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The road to hell is paved with good intentions

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"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

 

What do people take from this quote?

 

Through ignorance and lack of knowledge could one think they are doing themselves and others a benefit, only to really cause increased suffering?

 

Is there any other viewpoints it could be taken from?

Edited by jconnar

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I think hell is only used for fear-mongering, or coercing one into doing good out of fear for repercussion.

 

The focus should be on finding what it is inside you that makes you good.

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I look at it like this, if christian doctrine is correct then there are only 2 choices, spend forever as a slave in worship or go to a fiery pit to burn, both are for eternity, and I really don't find either one of the options to be appealing.

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"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

 

What do people take from this quote?

 

Through ignorance and lack of knowledge could one think they are doing themselves and others a benefit, only to really cause increased suffering?

 

Is there any other viewpoints it could be taken from?

 

I suppose it depends on "hell for who"?

The most recent personal example I have is of someone trying to do something for me the way they would have wanted it. Just sucked for me.

The most recent impersonal example has to do with governments changing mortgage application and renewal terms in an attempt to avert a disaster that already happened elsewhere. The irony is that if the plan goes ahead then a very similar disaster (people losing their homes) could happen.

 

More 'abstractly' I see intention as most often stemming from a present or previous condition, not a future condition. "Good" in this situation

often refers to the opposite or alternative to whatever happens to be the current non-desired condition. Not necessarily the 'correct' progression for fruitfulness (whatever that is supposed to be).

 

I wonder what would happen if the Taoist 5E analysis was properly applied.

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Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing and instead do the easier thing

 

Good point.

 

And sometimes it's difficult to find the right thing to do.

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Although being brought up a Christian.

 

For me Hell could mean suffering now.

 

 

Its interesting, depending on the meaning we give these words, gives us a completely different viewpoint.

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Although being brought up a Christian.

 

For me Hell could mean suffering now.

 

 

Its interesting, depending on the meaning we give these words, gives us a completely different viewpoint.

 

And it's particularly difficult when the words are written as cadence/tone/inflection are missing, not to mention facial expression! :)

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Hell is a state of mind and if anyone can end up there if you lack wisdom no matter how positive your intentions are. I may well be there right now.

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I guess its opposite of Wu Wei. Being clever, making lots of plans, giving lots of advice; and ala 'I'm from the government/authority and I'm here to help'.

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Most modern interpretations of Christian teachings have good intentions but often lead to hell, for example some priests repress their sexual impulses with good intentions but end up as perverts, missionaries go out to foreign cultures with good intentions but end up imbalancing and ruining them, parents over moralise their children to try to make them good people but just screw them up. People like George Bush and Tony Blair may honestly believe in their minds that they act out of good intentions but they end up killing thousands of innocent people.

 

I think nearly all intentions start off as good but when they lack wisdom they often end up doing the exact opposite of what they set out to achieve.

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Well, I figure if it is really intuition then it has brought you this far, so then go with it.

 

Next time instead of asking yourself, try asking your true self or higher self imo.

 

It will probably say there is not balance as well, because it isn't having as much say in general as yourself is . . .

 

Also try to phrase the question in a way it could not possibly mean anything else.

Edited by Informer

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"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

 

What do people take from this quote?

 

Through ignorance and lack of knowledge could one think they are doing themselves and others a benefit, only to really cause increased suffering?

 

Is there any other viewpoints it could be taken from?

 

It means that good intentions alone are not enough, the idea being that actions & outcomes matter.

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Intuition isn't really something straightforward, and especially not when the self is in the way mucking up the insight. It was a prominent starting point for me as well, and led me to many things, at the time some of the things were misconceived, later to be unveiled in truth. Intuition is attributed to third eye.

 

The third eye chakra is particularly recognized as the entry point of intuition, wisdom and inspiration. The quality of intuition that is associated with this energy centre differs from the intuition of the solar plexus chakra.

 

Read more: http://www.healing-journeys-energy.com/Chakra-Third-Eye-Ajna.html#ixzz1wE68uUIL

 

So be aware that self can play biased in interpretations of these insights through intuition. Intuition is also not always correct especially when muddied through the selfs interpretation. But it will generally lead in the right direction I think, even if it is a step back for two steps forward.

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