"Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept.[1] In the context of religion, faith is "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".[2] According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, including "something that is believed especially with strong conviction", "complete trust", "belief and trust in and loyalty to God", as well as "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof".[3]
"Selah" - to aid contemplation (of a prayer), "to be sure"
"put in my oar" is an expression conveying "giving assistance"
Fred Roger's said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
it may be helpful to be aware of various ways of being communicated with
we have five common senses:
it is via these senses and our noetic or psychic correlates to them (similar, bodily-independent perceptions of mind)
... that we may be communicated with (by those disembodied even)
1. clairvoyance - unusual perception of visions, appearances
"blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see [of] God" Matthew 5
2. claircognizance - unusually clear thinking, possibly because of our receptivity to better, greater thinking
"you will know them by their fruits" Matthew 7:15-20
I share this verse because a gratifying feeling alone is not enough to convince me that a communication is good (satisfying or relieving, logical, helpful)
gifts from peace-making people are by definition ongoingly "fruitful" (Genesis 1:28)
for example, eating an orange from a good farmer nourishes us, supporting our ability to do our best work
this in turn would eventually benefit them in a virtuous cycle
"faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1
even though we may not see positive results immediately from being compassionate towards someone, we can have faith that the seeds we plant will eventually grow
this is a logical implication of Matthew, chapter 7 verse 12. "the Golden Rule": "to do for others as we yearn that others do for us"
we should judge a book only by its cover
similarly, we should remain appropriately humble towards others, non-assumptive, as anyone could surprise us in a good way eventually
I asked a therapist (and friend) named Alex what he thought I should know about Catholicism
he said there's a Catholic saying, "humility is the mother of all virtues"
I concur; genuine faith or trust in others is because we are both proud and humble:
proud of and sure about what we can do together based upon what was done together and an understanding of our common capabilities
humble about what we cannot or should not (yet) do based upon understanding and experience (as may include knowledge of limitations, constraints and awareness of failures)
more faith bolstering virtues are mentioned in 1st Corinthians:
"love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud nor rude love isn't selfish nor quick tempered
it doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do love rejoices in the truth, and not in evil
love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting love never fails!"
1st Corinthians 13:4-8
“and now these three remain: faith, hope and love but the
greatest of these is love”
1 Corinthians 13:13
for more upon the topic of love you're welcome to read this post too:
“the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone
took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and
becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make
nests in its branches”
Matthew 13:31-32
we can benefit each other, even endlessly much, with but a little
trust, a little faith to start
speaking of which, these are three worldwide, faith-based
communities that I can vouch for based upon direct experience
with each (Ananda, Heartfulness and Isha):
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi of Ananda, Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda's spiritual successors to the left and some Ananda members to the right
