Reflections on Cleansing Stream Retreat Bangkok, 19-21 Aug 2011 " The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" - Walden, 1854. Some call it resignation, emptiness, meaninglessness; others call it depression, oppression, stress. There is a whole spectrum of such diverse emotions, from mild to severe. I've learnt that these are called by other names - a spirit of fear; a spirit of guilt, shame and condemnation ; a spirit of an orphan heart; a spirit of poverty and lack. and even a spirit of death. How did it happen? Let's go back to the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. After God has created and set the universe in place, He created the animals, the birds, the fishes, and then came His Masterpiece - man and woman. While all the rest were good, man and woman were "very good.". The woman was designed to be "a helper comparable to him." Thus God instituted marriage and decreed that "they shall become one flesh". God gave...