*WORLD - also see HEAVEN, REALITY, ILLUSION
Antonyms: HEAVEN
Be in this world, but not of the world = Having Kingdom of God consciousness; putting less importance on self by not letting evenets set off our triggers; detached from past conditioning. (Unity Church discusion re: Third Jesus 1/21/09))
Worldliness, then, itself is escapism. Mysticism is the way to Reality. Paradoxes here, enigmas. All our values have to be transvalued, as Nietzsche said. All our assumptions are false. All our standards are makeshift. But this does not mean we abandon the world. We are part of it, mixed into it, to be sure. One leg in each world—that of time, that of the timeless. No, we do not abandon the world, but rather deify it by pervading it with the mystical consciousness that slowly arises in us. Then we see another world. (http://www.vedanticshorespress.com/Feature%20Articles/feature-article-Mysticism-Escapism.htm)
Heaven and the world are complete opposites. (p22) The real world is the reflection of Heaven in the world. (p25)(ACIM Intro)
And the Queen says "off with your head" (White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane?)
All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. (Shakespeare, As You Like It)
"Every picture tells a story, don't it?" (???) The world is one giantic picture and stage. (Randy)
"See the world, that's what it's for; for understanding, nothing more" (Don't You Feel Small, Moody Blues). For example, fusion, dualism, seasons, beauty, light, warmth, evolution, 2001 Space Oddessy. (Randy)
"My kingdom is not of this world." ( ) It rests not upon grandeur, but on humility; not on the wisdom of men, but in weakness; not in supremacy, but in service; not in severity, but in affection. Earthly potentates shed the blood of others to acquire and maintain their thrones; Christ sheds His own! Its King subdues His subjects by His love for them. (Rebld, p96-97)
Beyond our present limited comprehension lies a sphere, within which God can work as easily as in our own. Of this vast, extra-sensible sphere we know comparatively nothing. We live and move and have our being in a labyrinth of mysteries, from which we find no exit by the paths of science. (Rebld, p250)
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. (1 Cor 3:18) For example, this world seeks materialism and pleasure, whereas, God's wisdom is to act with suffering love. (Randy)
To teach us about the [world and] universe, to encourage us to explore and value and treat tenderly all its manifestations and inhabitants, is a salient work of art in itself and an act of worship and reverence (P81). [However, to the other extreme] environmentalism is a new form of paganism - pantheism. (Quest, p84)
How does a middle class American live as a Christian? It comes down to the age-old challenge of being in the WORLD, but no of it. We can live as Christians in this world as long as we do not automatically accept its VALUES and standards. We must judge these by a higher standard, accepting what is good and loving and rejecting what is not...The point is right relationship. So the question is not, "What are you doing without?" The question is, "What are you doing for the rest of the world?" (Common Sense, p186,190)
Plato also described a movment whereby the One EMPTIES itself into all creation, gives itself to all forms, so that creation itself is a perfect manifestation of Spirit. This gave the West virtually all of the terms for its this-worldly exuberance and celebration, the celebration of the visible, sensible God. The entire manifest world was seen as a manifestation or embodiment of the Good and was to be celebrated as such! The greater the DIVERSITY in the world, the greater the spiritual GLORY and GOODNESS. And likewise the world constantly returns to Spirit, so that this entire world is itself spiritual to the core. THE WORLDS ARE SPIRIT'S CHILDREN. So the world becomes a living and blessed being. (Everything, p250-3)