VISIONS

A tree I had been waiting to completely fill with color but too late now the wind has blown nearly all the leaves off.  I walked in the dark and then went out again when Kim told me about the condition of the park.  This tree is a vision of beauty when it is all ablaze with color.

Also I thought the fresh air would help my headache I have had since I woke up.

We are study about Paul who experienced a brilliant light and heard a voice speak to him on his way to Damascus in Syria.  In Biblical language he had a vision.  A vivid subjective sense of momentarily seeing and hearing another reality.  The vision blinded him and his sight did not return until a disciple named Ananias was told in another vision to go and pray for him.  It would be a fearful thing to do because Paul was their enemy at that time.

This vision completely changed Paul's purpose for his life.  He would become the one who would be an apostle to the Gentiles.  He had a conversion experience within his own tradition, from one way of being Jewish to another.  He also became a mystic, someone who knows God and has direct, vivid and typically frequent experiences of the sacred.  He also expressed his own cultural views.

There has been a lot of criticism of his writings and some are hard to understand but they are worth studying.  He was far from perfect but our imperfections do not prevent the spirit of God from working in our lives.

I could not shake my headache so decided to stay home.  I was also feeling that I wanted to stay close to a loved one with all that was going on.

Today I will visit Jim and the gals as usual.