It's New Year

The New Year is here and I have never understood the big deal. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, those all have a spiritual significance, even if is simply a way of keeping traditions alive. The same can even be said of the Fourth of July and Memorial Day.

I have to say the meaning of Labor Day escapes me. I know, it is a celebration of America's workers, but no one remembers that now. I suppose it does give everyone a last summer blowout.

But New Year is nothing but the changing of the calendar. The few traditions associated with it mostly concern alcohol, parades and football. I always figured you can drink any day, watch football from September through January until it is coming out your ears, and I am not a huge fan of parades.

I believe that everyday can be a celebration and any get together, whether it be lunch with a friend, dinner with your family, or breakfast with the usual crowd at the Waffle House. Any get together can be a party, if you have the right attitude

Spiritual renewal must be tied into the physical renewal. To separate them is like trying to eat cereal without milk. Such renewals need to occur at least on a daily basis, often several times a day.

Okay, now that I have finished being grumpy, let me wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

The After Christmas Blues

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. The only problem is, it's over. A lot of times, there is a problem with holidays. When they are over, there is a letdown. The party is over and you are not quite ready for that. The work world is calling and you are not ready to answer.

Don't let it get you down and  don't beat yourself up. You are just being human/

The best thing you can do is be easy on yourself and everyone else for a few days. Smile a lot, laugh a lot, and if you have to force it, do so. Remember the fun, and regard every minute spent with friends and family as a blessing. Remind yourself how you felt in those pleasant times and carry it forward.

It is a truism that we should carry that Christmas spirit throughout the year. We should and if you can pull that off, congratulations; you are doubly blessed. Most of us fall short of that and that's okay. No one is perfect. But you should at least  try to maintain those feelings of warmth,  joy and goodwill to men.

The funny thing is, such feelings become a habit. The more you do it, the more it comes naturally. So, throughout the next few days, put on a happy face, and you will soon find that you actually are happy. We humans are very good at fooling ourselves.

 The post Christmas blues are no joke. Some people get seriously depressed during this Season. With most of us, though, it is just a touch of sadness. Actually, poignant may be a better word, kind of a sweet letdown. Ride it out. You'll be fine. But, if it gets to heavy, please, find someone to talk to about it. A friendly ear is of great help.

Christmas

This Sunday is the day when countless Christians celebrate the birth of Christ. Was He born on December 25? Almost definitely not. Remember that whole shepherds tending their flocks in the fields at night thing? Well, it's cold in Israel in December and the sheep are not in the fields at night. Most likely, He was born in late spring or summer.

Does it matter? Not in the slightest. Dec. 25 is as good a day to celebrate as any. The point is how the man lived and what he taught. The details provided in the Gospels are highly mythologized. The early Church, quite practically, knew that the people of the Roman Empire, including the converted, had a tradition of gift giving and revelry in the Dec. celebration of Saturnalia, so they co-opted it. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In this Country, America, and many others, Christmas is as much a cultural tradition as a religious one. Again, that's just fine. Traditions, as long as you don't get too mired in them, are important.

Ant way you look at it, no matter what you think. have a Wonderful Merry Christmas.

Formal Religion

I hope that any reading these musings do not get the idea that I am against formal religions. Personally, I think more in terms of spirituality, but I am in no way against structured beliefs, those common to standard religions.

Some people benefit greatly from the structure of the accepted belief systems and that is fine. I enjoy some of the trappings of the various Churches. The ceremony and ritual is lovely and, when done right, is very moving.

My argument with the formal religions is the dogma, the unbending form. The words and ceremonies of Churches are but signposts, pointing toward the Essence, the Reality. They are not what they are pointing toward. They sometimes lose track of that.

At the same time, any time you are traveling a highway, it is a huge help to have those signposts. They can save you years of wondering around in the wilderness.

Just do not mistake the sign for the destination.

Good, sort of

Having written last time about evil, I am going to tackle good. Just as tjere is very little pure evil in the World, there is very little pure good.

What is good for me, is likely not so good for another. Here is an example.

I am retired. Suppose I decide I am bored and apply for a job. Further, suppose I am wealthy and boredom is the only reason I want to work. Now, suppose that there is one other applicant, and he is desperate for the job; maybe he has 9 kids, a mortgage and a car payment.

Let us further suppose that we are equally qualified for the job. Now, let's say that for whatever reason, maybe I happen to come when the hirer is in a good mood and he's grumpy when the other guy shows up, I get hired. Hooray!

Most of my friends will also say hurray and will think my hiring a good thing.

On the other hand, my fellow applicant may not think it good, He was desperate for the job; I was not.

Let your mind roam a bit and I am sure you can think up any number of scenarios demonstrating moral ambivalence.

Just as you want to be slow to judge evil, be slow to declare something good.

Something Wicked

One of my favorite lines from Shakespeare is when, as Macbeth approaches, one of the 3 witches chants, "by the twitching of my thumb, something wicked this way comes."

Well, my thumb is just twitching away. I do not trust the military junta that is taking over Washington, but this blog is not about politics.

No, today, I want to write about evil. Well, I really don't want to, but I feel I should. The existence of evil is a topic that has plagued religious thinkers for as long as we have been on this planet. Theodicy, the moral nature of God, is one of the thorniest subjects you can tackle, and I have no intention of doing so,

All I can say, is that evil exists, always has, and very likely, always will. Why? I can only say a couple of things. First, the Cosmos seems to work on a polar basis, with opposites interacting constantly. Good/evil, hot/cold, positive /negative, etc. and the interaction of these opposites is required to keep things running.

Second, God, by whatever Name you use, has given His/Her Creation freedom, within the scope of the physical laws. As such, evil must be allowed. Since it must be allowed, it also serves a purpose. It tests us. It gives us resistance, friction, and keeps us from becoming nothing more than lumps of spiritual goo.

Somewhere in the Old Testament (I am terrible about remembering Chapter and Verse), God says that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He/She also says that He/ She will use evil to do good. So, I guess the best thing we can do is avoid doing evil as much as we can and trust the somewhere down the line, everything will work out, at least for a little while.

It is also useful to remember that the extreme ends of the poles, good/evil, are just that, extreme. Almost everything exists somewhere between the two extremes.  So, don't ever be in a hurry to judge.

Still, every now and then, my thumbs start twitching.

Look Closely

I want you to try an experiment. Go outside and look at a leaf. It doesn't matter what kind. It can be from a tree, shrub, or grass. Just look at it closely.

Look at the structure, at the intricate design of the veins. Then, get a magnifying glass and look closer and see how even more intricate that design is than it appears to the naked eye. Then look at it through a microscope. (I know, few folks keep one around, but there are countless such pictures in books and on the internet) At every level, the leaf becomes more and more amazing, and, at the cell level, you become aware, that in those tiny specks, there is a whole world of activity.

Then, back away and think. We have a pretty good idea of what goes on in a cell, but only pretty good. We understand the chemistry that is occurring, and a lot of the physics at the mechanical level, but there is much we don't know about the electrical and quantum physics  happening in those cells.

Then, be aware, we have no idea absolutely no idea of the whys of the cells life. Why does this happen? It is obvious to any but the most idiotically hard headed materialists, that this delicate mechanism, is not the result of any sort of accident. Lightening did not strike a chemical rich gob of mud in the distant past and produce this. Science, while useful and important, cannot explain why and cannot understand, in full, what is going on. What's the answer?

God, you say? Okay, I agree, but stop a moment. If we cannot understand this relatively simple bit of Nature, what can we say about God. Hard headed religious believers, of which there are many, are just as foolish as hard headed scientific materialists.

God's Universe is a mystery; God is a greater mystery and all of that is wonderful, but, blessedly, it eliminates any possibilities of hard dogma. Allow God to be that grand mystery and the Universe becomes enchanted.

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Recent events in our political situation have forced me to pay heed to Jesus' advice: 'Beware of those in sheep's clothing who are ravening wolves'. I make it a point to leave politics out of this blog, but I need to make an exception.

Our current President-elect made a huge show of compassion for the working class of America. He expertly pushed all of the right emotional buttons and, all in all, it was a heck of a good act. Unfortunately, it appears to have been just that, an act.

How can I say that? Simple. First, he is dead set on lowering taxes on rich folks a lot, dropping them to about half the level they were under Reagan. This, he says will lead to a trickle down effect and the poor and middle class will prosper. Reagan said the same thing. It did not work then and it will not work now, As the saying goes, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.

Second, there will be no real assistance for those who need it because, what tax money that will be collected will be sent to the military. He keeps saying that we will rebuild the forces to WW2  levels. This will benefit the powerful who run the defense industry, who will likely stop paying corporate taxes and pay less income taxes. It will not help those who need it and we do not need to be that heavily armed (remember, we have enough nukes to blow the Earth into tiny bits; no one will ever dare directly attack us except terrorists and all the military on Earth will not stop them. An aircraft carrier will not stop a lunatic with a car an a knife).

In addition, a military cannot continue to justify its existence without a few wars. Do we really want to continue this cycle of endless war (again, remember, since WW2 we have fought in Korea, Vietnam, Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Bosnia, Grenada, Syria, Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Laos, Cambodia. Do we really want to keep this up in light of the clear facts that the only thing these wars have brought us are whole bunch of dead American kids).

Jesus also said, 'by their fruits shall you know them.' The fruits of our new leadership are likely to be very sour.

Predestination

Predestination, the idea that your future is all laid out and inevitable, is an old and tempting concept. True? Well, like most things, yes and no.

The Greeks had the concept of Fate, Hindus and Buddhists have the concept of karmic determination, and among Christians, there is the bizarre concept of election. John Calvin taught that our salvation, or lack there of, was determined by God before our birth.

If all of our life is predetermined, this whole life is but a sad joke. The idea that we have no choices is depressing; of course, Calvin was not known to be a barrel of laughs.

The concept seems to have validity because we look back, see how things went, and have an idea that it seems a logical progression. Event A caused Event B, and so on. Hindsight, however, is not 20-20; other possibilities existed and simply were not taken up.

What of concepts like karma? They certainly exist and it is true that your circumstances propel you down certain paths but, propel is not the same as compel. You can vary the path to a great extent can even leave it. It may be difficult, so difficult that it is unlikely, but you so have options.

You do not, however, have unlimited free will. I may decide tomorrow that I am going to play center for the Lakers next year, but no matter how much will I have, it is not going to happen.

Remember when Cain was about to bash Abel; a voice told him that he 'may choose to do what is right.' He did not, but the option was there.

I like to look on life as a nice bit of jazz, There is a theme, a melody, but, within that melody, there is a lot of room for improvisation.

Thankgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It starts off a few weeks when we take time for tradition. It should be a time of joy, but, all too often, it becomes a nightmare, simply because we get sidetracked with unimportant nonsense.

You do not have to overdo things. Yes, I love all the great food, but it's preparation should not be stressful. You don't have to cook everything in the world, a few dishes are sufficient. Just be sure to have something for folks with dietary restrictions. If you find a difficult recipe, trust me; Thanksgiving is not the time to try it out. If you and your guests like tradition, a ham or turkey is fine, but, if your crowd is a bit more daring, try something else. What? Anything. Fish, lasagna, game hens, a nice beef or pork roast, or, one of my favorites, lamb.

For one day, put aside old family arguments and grudges. You can manage it for one day out of the year and it is possible that just that one day is sufficient to forget the issue forever.

If some members of the group want, after the meal, to watch football and doze,  fine. It's a tradition and it won't hurt anyone to do that for a day. If others like to go hit those early after Thanksgiving sales, let them. If others want to hike to throw a football around, fine. You don't have to all be together the whole day. Besides, later in the day, you can all get together to have a drink and nibble left overs.

The key, in fact the only important thing, is still the gathering together in a spirit of thanks. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

By Their Fruits

Perhaps the greatest spiritual advice is an admonition from Jesus; 'by their fruits shall you know them." This holds in almost every circumstance in life. Now that I think about it, that is not surprising since all of life is spiritual, although we often forget that.

Many people you run into in life will promise various things and deliver something else. We expect this in business and politics, although the fact that we do shows how degenerate society has become. Most do not expect that in religious matters. I have known hard core atheists who, for some reason, expected clergymen to be sincere, if incorrect. Many times, all too often, folks learn that those clergymen, and they can be of any belief system, are just as dishonest and avaricious as any hedge fund manager, actually worse, since more is expected of those in the religion business. This revelation of dishonesty and greed, not just for money, but also for power, id horribly disillusioning and, often this is what turns folks away from religion.

Okay, I have no problem with turning from formal religion, but, all too often, people throw out the baby with the bathwater and lose interest in all spirituality and that makes life far more difficult and bleak than it need be.

Whenever you are looking into anything, spiritual or otherwise, take some time and look into what is being done, not what is being said. Does a spokesman speak of deep spiritual matters while devoting all income to building a luxurious chap?  Be careful. Is great morality being preached while the preacher is leering at the young folks in the congregation? Be careful.

Again, in Jesus' words; 'By their fruits shall you know them.' Let this be your life's guide and your journey will be smoother.

Freedom

Freedom is not a simple concept. Let's start with free will. Do we have free will? Yes and no. We have many choices we can make, and we are free to pick any one, but, which one we choose is often greatly influenced by our personal history and our cultural history. If I am a five foot tall, Saudi Arabian woman, I am not likely to choose to be an NBA power forward. If I am  sixty years old, it is unlikely that I will decide to win next year's Masters Tournament. If I am 90 and never finished high school, it is darn unlikely that I will take up particle physics. I am free in all of those instances to do the unlikely, but odds are, I will not.

There is 'freedom to." We are free to try to do just about anything. If you wish to rob banks, there is no one that can stop you from trying. Now, if you go ahead, there are potentially dire consequences, but there is no prior restraint. This kind of freedom, can be important. We are free to believe any religion we wish to, or none, if that is our preference. However, it is very easy for this kind of freedom to become juvenile, a sort of 'you can't make me,' kind of thing. Or, 'I'll do just as I please.' There is truth and a sort of freedom in both those statements but, they can become childish. No one can stop you from living on ice cream, but it is a terrible idea. Still, there are people who will do something just because they are told they can't.

There is also 'freedom from.' In our culture, we believe, or say we believe, that people should be free from hunger. We  say that people should be free from violent attacks. We certainly do not live up to these statements, but they are common values and they are important. Just as important is a more personal form of freedom. Freedom from compulsions is, to me, the highest, most mature form of freedom. For example, if I am 100 pounds over weight, and I cannot stop eating 12 Twinkies every day, I have a serious and deadly compulsion, and my life would be better off if I was free from it. If, ever week, I bet half my paycheck on a race horse, I am slave to a compulsion.

In both of these cases, I am free to do these things, but, I would be better off to be free from the compulsion to do them. However, to show you how complex this concept of freedom is, I am free to do them, and, if I come from a culture where these are acceptable behaviors, and there are such cultures, it is unlikely that I will change, and, If I do, I become outcast by that culture.

Freedom and free will are difficult concepts and something we all struggle with. Be gentle with others who are dealing with these issues, and a bit harsh with yourself when you are dealing with them. You cannot force others to change, but you must force yourself if you want to be free.

Repentence

Repenting is more complex than people think.. It is more than admitting sin and asking forgiveness. To repent, you must change your heart, your way of confronting and perceiving the World. Anyone can repent at any time, but ti is not easy.

I am writing this in the wake of our recent election. We had 2 very flawed individuals running for President. Okay, we are all flawed. Here is what I see as the difference. I could be wrong, but this is what I saw.

Ms. Clinton, instead of admitting her misbehavior, in any bit the most cursory fashion, kept trying to duck the issue. She obfuscated, she told blatant lies, and she tried to blame everyone else. This is just compounding the original transgressions.

Donald Trump has done some pretty sleazy things in his career. He admits it and seems to regret it, and seems to be trying to change. Why do I think he is sincere? Because, as the campaign went on, he began to speak with more and more compassion about the plight of the people he was meeting. I do not believe Trump had spent a lot of time around working class American men and women, but his style of campaigning forced him to do just that. I believe that he discovered that he liked us. After all, we are a lovable and admirable lot. As he discovered what we are all about, he, very naturally, began to want to help us solve our problems. In short, he has admitted mistakes, apologized, and changed the ay he interacts with the World. This is the essence of the act of repenting.

It is hard to stand in front of the World and admit your mistakes, and, no matter how his Presidency turns out, he is to be congratulated.

Stay Calm and Focus on the Sacred

The election is tomorrow and, conventional wisdom says that our troubles are just beginning. No matter who wins, this Nation is so divided that neither of these amazingly unpopular candidates will be able to heal the rifts and, as I look around, I honestly believe that people do not want them healed.

We have always been more divided than we cared to admit, but things seem to becoming to a head. I have no idea what will happen. But, I do know how to cope.

Look deeply. The World is still here and will be so long after you and I are worm food. The Divine, the Creator, is still visible in this magnificent World and, although we all act like incredibly stupid children, the spark of Divinity is in all of us. Look beneath the surface lunacy and hunt that spark. You will often have to do a good bit of searching, but it is there.

That essence, you can relate to, maybe not the surface stupidity, but, the underlying essence. When you see this, you have something to work with, to relate to, and then, you can calm down and begin to see a common ground to begin work.

Of course, you also have to be looking inside yourself underneath all the layers of lunacy you have allowed to dominate yourself.

Also, realize that all this will pass and what will be left, ultimately is the soul, the Divine essence. All the rest of this nonsense is just a dog and pony show.

So, when you see your fellow Americans at each other's throats and you hear our leaders screaming like petulant children who have just lost their teddy bears, back off, calm down, and realize that all of this will give way to the Creator's gift of life and soul. At the same time, be practical and, when you see the crap about to hit the fan, duck.

See All Things As New

All too often, we drag ourselves through the days in a sort of bored stupor. We all go through periods like this. As a result, we all wait for the 'big event.' In Claude Brown's wonderful autobiography, Manchild In The Promised Land, he refers to this as 'the Saturday night syndrome.' This is the idea that, after a week of work, and before Sunday church services, something extraordinary had to happen on Saturday.

It can be something great, a new love, a hometown team wins, old friends come by, a party goes well It, oddly enough, can be something bad, losing a fight, getting drunk and winding up in jail, losing your paycheck in a poker game; all terrible things, but they are at least something different, something that breaks the boredom.

This is understandable, in a demented kind of way. However, it is demented, because, if you simply pay attention, you will see that nothing in this World, is ever the same, not from week to week, not from day to day, not even from nanosecond to nanosecond.

All of the World, everything in space and time, is in a state of constant change. To see that you just have to realize the truth of that statement, then pay attention. This is one of those things that, once you see it, your life will change forever and you will always be delighted with all of the little things of everyday life.

Now, I still like good company, a good show, and a good time, but, when nothing much is going on, that's okay too, because I can just slow down and see all the fine little doings of the World. Give it a try and you will make your life richer. 

 

I and Thou

Martin Buber's little book is one of the most important you can read. It is very short and very simple, but it can change the way you see the World.

Buber's thesis is that you can relate to the World in 2 ways, I-It and I-Thou. I-It is how we generally go through or days and it is useful. This is a relationship where you see things as just that, things. It is the view of secular life.

I-Thou is a relationship of life to life and this is a sacred relationship.

For example: If I go out and see a tree, like the oak outside my door and see it as just a tree, that is I-It. But, if I see it as the magnificent living being that it is. That is I-Thou, a sacred relationship.

Sometimes, and we all are guilty of this, we even see other people in an I-It relationship. Instead of seeing a human being, we might see Fred the car repairman who is taking to long with my car. When you do this, you have reduced Fred to an object. This is more apparent in wars where instead of an individual being you must relate to, you just label him as enemy, a thing.

Buber explains this far better than I can and I urge you to read his book; it will change how you perceive the World.

The Bible

Very few books can set off a firestorm of discussion and harsh argument. The Bible is one. I recently have been sorting out my feelings about the book.

The Bible, contrary to those who take it literally, is not history, nor is it science. It was an effort by the people of the ancient Mid East to figure our their relation to the Creator and to one another. It is not literally true and that was never the intent. Those people understood something that we have forgotten. Stories. mythology, is written in poetic language. Poetry is how we talk about subjects that are almost impossible to talk about. Through poetic language, we can approach the truth, hint at it, create images, not diagrams.

The Bible is full of wonderful stories. Are they about people who really lived? Did those things really happen? Who knows? Probably some did and some did not and likely none of them are the step by step, historically accurate, but that is not the point. They are pictures of human beings struggling to understand their World and, as such, are true.

Ken Kesey, in his novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest wrote, at the books beginning, "It's the truth, even if it never happened, it's the truth." That's how I view the Bible. 

Pay Attention

The human mind is a strange critter. The mind, contrary to what some neuroscientists say, is not just the brain. What it is, is just not known, but the mind perceives the World through the brain, which in  turn processes the information received from the senses.

The brain takes that data and turns it into a picture of the World. Seemingly, half the brain works in terms of totality and pictures; while the other half uses words. This is, of course a simplified view, but it is sufficient. All of this is needed for our survival but it limits how we see the World.

It is possible to turn this picture we paint and the mechanisms that paint it, off, for short periods. There are techniques: meditation, prayer, rhythmic movements, music, mental games (such as the koans of Zen), and even drugs (effective but a hard and dangerous method).

What happens then is wonderful. The boundaries between things, especially living things, becomes less substantial. You begin to see the exquisite glow of life shining through. Your World becomes a radiant wonder and, you never forget the experience. Life, when you  return to normal consciousness, is richer.

Now, this is not a state you can live in all the time, nor should you. You must return to normal thought to survive and do your work. Actually, you will seldom spend much time in the altered state. If you can hang out there for a few minutes, consider yourself blessed. So, on occasion, try to turn off your brain and see the fullness of existence.

Don't Overlook the Small Blessings

Recently, during Hurricane Matthew, we lost power during the high winds a heavy rains. Those same winds and rains slowed the Power Company workers. We were lucky. We were only powerless for a day and a half. Some folks nearby were without for a week. Still, it was odd and, there was a time in my life that I would have been climbing the walls wondering what was taking so long.

But, I have learned to value the little things. I would have liked a nice hot meal, but, we had a bunch of things like cheese crackers and trail mix and canned sausages, and guess what? When you are hungry, they are great.

I would have liked to turn on the air conditioner, but we opened the door and, with the breeze (okay, strong wind) it was reasonably comfortable. No hot water made for an icy shower, but, still we got clean. And while I would have enjoyed watching golf on TV, it was nice to sit quietly and read and talk.  

Probably best of all was when those first patches of blue sky came through, indicating that the storm was almost past. The little things of life are important. If you learn to slow down and enjoy them, to savor the small blessings, you will be a lot happier.

Patience

One of the most powerful spiritual powers available is patience. Things happen as they happen. Now, that sounds simplistic, but stay with me.

Where I live, we experience Hurricane Matthew. Watching the radar as it approached was maddening because the details of its path determined just how much we would be affected. I finally stopped watching because it really did not matter what we were seeing, we just had to wait. Things unfolded as they unfolded and all the watching and worrying was useless..

We weren't hit too hard, but we had a mess. Electric power went off and there was much speculation on when we would get it back. Surprisingly. ours was back the next night. However, not far from here, it took a week.

We lost cable TV and the internet service, Since we got power back so quickly. it seemed logical that they would soon follow. Instead, we waited 10 days. Things had to be worked on in a certain order and we had to be patient.

You know, it wasn't so bad. I read a lot and talked a lot, got a bunch of rest and a fair amount of exercise. I also learned a bit about patience

Mother Nature Wins

As I sit here in Brunswick, Ga., a hurricane is coming. We figure to be hit fairly hard, but I don't think it will be as bad as the news people are saying. Still, it's nothing to play with.

I am always amazed by these huge storms. Having spent 50 years in S. Florida, I have seen a bunch of them, and they are awesome.

We humans are a prideful lot, and deservedly so. We have built fantastic structures and a world that would have seemed like a science fiction dream to my Grandparents. Still, every now and then, Mother Nature reminds us who the boss is. It is hard to describe the power of a storm carrying 100+mph winds. I have seen tall trees bent double and seen oaks uprooted like toys. I have seen roofs ripped off like they were Legos.

In theology, there is a term for this, mysterium tremendum. When you perceive the awesome power of Creation as beautiful it is called myterium fascenens. When you see it as terrible, that is mysterium tremendum. In the beauty of a hurricane, you experience the latter. Frightening? Yes, but it is beautiful, sublime.

When push comes to shove, Nature wins and, it is good for the soul to occasionally be reminded of that. If you are reading this and are in the path of the storm, use your head and you will be fine. The rest of you? A prayer for those in danger would be helpful.

Finding the Sacred in Everything

The World should not be divided into the Sacred and the Secular. This is a grave mistake. By creating such separation, we cheapen much of life. If you do not see the Sacred in everyday life, you will not take care and will not cherish the World.

Frank Herbert, in his great book Dune, makes the point that all religions are, to varying degrees, anti-life, and, with the possible exception of the animistic religions, this is true. Christianity and Islam, with their belief that the afterlife is what matters are surely guilty of this and the Eastern religions, with their belief in Nirvana, the goal beyond life and beyond all, are equally guilty.

I am not sure that the founders of these belief systems meant for their teachings to be taken that way. Actually, I am fairly sure they did not, but they lost control over those teachings and, for what ever reason, those religions do have a kind of distaste, if not a downright disgust, with life.

This should not be. Ask yourself this. Can you explain why anything exists? Why is that ant crawling over your kitchen table? Why is it raining? Why are you breathing? Ultimately, why is their something rather that nothing? No one, not even the great priests or scientists  can answer that. It is a Sacred Mystery, beyond our understanding, likely beyond our capacity to understand. Thus, if you look at things the right way, everything is Sacred.

Today

Today is all we have. There is an old drinker's toast that goes, 'here's to today, tomorrow is only a promise." Will tomorrow come? Odds are it will. Will you still be here? Who knows?

Jesus said that 'man is caught in an evil net and knows not his time.' Philosophers as diverse as Heraclitus and the Buddha taught the impermanence of everything in the realm of time and space. You, as you are, will not exist tomorrow. Cells will die and be replace. The events of the day will change your thoughts.  The day itself, no matter how familiar it seems, will not be the same/ Creatures will have aged, the trees and flowers will be continuing their slow parade through their cycle, and the Earth will have undergone countless shifts in its structure.

Will any of us still be here tomorrow? Most likely, but certainly not all of us. Yet, this is not a sad fact. It is just a fact. What you do with that fact is up to you.

Some, realizing this constant change, which includes their own mortality, will sink into despair, a somewhat understandable, but ultimately childish. response. The wise will simply celebrate the day. You celebrate, not just with a party, although that may not be a bad idea, but also by doing your work and taking pride in doing well. You celebrate by doing right by your family and friends. You celebrate simply by enjoying the amazing beauty of this world.

WE have today. And, if we do it right, that's enough.

Anger

Anger is an overly maligned emotion. I, here and there, see remnants of the 'New Age' religious movements and they seem to want to live in a world of fluffy inane 'love,' a world never darkened by such coarse emotions as anger. I heard the same nonsense form the 60s hippies, idiocy like John Lennon's All You Need Is Love. This in one of the arguments I have with Buddhists, at least some of them, who view anger as a base emotion.

Anger is a perfectly valid emotion. There are things in this world that you should be angry about. The way that others are often treated is inexcusable. Sometime the way you are treated justifies anger. The real problem is how we channel the energy that comes from anger.

If you are mistreated, go ahead and be angry, but, don't turn that anger into violent rage. Instead,
 use it to prod you into some positive action that will overcome the malice of those who hurt you. If you see another being mistreated, try to help them.  Sometimes, just a kind word or two to show them that they are appreciated is sufficient. Sometimes a kind deed is required and sometimes a sharp rebuke of the person who harmed them is needed. Use the anger to promote a good deed on your part.

Anger that festers into rage is counterproductive. There is certainly a lot to be angry about these days, but, consider our current political campaigns. Hillary and Donald are descending rapidly into a pit of nastiness that would embarrass a 3 year old. She, instead of making positive proposals, seems angry at Americans who don't support her, resorting to name calling and inane attacks on her opponent. Donald has backed a way from the vitriol a little but his whole campaign is now tainted by the nastiness he displayed in the primaries. Both have allowed personal anger to take them in very negative directions when it should have led them to firm up and substantiate their positive proposals for fixing the Nation's problems.

In short, anger is not the problem. It's what you do with it that counts.

Worry

Jesus asked if worrying could add one second to your life, The answer, obviously, was and is 'no.' There are problems in the World, but all worry does is cloud the mind. Like fear, worry is natural. We don't know the future. Jesus also addressed this when he said, 'man is caught in an evil net and knows not his time.' He said that the World would go through times of earthquakes, volcanos, and 'wars and rumors of wars.' But, again, he said, fear not.

Worry binds you up. It causes your body to release an abundance of hormones, in a fight or flight reaction. Now, if you are in a situation when fighting or fleeing were appropriate responses, great. But, it you are just thinking of future possibilities, this reaction is not yet necessary and your nervous system goes a bit crazy. To make matters worse, some of those hormones, when unnecessarily released, degrade into harmful chemicals, and even worse, since the body can only produce so much of these chemical signals, when you need them, they may not be there.

When you find yourself worrying, ask yourself what good is it doing. The answer will generally be, none. Breathe deeply, then force your brain to think logically and try to weigh all options and possibilities. Your brain is a great servant, but a lousy master, and it can be controlled. This is where logic and reason come into play. Your forebrain can and will over ride the reptilian brain and the old mammalian brain and take charge.

Worrying about what has not yet happened is a poor strategy; planning is not. Use your head.

Fear

Frank Herbert, in his brilliant science fiction novel Dune, used a phrase, 'fear is the mind killer,' as a sort of mantra that several characters used. I will go a step further. Fear is the soul killer.

Fear is an automatic response, based on a perceived threat to the body. All well and good. The body should try to survive, at least for a reasonable length of time. But, the mind can and should be able to override the body. It just takes discipline. This is necessary for the species. otherwise, a mother, sensing danger, would seek her own deliverance and ignore the dangers to her offspring. The mind, and all creatures have some sort of mental processes going on, overcomes the body's fears and from this come displays of courage.

However, we don't end there. The mind fears anything that threatens its existence. When we enter a new pattern of thought, different from old patterns that it was taught, it recoils. Now, there is no threat to the body, only to the ego, the sense of self, that is invested in the old ways.

The soul, to gain, must expand, and, in doing so, it greatly troubles the mind. Just read St. John of the Cross' Dark Night of the Soul. This is a battle, and it is fought on 3 fronts. mind, body and soul. The weapons used are fear, in various guises. When you conquer those fears, the 3 fronts become united and, you feel whole. At least for a while, because there will always be room for growth and that requires upset and travail. But, the further along you get, the easier the passage.

Now, you don't have to be idiotic. If the dangers outweigh the potential benefits, you don't have to leap in. This is what Jesus meant when he refused Satan's challenge to jump off a tower and have God send angels to catch Him ( tempt not the Lord). What is an unreasonable risk? Ah, that's the question that only you can answer, but here's a clue. You can answer that question effectively only when you begin to conquer those fears.

Time

St. Augustine said that when he did not think about time, he understood it , but, when he thought about it, he realized that he did not understand it. Einstein called time 'a stubbornly persistent illusion.' There is certainly a problem when it comes to this concept.

Many cultures view time as cyclical, to the point of almost discounting linear time.  Western Civilization reverses that, linear time becoming all important. Then, I suppose, you can turn to the Buddhists and the various esoteric/gnostic forms of Christianity which almost view time as simply unimportant.

All 3 are true and I believe that we need to develop a kind of thinking in which ideas are not conflicting, but complimentary. Modern science views space and time, not as separate, but as a unity, space-time, and it would be useful to learn to view time as cyclical, linear and not overly important, all at the same time. It would certainly stretch the mind a bit, but that is a healthy thing. Then, we need to place all of this against a backdrop of Eternity, which is outside all concepts of time.

Think a bit about that backdrop, Eternity, and you realize that words have their limit. To say 'eternal' or 'infinite' has no real meaning to the human mind, it is just a way of speaking about the unspeakable. Get used to that idea and you begin to see that any words we use to describe time are woefully inadequate. Then, it becomes easy to hold 3 different views of time in your mind at the same time without feeling conflicted.

Play with those ideas and you begin to see that words are never enough to convey the essence of anything. They are just signs pointing in certain directions. The finger pointing at the Moon is not the Moon.

Sin

I do not talk a lot about sin. Those who study such things say that the Hebrew word we translate as sin literally means 'to miss the mark.' Thus, there is no implication of evil. It just means you have made a mistake.

That is not to say that there is never evil intent involved in a mistake, sometimes there is, and, at that point, the sin becomes something very serious. But, sometimes, we simply do not get things right.

For example, an alcoholic borrows your car. He/she is completely sober and has no intention of having a drink until he/ she returns that car. Now, suppose, they, while sober, overlook a stop sign and wreck your car. That is a mistake, and thus a sin, but no evil intent is there.

Second scenario. That same person borrows your car. It's a hot day, they finish their errand early and stop to have a quick beer, fully intending to have just one. They run into a friend, wind up having four beers and are buzzed, but not drunk. They think, 'oh I'm fine,' and, on the way back, their attention wavers and they wreck your car. This is a far more serious mistake, a more serious sin, but, there still was no evil intent.

Third scenario. Same person borrows your car, fully intending to head to the nearest bar and get hammered. They do so, and wreck your car. Here, there is evil intent. True, they did not intend to wreck your car, but they knew that driving drunk greatly increased the risk. This is an even more serious mistake, a worse sin.

Fourth scenario. This may seem unlikely, but such things do happen/ Same person borrows your car, fully intending to get drunk and, after doing so, they fully intend to wreck that car because they are mad at you. Here there is definitely an evil intent, and the sin is very serious.

Fifth scenario. The same as the last one except, in wrecking your car, they hit a nearby pedestrian and kill them, accidently. Obviously, the sin is worse, but wait.

Sixth scenario. As they are about to wreck your car, they see someone they hate standing nearby and deliberately hit them and kill them. Now, you are into deep evil.

Still, everything listed above is a sin, a mistake. Even deliberately killing the person in the last scenario is, at the most basic level, a mistake. The Buddhists quite rightly point out that all  evil is the result of ignorance, saying that if you saw the world properly and knew your right relationship to everything and everyone else, you would not do these stupid things.

The Churches have, over the years, distorted things to the point where some believe that if they fall the least bit outside the Biblical guidelines, they have sinned and that, thus, they have committed a great evil.  No, you have just made a mistake, do better.

What of the mistakes that encompass great evil. Jesus teaches that you may not judge them, that is up to God and that God is quite forgiving(remember, the word translated as 'judge, from the Greek text, would be better translated as 'to separate and cast aside,' or 'to shun,' this is what we are told not to do. If you look at what was done and say, 'wow, that was stupid' or 'that was bad,' that's different from shunning the person.). The Buddhists would say that if you are judging them, you do so because you are not seeing your relationship to that person and everything else clearly, and that you judge out of ignorance. Or, back to Christian ethics, 'judge not lest you be judged, for as you judge, so will you be judged.'

We are human, we make mistakes, sometimes terrible mistakes. Try not to waste time thinking about how evil and sinful everyone, including yourself, is. Look at the mistakes, the sins, and figure a way to avoid them in the future.

Where are the Stars

I have been taken recently by the small numbers of stars I see in the night sky. The town I live in, Brunswick, Ga, is hardly a bustling metropolis, yet it seems that as time passes I see fewer and fewer stars/

I know, or rather I am told, that this is because urban lights block the celestial view. I guess that's right but, as I said, I hardly live in a big city. When I was a kid, I lived in Ft Lauderdale, Fl, a much  bigger place, the sky, on clear nights, was filled with an overwhelming sea of stars.  Now, just a few, sometimes nothing.

Every now and then, I wonder what is really happening. Oh, I'm sure that the stars are still there, but it seems that there must be another reason why we no longer see them.

Sometimes, I wonder about a lot of things. We are told that all of those stars are light years away and that scientists, using models based on how bright the various stars are, mathematically determine their distance. Are they correct? Probably, but, here and there, I cannot help asking, what if the basic assumptions they are using are incorrect. After all, no one has gone out with a ruler and measured.

Oh well, this is all just silliness on my part. I am sure that they are correct and I am sure that city lights are the reason our local view of these wonders is blocked. Still, I have to ask, just how much do we know and how much are we guessing? What if we are wrong? Does it really matter?

Truth is, it actually does not matter a whole lot. Whatever we know or don't know does not really affect how we should live. While on this Earth, we are called on to be kind and productive, and, astrology aside, the stars have nothing to do with that. Still, being human, I cannot help wondering, just what is true.

Pay Attention to What's Important

We just went through Hurricane Hermine. Well, actually, it passed through SE Georgia as a strong tropical storm. No big problems, no flooding, no trees down (around us), not even a loss of power. However, we lost internet service for about 11 hours and, here the next morning, we are still without cable service.

Now, I love to watch golf and has been looking forward to the coverage of the Deutche Bank Tournament in Boston. For awhile, I was fairly angry that I couldn't watch it. I am still a trifle annoyed, but that is passing quickly.

I just checked the news online and found that many are without electricity, a big chunk of Florida's Gulf Coast is underwater, and from the Carolinas all the way through New England, they are expecting severe weather. There is even a good chance the storm will redevelop  into a hurricane, then stall and pound the region for several days. Watching golf should be the least of anyone's worries.

And yet, we humans are funny creatures. Rationally, I know that my wishes are not paramount, yet, there is still a part of me that wants my cable service restored and is a might testy that it has not been fixed. Oh well, perfection is not in us humans. At least I know that what I am feeling is stupid and, as I write this, the annoyance is going away.

I hope that the forecasters are wrong, that this storm fizzles and drifts off into the North Atlantic, but, again, my wishes will not make that so.  Natural forces, powerful ones are in play and the desires of humans  are nothing compared to them. All we can do is be prepared, when possible, and just roll with the tides. Hang in there, everybody. Ride things out and before you know it, brighter days will come. Be safe.

A Question of Balance

Besides being a fine album by the Moody Blues, a question of balance is the key to keeping yourself together spiritually, and every other way, as you progress through this lovely and strange world we live in.

First off, balance does not mean stasis. Nothing is ever completely balanced. Motion and change are what life requires. By balance, I mean a dynamic balance where in everything is constantly shifting but nothing moves to far to one extreme or the other and, if such a radical shift does occur, and such things happen here and there, a compensating shift follows.

In terms of our actions, there is a fine old saying, "all things in moderation, including moderation." You need not, nor should you, lead a life of total abstinence. You also should avoid complete debauchery, mostly. Actually, here and there, it is good for you to indulge in a bit of wildness, as long as, at some point you compensate with a bit of abstinence. Mostly though, the middle ground works best.

In your spiritual life, the same guidelines hold. Many people, exploring their spiritual side, become obsessed with their own holiness. This leads to a judgmental nature and a spiritual pride, dreadful mistakes. It is vital that spiritual practices be balanced with time spent in the everyday world. Both aspects make up our world and both need attention and respect.

Remember, so much in our lives is simply a question of balance. 

Never Expect Perfection

Most religions, at some point or in some way, offer a picture of perfection. Christ and Buddha are each, in their respective cultures, portrayed as perfect beings. In Judaism, Yahweh is perfect. In Hinduism, many of the various gods and goddesses are said to be perfect representatives of the Divine aspect they represent (I know that sounds odd, but, as I have said before, I am not an expert on Hinduism and, no offense to anyone intended but, I find Hinduism confusing). Many religions, from the Greeks to the Chinese followers of Confucius and Lao Tse speak of a Golden Age of perfection and harmony, always somewhere in the distant past. The Jewish Garden of Eden myth is another tale of a Perfect Time.

Sorry folks, there has never been, nor will there ever be any such thing as perfection. The Universe is a seething, boiling mix of good and bad, brilliance and stupidity, life and death, and every other pair of opposites you can name. Not only that, the extremes just mentioned are never mutually exclusive. Always, all things, are a blend of the two extremes, caught on an ever shifting grid between the two, The Universe and everything that is in it, both the material and the spiritual (and we really need to stop distinguishing between the two) is a hodgepodge of shifting tensions. It is dynamic, ever changing. It is not now, nor has it ever been static.

In addition, it is not dualistic. The mistake of the various gnostic cults, whether Jewish (the Essenes). Manichean, Zoroastrian, or any of the countless Christian Gnostics, is their urge to divide everything into polarities. They have this deep urge to divide it all into good and evil, light and dark.They believe in no middle ground.  I guess that might make things simpler but it if just not so.

Creation is alive and to live, their must be tension, strife, change. There is also peace and beauty and harmony. And there is everything in between, and all things contain both extremes and the middle ground and all of it is constantly in motion, constantly changing. That is life. That is what has been Created, and continues, in ever moment, to be Created. Learn to go with it.
  

The Finger Pointing At The Moon

I do not consider myself a Buddhist, but I admire the directness of Zen. I love one of their admonitions, "Do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the Moon.

Throughout our history, men have tried to deal with the Divine in countless ways. We have gathered in beautiful Cathedrals and isolated ourselves in caves. We have stared at crosses and statues, at icons and mandalas. We have prayed to countless gods and goddesses and to a single God. We have chanted and prayed, meditated and contemplated, danced and beat ourselves. We have consulted spirit beings and oracles and channeled the dead. And, we have swallowed and smoked just about every chemical imaginable.

We have tackled the issue with logic. Just read the tortured, twisting logic found in the epistles of Paul and some of the Buddhist texts. Our scientists have used pure logic and describe a Universe that seemingly is almost irrational and filled with a fantastic array of weird particles that zip about with little rhyme or reason.

And, still, we search. We become convinced that the path we take, the methods we try, are the only way. In fact they give no answers; they only raise more questions. What is worse, they divide us more and more, as we defend our little paths out of fear that if we admit that they are lacking, we will be lost. We would rather soldier on, down a dead end road, than admit we were wrong and that we have wasted time.

The prime and obvious example of this began in the Middle East where Jews, Muslims,  and Christians, all professing a belief in the same God, have been fighting for centuries over silly bits of dogma. All of their battles are just a way of saying, "Daddy (God) loves me best." It is stupid and childish and is threatening the World, spreading bloodshed and wanton destructiveness everywhere.

All of the methods I noted have their uses. Each can show you a glimpse of the Divine mystery, but only a glimpse. You cannot see the whole, the unity that underlies all the diversity and is the source of it all, by just looking at the parts. Staring at your toenail tells you nothing of the rest of the foot and it certainly cannot bring you in touch with the whole body.

Just accept that we know very, very little, that it is all a grand mystery and get on with your life. Do that, and slowly, bit by bit, you will get glimpses of the Divine, little peaks behind the curtain. You will learn at the pace you are ready to learn. First though, stop mistaking the pointing finger for the Moon.

Stop Worrying

Humans worry. It seems to be inherent to our species, but, it is useful to learn to stop it, and it can be stopped.

Learn this. Realize it and embrace it. We worry because we do not know the future. None of us do. We can see trends and possibilities, likelihoods even, but not a definitive future. The Creator has given freedom to Creation, a great gift, indeed.

There is no predestination. Prophecies are no more than guesses. It might interest you to know that the works of the biblical prophets, Jeremiah and such, were written in Babylon, after the events had occurred. Prophet in the Bible did not mean a teller of the future. It meant someone who spoke for Yahweh. They were explaining why the Hebrews had been defeated and captured. They did make a few guesses about the future and, they were wrong. At least I have not seen Yahweh leading Israel into  battle and destroying their enemies. I surely have not seen their enemies bowing to them. bringing them riches and worshipping Yahweh. Nor do I expect to.

As far as Jesus, well, I am fairly sure he won't be popping back in. It has been over 2000 years and the Second Coming seems to have been naught but a wishful thought.

Why do humans keep believing that the future is pre determined? Simple. We do not like the idea that we do not know. I want to tell you that this is what is keeping the human race from solving its many problems.

Worrying does not solve anything. It simply makes you tired and old. Accept the fact that we do not know what will happen in the next 20 seconds and lose the burden of worry.

My Dad,  who love horse racing, told me a story that has always stuck with me. One day at the track, a nice day with out a sign of a storm brewing. one little cloud developed. One. After a race, as the jockeys were getting off their mounts, that one little cloud emitted one bolt of lightening, and that one bolt hit one jockey, killing him. That cloud then dissipated and was gone. One cloud. One lightening bolt. Completely unpredictable. Any of that man's worries, anything he had fretted over that day, suddenly, did not matter.

 Revel in the freedom that gives you. Then, get busy and do what you need to and what you want. 

God Does Play Dice With The Universe

Albert Einstein insisted, when talking to his friend Niels Bohr, that "God does not play dice with the Universe." This was during their discussions of quantum theory, when the Uncertainty Principal was well on its way to becoming certain. Bohr replied, "Albert, you have to stop telling God what he can and cannot do."

Well, much time has passed and Bohr was right, not just about quantum theory, but about everything. Humans are often an arrogant lot and many, scientists, philosophers and theologians, have made careers out of insisting that they have the answers. Since they all have different answers, it would seem that they might be well served by showing a little humility and backing off from absolute statements, but, no.

Instead we have physicists insisting that all theories must be 'elegant,' in that they are balanced and display a unity. We have no real reason to assume that things really work that way, but it seems that it just makes them happy.

We have theologians, from academics to street preachers, who swear that they have all the answers, having consulted their favorite source, be it the Bible, the Upanishads, the Diamond Sutra or the Book of the Tao. Now, each of them say that they have the truth and we should follow them but, when asked for a good reason why, they invariably reply that you must believe them because their particular book is the correct one. This is, I believe, in logic, called a tautology. A is true because A is true. This is fallacious reasoning but, they will then tell you that you only say that because you are human. I guess they believe that God is irrational; I don't.

WE need to back off and admit that we don't really know much. When you admit ignorance, wisdom may enter.  

Making Religious Rituals Relevant

Many people find meaning in the rituals of their religion.  Many others simply enjoy the spectacle. That's fine, but, more and more these various rituals have lost meaning and are little more than routines. Their real significance has been lost.

Rituals are supposed to alter consciousness, to throw the individual into a sacred state of mind. When they become rote repetitions, they are meaningless and should be abandoned and replaced.

Replaced with what? Simple. Anything that puts takes the individual out of their normal mind set and places them in contact with the sacred, the feeling of awe and wonder and/or the feeling of deep unity. Family meals and holiday traditions are examples. Barbeques and picnics with neighbors and friends can be affective,

Spending time in Natural settings is effective, as is visiting museums and attending concerts (well, some concerts. I'm not sure Katy Perry or Snoop Dogg will do the trick). Sorts can work. This years Olympics, which, in the face of terrorist threats, are a prime example. The Games are going well as athletes and spectators, both attending and at home, have been captivated by the games. To pull off the Games and to not give into threats is a powerful statement about the possibility of union and cooperation among human beings. If things continue to go well in Rio, people may look back on this as a significant event and use the Olympic Games as a new sort of scared event, which is kind of how they started back in Greece so long ago,.

My point? Almost anything, viewed the right way, can have a spiritual effect. When repeated, that effect can deepen. Rituals do not have to be bound up in churches and temples. They can be made up and implemented anywhere as long as they have significance to those participating.

What Religion Do I Practice?

Since I write on the topic, I suppose I should tell you what I believe. First, I believe in God. The Universe is just too complex to have been an accident. Having said that, I think of God as a Mystery. I can say little about the purpose of the Creator or his ultimate nature and I am fine with that.

I believe in Christian ethics. By that I mean, be non-judgmental, forgiving, and always willing to help. That to me is the essence of the teachings of Jesus and that works fine for me.

Since religions deal with how we think about the Universe, I recommend Buddhism as a Psychology (not as a religion in itself). It is the most sophisticated approach to how we perceive the world, the nature of illusion, and how the mind interacts with the external world to create our view of the world.

Finally, I would like to see us move away from mythology. I feel that we, the human race, have moved past that, and through properly conducted scientific research, we can begin to confront the wonders and mysteries of our home head on.

Anyway, that works for me. I suppose we all have our own views and all I ask is that you respect mine and I will respect yours, unless of course yours require injuring other beings unnecessarily. In other words, I refuse to acknowledge any belief system that requires blood sacrifice. Regretfully, there are those who still speak of such things. By the way, that includes all Christians who still speak of Jesus as a blood atonement for man's sins. That is the sort of mythological nonsense that we need to get rid of.

Get Rid of Mythology

Mythology seems to be the way our subconscious communicates with our conscious. There are things that go on in the Universe that we have trouble grasping with our rational mind and we deal with them through stories and images, in short, poetically. For long, long years, that has sufficed.

But, like children, we grow up, and the stories and tales of our youth  begin to lose meaning. All over the world, as new discoveries are made and as humanity comes in closer and closer contact, the myths no longer work.

A rational person can no longer accept the Creation story of Genesis, anymore than we can accept the ancient view that the Earth sits on the back of a tortoise which is supported by 4 elephants. We know better.

A case can be made for using these old tales to show certain psychological truths but, more and more, even that does not work. Humans are so incredibly complex that simple stories are just that, too simple.

How then can we communicate the deep truths, the ones that we perceive sub consciously, in a less than rational way. The answers lie in science. Now, before you start laughing, let me explain. I do not mean science the way it is done now. Now, scientists search for answers that will most please the people paying for their research. They all but refuse to consider alternate theories even when an idiot can see that the current theories are at least partially wrong. After all, if you admit a mistake, the folks paying you may cut off the funding.

No, I am talking about scientific research that is open to ideas and that is daring and, most of all willing to say, 'hey, we might be wrong.'

That is the first step. After that comes the hard work, teaching the ideas to young people. That will be difficult but it will be far better to have them grow up in a world governed by rational laws, the laws set up by the Creator instead of a world governed by superstition.

Get Rid of Moral Dogma

Morality should be summed up in a rule that seems to transcend cultures. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Yep, the old Golden Rule. What else do we need?

Yet, most religions are crammed with rules for behavior. Some apply to ritual, some to personal behavior and all are mind numbing in their scope. The Western faiths, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, are all obsessed with governing ever aspect of our personal lives. Hinduism, and I will admit that my understanding is limited (please correct me if I am wrong, I welcome comments) in its formal structure has a vast array of rules governing caste behavior. Confucianism is primarily a religion based around rules of behavior. Buddhism and Taoism are looser, but they have their own difficulties, mostly the nearly incomprehensible Cosmic views.

As far as we know, the same problems arose in the old religions. The Greeks and Romans had very rigid moral beliefs, at least during their strongest periods and, if  we are reading their writings correctly, the Egyptians and Sumerians were equally strict.

It seems to be a human thing to want strict control of our behavior, whether it is enforced by the State or God seems not to matter. Since every culture has its own set of rules, I am wagering that God is not really involved. No, it is us people who are obsessed with uniformity and we do our Creator a great disservice when we lay it all at His/Her (I wish I could find some gender free pronoun to apply to the Creator; I guess It would work, but that sounds somehow disrespectful) feet.

So, let's try this for awhile. Apply the Golden Rule to your behavior, forgetting all the moral dogma we've had shoved at us for all these years. I will bet all I have, admittedly not a lot, that life will go better for us all.

Neti, Neti and Lila

I am not a Hindu. With all due respect, I find it a confusing religion, but, there are 2 useful concepts that Hinduism uses.

First, is neti, neti. I am told that means, roughly, not that, not that. When a student comes to a teacher, he is asked to start listing the attributes of God and to each, the teacher responds, "not that, not that" (neti, neti). When the student has no more attributes left to name, it is said that he/she is ready to begin study. In ither words, you must abandon all preconceived notions when studying the Divine, because it is beyond all human thought. This is similar to Meister Eckhart's ( a medieval monk) statement that the greatest journey one can make is to 'leave God to find God. Your Creator is a mystery, insolvable to us, beyond our comprehension. The Jewish mystics say that God Ein Sof, in his totality, before and beyond manifestation is unknowable to man. This is hard for us to accept, but it is true and we would be much better off if we could accept that, as it would put a damper on dogma. As humans we seem doomed to keep trying to solve this unsolvable mystery. That is okay, as long as we realize that any answer we may find is at least partially wrong. It keeps us humble. It also keeps us from being strangled by our concepts.

The other concept I love is the Universe as lila, the Divine dance. All of the cosmos is an ever changing swirl of matter and spirit. When we understand that it is God dancing with God, we learn how truly marvelous it is and how everything, the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, is filled with the Divine. Alan Watts, a writer and philosopher from the 60s said that the Universe was simply God playing hide and seek with Himself, we just had trouble understanding that it was all just a game. In other words, lighten up.

Plants and Consciousness

I said that I would write about the consciousness of plants. Few think about this and I will say that theirs is a radically different consciousness than ours, but, it is there. I will give one story that illustrates why I know this is so.

Once, at a place I worked, One of my jobs was installing new plants (it was at a condo in S. Florida). I had some nice zinnias started and it was my time for a weeks vacation. I told 2 of my co-workers to make sure they got water because they were in a spot the sprinklers didn't reach. I figured if I told them both, at least one would remember.

Well, I was wrong about that and, had we not had a couple of brief little showers that week, my flowers would have been dead. As it was, they were limp, browning and almost done for. Now, the day I came back was a rare day in S. Florida in that there was no wind, and as usual, it was very hot. I took one look at the zinnias and grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and filled it with water. As I approached the plants, and keep in mind there was not the slightest breeze, they began shaking and swaying, as if there were a 15 mph wind. They knew I was bringing water and they were excited.

Plants have awareness. I know this. So, remember, when you are tending your gardens or when you're walking in the shade of trees, they are aware of you, so show a little respect.

Animals and Consciousness

Western science seems to believe that consciousness is an almost exclusively human trait. Oh, they allow that some apes have a dim sort of awareness and that a few mammals show some tiny bit of consciousness, but they give the prize to us humans.

Well, they are wring. Anyone who spends time with a dog or cat or any other domestic animal, and who can stop being so taken by their own awareness can tell you that animals are not just mechanically instinctual creatures. They have moods and emotions just like we do and, at times and in some ways, they are more aware of their surroundings than we are.

And, it's not just pets. For awhile, I worked for my Dad and every afternoon, about 2 Pm, we took a break and sat in his little office. The room had a nice window and, every single afternoon, as we sat down, a small lizard came out and sat on the window sill. Every afternoon and exactly as we sat down. As soon as we left, it disappeared. The creature knew us, I am convinced of that, and just wanted to hang out.

Another example. I used to go out and smoke my pipe in the evening, near some shade trees. Every time I came out, a mockingbird would perch on a nearby telephone pole, always the same one, and sing. I knew it was the same one because it had an odd white streak on its tail feathers. Well, I used to play harmonica and I whistle a lot, so, One evening, after it sang for a moment, I whistled back a short tune. It copied it and improvised a nice passage after. Every evening, we met and exchanged tunes until, one evening I whistled a complex passage. It tried to respond, couldn't, looked at me, and flew off. It never came back again. It was as if it disliked being shown up and I always regretted that I did that. Oddly enough, the tune was a piece by Roland Kirk called Serenade for a Cookoo.

Call me insane, you won't be the first and I am sure others will follow, but I am convinced that animals are very conscious. It is a different sort of consciousness, but it is real and we should show them more respect. Next time, I'll tell you about plants.

What We Do KNow

After stressing that we really do not know a lot, I should say that we do  know a few things.

We know that this Universe in general, and this Earth in particular, are perfect for life as we know it. This is sometimes called the 'Goldilocks effect" and, by physicists, the 'Anthropic Principal'. Just the tiniest variance from the way things are and we aren't. Now, physicists for years have tried to say that our Universe was just a random event. Now, even those who have long declared themselves atheists, such as Roger Penrose and Martin Rees, are saying that there must be some intelligence behind the Universe; that the odds against it being random are simply to great.

We know that our history books are, at best, incomplete, and mostly just wrong. Egypt and Sumer were not the first civilizations. This we know from the discovery of temple sites, both underwater and buried in sand, that far predate the Pyramids and the Tale of Gilgamesh.

We know the basic mechanics of the World and the basic workings of life. Not much more than the basics, but at least we have a clue and can manipulate reality to our own purpose somewhat successfully ( although we do need to watch our step a bit more)

We know that the Earth was not created in 6 days, 6000 years ago. True, there are a considerable number of humans who cling to that notion but, there are also folks who still think the Earth is flat.

We know that biological beings change over time, morphing their way up the tree of life. We don't know how this happens, but, again, at least we have clues.

And, finally, we know that life, in spite of the countless heartaches and disappointments, is good. So, enjoy your day and enjoy your life.

What We Don't Know

I heard someone once, when asked about some investigation say, 'we don't know what we don't know. I believe that this should be the motto of our new religion.

We humans are quite full of ourselves the crown of creation. Maybe that is a bit of an over reach. Yes, we have enormous brains buy it seems that we use very little of them and spend much of our time filling what we do use with useless junk. Now, I have no problem with useless junk, it can be a lot of fun, but we overdo it.

We think that everything we do is of vast importance. Well, most is not and much of what is important, we do wrong. Of that were not true, we would not be killing each other at the fantastic rate we are now seeing.

We think we know so much. We do have some things that seem to be facts but, are they? Our science presupposes that the rules it has made up are actually descriptive of the world. To a degree they are but only to a degree. Take quantum mechanics; the laws we have work within a certain limit of values, then they break down. Physicists tend to just want to overlook that inconvenient fact but, the guy who wrote those formulas, Paul Dirac chastised them mightily for that since they cannot justify simply ignoring answers that don't make fit their beliefs. He insisted that either his formulas were incomplete or that there were things going on that they just didn't understand.

Biologists still teach Darwinian evolution. One problem. It does not work. Fossil record show that biological change does not happen slowly. Instead it tend to happen in great bursts, followed by long period of stasis.

We only perceive a small range of the energies that exist. And that only applies to what we can detect evidence of with our most sophisticated tools. What else exists? We don't know what we don't know.

Don't Judge

I have covered The importance of being kind and the need for tolerance, so  let me touch on being nonjudgmental. Jesus said not to judge but, as is pften the case, that is a wretched translation.

A better translation for the word we tranlsate as judge, would be to separate out and cast aside. Shunning, an Amish practice is an example of what he meant by judging.

No matter what the actions of a person are, we do not have the right to separate them from humanity. If they are a danger, yes, we can imprison them but, even then we have to recognize and respect their humanity and treat them accordingly.

Why? Everything in the Universe contains a spark of the Divine, of God, if you prefer that term. As such, we are no better or worse than anyone else. This is why the death penalty is not acceptable. It is the ultimate cutting off and separating.

We can certainly defend ourselves and if, in doing so, another dies, well, so be it. We can kill other creatures to feed ourselves, although I believe we should at least give some thought to the fact that we are consuming what was once a living being and that we need to show them respect while they are alive.

By the same standard, the infamous super-max prisons where inmates are kept in isolation for 23 out of 24 hours a day, are completely unacceptable. If someone must be incarcerated, okay, but they must be treated humanely.

If we would be nonjudgmental, in the above sense, then the World would be a far more humane place and that would surely be better than the slaughterhouse we have been.

 

 

 

Tolerance

Another element of our new religion needs to be tolerance. You may think you have all the answers. If you think that, fine, but realize that others may disagree and likely do not want you hammering them over the head with your ideas. And, guess what, you probably are not 100% right.

We all have different ways of seeing the World. This is how it should be. God know, if we were all the same, life would be terminally boring and God may as well have created just 1 human. Since our Creator allows, even encourages diversity, I am fairly sure we should do the same.

A lot of our problems, and recent World and National events show that we have plenty of them, could be solved, or at least eased, if we would just be tolerant of other's views. If you just cannot stand certain people or certain cultures, stay away from them. When in a common area, say a store or government building, show each other respect, then go your separate ways. That's all.

This may seem like a simple answer and you are right. But I can guarantee you that if we all would back off, give each other some room and realize that none of us, not you or me or anyone else, has all the answers, not a one of us is perfect and that no one has a monopoly on God's benevolence, then, maybe we could start to work things out. It will be slow, but start we must, because this madness, this urge to slaughter, has got to stop.

Look at it this way. Your Creator tolerates you no matter how badly you have behaved. The proof of that is that you are still here to read this. Since that is the case, how dare you be intolerant of anyone else?

Kindness

There is but one rite that a new religion need, kindness. There is no accompanying ceremony, no ritual or liturgy, and it can be practiced anywhere, anytime,  by anyone.

Nothing can change the World faster than frequent acts of kindness, and, quite frankly, there is not much else you can do. I hope no one seriously believes that voting for either of the buffoons running for President will change things and it has become painfully clear that Congress is useless.

I used to think local government might accomplish things but, alas, no. Most local politicians are just miniatures of the big ones and if you want proof, look around. Mismanagement has ruined once thriving cities like Detroit and, in Flint Michigan, we have no idea what long term harm had been done by their mistreatment of their water supply.

I used to think that churches might be an answer but, again, no. I have dealt with an abundance of these self=proclaimed Voices of the Lord and find most of them useless. Want proof? Easy. Look around. Churches are now about divided between the mega-churches who fell the Creator is only interested in  how many they can cram into their massive monuments to greed and the tiny churches that preach a theology that would have been outdated in the Dark Ages.

No, friends and neighbors, the answers do not lie anywhere but within ourselves, within our own lives, our own communities and our own circle of acquaintances. We can be kind to each other, help our neighbors. say a few words of support, take a few minutes to talk to the lonely. If this were done in communities around the World, slowly, things would change. Yeah, it would take a long time, but it took a long time for the human race to get into the wretched shape it's in now.

At the very least, with very little effort on your part, your world will get better. Kindness should be the most important doctrine in any religion.

This Morning

I am an early riser and this morning, when I went out, the sun was beaming softly through banks of low, gray-white clouds. 3 seagulls had drifted in from the Atlantic and were busy squabbling with a dew crows over some scraps of garbage. The dispute was resolved amiably when it became apparent that there was plenty from all.

A neighbor or two stumbled to their cars and began their trek to work and traffic began rumbling on the nearby highway. A rehab center sits at the end of the street and the night guard was exchanging 'good mornings' with a few residents out for a walk.

The kudzu that drapes the  trees in the lot next door is almost visibly growing, the oaks have settled into their summer stateliness, and the loblolly pines, having at last dropped most of their cones, are attempting to touch the clouds.

Ragweed is prolific and a myriad of wildflowers dot the landscape. Somewhere nearby, a lawn is being mowed and the smell of fresh cut grass blends with a touch of salt from the Atlantic and a hint of muck from the nearby waterways.

A couple of squirrels have grown used to my presence and sit eating breakfast a few feet away. They must be puzzled at the presence of such a large, but friendly and harmless, creature. Anyway, we get along well and exchange pleasantries before I head in for coffee, sausage and bread.

This, this day to day routine, is the Divine dance. It is all we really know. All conjectures of mystics and theologians, of Popes and bodhisattvas, of Saviors and philosophers pale into insignificance at these sights and sounds and smells. The presence of the neighbors, the birds, the squirrels, and the trees of Creation is all we are given as evidence of the Creator and, if you look at things the right way, that's enough. Life, the gift of the Creator is all we need to create a new religion. Belief, without dogma, benevolence without moralism, pleasure without Hell. No structure, no priests or preachers or finger wagging, money grubbing churches. Just us. Just life. Get that right and then maybe our Creator will, at last find us worthy of deeper knowledge, but, we have to get the basics right first. America, your new religion is life. 

Religion and History - Don't Believe Everything You Read

We in the West, and at least for now we are the dominant culture ( notice I said for now), have a tendency toward literalism, a side affect of the Rational Enlightenment. All plusses have minuses attached and this is a big one.

Let's look at Buddhism. The oldest Buddhist scriptures are the Pali canon, written about the time of Jesus. They are said to have been written about 500 years after Gautama Buddha lived. Yet, they are filled with the sayings of this man. Are they actual quotes? Well, I have trouble remembering what I said 20 minutes ago and I seldom make long, detailed, intricate comments on the nature of the Universe and its relation to human consciousness. I have trouble believing that his precise words, and they are exceedingly precise, were remembered for 5 centuries. Yes, I know that in so-called primitive cultures, knowledge is passed and preserved orally and we are told that this is done to perfection, to which I say, "phht."  If oral traditions say that a giant lizard ate the village chief 342 years ago, must we believe that? I don't.

What about that belief that he lived around 500 BC? Well, that is what most Western references say and so do many Indian histories. But, other Indian histories place that time about 1000 BC, plus or minus a few hundred years, as do some Chinese histories and some Arab histories (remember, the Arabs were trading with China for many centuries before the Roman Empire was dreamed of).

Those promoting the 500 BC idea say that some Buddhist scriptures point out that shortly after the death of Gautama, a king, Ashoka, converted to Buddhism and created an idyllic kingdom. True, there was a King Ashoka in the 3rd century BC but recent research seems to be showing that his reign was considerably less than idyllic. However, the same research has shown that there was another Ashoka who's, by what accounts we have, did have a fairly pleasant kingdom. However, he lived about 2500 BC. Now you have a gap of 2000 years between Gautama's life and the first written record of his words.

Then to complicate matters more, about 100 years after the Pali canon, new saying of the Buddha began to be written by the Mahayanists, often contradicting the original sayings. They pulled a standard trick, saying that the new teachings were what he taught advanced students, the others were for dumb laymen. This same tactic has been used much by Christians trying to explain why Jesus often contradicted himself in the Gospels.

In other cultures, there is not the obsession with literalism that we Westerners have. That is a good thing in ways and a bad thing in other ways. They can follow a figurative teacher, we have to believe our teachers were real and that every word they are said to have spoken was actually spoken. I suppose the first is a better way of thinking but, why not just test the ideas for yourself, see what you find, and stop worrying about what someone said in the dim recesses of time.

My point?  All ancient writings are suspect. For that matter, so are all modern ones, and tales of the ancients must be taken no more than  semi-seriously. If you think they make sense, and are of some use to you, great. Just don't hammer others over the head with your beliefs. If some of what is written in these texts make no sense to you, then you are probably right, but, again, be easy with those who believe them. Unless they start hammering you with them. Then respond as you see fit.

Religion _ Mistranslations, Mistakes, and Out and Out Lies

The leaders of various religious groups, over the course of centuries have, quite often, lied. Now, I, personally, have no big trouble with lies. After all, to be totally honest, all story tellers lie and I love stories. But, when you are lying to control people, to gain power and wealth, that is unacceptable.

Again, I am going to stick to Christianity, not to pick on them, but their claim that their scriptures are historically perfect and, in fact, the very word of God, places a burden of truthfulness on them.

Let's look at the 4 Gospels. They contradict each other frequently. The early church fathers knew this, assuming they were literate and not psychotic, yet the swear that they are the given word of the Almighty. A lie, obviously.

They have placed the birth of Christ at December 25. Now, the Gospels tell of shepherd tending their flocks at night. It is cold in Israel at that time of year and the shepherds were doing no such thing. December 25 was the time of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia and also the birthday of the Roman god/ savior Mithra. The Church just decided to use an old holiday that folks weren't going to give up and make it Christian. Thus they lied.

The Gospel of Mark, in many Bibles, ends with the reappearance of Christ, post crucifixion. This has long been thought wrong and in fact, now that we analyze such things, we know that someone, somewhere,  added that on to the original text. We know that because it is written in  a very different style of Greek which, like English, changed as time passed. The original book ended with the women going to the tomb and finding it empty. From a writer's point of view, that is a much better ending. Obviously, this is the word of humans, not God.

Peter is called the first bishop of Rome, thus giving authority to the Popes and other church officials. Sorry, this is a bald faced lie since, when Peter lived, their was no church and thus no bishops. In addition, Peter still thought of himself as a Jew.

If all of these writing are the Holy Word of God, then how can Luke, in the book of Acts, give a totally different timeline to Paul's journeys than Paul does in his letters. While I am on the subject of Paul let me also note that Paul did not write all of those letters. Again, we know this because the style of writing differs and not all of the epistles use a Greek from the same era.

The early church historian, Tertullian, spoke of 'pious fraud,' in other words lying about facts behind the faith for, 'the good of the followers.' Pope Leo X commented on how the church had gained power and wealth from its 'little myth of Jesus.'

You get the idea. Those who founded the religion blatantly lied and continue to lie, and, again, Christianity does not have an exclusive on lying. Anytime people can gain power and wealth, and religion is a sure fire, tried and tested means of that, they will lie to consolidate their positions and lie to hold them. When you are shaping people's world view, their consciousness, the way they relate to each other, lying is inexcusable.

Religion - Mistranslations,Mistakes, and Out and Out Lies

Today let's look at mistakes. I am going to stick with Christian tradition here, because I am most familiar with their mistakes. I am sure all religions make them, but I'll stick to this because it's a fine line between mistakes and differing opinions and lies and I want to get this right.

Let's start with a big one. As a young man, I was taught that Muslims did not believe in Jesus. This is a mistake. While Muslims do not believe that Jesus was Divine, they certainly believe that he was a great prophet and revere him as such. Likewise, many Hindus view him as an avatar of God and Buddhists tend to see him as Bodhisattva.

I was also taught that Jesus was born in Nazareth, near the Sea of Galilee. One problem. At the time he lived, there was no Nazareth. That town was developed in the 2nd Century, well after Jesus lived. This is a fairly honest mistake. Seemingly Jesus was called, by some, 'the Nazarene,' but exactly how the word is spelled determines its meaning. If Nazarine, then it applies to a sect that was close to the Essenes, but not the same. If Nazorite, then it means a Jew who has taken a special vow of holiness, which usually involves not cutting hair and abstaining from wine, for a certain time, which can vary from weeks to a lifetime. If Nazir, then it simply means a green shoot on a seemingly dead branch (the way grapes vines grow). This is what I believe it meant. His followers thought he was the new growth that would reanimate their culture.

Let's look at the Apocalypse of St John. Most of us were taught that this was the end of the world. It did not mean that at all. It was to be the end of an age. The word itself simply means 'a sudden revelation.' The word 'Armageddon' also does not mean the end of the world. It is the name of a location, 'har Mergiddo,' the plain of Megiddo. It was simply the spot where a great battle was to be fought. Because of the mistaken way we were taught, many of us were needlessly traumatized as kids. I mean the whole Book of Revelation is nightmarish science fiction, but thinking it describes the world's end makes it nearly intolerable to young minds.

There are countless other mistakes in Christian teachings. I stress Christian mistakes, not to pick on them, but because, of all belief systems, it is the one that says quite clearly, that it rests on real history. As such, mistakes by its teachers are unacceptable, yet they are perseverated.

I am willing to be charitable in describing these as mistakes. Those who taught me, and others of my era ( and eras before and after) were simply reciting what they were taught. However, if you go further back, to the earliest Church, you will find that some of those men out and out lied. That will be the next subject of this blog.

Religions - Mistranslations, Mistakes, and Out and Out Lies, Part 1

Over the next few posts, I want to discuss the ways religions have become twisted. Let's start with the issue of bad translations.

There are some basic terms that have been bandied about for years that are the result of bad translations. Take the idea of polytheism, the idea of many gods. Often, this is thought to be the belief system of many older religions. Actually, all religions, that we know of, believe in 1 ultimate creator, the reason there is something rather than nothing, the cause of existence itself. Most believe that this god has little interest in the day to day running of the Cosmos and leaves that up to a host of lesser spirit beings of varying power. This is actually henotheism, not polytheism. Thus, when translators came across Hinduism and found the word deva, they mistranslated that as gods. It really means powerful beings. We did the same thing with the Egyptian texts. When mistakes are made in translation, the rest of the translation must be questioned, especially when, as with the Egyptians, we are only guessing at the meanings. Languages are subtle. By the way, our so-called monotheisms have the same spirit beings, we just call them angels and demons.

In Buddhism, I was always taught that the 1st Noble Truth was 'all life is suffering' and that the 3rd was 'suffering is caused by desire.' The actual translation is 'all life is sorrowful' and sorrow is caused by 'ignorant craving' and these are obviously more temperate and realistic sayings.

In  the Old Testament, we have Yahweh telling Moses that 'I am what I am.' This implies a God that is sternly constant and unchanging. The translation should read 'I will be what I will be.' This implies a God who is free, almost whimsically free. Now, this may not be the most comforting way to view God for many, but it is  certainly more realistic. The older I get, the more I realize that our comfort is not the Creators primary concern.

Another mistranslation is found in Isaiah when it is written that the messiah would be born of a virgin. Most Jews of that era did not read Hebrew, reading instead the Septuagint, a Greek translation. For some reason, they translated a word that meant young girl as virgin. Later, the author of the Gospel of Matthew, reading the Septuagint and trying to convince Jews that Jesus was their Messiah, claimed that Jesus was born of a virgin and a world of mistakes has followed, leading to countless unneeded arguments and, at times, to unneeded violence. Next time, I will deal with other mistakes