Seduction of Spirituality

Posted By on August 9, 2010

I think most people would think that science is good, because it has certainly made our lives more comfortable. Advances in science has been immense in the last 100 years or so. In a way science has brought us all together through things like improved transportation and communication. First it was television, and now the internet makes it possible to access all kinds of information 24/7. But being more comfortable does not necessarily mean more happiness. Some of the richest and most comfortable people are also the most miserable.

This happens when we identify with science, instead of that which gave rise to science in the first place. Atheists believe only in what they can measure with the senses. For them the scientific method is the ultimate test of reality. These people does not believe that they have a soul, so the only thing they can identify with is the ego. For them they are the ego. The problem with this world view is that since they don’t believe in an ultimate reality where we are all one, they are motivated to act from the ego or separation. Not all atheists act like this, but most do.

When science is viewed from such a point of view, it is seen as a means to conquer nature and others. We see this in wars between nations and environmental damage. Some of the things science has created threatens our very survival as a species. Nuclear and biological weapons has the potential to wipe us out. We are also seeing immense damage being done to the environment when man uses science for their own greed. Science itself is neither good nor bad. It can clearly be used for the good or the bad of mankind. This is where spirituality comes in.

Whether we use technology for good or bad will depend on our level of consciousness. If we act in ignorance of the fact that we are one with nature and each other, then will we continue to use science for evil. We will try to dominate nature and each other, because that is what you do if you see yourself as separate. The ego sees itself as separated and alone, and therefor it lives in fear. It thinks by having power over others and nature it will become happy. But even if these things are attained, the fear always lingers that these things can be lost.

The way that the ego goes about finding happiness was always bound to fail. The only way to be happy is to get in touch with that part of yourself which is timeless and one with all other things. Then there is no need to impress others, because you have found true worth within yourself. You don’t identify with science itself, but that which made science possible in the first place. Many scientists and atheists claim that science isn’t analogues to religion. But think about it. An atheist believes there is no God. But they can’t be certain of that either.

For one thing no one has ever proved that God does not exist. So to it turns out that being atheist is a type of religion itself, because they believe in something they have no proof of. We all believe in something because very few of us, if any, actually knows the truth. I believe it is possible to find God subjectively, but since I haven’t completed my path it is a type of belief for me as well. But for me it is a faith that keeps getting stronger as more are revealed to me. It’s not just a blind belief. Furthermore, it is for the best of everyone to believe that we are all part of the same whole.

If we believe that and start living as if that was the case, things would drastically improve for us. We would stop trying to dominate each other and nature. We would act from love instead of fear. There doesn’t even have to be anything mystical about his. But ultimately like I said science is neither good nor bad. We need to make science something good by going behind our ego personality and realizing our oneness with all things through spiritual inquiry.

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Tags: science good or bad

Posted By on August 4, 2010

Being ———> Feeling ———> Thinking ———> Doing

Above are the four levels of existence. It is impossible to not be in at least one of these states of existence, but everything starts with being. Being is the subtlest from of existence, and also the most real. Being is absolute reality, where God exists. It is that field of all possibilities from where the whole physical universe came from. Feeling is next, which is less subtle then being. Yet still it can’t be seen. No one has ever observed a feeling. After feeling comes thinking, which is closer to something physical. Thought can actually be observed by scientists as electrical firings in the brain.

And finally there is doing, which is physical action. Doing is the least subtle form of existence, and the least real. Most people exist in their heads. They are always thinking about either the past or the future. Therefor they spend very little time just being. As long as you think, there is no time to be, because pure being implies no thought. People think by doing they will eventually feel or be happy. But this never works. No matter how many things they get done, there is always more to do. But it never made sense to swim upstream, did it?

Since everything flows from being, it makes much more sense to start there. That way you can just drift downstream. Sounds simple? It is. The whole universe came from being, and it did so effortlessly. If the whole universe with it’s infinite complexity came from being, then it only makes sense for us to do so as well. Nature and all it’s complexities works like this as well. There is no such thing as effort in nature. Trees don’t strain to grow, it just happens. Birds don’t strain to migrate, they just do. It is only humans who uses effort and thinks ahead or looks back.

If we came from being, things would become effortless and easy. A great Indian sage, Nisargadatta Maharaj, once said this: “The window is the absence of the wall, and it gives air and light because it is empty. Be empty of al mental content, of all imagination and effort, and the very absence of obstacles will cause reality to rush in”. Believe it or not, this is the fastest way to get what you want. From a state of being everything becomes effortless. And the more you are grounded in being, the faster your desires manifest.

This is because you have the force of the whole universe behind you. When you act from thought(ego), the power you have to manifest your desires are considerably less. The universal have infinitely more power than the personal. Also, when you come from being, you can’t help but come from love, because love is the essential nature of being. This in turn causes your feelings, thoughts and action to benefit everyone around you as well. If you act from the ego you act out of personal interest and it often has a negative effect on everything around you.

This is why the world is currently in the state that it is in. People have been driven by their egos which is motivated by fear, and it has created wars, untold environmental damage, and poverty. If everyone lived from being, which is based in love, we would see the opposite of this happening. We would see peace, a healthy environment, and abundance. It sounds almost to good to be true, doesn’t it? That is only because we humans have become so out of touch with our true selves, which is pure being. We have complicated things for ourselves to the point where things seem beyond repair.

But luckily for us the solution is simple. To exist in a state of being is the easiest thing, because it doesn’t require you to do anything. But it is hard for us because we always have something to do or think about. Therefor it is important to make time to just be. As always, this can be done through meditation, but also by reminding yourself to be mindful. To me mindful is to observe your thoughts. As soon as your thoughts drift into the past or future, just notice it and bring your focus back to the present. The present is the only place where being resides, and when you access it fully anything will become possible for you.

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Tags: being, how to get what you want, states of existence

Posted By on August 2, 2010

I have a possible explanation for God that I want to share with you. The idea came to me when I was debating an atheist on the internet about whether or not God exists. Of course I won’t be able to prove to you that God exists, but I can give you a good hypothesis, after which you can decide for yourself whether you’d like to test the hypothesis for yourself. Atheists are mostly scientists, who wants material proof for everything. They are just at the opposite side of the same spectrum with religion. Religion takes things on blind faith, while scientists wants hard proof.

I told this atheist that I have learned in life that extremes are never good. There is always a happy middle ground. And the middle ground here is between science and religion. Both have it’s place, but both have it’s limitations. For instance, how do you proof being through science? The only way to proof being is by experiencing it. Why would you want to prove something that you are? You just know and that is enough. Religion on the other hand just accepts certain things without any scientific proof whatsoever, which makes them vulnerable as well.

The atheists then asked me how I define God. Scientists likes definitions after all. But I wasn’t going to make it that easy on him. If we assume that God is the cause of the Universe, which is in line with the traditional definition of him, then how much sense would it make to try and explain him in terms of anything inside of the Universe? In other words, words can’t do the job. The best words can do is to explain what God is not, like unborn, undying, unmanifest, unknown, etc. This is where science falls short, because they try to explain God with their brains, when God is transcendent to the brain.

I made a post about this earlier titled Is Life Like a Computer Game? In this post I argued that the universe is like a giant computer game, and God is the creator of it. As long as you try to find God inside the computer, you are doomed to fail. To find God you must totally shift your perspective. In other words you must step out of the game yourself. How is this done? Through spiritual seeking. It is done by going beyond the ego and this world of ‘things’. This is what spiritual discipline like meditation is for. By practicing spiritual disciplines you gradually disidentify with the ego and ‘the game’.

And by doing this you start identifying with God. At the end of the journey you become God. This is also called self-realization in spiritual circles. This is a state of being, not a state of feeling, thinking, or doing. Your five senses is useless to experience this reality. Not even your thoughts or your feelings will help you here. You are just pure being. When I explained this to the atheist he asked me on which facts do I base this. But that is like asking on what facts do I base my existence. I don’t base my existence on anything, I just know that I exist.

Then the atheist went on to ask me who created the creator. This is a good question, one I have asked myself on several occasions as well. This is where a certain amount of faith comes in I think, because this is a hard question to answer. If what the spiritual masters has told us is true, which is that there is a state of complete knowing, then it takes time to get to that place. These masters did not just stumble on the truth by accident. They were seekers before they found the answer. Therefor if we are going to find God, we must do the same.

God is a subjective experience, and every person needs to have it for themselves. This is where faith is important. Faith is not the same as belief. Belief is a cover-up for insecurities, which is what religion is about. Faith is knowing on an intuitive level that something could be true, and then following that intuition until you’ve realized the truth fully. I can’t think of a better reason to be alive. If God exists, which he seems to, then it is only logical to look for him. And when you find God you will have all the answers once and for all.

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Tags: does god exist, god, meaning of life