It's been one of those nights where ive been particularly contemplative of human relations and such. i was having a chat to my good mate Juggernaut about how even in the holidays, one could be seeing their friends daily for weeks, and have every opportunity to continue to be around people and yet feel lonely still. In my mind this raised a few questions, the most prominent being this; How can individuals be together in their loneliness? How is it that a group of people can empathise, understand and share one another's loneliness, therefore finding some sense of place and yet still feel lonely.
The conversation moved onto something called "collective consciousness". I read an article on the net about it and it's something quite remarkable, that actually relates back to something i was talking about with polly during our Christmas Light night last week. Essentially researchers have been studying the actions of different people and animals in response to something else, when the two share a connection.
They tested using simultaneously running cameras, that a family pet, or more specifically a dog would get up and move to the front door of the house to await his owners return at the precise moment his or her master made the decision to return home. Another thing they looked into was that feeling of "being watched" by someone else. Using equipment they tested a subjects level of nervousness in a controlled environment when they weren't being watched and compared it to when in another room someone linked to the subject was watching them through a cctv camera. The results show that the subject was responsive when being watched. There's a whole stack of stuff like this and i encourage you to read the article for yourself:
http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j25/kenny.asp
Of course a dilemma is created. Could it be just chance that these events occur? Well there is an element of faith in everything. Which brings me back to my conversation with Polly. Basically I was explaining to her how i feel that in our humanness, our souls have the ability to communicate on a subconscious level. For instance, I've noticed people generally attract like people into their lives, it's just natural. But no matter where you go, you will always find the person you are most like. For instance going to a sydney region prefect meeting, a met some awesome people with similar personalities to myself. Furthermore these people moved towards me and i to them, coincidence? I think this could definately be in God's working. For Christians, we all share in the same Spirit of God, and so we have this supernatural and soulful connection. We often talk about being "One in Christ", and i find this to be more and more true as i meet more Christians. Regardless of who they are, we will always get along on some level because we share a connection in Christ.
One thing that really rung out to me in the article was,
"Bonded pairs—couples in a relationship—produced effects that were six times stronger than individuals. Like the remote viewing experiments, these results indicate that people with an emotional connection, when acting in concert, are more influential than individuals acting alone."
Isn't this just a beautiful concept for a relationship! Which leads me into my next topic.
I walked into the lounge-room tonight to find my mum watching the show "Californication". After watching several minutes it confirmed the views i already held about the show. It got me thinking though that what is the reason behind making such a show? I can't help but think the producers essentially sat down and asked themselves, "How selfish and impure can we make sex?" I confessed to mum that i found the show disgusting in every true sense of the word. I'm not disgusted by sex, dont get me wrong. Nor am i disgusted that people who are older than 40 "do it". What i am disgusted by is how sex has been taken out of context. The whole idea that we "do it" demonstrates this. Such a term is totally devoid of all sense of love and thought behind action, both things sex should not be.
("Popsicles Are Like Lust" artwork, 2009, Alex Archer)
God created sex as such a beautiful and pure and natural thing. It frustrates me when people shy away from it, when it is natural and not sinful, that is if done within God's parameters. Coming together as one body is such a beautiful thing! God created us with a sex drive in much the same way he created us to hunger so that we'll remember to eat. God made sex feel good in much the same way he made food taste good so that we'd enjoy it! God is so great to us and gives us so many blessings and sex is one of them. I love that. God created sex as a coming together as one body for those who are married in a unity with Christ. He made it feel good so that we'd desire it, and in the hope that we may be procreant. Hope fulfilled! Good planning God! It worked! But what disgusts me is that we are sinful, and so we become selfish when it comes to sex.
Selfishness is a horrible thing. It can permeate into our whole lives and in my opinion is one of the great things standing between us and God. If we are to die to ourselves and give our lives to God, how hard is that to do if we want to do things our way because we think we can benefit more from a self-driven life. Through this little happening with Californication, i think i was most disgusted at the fact that people are selfish in their actions, wanting everything to benefit themselves devoid of a commitment. Particularly in sex outside of marriage. I have an issue with people with "life partners" and "de facto relationships". Basically they are saying "I want all the privileges that come with marriage, minus the commitment. Why? Because commitment means giving away some of yourself. In other words, being selfish rather then selfless. If you truly love and care for someone enough to want to be with them as a "life partner" then how big is the step to marriage? If my future girlfriend then wife isn't committed enough to marry me, then why would i still want to spend my life with her and have kids with her?
How hopeless we are. We think we can do things for ourselves and that we know better than God. So we rebel. Where does it get us? I'm such a fool! I'm glad you know what you're doing God!
To conclude, SEX was meant for more, SINNERS were meant for more, CHRISTIANS do not need more, for we are more, for we are Christ. Amen?
