Yes it is a miracle ❤ I love OTLE! OTLE showed up on my utube feed and introduced me to the wealth of Swedenborg which opened the door of my broken heart and life and there was this idea of a living loving God of goodness, the Divine Human. Once that lamp is lit, it can never be sniffed out. So grateful I checked out OTLE and God bless. God is Good
Awww, Fiona -- Thanks for sharing that story with us! It's pretty easy NOT to click on something that shows up in your feed, so we're delighted that YOU're delighted about clicking on us! Here's to more love and healing ahead for you!
Well thanks for being a loyal watcher, darryl! The numbers are in God's hands, I guess, but we're happy that so many people HAVE found hope and healing in these ideas!
You are right, it's a head scratcher why the audience isn't larger. But, having them deliver this message in this high quality despite a audience that doesn't go into the millions makes me appreciate their effort even more. An who knows, some people need more time to smell the coffee.
This was once again beautiful and true. From my personal practice I know that the redeeming factor is to see what wrong was done, what concequences it had and still reverberates in our own life and the life of our fellows. When this is seen for what it is and what it causes we refrain from continuing it. And that, in a nutshell, is repentence: we see that it doesn't serve our connection to God and his creation, we change course.
@@offTheLeftEye Yes, just like Swedenborg I believe God will always accept a honest turning away from sin. It may take time to fully renabilitate our soul, become whole again, but the moment we reach our hand out to God, God's hand appears. And thank you for doing the good work. It's really appreciated.
@@maxchristianesteffan2321 Yes God is always ready to welcome us, and responds as we turn to Him. We are so glad that you appreciate our efforts, Max. "Wash yourself, make yourself clean, put away your evil from My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well, come now let us reason, says the Lord."
Curtis, it would be a blessing if you could provide the link to the full episode either in the description or as a pinned comment (or both) when you share these snippets. Your content is impactful and that would make it easier for us to find more of it! Thank you for all you do. Much Love 🙏🏻💕
I have passed that suggestion along, CarolinaGal. It's hard even for me, one of the moderators, to tune into the pattern of these posts, but I do believe that these snippets at the end of the week are PREVIEWS for next Monday's show. But it WOULD be helpful to be specific about that, wouldn't it!? Thanks for the love, and blessings and love to you, too!
And to be honest, I try to keep track of "snippets" from former shows vs. previews of coming shows by paying attention to what shirts they're wearing! :)
Dr. Rose's comment that we can look at a sin and think "oh that's not so bad" b/c we compare ourselves to others who, we believe, have really done heinous things, is, I think, one of the big reasons we don't understand the mess we''re in. It's like being in a maximum security prison and comforting yourself with the fact that you just, Idk, committed fraud or smthg while someone else you know of (in the cell block downstairs) is a serial killer. We compare ourselves to each other rather than to the citizens of heaven which puts a whole different slant on it. But we only know about each other and in comparison,... right? We don't realise that to the citizens of heaven we're all nascent psychopaths in comparison to them but then, theydon't compare. Good point because it inhibits real self examination I think.
Thanks for adding these good thoughts to the conversation, Sasha. Yes, we need to look squarely at ourselves and how we align with what God asks of us, not how we compare to others. I recently watched a show about hoarding, and I felt so blessed to not be in the situation of some of those hoarders, but I know I have some of those thought patterns! I'll work on THOSE! We should keep the focus on our own spiritual standing, not the standing of others.
I'm currently facing your example for healing, which I have prayed about continually. Even though I've never "gone under the knife" the Lord has led me to the hip replacement process, even though I have done much healing and have rid myself of most of the pain through holistic means. The reality is, I have to render myself to "the big guns." It's a humbling experience, and I'm so grateful for the Lord's Providence!
Been struggling with opioid addiction for ten years. Started from disc herniations which i still have. But still, im addicted to narcotics because of it. Thousands of prayers to God. Im still struggling. Even with the pain, addiction is sin
That is heartbreaking itsjustme.! I am so sorry that an injury hijacked your life this way. May you find genuine healing, if not in this life in the afterlife.
@@itsjustme8846 God loves you tenderly itsjustme, and has great mercy for the difficult struggle inherent in addiction. He sees your efforts to get sober, and is doing all He can to support your spiritual health. Fear is not your friend. Keep giving God the chance to help you change.
I really got so much out of this conversation. Some things I've had to acknowledge lately (and root out) Talking about other people in an unflattering way (whether it is 'true' or not) Fantasising about something and imagining that not acting on it means I'm ok - Not so, you're still enjoying seeing where those thoughts take you. Putting myself and my own needs first and foremost under the guise of looking after my needs/mental health. My motivation for doing good things. Is it self serving at all? Entertaining bad thoughts and tendencies, negative TV, political fighting, revenge (not realising that it's hell's influence I'm engaging with) Overeating (constant battle 😅)
Thanks for specifically naming some of the things you're working on, Anna. I think most of us can relate to most of these things! I just have to say, though, that self-care and "love of self" has a good role to play -- it just needs to be in the right place in the hierarchy, supporting one's ability to be caring toward others. I guess we all need to decide when the "first and foremost" is important, and when it needs to take second or third place. :). Blessings to you in this work!
You explianed it well. I have to say as a Catholic I have always associated repentence with confession, so there was always a religious aspect to it. I never saw it as a communication between me and God. In fact when you are in the confession box (not that I go very often) but when you are asked what your sins are, it is the first time you actually think about them and it is quite difficult to pin them down. But I do understand the idea of working on yourself to improve yourself that I have to say has been sort of lacking in any formal religious instruction I have received. The thing about the lying or the stealing, I never did any of that. The adultery (I was never married) about thinking about beautiful women, I am not sure that is a sin, although the Catholic church definetly thinks so. There is of course anger, telling my over demanding mother to sod off sometimes, but she is very demanding. Forgiving those that have transgressed against you in a major way, I find I cannot do this, as it is really not deserved. If I look at transgressions, I do find that the transgressions committed over the years to me are far far greater than those I commited towards others, so there is an imbalance there in terms of the amount of forgiveness you have to engage in, I mean I am not in the Jesus Christ category of forgiveness nor should I be. I mean he is a God and forgiveness is his thing, I am simply not made of the same material. I mean that this may be a real blockage preventing you from ever entering heaven, but that is just part of who you are. I don't think you can really change yourself fundamentally. I believe more in an eye for an eye, if God wants to forgive that is his business, but I would rather see them punished if I am being honest. How can they ever be sorry, I don't think they are sorry or think they have anything to be sorry about, so again how is forgiveness possible ?.
Thank you so much for this honest and thoughtful comment, DN. It feels like a window into your spiritual life. I am not a Catholic and sometimes almost wished I could say my regrets our loud to someone. The closest I cam was when I prayed at night with my young children, and included something I was sorry for, with them as witnesses. That was tender. Forgiveness is a powerful experience, and has several moving parts. Here is a video about it, which includes the story of a woman who was in Auschwitz, and found a way to forgive those who held her captive. The freedom for her was in letting go of the anger. th-cam.com/video/2CJ_W9lE0co/w-d-xo.html As for comparing our transgressions to those done against us, I recall the story Jesus told about Focusing on the speck in our neighbor's eyes, to the exclusion of seeing the log in our own eye. My job, every day is to look for those logs. They are there. Take care.
When we fully understand both sides of the lived experience of one of our interpersonal sins, it dissolves. One can feel it; a sort of unknotting, a releasing. The first time I felt that, I had a deep knowing that I wouldnt have to fight with myself to stop the behavior. That logically did not make sense; past is the best predictor of future, and i *knew* it didnt make any sense. So i looked into it, wondering why i believed that a behavior of mine could have just...dissolved. I never did struggle with that specific behavior again. In the follow up, I was able to find clinical articles that described the phenomenon; when a person fully recognizes one of their defense mechanisms, the brain identifies a more efficient method of the same function. As humans, we do seek to be efficient (to a fault! Lol). When we understand the damage done and how it separates us from love, for example unnecessarily othering someone, and we have another way of getting the same function done, we no longer have any desire to make the damaging choice. After i learned that was a legitimate thing that i could trust, i was able to disassemble two other mechanisms i had been ashamed of. Instead of an intense internal battle of willpower, I do not have to worry about those specific patterns anymore. Of course, I'm expecting more to come up sooner than later. 😂🤷🏻♀️ However, it is reassuring to know there is always a loving way. 😊❤
When you say in God's name, it means that you think and act in God. If you say in God's name do this for me, you act for the self using God's energy that was stolen at the time of the fall.
Yeah why can't he? Is he not all powerful? Or perhaps it's due to free will. Well God doesn't care about our free will?. We don't have it in the first place. He violates it a LOT in the Bible, like when he hardens pharaoh's heart. This God works according to his will and his plan. He abides by his will and no other and this is all in the Bible by the way, so why would he care what you want from him or what you are willing to allow him to do for you? He's going to do it anyway. If he wants to destroy your life for absolutely no reason like in the Book of Job, he will do that. If he wants to lie to you or convince you that something is a lie, he will "send lying spirits to deceive you". Why is it there is no one interpretation of God's word, and instead everyone just makes everything up? I thought God was not the author of confusion, so why is everyone so confused? Because there are s thousand different denominations and mine says that God is clearly evil due to his many hypocritical actions of sin in the book. Hownvam anyone still believe this stuff? You never thought about it? You never bothered to think " what if all this is total nonsense made up by man desperate to make up the truth about where we came from and then settled on this answer"?
Swedenborg's books are FILLED with looking with careful logic at Bible scripture and seeing what just doesn't make sense to a logical mind, and presenting an interpretation that has consistency to it. Yes, we have the freewill to decide which interpretation makes the most sense. And we have chosen this interpretation not just because somebody said it, but because we've been studying it for decades, and it makes consistent sense to us in comparision with other interpretations. We respect that you must decide for yourself what makes the most sense, and if you don't resonate with the interpretation we share here on this channel, I hope you find other interpretations that you like better!
@offTheLeftEye How do you make free will make sense given God's supreme sovereignty and ability to control any aspect of our life? The way I see it, thanks to Bible apps and A.I. being able to show me all verses side by side related to God controlling everything, we are puppets. We're toys this God plays with and he moves us and speaks for us. It says he created evil and uses it according to his plan, so ths actions of immoral sinners are his actions. The Bible says he must call us to come to him, yet he's never called me, he can intervene in our affairs and supersede our free will, which means he doesn't want me to like him or believe in him God's word is supposed to be clear and logical, and he can only do what is logically possible so sayeth the Bible, yet he confuses people in and out of the Bible. This is the stuff I look for. The things people aren't thinking about. They hear the Bible mentions God gave us free will but they don't see everything he does and how it makes no sense that not only does everything already go according to a divine plan and His will, but at any time he can change it on us like NY sending spirits to deceive people or make them have hallucinations, cause delusions, all sorts of things. I'm just wondering how you would explain this? I'm not looking to buy anyone's books. I do not support religion in any way other than giving your videos a view and bumping you up in the algorithm.
Yes it is a miracle ❤
I love OTLE!
OTLE showed up on my utube feed and introduced me to the wealth of Swedenborg which opened the door of my broken heart and life and there was this idea of a living loving God of goodness, the Divine Human.
Once that lamp is lit, it can never be sniffed out. So grateful I checked out OTLE and God bless. God is Good
Yay!!! Thank goodness for OTLE 🎉👏👏
Awww, Fiona -- Thanks for sharing that story with us! It's pretty easy NOT to click on something that shows up in your feed, so we're delighted that YOU're delighted about clicking on us! Here's to more love and healing ahead for you!
I have watched you guys for many years. and I thank you for all that you do. I can not understand why you do not have more views than you do.
Well thanks for being a loyal watcher, darryl! The numbers are in God's hands, I guess, but we're happy that so many people HAVE found hope and healing in these ideas!
You are right, it's a head scratcher why the audience isn't larger.
But, having them deliver this message in this high quality despite a audience that doesn't go into the millions makes me appreciate their effort even more.
An who knows, some people need more time to smell the coffee.
I love your graphic art for the videos as well as the interesting topics discussed.
We are so glad to hear this Carmen.
God is forever SO LOVING and GOOD to us, we just need to open our hearts and minds to Him. Thank you God!❤🙏
Yes, Chinonye! "Behold, I stand at the door and knock...."
@@offTheLeftEye If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me Rev.3:20❤️🙏
@@Chinonye-sj5it1mt5w Yes a wonderful invitation!!!
Very helpful and insightful video. Thank you.😊
You're welcome, Alex! Thanks for checking in!
The message is always spot on, but I really love to listen to the great dynamic you have with each other.
So glad you're enjoying this new format, tina. They sure have a lot of wisdom to share!
This was once again beautiful and true.
From my personal practice I know that the redeeming factor is to see what wrong was done, what concequences it had and still reverberates in our own life and the life of our fellows. When this is seen for what it is and what it causes we refrain from continuing it. And that, in a nutshell, is repentence: we see that it doesn't serve our connection to God and his creation, we change course.
That is a concise description of repentance, Max. See what hurts others and our relationship with God, and change our course.
@@offTheLeftEye Yes, just like Swedenborg I believe God will always accept a honest turning away from sin. It may take time to fully renabilitate our soul, become whole again, but the moment we reach our hand out to God, God's hand appears.
And thank you for doing the good work. It's really appreciated.
@@maxchristianesteffan2321 Yes God is always ready to welcome us, and responds as we turn to Him. We are so glad that you appreciate our efforts, Max. "Wash yourself, make yourself clean, put away your evil from My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well, come now let us reason, says the Lord."
@@offTheLeftEye Thank you! And for a continous effort of ever finer discernment of what is good and true. 🙏🏻
@@maxchristianesteffan2321 WE are glad to have you in this effort to explore what is good and true.
Thank you....good show!
Thanks, Pamela! Glad it struck you as useful!
It is a miracle ❤
Thank you, Lord.
Amen to all of this! Fasting time coming up! ;)
Another chance to help God help yourself, hglat! Just like every day! :)
Curtis, it would be a blessing if you could provide the link to the full episode either in the description or as a pinned comment (or both) when you share these snippets. Your content is impactful and that would make it easier for us to find more of it! Thank you for all you do.
Much Love 🙏🏻💕
I have passed that suggestion along, CarolinaGal. It's hard even for me, one of the moderators, to tune into the pattern of these posts, but I do believe that these snippets at the end of the week are PREVIEWS for next Monday's show. But it WOULD be helpful to be specific about that, wouldn't it!?
Thanks for the love, and blessings and love to you, too!
@offTheLeftEye Ohhhhh, even better, then! I thought I'd missed something but now I'm looking forward to watching something new! Thank you so much! 🙏🏻💕
@@aCarolinaGal Yes they are to make us curious for what is about to come. It makes me curious too.
And to be honest, I try to keep track of "snippets" from former shows vs. previews of coming shows by paying attention to what shirts they're wearing! :)
Thanks
So kind of you, again, fionalee! Thank you!
Dr. Rose's comment that we can look at a sin and think "oh that's not so bad" b/c we compare ourselves to others who, we believe, have really done heinous things, is, I think, one of the big reasons we don't understand the mess we''re in. It's like being in a maximum security prison and comforting yourself with the fact that you just, Idk, committed fraud or smthg while someone else you know of (in the cell block downstairs) is a serial killer. We compare ourselves to each other rather than to the citizens of heaven which puts a whole different slant on it. But we only know about each other and in comparison,... right? We don't realise that to the citizens of heaven we're all nascent psychopaths in comparison to them but then, theydon't compare. Good point because it inhibits real self examination I think.
Thanks for adding these good thoughts to the conversation, Sasha. Yes, we need to look squarely at ourselves and how we align with what God asks of us, not how we compare to others. I recently watched a show about hoarding, and I felt so blessed to not be in the situation of some of those hoarders, but I know I have some of those thought patterns! I'll work on THOSE! We should keep the focus on our own spiritual standing, not the standing of others.
I'm currently facing your example for healing, which I have prayed about continually. Even though I've never "gone under the knife" the Lord has led me to the hip replacement process, even though I have done much healing and have rid myself of most of the pain through holistic means. The reality is, I have to render myself to "the big guns." It's a humbling experience, and I'm so grateful for the Lord's Providence!
Blessings to you as you undergo a new experience, 4theLord! "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works!"
Good program!
Glad you got something worthwhile out of it, Donna!
Well done, and very helpful.
So glad this worked for you, mike, and actually feels helpful!
Been struggling with opioid addiction for ten years. Started from disc herniations which i still have.
But still, im addicted to narcotics because of it. Thousands of prayers to God. Im still struggling. Even with the pain, addiction is sin
That is heartbreaking itsjustme.! I am so sorry that an injury hijacked your life this way. May you find genuine healing, if not in this life in the afterlife.
@offTheLeftEye if I make it to heaven that is. I'm afraid
@@itsjustme8846 God loves you tenderly itsjustme, and has great mercy for the difficult struggle inherent in addiction. He sees your efforts to get sober, and is doing all He can to support your spiritual health. Fear is not your friend. Keep giving God the chance to help you change.
👍🤣great channel. Great chemistry.GOD BLESS.
Thank you, GeoMail -- and blessings to you, too!
I really got so much out of this conversation.
Some things I've had to acknowledge lately (and root out)
Talking about other people in an unflattering way (whether it is 'true' or not)
Fantasising about something and imagining that not acting on it means I'm ok - Not so, you're still enjoying seeing where those thoughts take you.
Putting myself and my own needs first and foremost under the guise of looking after my needs/mental health.
My motivation for doing good things. Is it self serving at all?
Entertaining bad thoughts and tendencies, negative TV, political fighting, revenge (not realising that it's hell's influence I'm engaging with)
Overeating (constant battle 😅)
Thanks for specifically naming some of the things you're working on, Anna. I think most of us can relate to most of these things! I just have to say, though, that self-care and "love of self" has a good role to play -- it just needs to be in the right place in the hierarchy, supporting one's ability to be caring toward others. I guess we all need to decide when the "first and foremost" is important, and when it needs to take second or third place. :). Blessings to you in this work!
@offTheLeftEye yes its a bit of a fine line to walk isn't it ❤️
You explianed it well. I have to say as a Catholic I have always associated repentence with confession, so there was always a religious aspect to it. I never saw it as a communication between me and God. In fact when you are in the confession box (not that I go very often) but when you are asked what your sins are, it is the first time you actually think about them and it is quite difficult to pin them down. But I do understand the idea of working on yourself to improve yourself that I have to say has been sort of lacking in any formal religious instruction I have received. The thing about the lying or the stealing, I never did any of that. The adultery (I was never married) about thinking about beautiful women, I am not sure that is a sin, although the Catholic church definetly thinks so. There is of course anger, telling my over demanding mother to sod off sometimes, but she is very demanding. Forgiving those that have transgressed against you in a major way, I find I cannot do this, as it is really not deserved. If I look at transgressions, I do find that the transgressions committed over the years to me are far far greater than those I commited towards others, so there is an imbalance there in terms of the amount of forgiveness you have to engage in, I mean I am not in the Jesus Christ category of forgiveness nor should I be. I mean he is a God and forgiveness is his thing, I am simply not made of the same material. I mean that this may be a real blockage preventing you from ever entering heaven, but that is just part of who you are. I don't think you can really change yourself fundamentally. I believe more in an eye for an eye, if God wants to forgive that is his business, but I would rather see them punished if I am being honest. How can they ever be sorry, I don't think they are sorry or think they have anything to be sorry about, so again how is forgiveness possible ?.
Thank you so much for this honest and thoughtful comment, DN. It feels like a window into your spiritual life. I am not a Catholic and sometimes almost wished I could say my regrets our loud to someone. The closest I cam was when I prayed at night with my young children, and included something I was sorry for, with them as witnesses. That was tender. Forgiveness is a powerful experience, and has several moving parts. Here is a video about it, which includes the story of a woman who was in Auschwitz, and found a way to forgive those who held her captive. The freedom for her was in letting go of the anger. th-cam.com/video/2CJ_W9lE0co/w-d-xo.html
As for comparing our transgressions to those done against us, I recall the story Jesus told about Focusing on the speck in our neighbor's eyes, to the exclusion of seeing the log in our own eye. My job, every day is to look for those logs. They are there. Take care.
If the Lord is not about absolute love, then who is He?
Yes, God is love, FAPP! Was there a point in this video that prompted that question?
When we fully understand both sides of the lived experience of one of our interpersonal sins, it dissolves. One can feel it; a sort of unknotting, a releasing.
The first time I felt that, I had a deep knowing that I wouldnt have to fight with myself to stop the behavior. That logically did not make sense; past is the best predictor of future, and i *knew* it didnt make any sense.
So i looked into it, wondering why i believed that a behavior of mine could have just...dissolved. I never did struggle with that specific behavior again.
In the follow up, I was able to find clinical articles that described the phenomenon; when a person fully recognizes one of their defense mechanisms, the brain identifies a more efficient method of the same function. As humans, we do seek to be efficient (to a fault! Lol). When we understand the damage done and how it separates us from love, for example unnecessarily othering someone, and we have another way of getting the same function done, we no longer have any desire to make the damaging choice.
After i learned that was a legitimate thing that i could trust, i was able to disassemble two other mechanisms i had been ashamed of. Instead of an intense internal battle of willpower, I do not have to worry about those specific patterns anymore. Of course, I'm expecting more to come up sooner than later. 😂🤷🏻♀️ However, it is reassuring to know there is always a loving way. 😊❤
Such a fascinating process, Paige. Thanks for describing it to us so we can think about it in our own lives.
When you say in God's name, it means that you think and act in God.
If you say in God's name do this for me, you act for the self using God's energy that was stolen at the time of the fall.
Interesting, Mark. May God's energy help us all.
But, all the neat deathers have said you are not judged.
Yes we are not judged, Ketherwhale. We get the opportunity to see how our choices have impacted others, and be accountable for that.
Yeah why can't he? Is he not all powerful? Or perhaps it's due to free will. Well God doesn't care about our free will?. We don't have it in the first place. He violates it a LOT in the Bible, like when he hardens pharaoh's heart. This God works according to his will and his plan. He abides by his will and no other and this is all in the Bible by the way, so why would he care what you want from him or what you are willing to allow him to do for you? He's going to do it anyway. If he wants to destroy your life for absolutely no reason like in the Book of Job, he will do that. If he wants to lie to you or convince you that something is a lie, he will "send lying spirits to deceive you". Why is it there is no one interpretation of God's word, and instead everyone just makes everything up? I thought God was not the author of confusion, so why is everyone so confused? Because there are s thousand different denominations and mine says that God is clearly evil due to his many hypocritical actions of sin in the book. Hownvam anyone still believe this stuff? You never thought about it? You never bothered to think " what if all this is total nonsense made up by man desperate to make up the truth about where we came from and then settled on this answer"?
Swedenborg's books are FILLED with looking with careful logic at Bible scripture and seeing what just doesn't make sense to a logical mind, and presenting an interpretation that has consistency to it. Yes, we have the freewill to decide which interpretation makes the most sense. And we have chosen this interpretation not just because somebody said it, but because we've been studying it for decades, and it makes consistent sense to us in comparision with other interpretations. We respect that you must decide for yourself what makes the most sense, and if you don't resonate with the interpretation we share here on this channel, I hope you find other interpretations that you like better!
@offTheLeftEye How do you make free will make sense given God's supreme sovereignty and ability to control any aspect of our life? The way I see it, thanks to Bible apps and A.I. being able to show me all verses side by side related to God controlling everything, we are puppets. We're toys this God plays with and he moves us and speaks for us. It says he created evil and uses it according to his plan, so ths actions of immoral sinners are his actions. The Bible says he must call us to come to him, yet he's never called me, he can intervene in our affairs and supersede our free will, which means he doesn't want me to like him or believe in him
God's word is supposed to be clear and logical, and he can only do what is logically possible so sayeth the Bible, yet he confuses people in and out of the Bible.
This is the stuff I look for. The things people aren't thinking about. They hear the Bible mentions God gave us free will but they don't see everything he does and how it makes no sense that not only does everything already go according to a divine plan and His will, but at any time he can change it on us like NY sending spirits to deceive people or make them have hallucinations, cause delusions, all sorts of things. I'm just wondering how you would explain this? I'm not looking to buy anyone's books. I do not support religion in any way other than giving your videos a view and bumping you up in the algorithm.