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.