Quote Originally Posted by thegnome54
Okay, seriously people, stop making nonsense up. "Someone told me" is not an excuse to say baseless things. I apologize if this seems overly aggressive of me, but I really hate it when people start talking about "energies".
yes, it's nonsense because you don't agree with it. ignorance.
this is a conversation, in conversations people draw from their life experiences. these experiences include among other things, things they have heard in other conversations. im not here to write you a fucking thesis, dude. my posts aren't going to include foot-notes and references.
and the "or so I hear" was meant to imply I'm not sure about it. I apologize for not using a cutesy little emoticon like the *eye roll* to properly express that. i thought the ellipsis was enough.

and yeah, "energies" sounds like some new-agey bullshit. but everything is energy. thoughts, feelings, solid objects, the whole nine. everything is energy.

Quote Originally Posted by thegnome54
Sure, but you need other people to actually receive this love. If you throw a brick up in the air above your head and love it like mad as it falls down towards your face, it won't hurt any less. Love only begets love from other sentient beings who register it. Isn't this common sense?
there are six billion people walking this earth. thats plenty of people to receive this love. If you do something nice for someone, for no benefit to yourself, you have no idea what that will create. maybe nothing, but maybe the person you helped is more inclined to help someone els down the line. maybe you simply helped them out on a rough day, which is nothing to scoff at. it's like that movie "pay it forward" with Helen Hunt. there's truth in the concept.

you're brick analogy is fucking pointless. you'd have to be a moron to toss a brick into the air and stand beneath it. but loving the people around you, and even those who aren't around you, is not a moronic act. i honestly don't see how that brick statement even fits in with anything said.

Quote Originally Posted by thegnome54
That's a very interesting story, but do you have any idea how many thousands of children die from hunger in third world countries every day? Many of them pray extensively, to no avail. How can you explain this?
age old question. if I had the answer i'd probably write a book.
i do have a guess however...

the guy who gave my fam a pizza when I was young, was doing something generous. if I lived in a country where nobody had money to eat, we probably wouldn't have had that meal that night, as nobody would have had it to give. Im sure there are acts of generosity in third world countries that keep some of those kids from starving to death.
However, the hunger there is on a larger scale, and therefore needs generosity on a larger scale. thats not happening. the industrialized countries aren't giving to these people. if everyone in America and the UK started donating money to relief funds, maybe more prayers would be answered. but we dont. we buy big screen TVs instead. maybe instead of waiting for god to step in, we need to save ourselves. maybe we won't see heaven until we build it right here.

Experience comes thru giving. someone may be in love with you, but you don't experience love unless you love them, unless you give them your love.
same with compassion, and on down the line.
If people were really living selflessly...the only way we'll survive the mess were headed into..we wouldn't buy that TV, we'd buy an ambulance for a third world country. which you can do for a mere $500 by the way. much cheaper than a big screen TV.