I am in a minority of one. I am not like anyone else; and apparently very different from average - at an extreme of the distribution curve. This - both in personality and in behaviour.
Therefore I can't really advise other people, because they don't want what I want - or, at least, my advice would be theoretical, rather than empathic.
This comes-out when I am asked to recommend reading matter. I can either say what has been important for me (these are the things I blog about); but it is unlikely this will also be important for you. Or I can make 'generic' recommendations based on 'what most people - of our braod type - like'; but then, anybody can look that up for themselves, so it is not really 'my' recommendation.
But, in an ultimate sense, we are all individuals: metaphysically and not by virtue of being 'different'.
And, if we accept the reality and goodness of God the Creator, and that God is our Father (or, more exactly, Parents) and each of us His child; then we do not need recommendations and would be unwise to follow them (unless the person recommending was someone with whom we feel a special affinity, and who knows us as an individual, and can therefore make an intuitive personal connection).
That God is both creator and loving parent means that we are not generic-human-beings, but His individual children; and therefore creation will be organised-around each of our needs - so far as that is possible. Your particular life will therefore be organised around your particular requirements - including what you 'should' read at any given time... So long as you are alert to this fact, and able to make an intuitive link, you can know this.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ is always present and available to guide us, as the Holy Ghost.
So, on the one hand the actual circumstances of our life are being tailored by the Father, and there is individual guidance from the Son. This powerful combination means that -- with the usual proviso that our mortal lives are meant as experience (to learn-from; and not to attain some kind of 'perfection'), and some degree of trial and error is inevitable during this changing mortal life -- you can always know what (or if) it would be best for you to read/ watch/ do at any particular time and circumstance.
Reading, like life-in-general, is therefore an unique adventure; a path which you should trail-blaze for yourself; and one that you can do anytime, anyplace, starting Now.
3 comments:
Not intending to derail, but...
What you have stated here is very true, and as you mentioned briefly in your last sentence, it is something which applies to any area of life, as well as reading.
I began to consult with the Holy Ghost very frequently throughout the day shortly after the start of the birdemic. The consequences have been quite astounding:
1. After years (decades) of wanting to learn how to meditate, and failing specatacularly, I have finally been guided to the "right" way to do it, for me.
2. I have lost weight, gained strength, and even changed smell (as per my wife). I am aware that this might seem as a "boromirosphere" concern, but I take it as a proxy for male health and vigor in general, not as a good in and of itself. This has come because about because of being guided to the right types of foods, the right sources of foods, the right volumes of food and the right frequency, intensity and type of physical exercise.
3. I have finally begun to be able to "get" Biblical English as easily as I "get" modern English... my Bible reading and understanding has gained qualitatively.
4. A recurring eye irritation, cause of much pain and even debilitation, has lifted - due to being indicated certain cleansing that needed to be done.
5. I have been guided to practices which have helped me get a solid night´s sleep... something which I struggled with for decades.
6. I have been made aware of certain sins which I wasn´t even aware of. They have subsided significantly, almost without my awareness.
7. I have been driven away from certain music, and now I find that when I listed to it, it is unbearably bad and I have to switch it off.
8. I have acquired much more peace of spirit. My famous irritability is now all but gone.
None of the things which I am now doing, which led to the above, came from research or recommendations. In fact, years of reserach and recommendations yielded little.
I am not sure how much of the above is replicable and capable of being "methodized", but I suspect a lot of it wouldn´t be of use to most people even if it were to be turned into a method.
In conclusion, I can vouch, wholeheartedly, as a natural skeptic, that the seeking of the Holy Ghost, constatnly and consistently, even with regards to apparently "little things", can turn your life around in ways you can´t even begin to imagine.
@Gary I've had different but not dissimilar experiences myself, but there are great days/weeks and bad ones. I used to pray as if Christ was a million miles away but now I feel him right here beside me, loving and guiding me (when I'm not too distracted to listen). However, like a father teaching his son to ride a bike, he will let go of the handlebars and let me ride until I crash. Sometimes love feels like abandonment!
Think a lot ( a LOT), and shun others - that's me. Drawn to blogs like yours, and believe that it is ALL going to disintegrate, and soon. I am a freak in the eyes of the world, but the world can kiss my buttons. I'm correct, the world is not. That puts me on the fringes for personality and behaviour too, and I am content with that.
Barry
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