‘Keep away’ is my advice.
People thought LSD was a shortcut to Enlightenment, too.
Perhaps the word “ecstasy” has different literal meanings. I’m talking about a state of mind in which no matter what the surroundings or circumstances, I am absolutely and completely filled with unspeakable amounts of love, energy, and a warmth richer than the sun’s, followed by an (name removed by moderator)ouring of serenity and healing into my heart, mind, and soul. So I speak of personal experience, ignorant of what others, whether saints or new-agers, have written.
The Lord has given me these things as part of the healing process. I actually mentally deduced this state of mind could exist, from pondering the mysteries and after 11 years and 50,000 hours of prayer and study. But it was all in my mind and prayers only for a long time before I was apparently ready to receive the actual experience as gift from the Lord. Maybe others would be afraid to hope or pray for that, but after severe psychosis my mind was pretty pliable. End result: my family, my psychiatrist, and my pastor all see the healing has been profound – beyond medical hope much less expectations.
So I suppose some people are afraid to imagine, much less endure, an absolutely “positive-only” state of mind, even for a short time. It can undermine a lot of what our ego very strongly holds onto, like pulling up roots. This can create quite the mental puzzle that most people would have to leave their comfort zones (their “old wineskins”) to take on. It can be disorienting at first, but no worse than any other passion or human drama. :whacky:
When these happened, which took place in many settings including during prayer and while driving, I was able to extract the nuanced differences in my thoughts and feelings, and both prayed to the Lord and asked of my subconscious mind to influence my quiescent state of mind to the extent that the positive attributes – measured by the sensation of fruit of the spirit – were optimized, given my current state of mind and spiritual maturity.
What I have concluded is that the kingdom of heaven Jesus talks about can be sought through a correctly formed “attitude” (related to Beatitude) with hope for success, and not only for after we die. That’s my favorite aspect of the Good News. These are found in part by pondering the mysteries of the various paradoxical stories, parables, and teachings of our Lord. :bible1:
People have told me, “don’t open your mind so much or your brains will fall out.” To which I have several replies, one of which is, “that’s the point. Get them out of here so the Lord can install some that work right.” :stretcher:
And He has, and I will forever be in awe and gratitude. :bowdown:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty! :harp:
Alan