Astral Projection

I've mentioned this on this blog before, but seriously, DON'T astrally project.

There is no wisdom to glean from it. Everything you experience is entirely subjective and open to interpretation. Any beings you meet that claim to have explanations are unreliable.

It seems way too common for people to think of spirituality as this mostly harmless thing that's just fun to dabble in. That's not how it works. There are not only benevolent beings beyond the physical plane. There are also innumerable demonic forces that are far too happy to lead you by the hand into complete lies and confusion. And no, it's not a matter of "how" you project, or "where" you project "to". It's all the same. The so-called "higher" and "lower" planes are the same thing, dressed up differently. There is Heaven, there is Hell, and there is the physical universe. Everything "in between" is merely part of the exact same spiritual battleground we live in here in the physical plane. You can't "project" to a "plane" where evil forces cannot exist. The alleged "benevolent beings" you encounter in these places are almost definitely the same demons you would encounter in a so-called "lower plane" -- again, just with different appearances.

"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."

Also, let's be clear about something - the places you project to are also, almost certainly, not real. There are those who claim to project into their own houses, and can look at their own bodies while they project. Make no mistake, you shouldn't try to do this, either, but we'll get to that. The point right now is that you are leaving yourself open to any information at all. Information that could be spoon-fed to you by a demon, just as easily as it could be seen by your eye, or felt by your skin. The spirit is not limited to the five senses as the physical body is, but allowing the spirit to wander outside of the physical body is dangerous, because your knowledge is limited by what you've experienced. There is no way any person on Earth has enough knowledge about the spiritual to wander through it responsibly. With the physical, you have, not absolute certainty by any means, but a reasonable amount of certainty that what you see is what's there. The spiritual does not work this way. You are being led blindly through a place you don't know. You're entirely at the mercy of whatever spiritual force first happens to reach you. And do you think they wouldn't possibly use that ignorance to put illusions in front of you? Do you think they don't have the ability to do that? If you can hear a song in the physical, and be moved to a certain emotion; if you can see an optical illusion where a still image appears to be moving; do you really think the same thing can't be done in the spiritual? Although not limited to the five senses, you can still just as easily be deceived by another spirit that is wiser than you. If a song can evoke an emotion or atmosphere, how much more can the same illusion be created by a spirit that has abilities beyond those of the human body? The places you see; the planes you visit; all of these things are, more likely than not, more illusions created by deceitful forces looking to take advantage of your lack of knowledge.

Going back to the "projecting into your own room" thing, this is still something you shouldn't practice. Even if you aren't leaving earth, you're still leaving your body. You're leaving it open to supernatural influence - the same supernatural influence that you would experience in the so-called "astral", just without a spirit to help struggle against it. It's nothing more than a danger to your body.

Make no mistake, the body is not perfect, and on a personal note, I can absolutely, 100% understand one's desire to leave it. Life would be so much better if we didn't have to deal with hunger or thirst, or carnal desires like lust and gluttony. These are abhorrent, unnecessary, do not yield any wisdom, and are impure. But leaving the body is not the way to go about avoiding these things. The way is simple: Jesus Christ. Because through Jesus, we have the strength of the Creator behind us, working alongside us. And just as you return to your body after projecting, and have to deal again with these carnal things, so does the Christian life also still involve struggling against sin. But Jesus presents a safe way to struggle against these base things, to go beyond basic survival and psychological reward systems. God, triune and holy, guides us so long as we seek Him, and helps us to improve over time. And it's true that God has appealed to reward systems at times; this, however, is simply to convey a complicated message to us in a manner that's easier to understand. It's not to say at all that God is limited to reward systems as our minds are. Quite the contrary, in fact. And of course, for many, the desire to "escape" will still be there. I didn't project in the past just because I wanted wisdom - I did it because I hated living on earth, and wanted to escape to somewhere else. I still often want to escape to somewhere else. But there are ways to go about this without putting your body, mind, and spirit at risk. Escape into a book; escape into art; escape into writing; heck, escape into a TV show, if you can find one that isn't mentally poisonous to you; etc.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever. Wisdom cannot be reliably gleaned from astral projection, as all so-called "wisdom" is hopelessly intertwined with lies and deceptions that can't possibly be picked apart by oneself. And even then, astral projection still presents other kinds of dangers that should be avoided anyway.

May God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Hated Because of Me" - Matthew 10:22

In Matthew 10:22, Jesus says the following:"and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
This verse is a message both of warning and comfort for Christians. Warning us that we will face persecution and hostility in our lives. Not all Christians will be martyred like most of the disciples were, but we will, inevitably, face persecution. However, it seems people sometimes stretch the meaning of this verse. We need to remember, and emphasize, "for my name's sake". 

I once saw a clip of a few KKK people at a meeting, reading the above verse from a Bible. One of the guys says, "Sounds like Jesus is talking about us!" The problem there is, the beliefs of the KKK do not line up with the beliefs taught by Jesus. Jesus taught a parable where someone, from a country the Israelites didn't like, was portrayed as the "good guy", while two Israelites were portrayed as the "bad guys". Again, to understand the full meaning of the "Parable of the Good Samaritan", we need to remember that the Israelites viewed the Samaritans in a terrible light, much like how modern groups like the KKK view those of African or Mexican descent. 

This creates a problem. On one hand, it's true that the KKK are hated, almost universally. But see, that does not mean they're living the calling Christ calls us, and them, to live. Quite the opposite. And it's not just them, either. There are a lot of people living lives that run contrary to God's commands. And I don't mean everyday sinners, either -- I mean people who aren't even trying. They would simply rather live their own lives, according to their own views, than learn from God. But these same people will attempt to justify themselves with Matthew 10:22, saying that because they face persecution, they're living good lives. 

Everybody faces "persecution" to some degree in life. Everybody has to deal with hostility, with disagreements, with people who just lack civility. That's the consequence of living in a world with so many different viewpoints. Just because one experiences that persecution, doesn't mean they're saints. And "enduring to the end", sticking with one's beliefs until they die, doesn't mean one is a saint, either. Those who are persecuted "FOR MY [Jesus'] NAME'S SAKE" and endure to the end, will be saved. 

In short, the verse should not be read to mean, "being hated by people means you will be saved". Rather, it should be read as, "believers will be saved, but will have to deal with persecution in the world first."

Take some time and think about this.

May God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.