Numerology, Numinous, Nirvana, Om, Pantheism

Word Definitions and Meaning

ver.: 21 February 2008

Define :

1. nirvana,
2. numerology,
3. numinous,
4. om,
5. pantheism

(None of these numbers have any particular meaning or power, but at least the link takes you somewhere.)

What Is Nirvana?

Nirvana [ < Sanskrit nirvânam (to blow out, extinguish) < nir- (away, out) + vâti (it blows). Akin to English 'weather'.]

1. the band that made grunge music popular;
2. where male "Wheel of Fortune" fans want to be;
3. A state of being where the burning itch of being and doing is finally relieved, and all attachments are gone. It's sometimes called 'bliss', but to Christians it seems a lot like emptiness.

You can also check the dictionary.

What Is Numerology ?

numerology [ < Latin numerus (number). ] This belief is based on the truth that numbers (like words) bear powerful symbolic meanings. Numerology pushes this so far as to claim that the number itself bears the actual power of the One (or Force) that lies behind the symbol. Numerologists are, of course, numerous. According to numerologists, if you know how to use the numbers, you know how to control that force. Those who dabble in the magical side of Jewish Qabbalah or are immersed in the Hal Lindsay method of interpreting Revelation and Daniel are heavily influenced by numerology. So are many gambling addicts and Powerball freaks.

You can also check the dictionary for 'numerology.

What Is Numinous ?

numinous [ Latin numen (spiritual force of a place/object/being < a head-nod) ] filled with the sense of the presence of spirit or divinity.

In Christianity, God is everywhere, but there are certain places at certain times where the sense of God's presence, and its mystical special-ness, is stronger than at other times and places. Those times are numinous. (There is also the sense of God's deliberate absence, which the Lord sometimes does to remind people of God's usual presence.) Numinous moments are felt instead of figured out.

You can also look up 'numinous' in the dictionary.

om :

1. An Aussie's 'ouse
2. a unit of electrical resistance
3. A meaningless symbolic syllable which helps a person to momentarily blank out their mental processes and thus achieve a greater oneness with the universe. Its users are to so love the blissful blankedness that they seek (or non-seek?) to be further and further blanked until their minds become a blank. (Thus, there is no definition of "om". And that's why they use it.)

What Is Pantheism ?

pantheism :

1. Worship of the God of Fried Food
2. The belief that all things (or nearly so) are gods, good or evil. Pantheism is very different from the Christian belief that created beings are something different than God. In that context, when Christians speak of 'oneness' with God, it is a relational oneness or unity (like with a family, a marriage, a team, or a friendship), not a oneness or equality of kind. When Christians (especially the Eastern Orthodox) speak of people becoming gods, it is not an equality with the Creator, but being adopted by the Creator by way of the love of Christ and the leading of the Spirit, only partially brought about before the Kingdom comes. They are talking about our working with the Spirit to have us take on the Creator's drive, character and purpose. They are not talking about some spiritual or theological fairy dust that makes you into the Creator.
   
   Most pantheisms have a pecking-order, probably because they quietly realized that if everyone is equally a god, then, in effect, no one is really a god -- the term loses its meaning.

You can also check the dictionary.