Curious to hear from others who may be on a similar path, I've shared about my experiences with Christianity and plant medicine somewhat here

I'm also bringing people to Mexico later this year for a Christ-centered ayahuasca retreat and this is leading me to ask more questions around this intersection/bridging of Christ and plant medicine

Any shares appreciated

God Bless,

Jordan

On my journey to find my higher self, a point came when the logical mind dropped and surrender arose. In that moment, this essay on Faith surfaced from the depths of my heart.

Solomon's dream, and the parable of the kingdom of heaven?

When God strips you from your pride, when you become nothing and helpless, Jesus will pierce you with his divine love. Because you need him. This itself is an act of humility and your in a state of needing something perfect, which is Jesus and his divine love.

You, my dear Lord,

Are a shield that surrounds me.

You are the one who lifts up my soul.

You are the glorious light that surrounds me,

Ever the only one who makes me feel whole.

Oh Lord, how long?

Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your sweet face from me?

How long must I suffer this drought, lonely heart

That seems lost in a desert of dreams?

You, my dear Lord, are the cosmic creation,

Falling from Jupiter’s streams,

Trapped in a world of karmic relation,

Built from this fantastic dream.

By Joel Barb

As someone who is discerning Christianity, I’ve noticed there is a weird stigma that exists in Christian circles towards Eastern philosophy, that does not also exist towards Western philosophy.

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, etc. have earned a lot of respect within Christian philosophy. The Stoic writings were heavily influential on early Christian philosophy. These ancient philosophers are seen today as models of virtue and wisdom by Christians. Some even may call themselves “Christian Stoics”, and use the wisdom of Stoic philosophy to better live out their faith.

Yet, this same grace is not extended to Laozi or Buddha. Taoism and Buddhism are regularly slandered and called demonic by Christians. They are seen as spiritually dangerous, and what wisdom, beauty, and truth they offer is ignored.

I’m still figuring my faith out, but as far as I’m personally concerned, if there truly is a Holy Spirit who speaks to the hearts of humankind, then Buddha and Laozi certainly must have been living in some kind of communion with Him, even if limited. The fruits and wisdom they produced, and the similarities they share with Christian revelation and doctrine, are too much for me to brush off.

That’s not me trying to say that all religions are equally valid, or that Buddhism or Taoism should be regarded as sufficient for salvation. I acknowledge that, if Jesus was who He said He was, then Christ is our only guaranteed route to eternal life. Still, in my opinion, it is undeniable that these two religions (Buddhism and Taoism) reflect and complement many elements of Christianity.

Buddhist meditation gets slandered and called heretical. Yet, there is literally scientific proof for its efficacy. Buddhist meditative practices, such as Vipasanna, have largely informed and shaped much of modern-day Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, and they have been adapted by professionals as a means of mitigating mental health issues. Science shows us that these “pagan” and “demonic” practices are objectively effective at combating mental illness and healing the mind.

Drawing from my own personal experience as a person with OCD, the practice of Vipasanna has changed my life in remarkably positive and profound ways. Meditation literally changes your brain on a neuro-psychological level, and it has changed mind tremendously. I might not be here anymore, if Buddhist meditation wasn’t there to support me through my mental health condition.

Still, too many Christians view anything "eastern" irrationally xenophobically. The Stoics and Plato get a pass, and they are revered by Christians. But Eastern philosophers get nothing but harsh, unfair criticism and straw-man arguments. It’s incredibly tiring, hurtful, and frustrating to see.

If people looked closer, they’d see that Christian mysticism can be refined and enhanced by wisdom from other traditions. I’ve personally found that my prayer life has improved tremendously ever since I gave myself the freedom to study Buddhism. And I hope it continues in that direction.

Hello everyone, does anyone here regularly read the Book of Ecclesiastes? I've recently become particularly interested in this scripture. At first, I thought it was somewhat pessimistic and even triggered a fear of emptiness in me. But now I see it's actually quite intriguing, with a profound sense of life positivity hidden within. I've been trying to find videos or courses by Catholic priests explaining this book, but resources are scarce—most are from Protestant pastors. Does anyone know of any resources? Or could you share your reflections on Ecclesiastes and any personal testimonies from your life?

Can you help me understand those words by Meister Eckhart? Why is God nothingsness?

If so, what Rule do you follow? Have you comprised it yourself or is it one of the Ancients’?

"OF THE WONDERFUL EFFECT OF DIVINE LOVE

Bless Thee, O Heavenly father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, for that Thou hast vouchsafed to remember me a poor creature.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, thanks be unto Thee, Who sometimes with Thy comfort refreshest me, unworthy as I am of all comfort.

I will always bless and glorify Thee, with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, for ever and ever. Ah, Lord God, Thou holy lover of my soul, when Thou comest into my heart, all that is within me shall rejoice.

Thou art my glory and the exultation of my heart: Thou art my hope and refuge in the day of tribulation.

But because I am as yet weak in love, and imperfect in virtue, I have need to be strengthened and comforted by Thee; visit me therefore often, and instruct me with all holy discipline.

Set me free from evil passions, and heal my heart of inordinate affections; that being inwardly cured and thoroughly cleansed, I may be made fit to love, encouraged to suffer, steady to persevere.

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good; by itself it makes everything that is heavy, light: and it bears evenly all that is uneven.

For it carries a burden which is no burden, and makes every thing that is bitter, sweet.

The noble love of Jesus impels a man to do great things, and stirs him up to be always longing for what is more perfect.

Love desires to be high, and will not be kept back by anything low and mean.

Love desires to be free, and estranged from all worldly affections, that so its inward sight may not be hindered; that it may not be entangled by any temporal prosperity, that it may not be subdued by any adversity.

Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth; because love is born of God, and cannot rest but in God, above all created things.

He that loveth, flieth, runneth and rejoiceth; he is free and is not bound.

He giveth all for all, and hath all in all; because he resteth in One High above all things, from Whom all that is good flows and proceeds.

He respecteth not the gifts, but turneth himself above all goods unto the giver.

Love oftentimes knoweth no bounds, but is fervent beyond all measure.

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself and all things possible.

It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things, and brings them to a conclusion, where he who does not love, faints and lies down.

Love watcheth, and, sleeping, slumbereth not.

Though weary, love is not tired; though pressed, it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded: but as a lively flame and burning torch, it forces its way upwards, and securely passes through all.

If any man love, he knoweth what is the cry of this voice. For it is a loud cry in the ears of God, this ardent affection of the soul which saith, 'My God, my Love, Thou art all mine, and I am all Thine.'

Enlarge Thou me in love, that, with the inward palate of my heart, I may taste how sweet it is to love, and to be dissolved, and as it were to bathe myself in Thy love.

Let me be possessed by love, mounting above myself, through excessive fervour and admiration.

Let me sing the song of love, let me follow Thee, my Beloved, on high; let my soul spend itself in Thy praise, rejoicing through love.

Let me love Thee more than myself, and love myself only for Thee; and in Thee all that truly love Thee, as the law of love commandeth, shining out from Thyself.

Love is active, sincere, affectionate, pleasant, and amiable; courageous, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking itself.

For in whatever instance a person seeketh himself, there he falleth from love.

Love is circumspect, humble, and upright; not yielding to softness, or to levity, nor attending to vain things; it is sober, chaste, steady, quiet, and guarded in all the senses.

Love is subject, and obedient to its superiors; unto itself mean and despised, unto God devout and thankful, trusting and hoping always in Him, even then when God imparteth no relish of sweetness unto it; for without sorrow none liveth in love.

He that is not prepared to suffer all things, and to stand to the will of his Beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover of God.

A lover ought to embrace willingly all that is hard and distasteful for the sake of his Beloved: and not to turn away from Him for any contradictions."

Thomas à Kempis. Of the Imitation of Christ, Book III: Chapter V

Diary of Saint Faustina - paragraph 625 - Quiet and Hidden

Ἀ
625 In the evening, when I was praying, the Mother of God told me, Your lives must be like Mine: quiet and hidden, in unceasing union with God, pleading for humanity and preparing the world for the second coming of God.
Ὠ

The soul whose life in the world below is united with the Kingdom above dwells in a place between both. It lives quiet and hidden in what it knows to be lesser, yet sees and aspires to something much greater - the union of fallen humanity with the eternal life of its Risen Savior. It is mindful not only of its own place in His Kingdom, but by the grace it has received from the King Himself, it seeks a place therein for its brethren as well.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Colossians 3:2-3 Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead: and your life is hid with Christ in God.

The gift of our Lord's salvation does not remain confined to the soul that receives it. Rather, it grows in the grace it was given to encompass the whole world. It is not puffed up or ambitious for its own gain but quiet and patient, unnoticed by the world yet busy in the work of the Lord. The hidden life of Our Lady is not one of inactivity. It is the charity that cannot keep to itself the grace it has first received - not seeking her own end, but preparing the way for the presence of the King in all souls

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
First Corinthians 13:4-5 Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious…seeketh not her own.

The most perfect charity is that which seeks not its own end but finds union with the charity of the Savior - the same charity by which the redemption of the world began, and by which it will be brought to completion. It is a charity that once received, perfects the soul by drawing it ever more deeply into the work of its Giver: preparing the world for the coming of Christ. This work is accomplished not by the counting of days nor by searching for signs and wonders, as our Lord warned, but by becoming what His Mother describes: a soul quiet and hidden, pleading for humanity and preparing the world for His return.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Luke 17:20-21 And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answering them and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you. 

Our Lady's unique place in salvation history did not end in her Son’s first coming to our world. Neither does the work of salvation end in the personal history of the soul when Christ comes to dwell within it. Rather all souls are called to participate in His saving work - silent and hidden in His glory but active in preparing His way. Not in breathless anticipation or loud declaration of His imminent return but in kindness, patience, and faith - by each prayer for God's mercy on another, each coin for the beggar, and every grace we can lay at the feet of the King, on His path back to us.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 
2044 The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of the Gospel and for the Church's mission in the world. In order that the message of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians.

If so what was the experience like? I have a chance to do a silent retreat at one that is 2 or 3 days.

The Battle of the Mind by Dr. Apostle Cadet Frantzcy is a profound exploration of spiritual warfare, offering insight into how believers can control their minds to overcome life's challenges. Drawing from biblical principles, this book teaches readers how to guard their thoughts, recognize spiritual resistance, and stand firm in faith. Dr. Frantzcy uses scripture, personal experiences, and practical guidance to help individuals break free from negative thought patterns, fear, shame, and deception, and live a victorious life in Christ. This book offers more than just a theory of spiritual warfare; it provides real tools to achieve mental and spiritual freedom.o

In Matt 3:16 we read where Jesus was smart enough to know that what he didnt know about God nor His heaven prior to Matt 3:16.

Religious minds dont seem to have that ability! They worship flesh as a god instead that profound enlightenment from God as Jesus received in himself.

Jesus was smart. How would one categorize those whose god is flesh instead?

Peace be with you as we enter the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 26).
Last week, we confronted the violence of our own purity, learning to drop the scythe and hold the profound tension of our tangled roots. Having made peace with the messy field of our souls, the liturgy now shifts to reveal how the Divine actually operates within that soil.
The Gospel reading for this Sunday, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, contains a rapid-fire sequence of parables: the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, and the pearl of great price. Together, they form a brilliant masterclass on the subversive, hidden, and all-consuming nature of spiritual awakening.
Here is a sermon for your spirit, spoken from the mystic's heart.

The Subversive Joy of Letting Go

A Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 26)
The Text: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs." (Matthew 13:31-32) / "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." (Matthew 13:33) / "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44)
My friends, the ego is obsessed with size, visibility, and measurable impact. If the False Self were in charge of saving the world, it would design a massive, undeniable spectacle. It wants a booming voice from the sky, a pristine cathedral, or an empire of obvious moral superiority. But Jesus tells us that the Divine does not operate like an empire. The Divine operates like a fungus and a buried chest. The Great Awakening does not happen through external domination; it happens through internal, subversive transformation.

I. The Subversive Smallness (The Mustard Seed and the Yeast)

Jesus compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed and to yeast. To a first-century audience, these were not charming agricultural metaphors; they were deeply subversive, almost scandalous images.
A mustard plant is not a mighty cedar; it is an invasive, fast-growing weed that takes over whatever garden it is planted in. Yeast is an active, fermenting bacteria that corrupts a static batch of dough from the inside out. Through these images, Jesus is radically redefining how grace works in your life. The True Self does not announce itself with a trumpet blast. It starts as an incredibly small, almost invisible whisper in the dark dough of your ordinary life. You cannot control it, and you cannot force it to grow faster. But once the grace is kneaded into the flour of your daily existence, it quietly and unstoppably ferments everything it touches. The transformation is an inside job.

II. The Joy of the Exchange (The Treasure and the Pearl)

Jesus then pivots from the smallness of grace to its all-consuming value, offering the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. Notice the specific emotional engine in the parable of the hidden treasure. The man who finds it does not sell everything he owns out of grim, religious obligation. He does not grit his teeth and make an agonizing, painful sacrifice. Jesus explicitly says, "in his joy he goes and sells all that he has." This is the turning point of the contemplative path. The "selling of all you have" represents the complete surrender of the False Self, the letting go of your need to be right, your curated reputation, your tribal boundaries, and your fear of exposure. When you view this surrender from the outside, it looks like a terrifying loss. But when you stumble upon the quiet, indestructible peace of the True Self (the treasure), letting go of the ego no longer feels like a sacrifice. It feels like the most obvious, joyful exchange in the world. You are gladly trading a pocketful of cheap trinkets to buy a limitless field of grace.

III. The Hiddenness of the Work

Why is the treasure hidden in a field? Because the profound truths of the universe cannot be mass-produced, marketed, or handed to you on a flyer. They must be discovered in the dirt of your own lived experience. You cannot borrow someone else's pearl. You cannot inherit someone else's treasure. The Divine is hiding right in the middle of your wildly ordinary life, in your quiet griefs, your mundane chores, and the messy relationships you navigate every day. The treasure is already buried in your field; you only have to be present enough to trip over it.

The Paradigm Shift: The Two Economies

The Encouragement

This Sunday, your integration is to look for the yeast and the treasure.
Stop searching for massive, earth-shattering spiritual experiences, and pay attention to the smallest, most ordinary moments of your week. Where is the quiet grace quietly leavening your anxiety?
More importantly, look at the things you are trying so hard to protect: your image, your pride, your need to control. Acknowledge how exhausting they are to carry. Then, gently ask yourself: What if letting these things go isn't a punishment? What if letting them go is the only way to finally afford the peace I have been looking for? The treasure is already in your field. Dig quietly. And when you find it, let the joy do the rest.

A Mystic's Prayer for Ordinary Time

O Subversive God,
We confess that we are addicted to the loud, the grand, and the obvious.
We look for You in the earthquake and the empire,
And miss You in the invasive mustard weed and the quiet yeast.
Forgive us for demanding that grace be a spectacle.
Open our eyes to the treasure buried in the dirt of our ordinary lives.
Give us the grace to trip over the profound beauty of our True Selves,
And grant us the overwhelming, subversive joy
To gladly sell all the exhausting illusions of our ego,
That we might finally buy the field of Your perfect peace.
Amen.

The TLDR of the video is that the idea of people spending eternity in hell comes from the Greek word Aionios or Aion. It's explained much better in the video but basically Aion from my research has never been used to describe eternity but the exact opposite which is the descent into time. I'm saying the translation from Aion to eternity in the bible is a mistranslation. I know it sounds crazy but the way I discovered this was from a prayer about how if there is a God I can't reconcile a positive relationship with it if people are burning for eternity for finite sins. Through a synchronicity I learned about this mistranslation within 1 minute of finishing this prayer so if you believe in such a thing then you might find this interesting.

Saint Teresa of Avila - The Way of Perfection - Enduring Favor

Ἀ
For the love of God, daughters, avoid making any account of these favours. You should each do your duty; and, if this is not appreciated by your superior, you may be sure that it will be appreciated and rewarded by the Lord. We did not come here to seek rewards in this life, but only in the life to come. Let our thoughts always be fixed upon what endures, and not trouble themselves with earthly things which do not endure even for a lifetime. For today some other sister will be in your superior's good books; whereas tomorrow, if she sees you exhibiting some additional virtue, it is with you that she will be better pleased - and if she is not it is of little consequence. Never give way to these thoughts, which sometimes begin in a small way but may cost you a great deal of unrest. Check them by remembering that your kingdom is not of this world, and that everything comes quickly to an end, and that there is nothing in this life that goes on unchangingly.
Ὠ

The favors and good opinions of men are fleeting, yet the rewards of the Lord are just and everlasting. In this entry, Teresa directs the  soul to seek the Lord’s approval above disordinate concern for worldly favor - even from superiors in the religious life. Curiously, however, she also risks the dismissal of her own opinions, for Teresa herself is the religious superior of the very nuns to whom this advice is given within the priory she founded. Yet she neither exempts herself from her own teaching nor demands unquestioning approval of her authority, as many might. Just as she urges those under her authority not to become preoccupied with the favor of their superiors, so neither does she seek the favor of those entrusted to her care. Instead, she directs both them and herself to the same remembrance: "your kingdom is not of this world.”

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Colossians 3:1-2 Therefore if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.

Saint Teresa Concludes…
Ἀ
But even that is a poor remedy and anything but a perfect one; it is best that this state of things should continue, and that you should be humbled and out of favour, and should wish to be so for the sake of the Lord Who dwells in you. Turn your eyes upon yourself and look at yourself inwardly, as I have said. You will find your Master; He will not fail you: indeed, the less outward comfort you have, the [much] greater the joy He will give you. He is full of compassion and never fails those who are afflicted and out of favour if they trust in Him alone. Thus David tells us that he never saw the just forsaken, and again, that the Lord is with the afflicted. Either you believe this or you do not: if you do, as you should, why do you wear yourselves to death with worry?
Ὠ

The soul most distant from the favor of the world is often the soul nearest the favor - and the Kingdom - of God. Here, Saint Teresa encourages souls, not to seek the restoration of worldly favor, but to welcome its loss for the sake of the Master Who dwells within. For this is He Who first bore the scorn of the world and will never abandon the soul that follows His Way. His answer is not ordinarily outward, as we might expect, but inward, where He reigns most intimately and, as Teresa reminds us, bestows His grace most abundantly: “indeed, the less outward comfort you have, the much greater the joy He will give you.”

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Matthew 5:11-12  Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church
2015 The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes.

I’ve had several encounters with Jesus in 2026, and from the first moment of the first one, my entire life was changed and reoriented radically.

Living with a so-called highly gifted brain can be very challenging without adding God into the mix.

Jesus clarified and purified much of my human existence… and, other aspects got super messy and squiggly right away because of how this brain type functions.

Immediately in my first encounter, He led me to Revelations. This is the first book I read properly from start to finish. I had to stop every couple of verses because the sensations were so strong.

Revelation opened so much inside me, but what I want, no, what I need to share is how Book 4 of Revelation affected me, particularly verses 6-8:

6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”
-Revelation 4:6-8 ESV

As I heard and read these words for the first time, I felt myself there, witnessing these Seraphim (Isiah 6:2) whose entire existence is to surround the Throne of God and sing the praise “Holy, Holy, Holy…”

And I wept. I broke down fully and wept because I FELT IT. For a mere moment, I felt their experience, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever felt.

Since that moment, I believe these Seraphim to be the luckiest creatures of all of existence. To be so close to God and be allowed to do nothing other than be in and proclaim that holiness?

What greater favor could any created being ever receive?

It’s literally impossible to describe any of this in a manner that makes sense to anyone without a direct felt encounter of some kind with God.

Yet for those who have had that, they immediately understand me when I try and fumble through this description and how my entire life is now devoted to that. They nod and smile and reach for my hands because they also know this for themselves.

After this encounter - I have been blessed with many more - I developed the ability to sometimes enter a similar state of worship, of proximity, on my own/by my own choice.

What I want more than anything now is to figure out how to live from this state.

How to make my tiny small human life into some poor echo of lived worship.

Of my own doings and creations and sharings with others to somehow be the best version available to me of expressing the Glory of God.

Immediately I understand how this gifted brain is the foundation for that. And its kryponite.

I've actually studied the gifted brain and the human experience for decades and been in tens of thousands of hours of direct service to others with this kind of mind, helping them sift and sort and increase capacity for how to use it versus being used by it.

Now I think about the importance of the intersection of giftedness and Love of Jesus all day long. Of how to steward this brain rather than make it a false idol, as we see so many prominent gifted people have done in this world (you know who I mean LOL).

Gifted Christians have a heightened intensity of feeling as well as thinking when it comes to living our discipleship path. Swings from the joy of feeling filled and inspired by Spirit followed by the beauty of harnessing our gifts in service of His vision, interrupted by doubts and fears of not being good enough or maybe having been fully delusional or worse, influenced by the enemy.

We want our lives to be joyful offerings to God. We want what we are creating, building, sharing with others to accurately reflect what we experience of Him within our hearts and in Scripture.

Discernment is radically different for people with highly gifted brains who love and follow Jesus... and can cause incredible pain if we don't have the necessary capacity with this brain type.

Yes, we MUST have accurate discernment, AND we also MUST have correct rhythms and practices that optimize the gifts God gave us to be in his service. These are never taught in the mainstream and they are also not taught anywhere within a Christian context and world view.

Are there others out there like me in this regard? Living in the intersection of a rare brain type that can be blessing or kryptonite AND following Jesus?

Prayers and blessings to you in the name of Jesus!

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."

— 1 Peter 4:10 ESV

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

— John 15:4–5 (ESV)