Arizona Scenery Let’s begin with dissociation. “a term in psychology describing a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from one’s immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from one’s physical and emotional reality.” “The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality.” Daydreaming and non-pathological altered states of consciousness are mild forms. “On the other end of the spectrum are the dissociative disorders: fugue, depersonalization etc. These are typically experienced as startling, autonomous intrusions into the person’s usual ways of responding or functioning. They are quite unsettling. In mild cases dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanism in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress—including boredom and conflict.” Wikipedia It interests me, and maybe all of us, to see a psychological picture of the wound which effects the dissociation. Before we do that, let us consider what causes the wound: generally associated with…
Healing at the Cross Posts
Josh and Puddle Sometimes folks can’t focus in life, lured away toward a seductive universe, one featuring a soothing state of mental relaxation, centering problems removed. Let’s explain. People with attention deficit disorder are known to have remarkable powers of concentration without distraction, but only in the world of their chosen fantasy. Amazing. The more a person succumbs to the alluring facade, the less able they are to concentrate on other things? Interesting and telling. A person watches porn on the internet or immerses themselves in a video game, or plays excessive bingo, or whatever they give their heart to, and the real world becomes a loathsome chore. Not too hard to understand. How can the natural course of life compete with such intense and provocative views that challenge, stimulate and require some perceived risk? Likewise, some believers are distracted from fervent preaching and teaching of the Word, because they…
Arizona Lake 1989 Folks in general don’t want to talk about anything too negative. Why is that? Darkness and light are both alike to God, but not to us. Psalm139:12. See, the highway of holiness admits and allows the wayfaring man, and the fool does not err therein. Isaiah 35:8. This gives all of us entry there, but few find it. For this reason men struggle still with the hills and valleys of life and mostly ride the ups and downs. We have a tendency to see God as a mere moral One and prosperity means God’s favor, where adversity means God is mad at us. To most He is a God of circumstances. Let me open a thought. Do we have an expectation for our life, or are we contented to handle anything that life dishes up? Careful. Well no, we are not contented to take anything, we have…
Does forgiveness work if I don’t forget, or can I go on remembering the hurt? Natural forgiveness remembers, but supernatural forgiveness forgets. Thanks Jesus, you don’t remember. Where is this said? Isaiah 43:25 God speaking:” I even I am He, that blotteth out your transgression for my own sake, and I will not remember your sin.” Halleluiah! “Hey what kind of forgiveness do you think will be better for you? Forget or remember? ” ” I guess the one that forgets.” “me too” Let’s review what this means. First, if God doesn’t remember, then I don’t have to remember either. Second, if God forgets, then the blood of Christ is efficacious —it cleanses us from all unrighteousness and cleanses the conscience from dead works. It leaves us with no more consciousness of sin. What are dead works? These are works performed by those who are dead…
Coal, grease, and broken chain, on this stoker Darkness creates poverty, just as surely as light creates vitality. The big “D” likes to penetrate a life by creating a deep divide away from true life and light, and then providing a “light” of its own origin, a kind of dark-light. With this, darkness pretends true light, to create in a man a deceptive existence. Consequently, with this empty-light filling in, a person may not figure it out; they are not experiencing the true light, but a vacuum instead. So, what gives? Well, darkness, a false light, keeps a person aloof from the healthy vitamin “d” produced of true light, if we take the natural analogy to start. Secondly, life-killers like mold and fungus grow in this dark, giving us the picture of decay in a soul. See, the darkened soul, slowly dying, has the false impression of being lightened as…
Frustrating things humble a man or woman’s soul. They do things in two categories: (1) take away something that was there prior, narrow resources, block or limit the number, etc. (2) open up, redirect, or painfully bring into view what is left, in its raw and pure form, heightening the need for creativity of a distinctly unique breed of living result. What do I mean? I’m squeezed by events, illness, wrong decisions, people and their decisions, money matters, or even jail. Why? Wrong question! If you can figure out “why,” you have rationally charted your future in the image of your carefully derived and wise findings. In other words you may have allowed the frustrating limits to also inhibit your ability in going forward. I would like to ask you a question: are you sure about “why”? Why do I ask? Because it is better, maybe, if we don’t know…
Lamentations 3:12-15 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. Ezekiel 24:16-18 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the…
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down. Walls build in a person’s soul and strong emotions make em stand. We have the wall of: self rejection, the wall of indifference, the wall of denial and the wall of emotional instability. the wall of social pressure, the wall of a poor self image the wall of self-pity and others etc. What do these walls do? Keep things in. Keep things out.. A human must realize that he or she is a god. No way! — O yes, small ‘g‘. And the Bible says so in Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34. A god creates his or her own world, and so do we. Walls establish the boundaries of the world they have created. Walls protect the self-designed value system, personal priorities and world-view etc. Foreign intrusions from within and without expand the system to include…
Sea world, Ohio, late 70’s Christian, never let anything destroy you! Destroyers come from within and without, beneath and above, the right and the left, from the buffoon, but also, from the wise. Don’t let them do it, friend, don’t let them. First line of destroyers appear the obvious ones: beer, whiskey, cocaine, heroin, Oxycontin. Then sex, in all of its weird forms outside of God’s design for marriage, stealing, cheating, gambling, carousing, abusing others for gain, angry displays, intimidation, kicking others butts, destroying another’s good name; all hold a place with the overt ones. When overcome, these may lose their active status, and sentence themselves to the soul’s background. Watch, they can reemerge. Next group of enemies are the intimidators. These close in from the deep unknown; seek to mess with sound thinking, the flow of a man’s life, a man’s normal daily function. How? They distract…
“Guilt leaves me through my arms and hands and goes on the head of a goat or sheep.” “Oh really? What does the guilt look like?” “Don’t know and don’t care; must be in the form of some psychic force. Thankfully the weird power that came over me has left, just as quickly as it came.” “Does the goat faint or falter at the receiving of it”? “I would say yes, and cries out as if forsaken.” “You must have had some big guilt.” “Well this goat was receiving the guilt of many others too.” “Oh! Guilt makes me feel like I don’t belong; do you think it made the goat feel that way also?” “I guess; the goat took the guilt and was led away to a place where nobody was allowed to go.” “Hey, goats can’t feel lonely” “I think they are aware that they are alone, just…