Strange question...

[PatienceAndLove]

I used to be pagan…
W hen i was, i had an “easy” time “feeling” “energy”. Basically differentiating “good energy” and “bad energy”. (in the end, I learned that most of it was “bad energy” “masquerading” as “good energy”). The few times it was genuinely good was when I was in church with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however, I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.

In my time of hanging out with many non-denom christians, they felt that my feelings were “false” and that I was “making things up”.

Here is my question- are Catholics more in-tune with the supernatural side of spirituality than the non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups? If so… why?

 

[fhansen]

Maybe you could re-phrase to clarify the question. Catholics as individuals are all over the board in their spirituality but the Church has a rich history of folks who’ve tread deeply in spiritual waters.

 

[reen12]

quote: PatienceAndLove

I used to be pagan…
W hen i was, i had an “easy” time “feeling” “energy”. Basically differentiating “good energy”
and “bad energy”. (in the end, I learned that most of it was “bad energy” “masquerading” as “good energy”).
Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however,
I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.
…Here is my question- are Catholics more in-tune with the supernatural side of spirituality
than the non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups? If so… why?

Hello, PatienceAndLove, http://bestsmileys.com/waving/5.gif

I will try to address both your question, and the notion of “energy” - good or bad.
[In so doing, I will reference the thought of the East, in general terms.]

First, I would “bracket-out” [phenomeology] any concept of a “supernatural” spirituality -
that references “energy,” rather than “relationship.” http://bestsmileys.com/nono/9.gif
Are you with me, in what I am stating, here?

All Christian spirituality is supernatural ------>in the sense that it transcends
the world of nature - in that we speak of*, or relate to*, One Who is not only
“above” nature - but is rather the Creator of same.
[This is why it is so startling, that God chose to take on flesh,
and walk with us. To take on human “nature.”]

In fact, the word nature, that appears in “supernatural,”
is from the Latin*: “natus”* = “birth” or “born.”
All that has been created was given birth by One Who transcends nature.

All that ‘exists’ - i.e., “stands out” from the void of non-being - was created by Him.
“In Him, we live and move and have our being.” [Acts 17]
[BTW, you may wish to consider consulting the gospel of John.
His gospel treats of the metaphysical.
Christ as “*Logos” - the Word of God.]

nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/john/john1.htm

As to feelings - and whether or not those feelings are false or true -
in the world of the emotive - a feeling just “is.”
Emotions are given to us as a gift - to get us "moving.’ To get us “in motion.”

If one speaks, in terms yogic, about chakras, for instance -

paulakawal.com/images/chakras.jpg

one is speaking of the claimed-to-be centers of ‘spiritual energy,’ in the body.
There is no equivalent to chakras, in the Christian faith.

A human being walks in the presence of the One who made all.
Here, categories of thought encourage a human being to:
“do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
Happily, the Christian faith is about relationship, not centers of spiritual energy.
Concepts of yin, yang, concepts touching the notion of energy medians,
are concepts created by Eastern thought-systems.

The Tao, the Way - is set aside, in favor of Christ, the Logos,
Who said that He *is *“the Way.”

“Awakening,” in the East [the “buddha,” the ‘awakened one’] is replaced by
the God Who referred to Himself as “I AM.”
The “awakened ones,” in the Christian sense, mean those who acknowledge
God as the Source of all light - Christ saying “I am the Light of the world.”
[again, the Gospel [the good news] of St. John.]

“The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” [John 1]
Enlightenment and awakening are given by God.

No sitting in meditation in a zendo, no thought of chakras.
No reincarnation, no karma. No energy centers.
God loves each of us, and He calls our name.
In His light - in the “awakening” that He gives,
the first shall be last, and the last, first.

Those who would never be considered enlightened,
by Eastern measure of same, are not forgotten, by God.http://bestsmileys.com/sad/4.gif
His merest intention keeps us in being.

The God of enlightment, the Creator of all -
says to the little human creatures, whom He has created:
“Even if your mother and father forget you,” http://bestsmileys.com/nono/9.gif
“I will never forget you.”
“See? I have written your name on the palm of My hand.”

I hope this is of at least some assistance, PatienceAndLove.

reen12

 

[MarieVeronica]

I used to be pagan…
When i was, i had an “easy” time “feeling” “energy”. Basically differentiating “good energy” and “bad energy”. (in the end, I learned that most of it was “bad energy” “masquerading” as “good energy”). The few times it was genuinely good was when I was in church with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however, I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.

In my time of hanging out with many non-denom christians, they felt that my feelings were “false” and that I was “making things up”.

Here is my question- are Catholics more in-tune with the supernatural side of spirituality than the non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups? If so… why?

Your concerns about “energy” good or bad… sound very much like “New Age-ism”. The Church teaches that all things associated with the New Age Movement (NAM) must be avoided. Why? Because simply stated… the New Age Movement deals with the occult.

I’m not quite sure what you mean by “supernatural” in the context of spirituality. An individual can be extremely “spiritual” without experiencing the supernatural. If, by “supernatural”… you mean… special supernatural gifts (such as you alluded to… in discerning good from bad “energies”)… I don’t think that Catholics are any more prone or apt to possess supernatural gifts than anyone else. However, there have been a great many Catholic mystics. These saints did not dabble in “energies” (occult) though. Their mysticism was produced by a deep, loving union with God.

You might want to research the lives of these saints. I can think of a few, right off the bat: St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, St. Gemma Galgani. The list is long. God bless.

 

[reen12]

Happily enough, God - as Master of the Universe - gives us light -
a steam of electrons, that can be thought of as wave or particles.

Whenever human thought turns to the existence of energy,
stating that the universe ‘contains’ energies - all conception of energy
begins with the Creator of same - whether it be kinetic energy,
geothermal energy, nuclear energy -

whatever exists, in the natural world, is at His behest,
a gift to men from man’s Creator.

“Exist” means to “stand out from” the background of non-existence,
to be brought into being, at His command.

“What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man that Thou are concerned about him?
Yet Thou hast made him little less than the angels,
Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor…” Psalm 8

• while summoning human beings to a “weight of glory,”
  in His eternal Kingdom.

reen12

 

[fhansen]

I used to be pagan…
W hen i was, i had an “easy” time “feeling” “energy”. Basically differentiating “good energy” and “bad energy”. (in the end, I learned that most of it was “bad energy” “masquerading” as “good energy”). The few times it was genuinely good was when I was in church with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however, I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.

In my time of hanging out with many non-denom christians, they felt that my feelings were “false” and that I was “making things up”.

Here is my question- are Catholics more in-tune with the supernatural side of spirituality than the non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups? If so… why?

If, on the other hand, by “bad energies” you were experiencing the presence and power of evil which would hate your returning to the Catholic faith, that experience is more common.

 

[beckycmarie]

Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however, I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.

Dear PatienceAndLove,

There are only two sides - God and His followers, and Satan and his followers. This “bad energy” you sense following you around could very well be a demonic presence, especially if you’ve been involved with the occult.

Here are some steps you can follow to get rid of it.

If you’ve already been to Confession, it’s a good idea to say a prayer to take back the the ground gained by Satan. (If you haven’t confessed your involvement in paganism, that needs to be done ASAP.) An example of that prayer to renounce the occult and reclaim ground can be found HERE.

If you still notice an evil presence, you might try a prayer Rebuking Particular Spirits, the Hedge Prayer of Protection, or other prayers in this Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog .

I also recommend the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. If you still have a problem after completing those steps, you may need Deliverance Counseling to get rid of the problem. If you do need that help, one resource I recommend is the St. Pio Center for Deliverance Counseling. Click HERE for their help page.

 

[dljl]

One thing I’ve noticed after reverting to Catholicism from the evangelical church, is the downplaying of feelings (negative and positive). In fact I now realize (thanks largely to John of the Cross and others) that dryness, and suffering are not just something to be endured but are a blessing. Pretty much changed my thinking about positive and negative feelings. The question of energy vs. feelings is a good one.

 

[PazFeAmor]

I used to be pagan…
W hen i was, i had an “easy” time “feeling” “energy”. Basically differentiating “good energy” and “bad energy”. (in the end, I learned that most of it was “bad energy” “masquerading” as “good energy”). The few times it was genuinely good was when I was in church with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Now that i have returned to The Church, I have lost that “gift”. In the past few days, however, I have felt and overwhelming amount of “bad energy” following me around.

In my time of hanging out with many non-denom christians, they felt that my feelings were “false” and that I was “making things up”.

Here is my question- are Catholics more in-tune with the supernatural side of spirituality than the non-Catholic ecclesiastical groups? If so… why?

For MANY years I was a student of various Eastern religions and meditational practices. I can say that I did indeed have experiences with “energy”. For example, when I use to practice Chi Kung (or Qi Kong) I would feel a ball of energy in my solar plexus that would expand and contract.

I can honestly say that experiences such as the above were of no benefit to me…let alone of benefit to my neighbor. In the Bible Christ said that many would look for signs and on this I agree 100000%. Many who get into the New Age look to manipulate the world around them in order to feel some sense of control in this crazy world we live in.

In terms of the supernatural in my having returned to the Catholic Church a few years back… I have not had experiences as intense as when I was in the New Age. Instead, I have had what St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross would describe as “light spiritual touches” where there was no great miracle or outward sign. It was more of a gradual change over time in my heart and mind. And when it comes to spiritual changes that happen over a good length of time they tend to be more long-lasting and bit by bit strengthen ones spiritual foundations.

I would never trade my spiritual touches as a Catholic for “feeling energy”. There was something I read that said that Catholicism is for those who are ready for a mature faith. I had enough of New Age “spiritual milk” and was ready for some “spiritual meat” unworthy as I am of it.

I don’t know if anything I have written makes sense to you but I will end by saying that Christ ALWAYS triumphs over all evil…so whenever you feel that “bad energy” following you around…give it over to Christ.

God bless