nazareth, really go beyond a scope of which we are capable of even pondering. We must only assume, at least from the esoteric perspective, that this Initiate, Jesus of Galilee, made a tremendous sacrifice by incarnating when he did (105BC), under the circumstances he accepted, and with full awareness (as a Soul) of the incredible amount of discipline that would be necessary in order to prepare for his mission which would climax after age 30.

Here then, is full credit where credit’s due, although I believe history will likely never know the contribution made by this Great One, as he lived not simply a life of truly selfless service, going about doing the Lord’s business, but finally renouncing even the very Temple itself, in acquiescence to His Master. And for three years history tells us of what Christed Jesus accomplished, as an even Greater Initiate worked out God’s Plan for us before our very eyes, in flesh & blood, through the creative word, with the energies of healing, and by demonstrating the Perfected State as only He, among the masses, could demonstrate it. Not without His helpers was the Lord of Love, yet they but extended slightly an aura whose Radiance, whose Beauty, whose extreme Compassion and whose Dignity of Presence was capable of stirring even the dullest of the crowd into appreciation and wonder.

Because The Christ of 2100 years ago was capable, even then, of evoking the slumbering Christ within, St. Paul’s “Hope of Glory,” we must remember the obvious yet overlooked aspect of the Christ which is “no further than our own elbow,” as my colleague at work used to remind me. The foundation of Christianity, for everyone who is capable of recognizing that “Christ within us all,” is as truly the Inner, Spiritual Heart of Humanity, as it is the Great Master who overshadowed Jesus of Nazareth. We might consider these as the feminine and masculine aspects of a Divine Couple … and the Gnostic tradition recognizes Sophia as the name of the “female” (the Spark, or Christ within), while the Eastern traditions speak of Kwan-Yin & Kwan-Shai-Yin, and the Egyptian provides Isis and Horus. Regardless as to which religious tradition we investigate, or which historical period and culture we consider, this concept of the “Christ wthin” can be clearly found, since it is a Universal phenomenon and aspect of being. Would that more members of the Race of Men would seek first to recognize that spark, then make room in their hearts for the particular vehicle in which it dwells, whatever the outward appearance, habits, or disposition thereof. Perhaps the word that gets forgotten is Neighbor, even more so than forgiveness.

Besides the presence of the Christ within our Brother-Sister Neighbor, as well as in its Perfected Form, the Individualized Soul whom we call `The Christ,’ I feel it is helpful to recall that Christ distinguishes Himself “as the Christ” from The Father, describing the relationship as being one of mutual residing (or mutual abiding). A Buddhist may grasp this easily, but we most often want to try and consolidate things in the West. If we must, then let us at least consolidate in the proper order. “I and the Father are One” is not unlike saying, “This pair of sunglasses is mine.” The sunglasses are yours, yes, but they do not contain you; if anything, vice versa.

Unfortunately, here we find ourselves at the confines, or outer reaches, of the “allowable space” in the contemplations of many, for just exactly Whom and What Christ really is. After all, even if it is accepted that God the Father represents an Aspect of Being beyond Christ (again, Our Father obviously being common to us all, yet accessible only via a GATE whose name we give Christ) … how could it even occur to many people that yet Higher Orders of Being exist? What sense will it make to say that Christ represents for us a Universal Spirit, which has other incarnations or presentations upon every other planet in Cosmos, and has even had former incarnations upon this one? Certainly some object because through confusion it is not believed that Christed Jesus taught the Law of Rebirth, yet the error should not be compounded by hostility or defensiveness …

If anything, the evidence should be examined afresh (indeed, for many people, it would be the first time they have ever even thought about it). It will be found that God is not a God of favorites, nor of favors, nor of wrath, nor a God who toys with His peoples throughout the world. No culture, no civilization, has been without Guidance. Where and when possible, Divine Representatives have either incarnated directly, or have provided as much of the Truth & Law (or `Ways of Righteousness,’ by which word we mean Noble and Altruistic Living) as people and world karma would permit. Often, almost universally, Christ’s Messengers have been shunned or brutally murdered, and the fixation upon the unfortunate fate of Jesus of Nazareth is a morbid and unnecessary sidetrack to the real message and Purpose of Christianity. The evidence is plain – God sends His prophets, yet the people often do not hear. When they do, and if they capitulate, there is cause for Rejoicing, and truly such Good News as was received should not be forgotten – but should be renewed, daily, in the hearts of the faithful.

Where many will part company, however, is with the shortsighted misconception that Christ has only come for some small, select portion of the Race – as if the SON OF GOD was a Being of favors and favorites, any more than His Father. He has appeared without fail to every generation of Seeker, since ere this world began (“Before Abraham, I AM”), and He pledges Himself to see the face of the Very Last Pilgrim delivered unto the Father – as the OMEGA of Human Creation. Even clearly He spoke of the full scope of His long Mission, when He said, “Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

If we would know the foundations of Christianity, then let us acknowledge that the very bedrock we’re speaking of is less tangible (or, material) than Christed Jesus Himself – and again, a word of caution is necessary due to the theological error of confounding Spirit with its various vehicles of manifestation. Is the man who gets into a car, to drive to Sunday Mass, suddenly become the car, at his use of the automobile? Really, I find it amazing the ever-winding corridors full of unnecessary inventions which various theological schools have found themselves forced to create, as they strayed farther and farther from simplicity. To wit: God, Incarnate(d His Love Aspect) in the man we call Christ (for a time), then returned to that state whence we all issue, where God remains the “First among brethren,” yet where even the last/least among us has a seat at the Father’s Table.

It remains rather misunderstood that The Christ, and Christed Jesus have stepped forward well ahead of the rest of Humanity to take their appointed seat in the Father’s Council Chamber, and help advance the slow wheel of Progress for Humanity by turns that would otherwise require us thousands of years of slow, relentless plodding … were we without this merciful assistance. Moreover, it is usually overlooked that The Christ (known in the East as The Bodhisattva), and He Who has long been known in the East as St. Issa, have an entire retinue of Assistants, Divine Compatriots, and even, Heavenly Counterparts – from our sister evolution, the Devic, or Angelic Kingdom. While The Christ numbers among His direct Disciples all those Whom esotericists term `The Masters of the Wisdom’ (Master Jesus being one such Master), it is forgotten that as the Teacher alike of Angels and of Men, The Christ also finds under His direct guidance Mighty Archangels of equal rank, dignity, and composure. Long has the Catholic Church born an esoteric truth and pearl of Wisdom in Her recognition of Mary, Mother of Jesus as a Divine Being, yet so confounded has she been by the real significance and implications thereof.

Mary, just as dozens of other Great Initiates, has trodden the Path of Purity, Devotion, Service and Sacrifice to one of its many possible conclusions – as far as Earthly evolution provides, having been “Assumed” into the position of World Mother. Or actually, after attaining Mastership as a female, her choice was to enter into the Devic (Angelic) evolution, serving now Individually yet also as the (Spiritual) Embodiment of a Divine Aspect, known variously as Parvati, Kwan Yin, Ishtar/Astarte, Hathor-Isis, and of course, Lady Mary (in the Hindu, Chinese, Chaldean-Phoenician, Egyptian, and Christian forms, respectively). And the connection with my mention earlier of Kwan Yin as the consort of Kwan-Shai-Yin (or The Christ) … will surely confuse all who try to forcibly imagine the very Mother of Jesus Himself as Christ’s own consort!!!

But this is what results when Abstract relationships become objectified and concretized, for as H. P. Blavatsky truly said, “The mind is the great slayer of the Real.” Thus, Father, Son and Holy Spirit having been sufficiently anthropomorphized, of all these three, only The Holy Spirit remains as somewhat of an abstraction. Yet remind the Christian that this same Holy Spirit is not at odds with God the Mother, or as I have attempted to show, with The Lady Mary as the representation of the Divine Feminine, and even the Third Aspect of Deity will collapse into obscurity, buried under the weight of the images that we come to identify with it (`Her’). Still, in this most extended Aspect of Deity, which is also the immediately closest Aspect in terms of our own, prodigal Human nature, we can find the first of the three doors to our Redemption.

The final part of my response to the question of Christianity’s Foundation, then, would be an emphasis on the very Teachings which were provided by Christed Jesus, the smallest fragment of which appear in published (if corrupted) form as various portions of the New Testament. The true foundations in terms of Holy Scripture will naturally include many of the Apocryphal, Gnostic, and otherwise “heretical” Gospels, some of these preserving the truer record of Christ’s words & works, and even in far more useful (relevant) form for the present day & age. But blind superstitions have come to rule a tradition that was already forgotten ages ago, as confusion and controversy existed before the Master even left this earth! The esoteric records detailing both His life, and His secret teachings having been partially revealed in recent centuries, the true Foundation of Christianity – in terms of understanding its origins, purpose, and proper role in the present stage of Human history … is more within our grasp than ever before! Would that the skeptical, mistrusting, frightened and confused Christian would see out from the miasma of glamour, cast aside the smothering hand of ecclesiastical “authority,” and find the larger, warmer Heart of the Mother of the World – ready to receive her, as ever Sophia has been, religion after religion and age after age!

If I raise an eyebrow with this response to what seems so simple a question, then let it be either out of pure inquiry, or in the very least, from some degree of obfuscation that I have no doubt imposed upon an otherwise lucid understanding of the subject. If what one feels is resistance, then (if Christian) I would heartily recommend a retreat into the familiarity of one’s Holy Bible (New Testament teachings, specifically), and further pondering of the Four Synoptics – especially John, whose mystical connotations will, with time (I am sure), bring one to an understanding not far akin from that which I have loosely and inadequately characterized here.

Namaskara,

taijasi

[Dondi]

Because The Christ of 2100 years ago was capable, even then, of evoking the slumbering Christ within, St. Paul’s “Hope of Glory,” we must remember the obvious yet overlooked aspect of the Christ which is “no further than our own elbow,” as my colleague at work used to remind me. The foundation of Christianity, for everyone who is capable of recognizing that “Christ within us all,” is as truly the Inner, Spiritual Heart of Humanity, as it is the Great Master who overshadowed Jesus of Nazareth.

I think it would be instructive to discuss just how one obtains this "Christ within us all". For if it is the goal to become "Christ-like" it would behoove us as to what that actually entails. Has this "Christ" always been with us or in us just laying dormant until such a time that we realize that presence in us? Or is it something that is imparted to us upon our merging with God, perhaps in the form of the Holy Spirit? Or is it something else?

The reason I bring this up is that if we are to benefit form this Christ presence in us, we ought to know how it originates.

There are scriptures indicate that Jesus Christ was alway Diety. Yet it wasn't until His Baptism that there is evidence that the Holy Spirit operated in His life through the works of miracles and healings (unless you consider the tradition that he turn clay into a living bird in his formative years). Was it at this point that the Holy Spirit embodied Christ or did He have that power all along and it merely lay dormant?

I would be interested in knowing the various viewpoints on this.

[Thomas]

I’d like to offer a response to this question, which originally was posted under the Christianity forums. A forewarning, to anyone of a strictly Christian mindset, is that this post will almost certainly seem controversial to you. But rather than offer an opinion where it will almost certainly be misunderstood or misinterpreted, I would like to give a response where it will not be out of place.

But with no evidence offered to support your claims, your response still constitutes nothing more than speculation/opinion - certainly not foundation, esoteric or otherwise.

From a 'strictly Christian' point of view, I would say the content of this post is contraversial, but nothing new. Careful reading would dispose of all the significant doctrinal issues raised.

Moreover, it is usually overlooked that The Christ (known in the East as The Bodhisattva), and He Who has long been known in the East as St. Issa,
This is a myth long since refuted. Nicholas Notovitch was unmasked as a fraud, and Swami Abhedananda, Nicholas Roerich and Elisabeth Caspari have all been shown to present 'proof' of Notovitch's discovery which Notovitch himself had previously retracted.
cf: http://www.westarinstitute.org/Perio...bet/tibet.html

"In 'The Elements of Buddhism' John Snelling himself a committed Buddhist, notes:
We can trace two principal transmissions of Buddhism to Tibet: an initial one begun during the seventh century CE and a second one starting around the year 1000. (pp. 33-34)
So the evidence shows that Jesus could hardly have been a student of Buddhism in Tibet in the first century AD. What much also be noted is that what St Isaa teaches bears almost no resemblance to Buddhist teachings."
cf http://answering-islam.org.uk/Ahmadiyya/notovich.htm

Thomas

[wil]

I've been inquiring over on our Judaic forum regarding a litteral creation, garden of eden, heaven, hell, the devil and original sin....it appears that all of this is not Judaic thought which is put forth as conventional christian wisdom, despite the fact that our proof is the old testament...which is from books that they utilzed a couple thousand years prior to us...

But the concept of G-d being omnipresent includes him being within each of us...the concept of Christ being around forever, prior to the Jesus incarnation...the concept of I and the father are one....leads to us all being one....and the light of christ being within each of us...and within Jesus...and simply waiting for us to open the curtain and see the light...

[Thomas]

I've been inquiring over on our Judaic forum regarding a litteral creation, garden of eden, heaven, hell, the devil and original sin...

From an esoteric point of view one would consider the opening of Genesis, 'bere'shiyth' can also be understood as 'In the Principle...' which then correlates with the opening of the Prologue of John 'en arche' - which again we translate as 'in the beginning' but which can also be read 'in principle' - ie both books open with a statement of metaphysics, rather than a statement of temporality.

The Christian notion of heaven/hell and of the angelic orders derives from Judaism - their angelology was a way of resolving an earlier polytheism - but the current notion of hell dervies from Greek mythology (the Gehanna of which Christ spoke was a rubbish tip outside Jerusalem and traditionally a place of human sacrifice to Moloch, I believe).

The Greek Fathers refined the idea of angels to beings of pure intellect - what the modern world today considers an angel is more to do with romantic sentimentalism than either Greek or Jewish philosophy/theology.

Likewise the body/soul duality is invariably understood from the angle of Greek dualism rather than hebraic holism.

But the concept of G-d being omnipresent includes him being within each of us...

Founded in Genesis, especially 2:7 with the 'breath of life'

{i]... the concept of Christ being around forever, prior to the Jesus incarnation...the concept of I and the father are one....leads to us all being one....and the light of christ being within each of us...and within Jesus...and simply waiting for us to open the curtain and see the light...[/i]

Are all orthodox Christian.

The crucial distinction is whether Christ is in us - a God parcelled out throughout creation - which leads to dualism, monism, pantheism etc., and essentially a confusion of the notion of 'person'; or whether we are in Him, which is of a different order of understanding entirely.

Orthodox Christianity is unquestionably of the latter, the philosophical issues of monism and duality resolved in the Trinity.

Thomas

[wil]

Originally Posted by Thomas

But the concept of G-d being omnipresent includes him being within each of us...

Founded in Genesis, especially 2:7 with the 'breath of life'

{i]... the concept of Christ being around forever, prior to the Jesus incarnation...the concept of I and the father are one....leads to us all being one....and the light of christ being within each of us...and within Jesus...and simply waiting for us to open the curtain and see the light...[/i]

Are all orthodox Christian.

The crucial distinction is whether Christ is in us - a God parcelled out throughout creation - which leads to dualism, monism, pantheism etc., and essentially a confusion of the notion of 'person'; or whether we are in Him, which is of a different order of understanding entirely.

Why parcelled...omnipresent means everywhere....look neither high nor low but in our midst... I picture the entire Universe and everything in it as G-d, much as the hair on the top of my head and my toe nail have the essence of me, my DNA, my life force...which is G-d life force flowing thru it...no parcelling...one.. G-d/Christ isn't in me seperate from in you....

I envision walking in, breathing in G-d...prayer doesn't move G-d, prayer moves me...moves my perception of me...my perception of G-d....wherever I go there are always two of us, therefor Christ is always there....

I picture a flashlight beam or sound wave going through a smoke filled room...that light going through...that sound traveling through...that is my life our lives, our world, our solar system, our galaxy waltzing through G-d wherever we go...G-d is, in front, behind, above, below, within us...

[Thomas]

I picture the entire Universe and everything in it as G-d,

Left unqualified, that is a pantheistic interpretation, His nature is determined by the nature of the cosmos - our experience and understanding of Him is thereby cosmological...

The Orthodox hold that God is knowable by His energies, but not in His essence - therefore the Universe is an activity of God, a witness to His Glory, a Theophany, but it is not God...

Christianity is Union with the Essence of God - it transcends the world in every respect.

Thomas

[Thomas]

If we are talking 'esoteric approaches to Foundations of Christianity', I offer this:

"Formerly nature possessed no union with God in any mode or structure of substance or hypostasis, those categories in which all beings are generally understood, but now it has received a union in hypostasis with him, through the ineffable union, preserving unchanged its own different structure of substance in relation to the divine substance, towards which it is hypostatically one and yet different, through union. As a result, in the structure of its being, according to which it has come into existence and continues to be, it (Christ's humanity) remains in unquestionable possession of its own being, preserving it undiminished in every way; but in the structure of how it is, it receives existence in a divine way, and neither knows nor accepts at all the urge towards movement centered on any other thing. In this fashion, then, the Logos has brought into being a communion with human nature that is much more wonderful than the first one was, uniting the very nature to himself hypostatically, in a substantial way."
Maximus the Confessor. Difficulty 36

(My emphasis, in which St Maximus points to what we might call 'original sin', in that man is inescapably (it seems) inclined to movement towards that which is other than the source of his being - whereas the Incarnate Son, eternally begotten of the Father - neither knows nor accepts at all the urge towards movement centered on any other thing - not out of ignorance, but rather because the idea of such movement is alien to his nature.)

Thomas

[wil]

Originally Posted by Thomas

I picture the entire Universe and everything in it as G-d,

Left unqualified, that is a pantheistic interpretation, His nature is determined by the nature of the cosmos - our experience and understanding of Him is thereby cosmological...

The Orthodox hold that God is knowable by His energies, but not in His essence - therefore the Universe is an activity of God, a witness to His Glory, a Theophany, but it is not God...

Christianity is Union with the Essence of God - it transcends the world in every respect.

Thomas

Hmmm and I reversed the "I picure G-d as the universe and everything in it' so as be clear....so much for that.

No I don't believe the nature of the cosmos determines G-d but that G-d determines the nature of the cosmos...and I guess I have another issue...that I don't see G-d as limited to the universe, this universe, or what exceeds it...omnipresence....if there is a place to be G-d is there.

Maybe not orthodox...but then again...not currently in the orthodox sand box.

[AletheiaRivers]

Originally Posted by Thomas

The Orthodox hold that God is knowable by His energies, but not in His essence - therefore the Universe is an activity of God, a witness to His Glory, a Theophany, but it is not God...

Christianity is Union with the Essence of God - it transcends the world in every respect.

That is how I understand what is called 'Orthodox Panentheism.' The Godhead, the Essence of God is transcendent. God's 'energies' are immanent. Would that be a fair understanding?

[flowperson]

I agree with the imagery and analogous treatment of the concept of "the holy" within and the limitlessness and timelessness of G-d and Christ. I have a question for anyone who may have thought on this concept of limitless- timelessness, or eternity.

Considering what has been said here, what does anyone think of the single appearance of the character in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel named the "ancient of days"? Does anyone consider this to be a metaphor or personification of the G-d being?

This character sits on a glorious throne and seems to be omnipotent and powerful in several ways described in the chapter. It is even mentioned that "the son of man", which is the name by which Jesus referred to himself most often, seems worshipful and subservient to this "ancient of days" character. And if so what do you make of the four beasts that come from "under the earth" with their destructive attributes that are controlled by the "ancient of days"? Three seem to be chemera of the natural/animal world, and the fourth some sort of mechanical manifestation.

IMO the book of Daniel is one of the most important prophetic works of the OT along with Isaiah and Ezekiel. There are even unsustantiated indications that I have run across in my research that an early version of Daniel was a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries after WW II, but that agencies of government moved to take possession of it early on and have witheld its contents from open scholarly research ever since.

I wonder a lot about such things, but then others have said that I'm weird in that way, along with a few others.

flow....

[wil]

Originally Posted by taijasi

Foundation??Where many will part company, however, is with the shortsighted misconception that Christ has only come for some small, select portion of the Race – as if the SON OF GOD was a Being of favors and favorites, any more than His Father. He has appeared without fail to every generation of Seeker, since ere this world began (“Before Abraham, I AM”), and He pledges Himself to see the face of the Very Last Pilgrim delivered unto the Father – as the OMEGA of Human Creation. Even clearly He spoke of the full scope of His long Mission, when He said, “Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

It remains rather misunderstood that The Christ, and Christed Jesus have stepped forward well ahead of the rest of Humanity to take their appointed seat in the Father’s Council Chamber, and help advance the slow wheel of Progress for Humanity by turns that would otherwise require us thousands of years of slow, relentless plodding … were we without this merciful assistance. Moreover, it is usually overlooked that The Christ (known in the East as The Bodhisattva), and He Who has long been known in the East as St. Issa, ...

I done reread you again...and would like to discuss what I highlighted in red... The first being one of the big injustices in conventional christianity...the concept that the world is condemned to hell should they not listen...While I embrace the concepts of Christ the only saviour for our souls in the form of Jesus alludes me. I believe our father in which we are one, continues to beget only begotten sons that Jesus wasn't the first nor the last to grasp the oneness..and that we have all the opportunity and thru grace as our oneness with Judahs and Cains continue to course thru our lives, we die again, resurect again, are begotten again...to present ourselves anew... Sometimes as Peter, as Paul, as Elijah, as John...only to allow the some negativity to step in and we can wallow in the belly or hell...or remember our source...find our light and with positivity resurrect again, become the only begotten again, find the christ within us...choice what a wonderful thing.

Folks here are stepping forward all the time with their Christ presence...on every board....and occasionally we are stepping forward with a different presence...whenever we can't see the Christ (light) in someone else...it is because we forgot to take the basket off of ours....

If you can't see G-d in the person next to you, quit looking- Ghandi

[wil]

Originally Posted by flowperson

I wonder a lot about such things, but then others have said that I'm weird in that way, along with a few others.

Namaste flowperson, the current is safe, the eddies numerous but small, the rapids enjoyable, the falls exhilerating and predictable....tranquil waters are looming, welcome..

[flowperson]

Originally Posted by wil

Namaste flowperson, the current is safe, the eddies numerous but small, the rapids enjoyable, the falls exhilerating and predictable....tranquil waters are looming, welcome..

Thanks wil:

Living out here in the high desert, one has the choice of becoming lizard-like or perhaps some sort of desert rat. Being a firm believer in the power of symbolic imagery, I thought that waterworld was an appropriate choice for me.

And despite what the critics thought, I found Waterworld the film to be an enlightening and bold anthropological imagination of one of the possible futures we are creating for ourselves in our collective ignorance. Kevin Costner with gills was a real trip !

Again, thanks for your gracious welcome !

flow....

[Thomas]

Hi Aletheia -

That is how I understand what is called 'Orthodox Panentheism.' The Godhead, the Essence of God is transcendent. God's 'energies' are immanent. Would that be a fair understanding?

I think so. Orthodox Christian panentheism maintains a fundamental distinction between the created and the Uncreated. Creation is not "part of" God in the pantheist sense, but God is "in" creation.
thus:
"pan-entheism" - God indwells in all things;
but not:
"panen-theism" - All things are part of God but God is more than the sum of all things.

The difference, as ever, is subtle, but metaphysically it is absolute:

God's indwelling forms no part of our being, our nature, yet we could not exist without His indwelling. The idea, however, that somehow 'God is in me' and therefore 'I am (in some fashion) divine' oversteps the mark, by it man seeks to discreetly to posses what is not his to have. The old serpent's whispering in his ear again...

The Christian idea is that God seeks man to dwell in Him as He does in us, through love, and this is done by offering up to God everything that we are, as a lover lays his/her life in the arms of his/her beloved -- in God we are caught up in love and drawn out of ourselves...

Thomas