Tommy

Okay, Have noticed this has devolved into a . . . I don't know what. Anyway, did anyone ask you, "Are you happy?" I mean it has got to be quite a journey. Feeling things are just not right and then moving on to how to get where one wants to go. So, are you happy? When I met my wife, I fell for her. But, things wouldn't have gotten very far if I saw that she wasn't already happy. As an individual, I know that I can not be all for another person. They have to be happy first. Then, my addition to her life would compliment or add to her life. Now, that's the other end of the spectrum, if she was already set and did not need me or I could not make her life a little better then marriage would not happen. I saw she was happy with her life. But. also saw that I could help to make her life better. So, I married her. We have been married since 1996 or about 27 years. I think you said before that you have no interest in marriage and having a family?? That is fine. It isn't for everyone. But, my question stands. Are you happy? Of course, I don't mean crazy happy. Just generally happy with the way things are now? Buddha might have said that life is suffering but I do not see it as suffering all the time. There has to be some calm in the midst of the storm. Some bright spot. A place to absorb the warmth of the sun and feel good about oneself. Note: I guess I am no better at this topic than anyone else??

What do I think about this analysis? I think I am too old and tire. So, tl-dr (too long- didn't read). My dementia is kicking in. I don't even remember being in this thread. Shalom. Or is it Namaste? Eh, aloha.

I have seen ads for apps that are suppose to predict what and when to buy or sell stock. They all say they make money. When I was younger, I tried trading in stocks. Read books and subscribed to papers dedicated to analyzing stocks and trends. I found owning stocks nerve wracking whenever the stocks goes up and down. One week it was up and the next day it lost all gains and then some. So, something so unstable, after a year, I gave up. As for education, I always liked working with my hands. And now a days there are fewer and fewer people in the trades. In had a fascination with Mike Rowes on "Dirty Jobs". So, after getting a degree in electronics, I went to work for Xerox fixing copiers. The job became tedious and really low paying. So, then went into a company that did military electronics. Truck driver. Maintenance. Janitorial. Auto parts. Tried side hustles that landed me in legal trouble (Resolved). I like autos and should have gotten into that in one way or another. My advice is to find something you like to do so. That going to work doesn't feel like work and you get paid for it. Keep trying until it doesn't make any sense anymore. Does it make sense to get student loans and after four years, look for a job to pay back that loan? Are you looking to become a doctor? Do what makes you happy and pays the bills (and then some). Buy a house and rent it out. Buy more assets so you have time to spend "just sitting".

Sorry, what seems to be the problem? You tried suicide twice? Why? Because of your uncontrollable thoughts? True spiritual practice would never send one on a path such as the one you were on. Personally I would like to ask more questions but do not believe myself qualified to help. This one needs a person with more qualified training. Good luck.

When it comes to the Bible, everyone picks and chooses their own meanings. But, what was written has a meaning when it was written. Choosing to ignore it and take whatever one wants is similar to making mistakes and calling it the truth. However, this isn't a class room and there are no rules to follow. No structure. Just people reading words on paper and taking whatever they need from it. God bless them all.

Yes, he did say it was necessary but he did not advocate violence. He was fulfilling a prophecy. You are picking and choosing your meanings instead of reading what is there. Still, if that is what you need or want then so be it.

Google search provided this, ... What did Jesus mean when he said "I did not come to bring peace but a sword"? "It is a call to war against ego-identification. Using the sword of discrimination, we must cut away attachment to fleeting identities (this body, this personality, this family) in order to realize the eternal soul. His teaching presented an “either/or” proposition. We can't have both."

Revelations came after Jesus. So, I do not think Jesus was referencing Revelations

Matthew 26:52-54 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

I believe Jesus was opposed to violence much like Kung Fu students are taught how to fight but also to not fight whenever possible. Being taught how to fight doesn't mean to go out and find fights. And when in situations that absolutely requires fighting, one fights. Not to harm or to kill. But to protect. Wasn't there something called the Sermon On The Mount?? May be that wasn't real? IDK. That was over 2000 years ago. It could have been just being surrounded by a whole bunch of passerby people?? And Jesus was over heard teaching to his disciples. IDK. You could be right. But then that would make Jesus someone who I would not like to be around. Preach violence and I don't want to be around you much less listen to your words. Hmm, why would someone say the same thing twice? Maybe to emphasize something? IDK. It isn't unheard of. And sometimes poets use that method to bring about a point. Who knows?? Note: Jesus knew very well what was going to happen. I doubt his religion would have been as big if Jesus died of old age and not having bring about change.

Just realized that it is similar to the car forums where a person says that his car is having problems starting. He then states that he has replaced the starter but still have the problem. Then asks if anyone knows what problem is. There is just not enough information to make any real diagnosis. As a person who knows a little bit about cars, I know right away there is not enough information to give any advice. The OP, in this thread, has stated his issue and question. But, he has not given much information. So, as advice might be plentiful, it still misses the mark of being helpful since there is not enough information given. It is a shot in the dark. I am sorry to have taken this thread into a tangent.

So, telling his disciples to protect themselves amount to preaching or advocating violence? Is this what he taught to the general public? That his message to the people was to go inflict violence upon one another? Then why heal the one who is injured? Jesus did not come to bring peace or the status quo but to bring about change. Some changes are violent (not all are).

I feel that blocking people only makes me smaller as I would then be uncapable of handling the situation. And it would make my world smaller as it shuts out other ideas. I do not argue with anyone here. Only ask questions to learn more. I apologize to anyone who thinks I have offended them. My thoughts were that this was a spiritual question related to one's practice. There are many who do not have teachers nor sanghas to help them. So, being sent to a psychotherapist was not entirely helpful? IDK. It may be what the OP needed. It may not. Again IDK. And I apologize for my rudeness in asking these kind of questions.

I have a hard time distinguishing the truth. As in the story of the farmer who lost his horse, the next day the situation makes what happened before bad luck into good luck. And like subjective truth, Hamlet says that a thing is neither good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

I tend to think of it as saying that bringing peace would be keeping the things the same (Status Quo). Where as the sword means change. He did not advocate violence. Wasn't he the one who said that if a person strikes your cheek to offer him the other cheek?? Treat thy neighbors as one would thyself??