h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Metamorphosis perhaps"
I like that better also.
I think of it being another sort of life not the return of the old.
We can never go back...
Jesus did not stay long in the story , he moved on but I never remember how long it was.

I do like the 3 days for the resurection.
Many shocks to the mind take about 3 days to fully absorb (for me)
It has always seemed when someone dies it takes me about 3 days for it to seem real. I have wondered about the faiths who have a burial right away. For me it might be harder to absorb but probably only because of my personal early experiences and the similarity in the traditions followed each time.

Wasn't it 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension? Ed, help us out here. Forty days in the desert fasting and forty days of Lent and forty days of rain. Lots of forties.

I think infinity has to exist. We know that matter exists. If it ceases to be, then where does it go? And where did it come from? Matter had to come from the creative force, so that force has to be infinite, even though theconcept is difficult to grasp. Because then we're saying that it didn't actually come from anywhere, which is impossible. But if the creative force for our universe came from somewhere, then where did that somewhere come from? Even a black hole has to come from somewhere. And if the entire universe is sucked into one gigantic black hole than the black hole will still exist. The space is actually here. It may be empty, but it will still exist.

I'm not smart enough to discuss this. My questions sound like those of a six year old.

H

Metamorphosis suits me better too, butterflies and all that.

Theologians say 40days is arbitrary, not really important. But that's how it is recorded, yes. What is important, they say is that Jesus stayed around long enough to reiterate his message to his closest followers and to prove he had done the deed. He also showed that he was still flesh and bone. He needed to bolstered their faith, since, like us they found it hard to believe. He cluttered off because his mission was for Mankind in toto and that message had to reach all corners of the globe before we could be ready to fulfil his promise to us that we could do the things that he did and perhaps even greater things. He did maintain a contact through the Holy Spirit,a bit like "lost"
relatives do through a medium. Theologians would not like to hear this latter,though!!
Black holes are now said not to gobble everything, as certain emissions have been registered. Because we experience birth and death as natural beings tis awful hard to conceive of anything being eternal or infinite. Unfortunately we have no verbal recollection of what was in our minds/soul/spirit as babies. We get adulterated and I feel the eternal sense is obscured. Enter Jesus!!
I thought we agreed, Hypatia a six-year old could well be wiser!! It is quite hard to remember how we thought even then. I have heard the phrase,"the clear vision of a three-year old" How's that memory?
As ever, ed

One of the joys of 6 year old questions is that they remain open and dare I say it, fluid. Your questions are the questions that lead somewhere imo Hyp. How can you confine the infinite, even in thought?

Actually Ed, I remember exactly what it felt like to be 3, and it ain't that different from the way it feels now. I am more articulate, better 'educated', and I have to overcome all that. I can describe it better, but the thoughts and the essence of me are exactly the same. I can touch the stars!

I always knew you are a bit special, momenta, though I guess you would rather apply that to the infinite. I am all for that.
I can remember, quite clearly some little episodes at three, like the doodlebug Mr Hitler sent over! Thankfully it landed harmlessly on the Downs. I also have some peculiar abstract memories which seem to have quality but no form, as best I can put it. Both my grandmothers died when I was three and I remember them well but can't remember being at all upset by their passing. My mother's mother seems to have stayed with me all through life. I think you girls have an advantage over us boys when it comes to encompassing the whole. It's a more diffuse awareness. Boys are more conditioned to focus on the job at hand. I do love a fluid walk with the stars and moon on a clear night, though fleeting clouds can add even more charm.
As ever, ed.

Help! Where is everyone?

I was sitting in my greenhouse today meditating on the "rising damp", the sort which comes from the heart rather than one's socks!
Suddenly, a large drop of water from above landed, smack on the top of my balding head.
I said to myself, "It is time I got on with the mowing"
As ever, ed.

I like that story!
Nice description.

You have not been deserted.
I have been able to read but not post on hootoo

I have many memories of being three.
Possibly some glimpses of memory at 2 1/2 years of age.

Hi everyone. I've been working in my garden all week. It was a good opportunity to think about fluidity and boundaries. I've never liked straight, rigid borders for flower beds. I like for my beds to curve and flow. And it struck me that I have given my plants more freedom than I have given myself.

I am always trying to 'contain' myself, to be traditional and practical and predictable and all those other adjectives that are considered necessary to be a pillar of the community. Don't cross this boundary, stay in the background, don't rock the boat, nose to the grindstone, yada yada yada.

I am a hosta, sitting in the shade, coming up every year, dependably fulfilling my purpose and requiring little maintenance. I'm a nice hosta. Folks even admire me on occassion. And remark what a perfect plant I am for my flower bed.

But I don't want to be a hosta. I want to be something bold and dramatic like a climbing rose that blooms from late spring until frost and reflects the sun and shimmers in the moonlight. I want to paint and write poetry and study philosophy and theology and create a physical meditation garden rather than a virtual one.

My Easter wish for all of you is that you find the means to transform your lives in such a way to enable you to fulfill your dreams and reach your potential. I wish you peace and love.


H

Love your imagery Hyp, wonderful ambitions.

I suppose I am blessed to have many of these things, other than the meditation garden, but then I consider the surrounding countryside to be this for me. And I can share it.

I wish your wish for you.

I am not sure what plant or flower I might be. Something wild I suspect.

Momenta, I imagine you as a large patch of creeping phlox, planted on the edge of a wall, flowing gracefully in all directions, roots planted firmly in the soil yet running with abandon over the edge and down the side of the wall. Royal purple, of course.


H

While I was away you have created such a lovely atmosphere here in the garden. It is a joy, as Spring always is. Real will get the upper hand over virtual for a while I guess as we savour the "refresh"
I have a "Wanda"-type primula seedling which has come up of its own accord in my garden. This spring it has flowered for the first time and well ahead of the others. It is smothered with purple flowers and stands out above all else at the moment. I think I shall name it Momenta! Where are those lovely scents coming from? It must be each of you. I love you all, ed.

Everyone, I have often wondered about blushing,(yes, I still do blush, occasionally, after all these years!) It seems to me, it is spiritual in origin. Anyone have any knowledge on the subject?
I remember once being ribbed by adults, as a teenager for blushing, (would have made a good Belisha beacon!) I got annoyed and turned on said adults,saying, "It is just the anger coming to the surface." I didn't really think that but it did shut them up!
Body language not too apparent around here, thankfully.
As ever, ed.

I still blush easily. It's more relating to being visible in ways one would perhaps prefer not to be. The nature of a genuinely shy person coming through. Which I am, though confident in it. Sounds like a contradiction. Isn't.

It has surprised me online how much one can still tell, still feel from someone without all the visual and aural clues. It's breeze when you can see someone, but not that much harder here. Considering how about 70% of what we read from another person has nothing to do with their words this is odd to say the least.

Shows how adaptable we are. I have to use my intution and feel for someone more online than onlife. It works.

I blush easily. It's very embarrassing. I always thought it was because my skin is fair. But any kind of strong emotion and I wind up red in the face.

How would it relate to spirituality?

H

Hypatia, how lovely to hear you are a blusher! Thinking on, and with you as a fine example, I'd dare to say, now that blushing is all our pent up spirituality coming to the surface. We are desperately and, essentially non-verbally, communicating something beautiful to our fellows. The emotions are just there to put us back on track, a rush of blood!! So, perhaps I was right after all, and again from what you say, it was my anger coming to the surface.
Momenta, yes "empaths", I do it all the time, myself. I can't say I am ever certain what I receive is right. I think it is like scientists are now saying, we can only deal in probabilities. On the other hand, I sometimes think there is a reversal, that we do already know everything about each other but that, deep down we dare not reveal it. Is that the origin of the "conspiracy theory"? wry smile! You scratch my back, I will scratch yours; lovely pastime, though!
Love, ed.

Ed

Still can't make out the connection between spirituality and blushing. Sensitivity, shyness etc, yes. Can you explain what you mean?

I'm not sure about the probabilities either. It is only when I find myself reacting one way or another that I know there may be huge inaccuracies in my perception. If I am honest enough to see those the rest seems to work pretty well. It is my job though, something I have refined for many years. Not saying I can't be wrong, or that I always know. That certainly isn't true. But you build a picture, a feel, over time, even without the visual clues.

momenta, I think I am referring to an unsophisticated spirituality. I am not at all clear. There is an underlying honesty about blushing. At the same time it seems to happen when we feel caught out, naked before our fellows. Do we feel we don't stand a chance against their unwarranted tendency to judge, so we unconsciously give them a show of the inner ocean. When does blushing start? I think there's a strong connection to sexuality, but that is only part. I wonder if the concept of shame gets attached later because of the judging. But the judging must originate somewhere. This is all so relative that I am a bit beleaguered.
I suppose I have to admit that, in itself blushing is not spirituality, rather it points to the potential within us. I write of judging but, of course blushing is also regarded as quite charming in a person/child. Where there's a blush there's hope, I would say.
I am not sure about the definition for spirituality but I would regard the sensitivity you ascribe to blushing as an ingredient of the spiritual anyway.

I would like to examine the probabilities/conspiracy thingee with you, perhaps later. Just to ask now, how do you know for certain that the picture you have is 100%? Surely, there is always an element of uncertainty in other's words and actions,thoughts and indeed in one's own. I guess 100% is not what you are talking about. It still has to be subjective on your part, in spite of the training, doesn't it?
Course, if my other hand is right, you could be spot-on!
Love, ed.

I never have 100%, that would be an impossibility. But you can and do reach a point with people where there is enough, both of feelings and consistancy to have a tangible whole. You can go on expanding that indefinitely.

I have a friend who is multifacted in the extreme, but all these are fine because I am aware of the core, it all revolves around this and is cohesive. Another facet shown is just that, but it does not contradict what already exists.

Of course I can never claim to be objective, as I live inside a human body, but that does not mean there can be no accuracy or true understanding.