A parable and a challenge

[blackout]

Tre-L,

I really shouldn't post
when I don't properly have the time
or energy to complete my thought process.

My comment wasn't helpful
as it stands
and didn't get at
the hard to describe thing
I was sensing.

I am very particular it's true,
but just as much so with my own Self.
So don't feel too special.

I'm very tired,
but I'll try to unpack
what I meant.
It's as much for me
as it is for you
or anyone else.

I want to know
what it is that's bothering me about your story mySelf.
Also, I'll play the "interpret the parable" game
from the perspective I have of
jesus' kingdom teaching parables.

Which is that the kingdom of god is here, now,
in our midst.
Not in some future afterlife.

 

[Ben Dhyan]

John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

 

[blackout]

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who left to his children many gifts as an inheritance. Among the gifts was one which contained the key to living a happy and abundant life. The only thing his children knew of this gift is that it seemed small and insignificant compared to the other gifts their father had left them. So this tiny gift sat largely unnoticed and unappreciated by his children. They had so many gifts after all, and as each child desired the gifts they thought to themselves to be the greatest, the one gift they truly needed was all but discarded. While the mans children did their best to make the best of their inheritance, the gift containing the key to their happiness was neglected and viewed to be the least important among the rest. And much to his childrens shame, and because they neglected the gift that could help them live an abundant life, they failed to experience a life filled with joy and happiness. His children missed out on an amazing inheritance because they failed to realize the importance of that one tiny gift."

The challenge is for you to identify the "gift" and the meaning of the story as it possibly relates to mankind. May the force be with you all, hehe. :yoda:

Tre-L

Ok. So we're all overlooking the one 'tiny' gift
that contains the 'key'
given us by "god the father"
for unlocking or decoding
the secret to a happy and abundant life
because we undervalue the gift.

 

[Tre-L]

Ok. So we're all overlooking the one 'tiny' gift
that contains the 'key'
given us by "god the father"
for unlocking or decoding
the secret to a happy and abundant life
because we undervalue the gift.

Not all, but most undervalue the "gift" and yes god is the father who left us the inheritance, which includes the gift (Key) to a happy and abundant life. Before you identify the gift, what do you think the total sum of our inheritance is?

 

[Tre-L]

Ok. So we're all overlooking the one 'tiny' gift
that contains the 'key'
given us by "god the father"
for unlocking or decoding
the secret to a happy and abundant life
because we undervalue the gift.

Btw, thank you for playing along, violet. I get bored easily and wanted to have a little fun.

 

[blackout]

The thing is,
your "key" makes for a "loose" allegory, instead of a hard (or solid) one.

"Keys" don't normally
bring joy, happiness, and abundance by their nature.
By their nature, they open/close, lock/unlock, decode....

You undervalued the potential allegory of "key"
by using it in "loose terms".
As well we are left with no "hard" allegory
of what it is we need to open, lock, or unlock with the key.

The lovely thing about a parable,
is the allegory.
There's just not enough physical allegory in the usage of your symbols here.

Which is why, I suspect, people are so easily able
to "interpret" the key as can openers and such.


But maybe I'm wrong.

 

[blackout]

Not all, but most undervalue the "gift" and yes god is the father who left us the inheritance, which includes the gift (Key) to a happy and abundant life. Before you identify the gift, what do you think the total sum of our inheritance is?

The entire inheritance.

Including the elusive key.
Which I'm guessing you're
trying to say,
"opens, or unlocks",
or maybe even "decodes"
the (joyful, happy, abundant)
usage of all the other gifts.

 

[blackout]

John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

'World' can easily be read/interpreted as
"world of men" or "world system".
Or.... the mundane world.
The world of the mundane.

He didn't say his kingdom is "not of this life".

Why do you assume that there are not multiple "realms"
available to you right now?
I guarantee you,
when your "State" of BEing shifts/changes,
so does YOUR realm,
or your 'Subjective Universe'.
Your "Reality" for all intents and purposes.

 

[blackout]

Maybe "glasses" (spectacles)
would have made a better allegorical symbol for me
than key?

It speaks more clearly to my own understanding of
"the kingdom" anyway.
But that's just me.

 

[blackout]

Btw, thank you for playing along, violet. I get bored easily and wanted to have a little fun.

Yeah, that's fine.

I like allegory games alot.
Symbols always intreigue me.

It is fun.

And besides,
the only remnant of christianity
that I still enjoy
(connect with, or even have any use for)
are the kingdom teachings.

 

[blackout]

The illusive kingdom
is like a man who doesn't realize
he even owns the pair of glasses
that he can't find.
(or even see. haha! )

 

[Tre-L]

The thing is,
your "key" makes for a "loose" allegory, instead of a hard (or solid) one.

"Keys" don't normally
bring joy, happiness, and abundance by their nature.
By their nature, they open/close, lock/unlock, decode....

You undervalued the potential allegory of "key"
by using it in "loose terms".
As well we are left with no "hard" allegory
of what it is we need to open, lock, or unlock with the key.

The lovely thing about a parable,
is the allegory.
There's just not enough physical allegory in the usage of your symbols here.

Which is why, I suspect, people are so easily able
to "interpret" the key as can openers and such.


But maybe I'm wrong.

I suppose it depends on how a person defines the term "key" the definition I am using is "something that gives an explanation or identification or provides a solution" (Such as the key to a riddle). In this case the key is something that provides a solution, as it identifies how mankind could have realized the kingdom of heaven (Paradise).

 

[blackout]

yes. key as in "decode".
That was one possibility.

So you need the key to decode
or "understand" everything else.

 

[blackout]

I suppose it depends on how a person defines the term "key" the definition I am using is "something that gives an explanation or identification or provides a solution" (Such as the key to a riddle). In this case the key is something that provides a solution, as it identifies how mankind could have realized the kingdom of heaven (Paradise).

ok then.

So HOW CAN man realize/REALize the kingdom of heaven,
in light of your parable.

 

[Tre-L]

ok then.

So HOW CAN man realize/REALize the kingdom of heaven,
in light of your parable.

That would be the question, violet. Can mankind "still" realize the kingdom? Mankind's excessive appetite and want for more has caused a great deal of conflict in our world. Our inheritance was never meant to be a means of conflict between our brothers and sisters after all, but rather something we were meant to share together. Many wars have been waged and many conflicts have come upon us as a result of mankind's want and greed. Had mankind not neglected the one gift we truly needed, all the conflict would have never transpired.

(A Hint)

 

[blackout]

The Kingdom of God is in the Midst of YOU.

It is now.

It already exists in, through, and around you,
above, below, inside and then....
brances out... rises up....
and,
you don't need anyone else to participate,
or cooperate,
to make it so.

I interpret all of this differently than you.
In other words,
I see it through the lense of a differing perspective.
or, my "decoder" reveals something else.

Oh, and thank you for the kind word about my music demo.
I need to update my demos this fall
to reflect new things I'm doing
and changes in my approach.
I'm not "critical" in a negative sense
(for the most part)
but I'm always out to make things more dynamic.

Life is art,
art is life.

 

[Tre-L]

The Kingdom of God is in the Midst of YOU.

It is now.

It already exists in, through, and around you,
above, below, inside and then....
brances out... rises up....
and,
you don't need anyone else to participate,
or cooperate,
to make it so.

I interpret all of this differently than you.
In other words,
I see it through the lense of a differing perspective.
or, my "decoder" reveals something else.

What then does the above mean in terms of realizing the kingdom? How does one go about attaining such an existence? If we speak in terms of the kingdom of heaven where there is said to be no pain, and no suffering, but only joy and happiness, and given the state of our world where we face great hardships and pain, how can anyone truly say that they have realized the kingdom at all? Your perspective sounds wonderful (If not beautiful) in theory, but what about in practical terms of actualizing such a Utopian state of existence? How does one go about realizing that which you point to? Can you further explain what it means that "The kingdom is in the midst of "YOU"? I'm intrigued by your statement, and must admit that I'm a little hesitant to accept your perspective at face value. The reason being is that there is far too much violence, hatred, intolerance, hunger, poverty, etc. in our world for anyone to not be troubled by such things, assuming of course that one's heart has not been hardened and made cold by the the world we live in.

Tre-L

 

[Willamena]

LOL @ Zen master .... I like to write, and tell stories is all. I've told this parable to many people and only one has interpreted it as intended, which shocked me actually. I thought it might be too vague for anyone to nail (I guess not).

I hope you understand that a parable isn't supposed to be vague.

 

[blackout]

It is a matter of heightened reality.

You do not have to live "ruled" by the world at large,
around you.

Is "god" aware of what happens on this earth?
Are the inhabitants of "heaven"
aware of the problems of man's kind?

If so, how can this 'kingdom of god' be ANYWHERE? at all.

I have experienced this heightened reality
even for months.
My entire life view changed.

And yet I am no longer ANYTHING
that the world would classify as christian.

 

[blackout]

I hope you understand that a parable isn't supposed to be vague.

Yes. And that's exactly what I was trying to get at.

You always say it in less words.