False gods: the ecstasy

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Paul to write "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" Galatians 2: Maximus the Confessor states that the highest mystical experience is ecstasy. This experience is reserved for those who have been granted the grace to be purified of the passions and be adorned with the virtues. This divine purification leads to the illumination or enlightenment of the inner self through the nous the eye of the soul or mind.

The higher plane that people seek with drugs is a potentially destructive and evil force that darkens our mind and has the capacity to control the physical, social and physiological self. This condition separates us from God and places us on the path leading to destruction. It is no accident that alcohol and drug abuses associated with self-centredness, death, violence, disease, theft, accidents, injuries, and criminal activity.

Can we say that these are not products of evil?

On the other hand the higher spiritual plane sought by the saints the faithful of the Church is the exact opposite of the ugliness associated with alcohol and drug abuse. For this involves us in the process of healing and the enlightenment of our soul leading to a state of ecstasy and joy. This condition unites us with God and leads us to the path of salvation. This process of healing is associated with self-denial, love, life, peace, kindness and responsibility for others and us before God. Can we say these are not divine fruits and gifts?

It is natural for people to seek a higher plane.

This is because man was created in God's image and He breathed life into him Gen. God created us not for death but for eternity. When people lose knowledge of God, they lose the path leading to their eternity.

To seek a higher plane without God is impossible. This is why everything in the world holds false promise whilst everything of God fulfills all promise and hope. Therefore all things which are seen and understood without the knowledge and remembrance of God will prove themselves counterfeit. It is no wonder that people use drugs when seeking a higher plane, be it to fill some emptiness in their lives, or through ignorance, grief lack of self confidence, curiosity depression or some impulsive act.

Maximos the Confessor said "Evil is corruptible because corruption is the nature of evil, which does not possess any true existence whatsoever.

Goodness is incorruptible because it exists eternally and never ceases to be, and watches over everything in which it dwells" Philokalia v2, pp. Drugs confuse and threaten parents because they do not know how to protect their children against them. However, if we teach our children from an early age the Love and Word of God that is if they are raised spiritually and not just physically in a material world , they are given the grace, blessings and protection of God. His Church is not just the place to visit on Sundays, the Church is the Body of Christ that heals and protects us.

Let us understand that we are servants and friends of the "Living God" who teaches the meaning of true love. Let us not seek solutions to our daily problems and fears without Him. John the Theologian than to hear that my children walk in truth. Ecstasy by Deacon Fr Emmanuel Stamatiou. Thus we find experiences given such names as nature, religious, aesthetic, neo-platonic, ecc.

According to practitioners, there are various stages of ecstasy, the highest being Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Bhakti Yoga especially, places emphasis on ecstasy as being one of the fruits of its practice. In Buddhism , especially in the Pali Canon , there are eight states of trance also called absorption. The first four states are Rupa or, materially-oriented. The next four are Arupa or non-material. These eight states are preliminary trances which lead up to final saturation. In Visuddhimagga , great effort and years of sustained meditation are practiced to reach the first absorption, and that not all individuals are able to accomplish it at all.

In the Dionysian Mysteries of ancient Greece , initiates used intoxicants, ecstatic dance and music to remove inhibitions and social constraints. Modern meditator experiences in the Thai Forest Tradition , as well as other Theravadan traditions, demonstrates that this effort and rarity is necessary only to become completely immersed in the absorptions and experience no other sensations.

It is possible to experience the absorptions in a less intense state with much less practice. In the monotheistic tradition , ecstasy is usually associated with communion and oneness with God. However, such experiences can also be personal mystical experiences with no significance to anyone but the person experiencing them. Some charismatic Christians practice ecstatic states such as "being slain in the Spirit " and interpret these as given by the Holy Spirit. The firewalkers of Greece dance themselves into a state of ecstasy at the annual Anastenaria , when they believe themselves under the influence of Saint Constantine.

Historically, large groups of individuals have experienced religious ecstasies during periods of Christian revivals , to the point of causing controversy as to the origin and nature of these experiences.

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Here, he argues, religious ecstasy could come from oneself, the Devil, or God, and it was only by observing the fruit, or changes in inner thought and behaviour, that one could determine if the religious ecstasy had come from God. In modern Pentecostal , charismatic and spirit-filled Christianity, numerous examples of religious ecstasy have transpired, similar to historic revivals. These occurrences however, have changed significantly since the time of the Toronto Blessing phenomena and several other North American so-called revivals and outpourings from the mid s. From that time, religious ecstasy in these movements has been characterized by increasingly unusual behaviors that are understood by adherents to be the anointing of the holy spirit and evidence of God 'doing a new work'.

One of the most controversial and strange examples is that of spiritual birthing [8] - a practice during which women, and at times even men, claim to be having actual contractions of the womb while they moan and retch as though experiencing childbirth. Many believe spiritual birthing to be highly demonic in nature and more occult-like than Christian. Religious ecstasy in these Christian movements has also been witnessed in the form of squealing, shrieking, an inability to stand or sit, uttering apocalyptic prophecies, holy laughter, crying and barking.

Some people have made dramatic claims of sighting 'gold dust', 'angel feathers', 'holy clouds', or the spontaneous appearance of precious gem stones during ecstatic worship events. The Range Christian Fellowship in the conservative Australian city of Toowoomba demonstrates such displays of religious ecstasy on an almost weekly basis. In hagiography writings about Christian saints many instances are recorded in which saints are granted ecstasies.