Albert Einstein

Alright so i dont really know a lot about Albert's religious views and what not...but i did find some profound things in what he had to say.
"He to whom this emotion is stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead."
That is harsh stuff...but its true. Im pretty sure he was referring to the scientific side of things. However, from a general view point he is basically saying you better appreciate the world around you. A pastor at my church spoke on perspective recently. He said there are the people that have good ole basic cabel. and there are the people who have high def. The people with basic cabel are the people commonly reffered to as "Sunday morning Christians." The people with high def are those christians that are actively growing closer and stronger in their relationship with Christ. Basic cable people get basic the idea, know the stories somewhat, and see the surface stuff. High Def people get the deep ideas and feelings and see every splinter on the cross. Not to say that either person is better or more important, but there is a definite difference in the way basic cable people view the world around them and the way high def people view it.

"This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us."
This really spoke to me. I mean our world is huge. But to the individual our world is small. My world as of now is Sierra College...Roseville... Rocklin...Granite Bay(which isnt even a city btw haha)....My view of what the world is is so small and condensed. I want to expand my view...reach out to the world around me...help those in need...I dont want to live in the illusion that this is my world...Because the fact is that my world is so much bigger.

Novalis

It funny how such profound thoughts can be stated and delivered in one sentence. sometimes even one word.
"We are close to waking up when we dream that we are dreaming."
Oh Wow how this statement is true. haha Plenty of times when im asleep i will dream that im dreaming...and then seconds later im awake and trying to remember what i was dreaming about haha However, i do think there is a deeper meaning behind this statement. Often people refer to life without God in your life as the time you were asleep. And when you recieve Christ and devote yourself to God you are awakened. So with that knowledge, this would mean that when you start to learn more about God and are actually thinking about how your life would be with him in it...you are closer to becoming awakened. 00

"Philosophy is really homesickness."
Philosophy is the investigation of truths, principles of being, knowledge, and conduct. So basically this statement says that the investigation is really just a longing or searching for home. What is home? In my opinion home would be heaven or a relationship with Christ. Im not sure what this guy meant by home, but if i had to guess that would be my answer....

"There is only one temple in the world and that is the human body."
This reminds me of a verse from the bible:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have recieved from God? You are not your own... 1 Corinthians 6:19
So those two thoughts alone pretty explain eachother. THe human body is a temple. A temple of the Holy SPirit. Meaning treat it well, its not yours. Its borrowed property. If you mess with it...your messin with the Holy Spirit. Thats big stuff.

Heraclitus

Now this is my kind of passage. For those of you who read my blog often, you'll notice i pretty much unpack a few sentences per passage. Well this passage is made up of one line fragments. Perfect!!!!

"All things flow" I like this statement a lot. I interpret this to mean that all things work together. Or they were made to work together anyways. If you look at it scientifically, every living thing has a flow or a cycle...or everything has a process.

"The sun is new everyday" I think this is a very optimistic view. I like it! ha Every time the sun rises it is a new day. Every day is almost like a new adventure. The sun brings about new adventures. And hey if you had a really bad day...next time the sun comes up you get to start fresh and make the best of the present.

"You cant step twice into the same river." Bascially, you learn from your mistakes and hopefully dont make those same mistakes twice.

"You wont discover the limits of the soul, however far you go." meaning your soul lives on forever. So you may live to be 80 some odd years old...and then you have reached your earthly limit. But your soul has just begun and continues on into eternity.

"To men, some things are good and some are bad. But to God, all things are good and beautiful and just." Wow that is really profound. It makes me think about how many times in a day I complain about things. Or how I judge people. To God, those same things I am complaining about or judging are beautiful and great. How dare i complain or think badly about what God created...

Maximus of Tyre

First off, i loved how he described God as "a fashioner of all that is." The term "fashioner" is something people in today's world can relate to. Especially with fashion being so popular now-a-days. It doesn't have the exact same meaning but people get the idea. Its funny how words carry over from generation to generation, changing in the slightest.

"older than the sun or sky, greater than time and eternity and all the flow of being..." wow older than the sun or sky...thats pretty dang old haha but on the more serious note, its interesting how he described God as being older than such constants in our daily lives that seem so distant and untouchable. The sun and sky might are two of the oldest things known to man. Well scientifically that is...And greater than time...that says something. I mean our whole lives are based on time. What time i need to be here, what date i was. We rely on time all too much...And Maximus says here that God is greater than time. To me that is huge! And eternity...from what ive learned...eternity is never ending...which makes God even greater than never ending....He is like never EVER ending... And i mean that in all do respect.

Kind of off topic...but i was very interested to read this passage purely based on the title. This Maximus guy is from Tyre. Well recently I visited a local church with my friends and they spoke about the city of Tyre. I dont really remember the context of the story, but the pastor gave a lot of historical information. For example, the people of Tyre were basically attacked by Constantine and their city was completely wiped out by his army. That doesnt really pertain to this passage except for the fact that it came from there ha but it got my attention.

Abu Yazid al-Bastami

"Nothing is better for a man than to be without anything.....When he is without everything, he is with everything." So true! In my opinion this means that once you surrender everything and cling to nothing in this world you will gain everything spiritually. So in other words...all that really matters is your spirituality and your connection with God.

"I sloughed off my self as a snake sloughs off its skin. Then looked into myself and saw that I am He." One way i look at this is basically the same idea as mentioned earlier that once you surrender everything you will be able to have a better connection with God. The second statement that "I am He" kind of confused me at first because obviously no man is GOd...haha but I thought about it more and i realize that it means He is within us...in our heart and soul. In order to see that we must shed all worldly things.

"Being in a realm where neither good nor evil exists. Both of them belong to the world of created beings; in the presence of Unity there is neither command nor prohibition." So we live in a world full of judgment...people think "oh thats good" or "oh thats bad." Well those are created judgements of this world. Who decides whats good and bad on this earth? I really like how they capitilize the word "Unity." I dont know if this is what they meant by doing that...but to me its like how they capitilize "He" or "I Am." So think of God as Unity is just amazing.

"For thirty years i used to say, "do this" and "give that"; but when i reached the first stage of wisdom, I said, "O God, be mine and do whatever You want."" I think this is such an important thing in faith. People are so quick to say God do this or give me that. Who do we think we are bossing God around (or trying to anyways haha) or commanding him to do things for us. We are just little humans with no power...lol

Muhammad

So right off the bat before the passage even begins it says "Islam means "surrender to God." When we surrender ourselves fully, there is nothing but God..." This is something I truly believe. And that is one of the hardest things to do...surrendering everything...I mean I think about my house, my car, my phone, school, stress, anxiety, fear, everything! God wants us to surrender that all to him. How is that possible? lol well it is...somehow...and our job is to figure out how and do it! haha

Moving on...
I love how he describes God. He uses such beautiful and descriptive language.
"He is omnipotent over all things. He is the first and the last, the manifest and the hidden, and has knowledge of all things." Omnipotent is such a powerful word. Definitely not one in my daily vocab. Obviously there are no words great enough to describe God, but if there were...i assume this would be one of em. haha
A statement that really stood out to me is "He is with you wherever you are." I could see where that idea might creep people out. But when i think about it, I cant help but smile and feel completely safe. It reminds me of a verse in psalms...

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me... psalm 23:4

That is without a doubt my favorite verse in the bible. In fact, I am getting a tattoo of "i will fear no evil" on my arm. There is also a song based on this verse called You Never Let Go. It says "you never let go through the calm or through the storm."
That thought just leaves me in awe and at the same time gives me peace because I know that with God in my life I will never be alone and I will fear no evil.