[sambizanga]

no offense but maybe you're trying to trick us.

what about daniel in the lon's den and moses parting the waters. what about the evangelists who are able to use god's power to heal people and make them get filled with the holy spirit?

we have all these stories in the bible!!

[jujusister]

sambizanga, no offense, i’m not trying to trick you.

sure, wonderful things happened, according to the bible. but when was the last time (i’m talking centuries) a christian prophet parted the waters? walked on water? cured an ‘incurable’ disease? emerged from a lion’s den unscathed?

at least we (traditional religionists) see these things everyday. we see god, the gods and ancestors manifest every day. and it’s not something foreign. it’s us, african.

and sambizanga i don’t want you feeling like i look down on christianity. i look down on those very horrible people who have duped and continue to dupe the african into believing we are responsible for the death of someone (jesus christ) who had nothing to do with our daily living and agenda.
and i’m angry (?) at the africans who allow themselves to continue to be duped, especially in this age when the duper’s scam is see-through.

plus, annoyed with those who don’t show sufficient respect for their ancestral roots.


fyi: the western media has done a wonderful job of exposing these so-called prophets and evangelists who live like kings off their devotees sweat.

[Muramati]

Jujusister,

yes i have seen the seemingly amazing stuff that people do in that state of possession. Especially those trance like movements.

I was watching another doco on NG last nigh about some group called the Bwindi in Guinea (i think Bissau). Some girl was invoking the gods for some rite and she drank something like 15 litres of alcohol in a span of about 2 hours. The amazing thing was that she never got drunk coz supposedly, the gods drank it.

Eventually she got into a trance and eyes became glazed and then widened. For a good 15 mins while she gyrated and shook from the possession, she did not blink even once.

My opinion? freaky stuff that no-one should get into. Whether, at that particular point in time she was a god, is a debatable question. My takes is that she was an automaton being used to fulfil the desires of the possessing spirit.

M

[jujusister]

muramati,
once again, to each his own. you're entitled to your own opinion.

now, may i ask you a couple of questions:

1. what is your definition of the 'meaning of life'?

2. what are your fears?

3. what do you plan to accumulate before you die?

4. how do you plan to accumulate it?

5. what is your definition of 'love'?

6. why are you here on this planet?

7. who are you?

and anybody else, feel free to join in.

[Remedios_the_Beauty]

Ahhhhhhhhh jjs...you have come to the crux of this whole thread- i must now summarize my ramblings.

in my haste to contribute i can only answer numbers 1,5,6 and 7. the rest i'll save for another day since those are less clear to me now.

1.Meaning of Life: life is a journey where from birth to death we are charged with finding our identity and our purpose on this earth. it is a spiritual journey, a search for hapiness- the happiness that fills the soul and not the happiness that comes with buying a new outfit. i believe every single human being on this earth has this struggle- the search for true happiness and inner peace. without it no matter how successful or beautiful or whatever we are, we feel empty and are incomplete.

5. Defination of Love: love is sharing. sharing is caring. we share ourselves with others by helping them and listening to them. true love is unconditional so love is the unconditional sharing/helping others. total selflessness. this is the lowest common denominator for me- the love that goes accross the board (family, friends, lovers). others may want to specify but this is it for me.

6. Why am i Here: I believe i am here on this planet to figure out who i am. i think i matter. at the very least i know that i am here to possibly be of service to others, share anything i have learnt with others. i just have to figure some things out.

7. Who am i: I am working on this one...

note: i believe that there is a certain happiness that comes with helping others. i have felt it before and it had the distinct taste of being original and real. probably the kind of happiness that i am looking for.

[solomatic]

damn, damn, damn. where have i been? jujusis i see you're continuing to hepa my probes.

SOLO'S ANSWERS TO JUJU'S QUESTIONS:

1. what is your definition of the 'meaning of life'?
solo: i'll think kidogo and rudia this one.

2. what are your fears?
solo: being 'stuck'. knowing there's something better, more liberating, and more peaceful out there and not knowing how to get it. getting married just to get married. never having a true friend. realising ten minutes before i die that everything i thought was true isn't.

3. what do you plan to accumulate before you die?
solo: spiritual knowledge and happiness/peace.

4. how do you plan to accumulate it?
solo: i honestly don't know, but i think letting go of religion and christianity are key. it took me a while but i'm trying. also, i think getting rid of all unneccesaries: drink, drugs, hanging around the wrong people, pop culture...

5. what is your definition of 'love'?
solo: okay, i read this in one of jujusis' other posts but it applies:
love is the sum of all the infinite connections of the things that make up this universe. ama you didn't say that? if you didn't, i did!
and 'love' for me is that positive space bewteen people.

6. why are you here on this planet?
solo: at this point, ninaendelea kujiuliza hiyo swali. i'm clueless.


7. who are you?
solo: an african guy who wants to stop being 'kenyan'.

[solomatic]

remedios,
i must have posted while you were posting and now feel stupid after reading your answers. hebu answer the others you left unanswered.

[Muramati]

Jujusister,

I like the way we can agree to disagree. i will attempt to answer your questions.

>1. what is your definition of the
>'meaning of life

This is a difficult swali. If i had to attempt to answer it, i would begin by saying only God knows why we exist. Firstly,For His pleasure; yet we share in the joys of living with our fellow human beings. My life compliments someones life in the same way that i would not be who I am without people like you to share ideas with. I believe that it is human to seek love/affection/friendship and that this is part of life. Whether you call this seeking acceptance, I do not know. nonetheless, my faith is that there is greater fulfilment from giving love than there is in recieving.

Actually, the more I think about it, i cannot tell you the meaning of life. I stop at that point where I know there is a divine purpose for most of the stuff that happens to us.

>2. what are your fears?

I've never really thought about it but Maybe the main one is that 15 yrs from now, my efforts today will have been in vain. That i will be a failure by my own standards based on the goals I have set for myself.

>3. what do you plan to accumulate before
>you die?

If I can accumulate love (to share), respect and contentment (and thus inner peace) before i die, then i think I will die happy. Otherwise, the material aspects do not bug me too much but i do realise that we all have to survive.

>4. how do you plan to accumulate it?

By giving love(in all senses of the word) even to those who don't give it back, by absorbing lessons in wisdom and by working hard for everything in life to the best of my ability.

>5. what is your definition of 'love'?

Starting from God is love: Then going to Empathy/sympathy/sharing/sincerity/honesty/kindness/patience/integrity/godliness/etc.

If it is a romantic kind of love, for me it's that feeling of total immersion in whatever it is that i am feeling. An indescribable emotion that is not unsettling but soothing. A feeling of total attachment to that one person in all aspects of my life..a sense of connecting on a higher level/ understanding each other without having to say anything ;-) etc.

i know i am making the whole attempt seem like a dog's breakfast but muddling the waters is unavoidable.

>6. why are you here on this planet?

As I said earlier, to love others in line with divine purpose.

>7. who are you?

I am me, not the person my parent named Muramati, but the person created by God to live in this world under the circumstances of race/ethnicity/class/society/nationality etc so as to share in the joys of living. Still, i remain a child of my world and background so that my thinking is/will be informed by my experiences and the people I have met/will meet.

I am who I am yet I will be he whom I have been made to be.

This has got to be the toughest assignment i have ever carried out. It's more like a test in existentialism. The answers are subject to change depending on what I experience.

And by the way, can you answer the Q's so I can see if i am really nuts ;-). Cheers!

M

PS:->all errors and ommisions are mine<-

[jujusister]

felicity said:
“…what happens when one calls on the spirits and you don’t get an answer? ...but i must confess that sometimes i feel as if i am just not connecting…what is it”?

don’t worry felicity. they are listening and are answering you already. you just may not know where to look for the answers. it’s not instant soup. it’s the beginning of the journey and it’s hard. without suffering, we can never achieve. the important thing is to remember that, and to keep asking for help, and to trust. you have to sweat; that makes them feel important. and right now, your ancestors are all excited because you’re knocking.

(then again, it depends on exactly what your definition of ‘an answer’ is. i don’t know… please tell me what you think ‘an answer’ entails, then we can take it from there) but…

do you trust your instinct? that ‘mood’, that feeling/sense we call instinct is the umbilical cord that joins you with your ancestors. so, trust it if you weren’t doing so already, no matter how much it seems to be ‘wrong’ in the face of rationality. that ‘instinct’ is you dipping into the pool of eons and eons of your ancestors love and knowledge.

do you listen to your dreams at all, especially when on your monthly period? (men don’t run away from the thread now. i’m doing this because someone else may be reading and learn something). how do you view your monthly period? do you call it the scourge? do you think it’s ‘yukky’? that’s the most beautiful time for a woman, when she’s resonating at a really high frequency and able to pick up all sorts of stuff. start listening to your dreams, especially at that time of the month.

and don’t be afraid to hurt/suffer feel pain. think of it as a sacrifice to them, because that’s what it is anyway. to pass an exam you have to study. to get to your ancestors you have to get ‘frustrated’ for a while first.

but the frustration doesn’t last that long.

[Felicity]

1. What is your definition of the 'meaning of life'?

Church interpretation: we are here so as suffer in the footsteps of Jesus, and hopefully maybe, just possibly, make it to the Promised Land. (Been there, tried, failed miserable and found my true calling)

My interpretation: Jesus death and resurrection was symbolic in the sense that we are spirit, come into the bodies of matter and then we die in the flesh and rise again. Now it is my duty to figure out a way in which my spirit can live in harmony with my earthly body;(in this earthly life) How to overcome the tug of war between the unconscious, conscious, self, ego, animus and all the rest.
The temple of christ as the church puts it, is within me, and i therefore see no use of burdening myself with all the church protocol to seek what in essence IS me.

2. What are your fears?
That I may not be able to achieve this state of wholeness, thereby being forced to come back to this earth again and continue my quest. (That’s a painful thought!)

3.What do you plan to accumulate before you die?
Positive thoughts, deeds and energy that I can share with all sentient beings.

4.How do you plan to accumulate it?
By following the basic rule that states.. No harm or hurt to anyone including myself. This includes thoughts, deeds and words.

5.What is your definition of 'love'?
Love is unconditional, all good and therefore cannot be given to me by any human being. Since human love is always governed by conditions and moods. (just to name a few) Companionship and friendship I cherish, but what i define as love, I have learnt not to look for in another human.

6. Why are you here on this planet?
I am here to fulfil my obligations as a soul from a higher realm. Integrating myself.

7. Who are you?
A soul searching for MY ultimate truth..