Is speaking in tongues

[Why Syzygy]

absolutely only a "holy spirit" thing? Or are there other explanations?

A friend who is on a spiritual quest for the "holy spirit" almost has me convinced that I'm filled!

I used to be a believer and when I attended a Pentecostal church about 30 years ago, I got a second baptism and learned to speak in tongues. Sing even. It was just about releasing inhibitions and really gives an exhilarated feeling. I still use the method sometimes to help me fall asleep at night. It's like a release. Oh I have been known to talk in tongues during sex too. Don't want to engage the conscious mind, but need to say something!

His idea is that proves some kind of "holy spirit" connection.
I haven't thought about this in years. I've been a born again Pagan for about five years. That means NO RELIGION! Although, spirituality is certainly part of the story.

Any ideas on these concepts?

ps. I have also found twirling to be a very meditative act. You need a focus spot though, if you don't want to fall down. I learned that in high school modern dance class. Comes in handy.

[LaurenG]

1. It is a connection

to a higher plane imho. It is a gift that is acquired when one passes a certain point in their development when following a certain path. I believe that it should be kept in perspective. In the initiations of any spiritual practice there are "gifts" of the spirit that some will acquire and express.

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become a sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1).

Just as other paths may require practice of other gifts such as mysticism and clairvoyance. These abilities come in time to many who seriously follow a path with this requirement. It also must be kept in perspective.

As far as twirling, it is recognized as a Sufi mystic ascetic practice, an offshoot of the Muslim faith.

Whirling Dervish (wurl-ing dur-vish) n. 1. A mystical
dancer who stands between the material and cosmic
worlds. His dance is part of a sacred ceremony
in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm.
He represents the earth revolving on its axis while
orbiting the sun. The purpose of the ritual whirling
is for the dervish to empty himself of all distracting
thoughts, placing him in trance; released from
his body he conquers dizziness.


http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/whirlingdervishes.htm

I hope this helps a bit.

[Why Syzygy]

2. Maybe

I'm looking for a definition of "spirit". And I will pass it along to my friend. He is a fellow seeker. He calls it "holy" .. I learned sometime ago that "holy" and "whole" are one and the same, although dictionary.com does not bear that out.

When you say "keep in perspective", do you just mean love is the most important? I would not disagree with that at all. But the love .. it needs an outlet.

[LaurenG]

3. In some schools of thought there are initiations

In the mystery schools (in which Christ was supposedly affiliated)there are different levels to aspire to.

1-7 in some or 1-12 in others which come down to the same thing just split up differently.

Initiations one and two are basically no big deal but once you get to three it starts to become more serious. I was taught that ALL people have to get through the initiations no matter what belief (even atheists). It is a matter of growing more conscious and allowing LIGHT or enlightenment to permeate. You would be surprised how many people are afraid of enlightenment, not realizing it is their own light, that is shared by all people meant to bring comfort and understanding.

Initiation three is when you have reached a higher degree of enlightenment and gifts start to appear in some individuals. Many people aren't aware that they have reached a point of anything and don't realize any gift. Your heart chakra will expand and many people start to value relationships rather than material things. You become aware of your own soul and it becomes more and more who you are. These initiations go on until you reach a level of acceptance and love that the spirit that is in all things becomes more noticeable. Call it the holy spirit or call it God or call it energy. It is a high level of energy that vibrates (pulsates) much faster than say the energy of a regular everyday human. This is when you start to understand the oneness of all. When life is lived as the gift that it really is and everyone has value.

I will say that most Born again FANATICAL Christians do not normally make it past 3rd level but only because they refuse to really "see or hear". When one is immersed in fearful thinking they cannot realize their value and the verse that Christ taught when speaking of his own works, "these things and more shall ye do also" goes right over their heads and "they know not that they are gods" makes no sense to them. Spirit is energy the spirit of love is "holy" or sacred.

Unconditional love and forgiveness is a normal aspect of being human. Most people don't understand what that really means. They are meant to learn what it means.

In some schools of thought, the teaching is that Jesus was a good man and during his baptism the Christed energy was received by him. He was way ahead of almost everyone and so became the teacher attempting to show others that to become Christed should be our goal.

Anyway spirit means different things to people. I can only explain my definitions through my own understanding. Everyone has to understand it for themselves. I think we get all the time we need to understand it and each path leads home eventually.

My point about keeping this in perspective was just that all people have the same capacity for "gifts" and no one "gift" is better than others. The quote was from I Corinthians 13 and was a reminder that if we don't have love, "gifts" don't mean a thing.

"I could speak in tongues of men and angels,
But if I have not love,
Then my voice is a clash of brass and clanging bells,
Just tongue-tied stammering".




:hi:

[Why Syzygy]

6. I usually call it

"energy" or "universal consciousness". The friend I mentioned is convinced that "holy spirit" refers to something different. He was a morman at one time, and "holy spirit" is very special to them. He is thinking of participating in that belief system again in order to gain "holy spirit".

Thanks for your explanations. They match mine to a large degree. I want to pass it along to him.

[hvn_nbr_2]

4. One thing I've never understood about "speaking in tongues"

In the original Bible story of speaking in tongues, the disciples preach to crowds, speaking in their own language, but all the people in the crowd, who speak many different languages, understand them in their language. So one speaker in one language is understood simultaneously in many languages.

Today "speaking in tongues" seems to mean making sounds that no one, even the speaker, understands in any language. Seems to be just the opposite of what the Bible story says it is.

[Why Syzygy]

5. I realized last night

that when I "speak in tongues", it is not just one language. I'm a casual student of languages and recognize different dialects. And, I too, thought of the biblical story. Perhaps the reason they all heard their own language was because someone was speaking it but along with other languages. I don't know.

I doubt I would ever try to "speak" to anyone with my tongues language. It seems to me to be a purely spiritual exercise. I don't attend church, but know that in some pentecostals, they have people get up and speak and then someone else translates.

[Dora]

7. I know a woman who was raised in a tongue-speaking church.

And she was married off to the preacher when she was fourteen, too. No joke.

She clearly remembers being a kid and pretending to speak in tongues with the other children. They would mock the grownups by doing this. It was fascinating to her in recollection because she's an elementary ed professor and researcher, and this sort of language play is right up her alley.

Her stance, as a former tongue-speaker, is that it is a learned skill, and not a spontaneous manifestation of the spirit.

Me... I don't speak in tongues. But I can see how one might, after learning "how," find themselves spontaneously ululating, etc.

[Why Syzygy]

8. I think it is learned too.

It takes a certain amount of putting the brain in "neutral" and personal permission to talk without making meaning. It is very relaxing though.