there is always a possibility of hiding behind words of generality
when in reality, the possibility exsits one is speaking personally
must get some of those glasses which allow " reading between the lines "
sometimes what is meant is hidden from view
personally to me, whether you smoke or not ~ doesn't matter to squirrel
squirrel has no interest whatsoever in your habits
my comments were of general concern to those who smoke
too many friends died of lung complications, unnecessary deaths and suffering
and no... this suffering didn't bring them closer to God, another myth that so many believe
What u r saying is correct flying one however i think we all live behind illusions and habits that bind us to this earth plain and to body consciousness otherwise we would not b trapped in this dimension of existence. Being aware of our lives here is proof that we r still in ego consciousness. So we all have habits and illusions we carry thru life. When we get together the difficult part of this recognition is this; can we accept the illusions others r prey to (as you have mentioned) like second hand smoke or watching them destroy their health? Especially when we find that they themselves cannot accept us because of our habits. If not we as human beings must be honorable and recognize that if others cannot accept our foibles we must distance ourselves from them so that they can go on with out us imposing on them.
Once in a great while we r lucky enough to love someone because we look beyond such imperfections and see their soul qualities. This gives us the capacity to love them. This is what some call being beyond body consciousness/avidya and being in christ consciousness. It is more rare for two people to do this together and to keep that love active. Usually one of them looses faith and love for the other. This is because in the transition from one consciousness to the other we also must learn tolerance and patience with others. If we find that tolerance and acceptance of others is not there we must make changes in our relationships. We may have no interest in their habits, as you say, still their habits come with them as a total package.
U have helped me in your presence at soul searching Squirrel. Your views have helped us with some of our own personal illusions.
J
