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We all have positive thoughts, but are there negative flash thoughts that pop into people’s minds? Why do people sometimes have inappropriate or strange thoughts that seem to just pop into their minds? Why does the mind have these unwanted/intrusive thoughts? Are people in control of all their thoughts? If not, why not? White Bear and Unwanted Thoughts nm896 » To start, let me introduce Richard Restak. Restak maintains a private medical practice in neurology and neuropsychiatry in Washington, D.C. where he is also a Clinical Professor of Neurology at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health. He has to date [2011] written 18 books on various aspects of the human brain; two were on The New York Times Best Sellers List. His first bestseller, The Brain (1984), was also the first companion book he wrote for a PBS series. The Mind (1988) was his second bestseller.nm897 » This same Richard Restak wrote a review of Daniel M. Wegner’s book about unwanted thoughts. Wegner is a professor of Psychology at Harvard University.1 In this article Restak wrote:As a child, the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevski "once challenged his younger brother to remain standing in a corner until he could stop thinking of a white bear. In this homespun experiment, the child learned something important about the human mind: We do not so much control our thoughts as we are controlled by thoughts that we don’t want to think. Indeed, just about all mental illnesses – obsessions, compulsions, depressions, phobias, anxiety reactions, post-traumatic stress disorders, self-control problems such as addiction and eating disorders, schizophrenia and other psychoses – along with just plain everyday emotional distress – are marked by problems in the area of mental control. There is a paradox here, too; namely, the more effort that one expends not to think something, oftentimes the more difficult it is to expel it from our consciousness." ("Honey of an approach to problems of the mind," review by Richard Restak of the book: White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts: Suppression, Obsession, and the Psychology of Mental Control, by Daniel M. Wegner, found in Washington Times, July 17, 1989, p. E9) As Restak said, "we do not so much control our thoughts as we are controlled by thoughts that we don’t want to think." And "just about all mental illnesses" are marked with problems of mental control. And in context of Wegner’s book, this lack of control is the lack of control of unwanted thoughts. There are many thoughts each day that flash into people’s minds: only some are unwanted. Lately there is evidence that some mental problems have something to do with biochemical imbalances, as in the case of depression. But this factor has nothing to do with specific individualized unwanted thoughts. Depression is a feeling that comes from a certain part of the brain, and is unlike the thought or idea of a white bear. The white bear in the mind of Dostoyevski’s brother was a concept, not a feeling. Although depression can be initiated by unwanted thoughts (death of a loved one), depression can just as well be initiated by a biochemical imbalance. There is a difference. The thought of white bear came before Dostoyevski’s brother’s unwanted thoughts of the white bear; the depression of a biochemical nature comes from an imbalance in the brain first, then the thoughts of depression occur. Yes, good and positive thoughts enter our minds, from time to time, all day; other times, not so positive thoughts enter our minds. Sometimes these thoughts are like an intermittent breeze: lingering for awhile, disappearing for awhile. But sometimes the thoughts are like a fire that burn in the brain and cannot be extinguished. Like a simmering fire the thoughts may burn every so slightly in the back of people’s minds, or the thoughts may rage like a wild fire that incapacitates the individual. Wegner writes in his book about unwanted thoughts: Most people report having at least one thought that won’t go away. In a study conducted early in this century [1922], one psychologist found that many of the students in his classes admitted to having "fixed ideas" that could not be eliminated.3 In a San Antonio study, when 180 people were asked to write down an unwanted thought, almost every person had one or more to mention.4 They reported that their thought was "distressing," and occurred from once a day to every few minutes. Similarly, researchers in England report that people have "normal" obsessions that parallel in several ways the "abnormal" obsessions individuals seek psychotherapy to eliminate.5 The fact that most people report such thoughts may provide a bit of solace to those of us who think we’re odd for worrying. But this fact also indicates that there is indeed a general human problem in the area of mental control. Unwanted thoughts turn up in a variety of psychological disorders. Of course, they are in center stage when people suffer from obsessions (recurrent unwanted thoughts) or compulsions (recurrent unwanted actions). But having trouble with thoughts that won’t go away is characteristic also in many cases of depression, phobic or anxiety reactions, posttraumatic stress disorders, self-control problems such as addictions and eating disorders, and even in psychotic reactions such as schizophrenia. It is not surprising that mental control is rare when people have very severe problems, because the extremes of mental disorder are almost defined in terms of control lapses. However, unwanted thoughts themselves do not define a particular form of psychological disorder. Rather, they occur at all points in the spectrum from normal to abnormal, cutting across different kinds of disorders rather than distinguishing them from one another. (pp. 6-7) ... What thoughts do people express the desire to avoid? The contents of such a list will vary, of course, with the time and customs of the people, with their sex and age and habitat. In 1903 in France, for example, the renowned psychiatrist Pierre Janet reported the obsessions of his patients in five major groups: sacrilegious thoughts, urges to commit crimes, shame about one’s behavior, shame about one’s body, and hypochondria.21 These obsessions are thoughts that the people were thinking too much, and so qualify as very unwanted. Many of these topics are still favorites today.... (White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts: Suppression, Obsession, and the Psychology of Mental Control, pp 6-7, 20) Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., who is a Clinical Professor of Psychology at Weill-Cornell Medical School and Director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, writes about unwanted thoughts and says everyone has these crazy thoughts: Thinking about your thoughts Three rules are important. 1. Everyone has crazy and disgusting thoughts 2. Thoughts are not the same thing as reality 3. Thought-suppression doesn't work. Research on people without anxiety disorders shows that almost 90% of them have "bizarre" thoughts---thoughts about contamination, harm, From a well documented article in the free web encyclopedia called Wikipedia we see that "unwanted thoughts" are called "intrusive thoughts": Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome involuntary thoughts, images, or unpleasant ideas that may become obsessions, are upsetting or distressing, and can be difficult to manage or eliminate.[1] ... According to Lee Baer (a specialist at the OCD clinic of Massachusetts General Hospital), intrusive thoughts, urges, and images are of inappropriate things at inappropriate times, usually falling into three categories: "inappropriate aggressive thoughts, inappropriate sexual thoughts, or blasphemous religious thoughts". ... Many people experience the type of bad or unwanted thoughts that people with more troubling intrusive thoughts have, but most people are able to dismiss these thoughts.[1] For most people, intrusive thoughts are a "fleeting annoyance."[5] London psychologist Stanley Rachman presented a questionnaire to healthy college students and found that virtually all said they had these thoughts from time to time, including thoughts of sexual violence, sexual punishment, "unnatural" sex acts, painful sexual practices, blasphemous or obscene images, thoughts of harming elderly people or someone close to them, violence against animals or towards children, and impulsive or abusive outbursts or utterances.[6] Such bad thoughts are universal among humans, and have "almost certainly always been a part of the human condition".[7] ... When intrusive thoughts occur with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), patients are less able to ignore the unpleasant thoughts and may pay undue attention to them, causing the thoughts to become more frequent and distressing.[1] The thoughts may become obsessions which are paralyzing, severe, and constantly present, and can range from thoughts of violence or sex to religious blasphemy.[5] ... The possibility that most patients suffering from intrusive thoughts will ever act on those thoughts is low. Patients who are experiencing intense guilt, anxiety, shame, and upset over these thoughts are different from those who actually act on them. The history of violent crime is dominated by those who feel no guilt or remorse; the very fact that someone is tormented by intrusive thoughts and has never acted on them before is an excellent predictor that they will not act upon the thoughts. ... Inappropriate aggressive thoughts Intrusive thoughts may involve violent obsessions about hurting others or themselves.[16] They can include such thoughts as harming an innocent child, jumping from a bridge, mountain or the top of a tall building, urges to jump in front of a train or automobile, and urges to push another in front of a train or automobile.[4] Rachman's survey of healthy college students found that virtually all of them had intrusive thoughts from time to time, including:[6] Causing harm to elderly people Imagining or wishing harm upon someone close to one's self Impulses to violently attack, hit, harm or kill a person, small child, or animal Impulses to shout at or abuse someone, or attack and violently punish someone, or say something rude, inappropriate, nasty or violent to someone. These thoughts are part of being human, and need not ruin the quality of life.[17] Treatment is available when the thoughts are associated with OCD and become persistent, severe, or distressing. ... Inappropriate sexual thoughts Sexual obsessions involve intrusive thoughts or images of "kissing, touching, fondling, oral sex, anal sex, intercourse, and rape" with "strangers, acquaintances, parents, children, family members, friends, coworkers, animals and religious figures", involving "heterosexual or homosexual content" with persons of any age.[18] Like other unwanted intrusive thoughts or images, everyone has some inappropriate sexual thoughts at times, but people with OCD may attach significance to the unwanted sexual thoughts, generating anxiety and distress. The doubt that accompanies OCD leads to uncertainty regarding whether one might act on the intrusive thoughts, resulting in self-criticism or loathing.[18] One of the more common sexual intrusive thoughts occurs when an obsessive person doubts his or her sexual identity. As in the case of most sexual obsessions, sufferers may feel shame and live in isolation, finding it hard to discuss their fears, doubts, and concerns about their sexual identity.[12] ... Blasphemous religious thoughts Blasphemous thoughts are a common component of OCD, documented throughout history; notable religious figures such as Martin Luther and St. Ignatius were known to be tormented by intrusive, blasphemous or religious thoughts and urges.[20] Martin Luther had urges to curse God and Jesus, and was obsessed with images of "the Devil's behind".[20][21] St. Ignatius had numerous obsessions, including the fear of stepping on pieces of straw forming a cross, fearing that it showed disrespect to Christ.[20][22] A study of 50 patients with a primary diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder found that 40% had religious and blasphemous thoughts and doubts—a higher number than the 38% who had the obsessional thoughts related to dirt and contamination more commonly associated with OCD.[23] One study suggests that content of intrusive thoughts may vary depending on culture, and that blasphemous thoughts may be more common in men than in women.[24] According to Fred Penzel, a New York psychologist, some common religious obsessions and intrusive thoughts are:[13] sexual thoughts about God, saints, and religious figures such as Mary bad thoughts or images during prayer or meditation thoughts of being possessed fears of sinning or breaking a religious law or performing a ritual incorrectly fears of omitting prayers or reciting them incorrectly repetitive and intrusive blasphemous thoughts urges or impulses to say blasphemous words or commit blasphemous acts during religious services. ["Intrusive Thoughts," Wikipedia, Febrary 9, 2011] Thoughts, Sometimes Negativenm898 » Why do people sometimes get recurring thoughts which they can’t seem to control? Why are people unreasonably afraid of some things? Why do we sometimes, in bitter arguments, say offensive things that we do not really mean? Why do people sometimes unreasonably criticize other people? If we do say something good about a person we may, in some situations, add something negative. Our thoughts are sometimes negative. And sadly from these negative thoughts come the confusion and misbehavior that makes for unhappiness. These thoughts, flash into people’s minds in a split second, and some of them stay in our minds as unwanted thoughts because of the negative or persistent aspect of them. They are unwanted because of the way they affect us.nm899 » These unwanted thoughts pop into people’s mind in a flash, a split second, and therefore can be called "flash-thoughts." A positive flash-thought is like when a great idea or thought pops into one’s mind. A negative unwanted flash-thought is a thought that not only irritates, but may in certain cases lead to or result in behavior that hurts or harms our self or someone else.But why do people get these flash-thoughts or ones like them? Do our parents teach them to us? Does society teach them to us? And the question must be asked, if people are actually in control of their minds, why do they get these thoughts, or why can’t they rid themselves of these thoughts? Why can’t people just order their brains to stop these thoughts as they order their brains to move their arms or fingers? Are we in control of our negative thoughts? Not too many positive thoughts are unwanted, if any. Why the unwanted thoughts? nm900 » Many of these flash-thoughts may be embarrassing if revealed and so people generally don’t talk about them. For example, erotic sexual fantasies were seldom talked about openly in most societies. Yet these fantasies existed and manifested themselves in the underground, in houses of prostitution and in banned pornographic writings, pictures, drawing or paintings. Due to the liberalization of the Western cultures and even in some of the religions, we now see books and magazines published with accounts of these sexual fantasies (Forum magazine; Nancy Friday’s My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasies, or her Forbidden Flowers, and her Beyond My Control: Forbidden Fantasies. etc). The table of contents in Nancy Friday’s Beyond My Control: Forbidden Fantasies list fantasies that pertain to: domination, masturbation, incest, exhibitionism/ voyeurism, S&M, threesomes and so forth (found on Amazon’s "Look Inside" feature). The readers of Nancy Friday’s books did not even know other women had sexual fantasies. Her female reader’s thought their sexual fantasies were a manifestation of something wrong with them because they had erotic sexual fantasies. In Friday’s own words from her book:I loved original work [research] and always had sexual fantasies. As I’ve noted before, when I approached several eminent therapists and psychoanalysts and asked their opinion of my research, I was repeatedly told: ‘Women do not have sexual fantasies. Men do. But according to Friday, after reading her books women felt liberated from guilt knowing other women also had them in one form or another: But "we don’t have to act on the fantasies to feel this way [liberated]. Some, fully realized, would become nightmares. Nor share them with our partners" ("Author to Reader" in Beyond My Control). Why would they be nightmares? The nature of these sexual fantasies can sometimes be unusual and even perverse in a religious sense, or in the sense of decorum or propriety. So where do these sexual fantasies come from? Do we teach our children sexual fantasies? Or do we learn of these fantasies through books? Some of these women according to Friday never saw a pornographic magazine. They came up with these thoughts even though some came from sheltered or conservative religious cultures. So where did these thoughts come from? Where do other thoughts come from that could be called negative or twisted? Some if acted out would be destructive and could land the person to jail. Where do these thoughts come from? nm901 » Children are innocent little creatures, right? But the caretakers of them see that they can be at times cunning, selfish, lying, aggressive, violent, and so forth. Some say this is because they learn from their parents’ behavior and their environment. This is true to a certain extent, but it is not the true answer.nm902 » When children are very young parents notice that sometimes they are very interested in doing things they were told not to do. The parents say "no" to the child, and the "no" makes the child want to do it even more. Now think about this. Do we teach our children to do what we want them not to do? Do we set them aside each day and tell them, "now Johnny, every time I tell you not to do something, you should do it anyway and take great pleasure in doing what I have told you not to do"? Of course not, we never teach our children to disobey. We teach them to obey us and we back it up with various forms of discipline. Yet, they continue at times to disobey us, even after we discipline them, and they, to judge by their facial expressions, take pleasure in disobeying us. Where do they learn this misbehavior? Who teaches them? We are not talking about children with neurological disorders; we are talking about healthy normal children.nm903 » Are we in FULL control of our minds and consequently our behavior? The psychologists, psychiatrists, priests, ministers, rabbis and so forth know people are not in full control of their minds or behavior, and that is the reason for occupations: their patrons come to them for guidance and help. If anyone wishes to move any part of their body, let’s say a hand, they merely command their mind to move their hand when and where they want it to move. Only those who are physically damaged or disabled can’t control their physical actions. If we are in control of our bodies, why are we not in control of our thoughts and our behavior? Some say we are in full control of our mind. If everyone is in full control of their mind then mankind could easily rid themselves of all falsehood, all guilt, all negativity in all forms. It would be easy to mold our children and our society. But it is not easy, is it? There is something more to all this.nm904 » In The Washington Times, June 22, 1989, p. F4, Dr. Richard M. Restak, a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, an author of "The Brain" and "The Mind," reviewed a book by Ronald Markman and Dominick Bosco, Alone with the Devil: Famous Cases of a Courtroom Psychiatrist, and in the review he writes:"Most crimes – even grisly murders – are not committed by mentally ill people, but by people just like you and me." He quotes with approval a statement by Linda Kasabian, a member of the Charles Manson "family," found guilty of the Sharon Tate-LaBianca murders: "I believe that we all have a part of the Devil within us – it’s just a matter of bringing it out." Dr. Markman admits, "We all do have a willingness – even an appetite – to kill within us. All it takes is the right combination of factors to raise it to the surface." This may seem like an extreme statement. But Dr. Restak is not an extremist, but an informed neuropsychiatrist. From others we hear, "The devil made me do it" excuses. Others speak of the "dark" side of man. The religious speak of the spiritual dark side. Mark Twain wanted very much to write the whole truth about his life, but even Mark Twain couldn’t bring himself to write about his dark side as the introduction of Mark Twain’s new autobiography manifests. He tried to put off his autobiography for 100 years so he could write about his dark side. He never could write the truth about this side of him. (see Introduction, Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol 1, Pub.: 2010) Other-Mindnm905 » Considering the above information, other studies, my observation and others’ observations:I have come to the conclusion that there is something like another mind in our brain feeding thoughts to our brain, many times unwanted thoughts. I call this the "other-mind." The other-mind is what I call the phenomena of those unwanted and many times negative thoughts that seem to annoy peoples’ minds. Scientists do not know why people have them or how people get these unwanted thoughts, just like they don’t know why there is gravity or how gravity works: science can only describe and list the unwanted thoughts and describe gravity in words or through mathematics. Granted that in certain cases neurological disabilities or chemical imbalances can cause or lead to problems pertaining to mind and thoughts, but still the question remains: why don’t these disabilities and chemical imbalances cause positive mental thoughts? Lost ControlEven though everyone has the "other-mind" feeding everyone unwanted thoughts, most of us do not to out and perform or act out these thoughts because we have some control over our action. But some do lose control. We see it every day in our newspapers. One example appears on CNN's web site today: (CNN Feb. 12, 2011) -- An unemployed New Yorker fatally stabbed three people, slashed at least four others, hit and killed one man with a car and hijacked two vehicles before being wrestled to the ground early Saturday while trying to break into the cab of a subway car, police said. Maksim Gelman, 23, was arrested aboard a north-bound train in Manhattan around 9 a.m. Saturday, 28 hours after he allegedly began a spree across three New York City boroughs, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "It's so horrendous and bizarre," Kelly told reporters Saturday afternoon. "We have no reason that we can give you as to why he did this." Important: In order to understand better the following part you should study the: "Bible Paper" [BP 3], "Premise For Belief Paper" [BP 5], and the "Duality Paper" [BP 4] as well as all the BeComingOne Papers. Other-Mind -IN THE BEGINNING Spirit inside Mankind What is and Why is there the Phenomenon of the Other-mind? nm945 » There is evidence through scripture and through human experience that there are supernatural phenomena. If the answer to the puzzlement of the other-mind comes from the supernatural, then science will not and cannot find the answer. Science has to do with nature, not the supernatural. If there are supernatural phenomena, if there is a God, then science, by its very definition, cannot find the answer.nm946 » Through study I believe that there are supernatural phenomena and that there is a God being, who created the universe and who put some knowledge about himself into a text called the Holy Bible. Some of our other papers describe in detail more about this God Being and about the great debate of the genesis of the universe.nm947 » From scripture, we believe that the other-mind is not physical; it is spiritual. That is, the other-mind is a mental phenomenon that does not belong to our physical body, but is an invisible (thus spiritual) power in our minds. Something that is spiritual is something that is not easily detectable by sight, touch, smell, or by our other senses. Spirit is analogous to air: you cannot see air but we see the effect of its wind; spirit is invisible but we see the effects on mankind’s behavior. The spiritual is detectable mentally by many. Some of you believe in the spiritual. If you think of yourself as Christian, you believe in evil spirits and good spirits or angels. Some of you interested in the occult believe in the spiritual dimension also, although your perception of the spiritual is not like the Christian perception. The New Testament of the Bible speaks of demons doing harm to people. The Old Testament speaks of lying spirits. Some of you from other religions or backgrounds also believe in the spiritual or invisible world. Almost all peoples in history have had beliefs about the spiritual world. Even those who do not believe in the spiritual believe nevertheless in invisible forces that they call by such names as gravity, black holes, protons, etc. In the psyche of man there is knowledge of a spiritual dimension which is evil and affects mankind in various ways. So what does the Bible have to say about the subject of unwanted thoughts?nm948 » Genesis is the first book of the Bible. In this first book is the Biblical story of the beginning of the universe ("heavens and earth") and the beginning of mankind. There were seven days of creation. On the sixth day of creation "God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen 1:27; see God Papers for information on the "Image of God").Spirit Inside Mankindnm964» An amplification on the creation of mankind is mentioned in chapter 2 of Genesis. Here it tells us God created man out of the dust of the earth on the sixth day. The word translated as Adam or man is a Hebrew word meaning "to be red or reddish." "And Jehovah God [Lord God] formed the man, dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils (the) breath of life." [Gen 2:7] Now notice that Jehovah "breathed" into man the "breath" of life. In the English version of the Old Testament the word "breath" is translated from either the Hebrew word neshamah or ruah. These words differ slightly in meaning, both signifying sometimes "wind" then sometimes "breath." The word translated into "breath" in Genesis 2:7 is the Hebrew word neshamah. nm965» Both Hebrew words, neshamah and ruah, are translated as "spirit" in various places in the English translations of the Bible. And in the book of John in the New Testament, Jesus Christ tries to explain spirit to some: "the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes and where it goes" (John 3:8). In other translations it has for John 3:8, the "spirit breathes" instead of the "wind blows." This is so because in the Greek New Testament the Greek word translated in English Bibles as "wind" or "spirit" is the same word. Thus in the Old Testament and the New Testament "wind" and "spirit" are interchangeable words. And Jesus Christ tries to explain spirit by comparing it to the wind that blows. And in John 20:22 it reads:
Notice the similarity between Jesus Christ breathing into his followers, which signifies them receiving the Holy Spirit, and Jehovah in Genesis breathing into man, which signifies them receiving the breath or spirit of life. We thus take Gen 2:7 as indicating a dual sense. In one sense, the physical sense, Jehovah breathed into man the literal breath or air of life and man became a breathing and living life. In the second sense, the spiritual sense, Jehovah was putting a spirit into man after he created man. What spirit was put into man at that time? And what is meant by spirit? Also see information in Num 22. Angels Are Spiritual Messengersnm966» Spirits and angels are connected because angels are spirits (Heb 1:7). And angels are messengers because the word "angel" is translated from a Hebrew word in the Old Testament and a Greek word in the New Testament which means messenger, or one who is sent. Not only do we know that angels are messengers by the meaning of the word, but also because of their activities in the Bible. Angels are spiritual beings sent to do the will of the God. They affect people and nations by putting thoughts into people's minds. The thoughts of confusion are administered by the angels of evil, or the other-minds, or shall we say the demons. (Don't jump to conclusions yet, do read on.) I don't care to use the word evil or demon because of the connotations these words create in some people's minds. But what I wish to communicate here is that the other-mind that works in each of us is a spiritual being or angel (messenger) who puts negative flash-thoughts into our minds, sometimes very subtle thoughts. An evil angel is a messenger of evil; he brings base thoughts to our brains. There are now some good angels or messengers who do bring good thoughts into some people's minds in this age, but for the most part most people in this age only have the other-mind inside their mind (see the This is the reason the present age is an evil age. Not only do we have to fight a hostile environment, we also must fight the negative thoughts from the other-mind. nm967» Now to answer the question above which was, "what spirit was put into man?" At the beginning of creation a spirit was put into the mind of man by Jehovah. (The word, Jehovah, is translated "Lord" in some English Bibles.) By looking around us today and by knowing something about the other-mind as I explained it previously, we know that the spirit or angel (messenger) that was placed in mankind's mind at the beginning was the other-mind, that confused and evil mind. We can begin to see the Biblical proof of this by reading chapters two and three of the book of Genesis. Let's go over the scripture in those chapters. Genesis: Chapters Two and Threenm968» In Gen 2:16-17 it reads,
In the day that man ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil he would die according to God. Now next God created out of man a woman (in the beginning God created the man first before He created the woman) for God said that it wasn't good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18-22). After God brought woman to man, the man said,
Then the story continues,
Thus we see that they weren't ashamed, they had no shame even though they were naked. But next in chapter three of Genesis something happens. First Lienm969» In chapter three of Genesis it speaks of the "serpent" who deceived mankind into taking fruit from the "tree of knowledge of good and evil." Now in the book of Revelation (Rev 12:9) we see that this "serpent" is none other than the one called the Devil and Satan. He was the father of lies (John 8:44). We also see that in the Biblical rendition on this serpent in Genesis that this serpent spoke to Eve, the wife of Adam. Today we do not see any serpents or snakes talking to women. Because of such stories in the Bible some have come to think of the Bible as a book of tales with little or no truth. By reading our papers and by reading some of the books we recommend which document the soundness of the Bible as a true document, you will find out for yourself that the Bible is not a book of tales but a book of facts and true history with Spiritual insight and prophecy of future events. Figures of SpeechHow Satan Spoke to Evenm970» What does the Bible mean when it says that a serpent spoke to the woman? Are we to take this literally that this serpent in the beginning spoke to mankind? I don't believe so just as we are not to take it literally that trees clap their hands or that mountains and hills shall break forth into singing (Isa 55:12). The Bible uses all kinds of figures of speech. The Bible uses similes, "his eyes were as a flame of fire" (Rev 1:14). The Bible uses metaphors, "tell that fox" (Luke 13:32). The Bible uses metonyms, "if the house be worthy" (Mat 10:13). The Bible uses synecdoches, "all the world should be taxed" (Luke 2:1). The Bible uses personifications, "the earth mourns and fades away" (Isa 24:4). The Bible uses apostrophes, "O death, where is thy sting?" (1Cor 15:55) The Bible uses hyperboles, "the light of the sun shall be sevenfold" (Isa 30:26). The Bible uses allegories, "this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia."(Gal 4:24) The Bible uses parables, "behold, a sower went forth to sow" (Mat Gal). The Bible also uses irony, riddles, and fables (1Kings 18:27; Rev 13:18; and Judg 9:8 ff & 2Kgs 14:9 ff). So we can see that the Bible is rich in its use of language (see The serpent did not literally speak to Eve, only in a figurative way did the serpent speak to Eve. I will now show you this. Serpent Tests Evenm971» In chapter three we see a serpent that
Figuratively Speakingnm972» Notice what is revealed in these verses. First, before mankind took from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they had no shame (Gen 2:25). Next a snake or serpent came along and spoke to the woman. Now we do not have to take this literally. As I explained above the Bible is very lively in its use of the language. The Bible uses many different kinds of figures of speech. We know trees don't clap their hands because for one reason trees don't have hands. Yet in Isa 55:12 it speaks of trees that will clap their hands. We also know that serpents or snakes don't speak. At least they don't speak like mankind. (Of course the serpent in the garden may have actually spoken, for God can do that if he had wished it to be so. But because the Old Testament is so filled with figures of speech, and because we have no proof that serpents literally speak in the way mankind speaks, we therefore won't take this part of the Bible literally just as we won't take Isa 55:12 literally.) nm973» What happened was this: The woman was near the tree of knowledge of good and evil when a physical serpent was winding itself around the tree and through the serpent's various motions and movements the serpent brought the woman's attention to the fruit on the tree. But it was the spiritual serpent inside the head of Eve that spoke to her. In other words, what tempted Eve that day was the spirit that Jehovah put inside mankind (Gen 2:7). That spirit is the other-mind that even today is inside mankind's mind. It was the other-mind inside Eve that spoke to her that day. Notice in Revelation, chapter 12:9, it reads that "the old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which misleads the whole world." As explained in the "Duality Paper" [BP 4] we are to take the higher or spiritual meaning of the Bible in order to ascertain the Spiritual truths of the Bible. The higher meaning of the serpent in Genesis is the spiritual serpent which is the Devil or Satan. One can say that the spirit that Jehovah put into man in the beginning was the spirit of Satan or the Devil, or that is, the spirit of evil and confusion, or as we are calling it in this paper, the other-mind that now lives in mankind. The actual spirit ("breath") that God put into mankind was the spirit that started evil by testing Eve (See also NM 22). This is difficult to understand, but do read on to see more proof. Law and Sinnm974» When mankind took from the tree of knowledge they were breaking the law that God had given to them. The law was simple, don't take any fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Mankind could take from all the other trees in the garden, but somehow they desired the forbidden tree very much. Even though God promised death as the reward for taking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, mankind still took from that tree. The serpent lied to Eve about the death they would receive, "You shall not surely die" (Gen 3:4) The serpent mixed one lie with the truth to deceive Eve, a very subtle deception that played on Eve's desire for knowledge. And so as to not displease his wife, Adam listened to his wife and also sinned. Romans Chapter Sevennm975» Notice the following statement that Paul made in Romans, chapter seven of the New Testament. What Paul said in chapter seven fits very well what happened in the Genesis' account:
Law of Sinnm976» Paul in these verses can be substituted for mankind as a whole with one exception. Paul had the good Spirit of God in him, but in this age most people only have the evil spirit in them, for most people will not receive their own good spirit until a later time (see the Yet we see Paul fighting the law of sin inside him. Paul wants to do good, he has the Spirit of God inside him leading him to good, but Paul finds another law inside him, and that law is the law of sin. The other-mind in mankind's head in this age works like a law of evil. The other-mind is an evil angel or spiritual messenger inside man's mind misleading man, and this other-mind operates like a law, that is, it operates like a law of sin or evil. Sin and Satannm977» Sin is defined in the Bible as lawlessness (1John 3:4). As Rev 12:9 says the serpent in Genesis was Satan who has deceived the whole world. Actually "sin" is just another name for Satan. The words "sin" and "Satan" are interchangeable. As light, life, and love are used in the Bible for God (John 1 & 1John 4:8) so too can darkness, death, and sin be used for Satan. God is love, but Satan is sin. Now when you transpose in Romans, chapter seven, the word Satan for sin, you can see more clearly how this chapter adds to the rendition in Genesis. It was the spirit of Satan that Jehovah put into mankind in the beginning (Gen 2:7). But this spirit didn't show himself evil until the commandment came (Gen 2:17). Then this spirit in mankind took as an occasion the commandment (Roman 7:8,11) and deceived man (Gen 3:1-5) and thereby killed man. As Jesus Christ said: "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning [the spirit of Satan in a sense killed man by deceiving man in Genesis], not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him" (John 8:44). It is the spirit of Satan inside mankind that is causing most of the problems in this age. It is the other-mind that is contrary to our eventual happiness and is the main cause of our present problems. Other-Mind Is a Spirit and Power of EvilOur struggle is not against flesh and bloodnm978» It is Satan or the spiritual other-mind that misleads the whole world (Rev 12:9). It is the power of Satan or the power of the other-mind which we must turn from (Acts 26:18). It is the devil's schemes, deceiving spirits, and things taught by demons of which we must be careful (Eph 6:11; 1Tim 4:1). "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12). "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1John 3:8). As we have shown you it was the spirit of Satan that put the thought in Eve's mind of breaking God's first law. This spirit of Satan is the spiritual other-mind that works in us. Other-Mind also Called...nm979» The no-good thing living in man is that sin or Satan living and working in man (Romans 7:18,20). It is the spirit in us that lusts after evil (James 4:5). This spirit is also called the spirit of slumber (Rom 11:8), it is called the spirit of bondage (Rom 8:15), it is called the spirit of sleep (Isaiah 29:10), it is called the lying spirit (1Kings 22:21-23), it is called the unclean spirit (Zech 13:2), it is called the spirit of whoredoms and it causes people to err (Hosea 4:12; 5:4), it is called the spirit of this world (1Cor 2:12), it is called the haughty spirit (Prov 16:18), it is called the perverse spirit (Isa 19:14), it is called the troubled spirit (Gen 41:8), it is called the spirit of jealousy (Num 5:14), it is called the spirit of man (1Cor 2:11), and so on. Spirit of ManSatan in Peter?nm980» It is the spirit of man that is within mankind that knows the thoughts of man (1Cor 2:11). Since the Bible looks upon man in this age as evil, then this spirit of man must be evil. What is this spirit in man that thinks like man? "Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Mat 16:23). Now in this last verse Jesus was speaking to Peter, for "Jesus turned and said to Peter, Out of my sight, Satan!" Jesus was talking to the physical Peter, but he called him Satan. Why? Jesus called Peter "Satan" because he was talking to the spirit of man which lived inside Peter and which was misleading Peter at that time. Fight against Satan's Powernm981» In Luke 22:3 and John 13:27 we read where Satan even caused Judas to err. "The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, that he should betray Him." It wasn't Judas himself that conceived of the idea of betraying Jesus, it was the spirit of Satan inside him that did it. It is Satan's spiritual power that takes captive at his will, not mankind's nature (2Tim 2:26; Acts 26:18). It is the snare and wiles of the spirit of the devil that people must guard against, not human nature (Eph 6:11; 1Tim 4:1). It is the other-mind or Satan that we are fighting against, "not flesh and blood" (Eph 6:12). It is Satan who fills the heart to lie (Acts 5:3). There is a spirit in man that yearns to envy and this spirit is of the devil (James 4:5,7). Worthless Mindnm982» Mankind was given the spirit of Satan in the beginning although it didn't show itself as evil until after God gave man a law. Because Satan's spirit is a law-breaking-spirit, it took the law to show the nature of Satan's spirit. Satan's spirit is the other-mind that works in us. It is the worthless mind described in Rom 1:28-31:
Man's Heart and the Other-MindEvil from Withinnm983» It is because of the other-mind, that "man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen 8:21). "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:21,22). "And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). It is out of the abundance of the heart of mankind that man acts. And in man's mind is the other-spirit which continuously feeds man with unsound thoughts. nm984» This age is worse than many people think. False pride, false affections, false accusations, false documents, false theories, false love, false words, and so forth are so much a part of this age that most of us are somewhat unaware of the asininity and falsehood of this age. The great religions and theories of this age are built on the confusion of the other-mind and the falsehood of the other-mind. Mind of this Age of Evilnm985» According to the Bible the people of this age are the children of the devil (1John 3:10), children of disobedience (Eph 2:2), children of the wicked one (Mat 13:38), children of the world (Luke 16:8; 20:34), and so forth. The father of these children is the devil according to Jesus Christ (John 8:42-44). The people of this age are the children of confusion because their spiritual father is the great other-mind that lives and feeds negative flash-thoughts into the mind of mankind. So this is why we must be careful:
New Mind for New Age of Godnm986» In the next age, the New Age, the spirit of the other-mind will be put out of man. For when the demons ("devils") or when the other-mind is cast out and locked up, "then the kingdom of God [the New Age] has come upon you" (Mat 12:28). "In that day" Jehovah will cause the unclean spirit or the other-mind to pass out of the land (Zech 13:2). "That day" is the New Age that is coming upon us. In the New Age people will be truly free from the other-mind because it will be put out of people's minds. The New Age begins at the physical return of the Messiah. See the New Mind Papers for more details. See the "Reason Why" paper in the God Papers [GP 7] for the reason God put this other-mind into man in the beginning. See the God Papers to understand who or what is God and what will happen to the spiritual other-mind. Reviewnm987» There is a power of confusion and evil in our physical minds. We call this power the, "other-mind." It is a spiritual power that flashes negative thoughts into our minds. This spiritual power was placed in our minds at the beginning of the creation by the one called Jehovah. The "other-mind" didn't manifest itself as evil until a law was given by Jehovah, then the other-mind showed its evil nature. Ever since the beginning the other-mind has fed negative flash-thoughts into mankind's mind. Because of these invading thoughts, man has behaved often in a negative manner since the creation. But a New Age is coming when the other-mind will be put out of mankind's mind, and at that time an utopian system will begin. nm988» With the knowledge of the other-mind, we can better understand our misbehavior in this age, and through understanding it we can better control it. The best way to control our misbehavior is to have the New Mind (see the But better still is to rid ourselves of the other-mind - the old mind - and obtain the New Mind. We wait for this to happen to us all. End Note 1. Doesn't this seem to indicate that God knew an outsider ("who told you") influenced Adam and Eve? Where did the spirit of mankind come from? What is that spirit? Click "next" to continue.
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