On December 1, 2009, my sister Rosemary died. She was fighting ovarian cancer for several years. The symptoms of the cancer, mostly the build up of fluid in her stomach, made her nauseated to the point that she didn't have an appetite, and her chemo therapy, although it destroyed cancer cells, left her extremely weak. The protocol used by the medical profession is to increase the potency of the chemo, if the previous effects were not working. The effects of her caner and chemo therapy cancelled the period of time she needed to heal. In other words, she was always in a state of recovery from cancer and her treatment giving her no time to heal. This kind of situation is popularly known as a "catch 22;" without nourishment and the general weakening of her constitution with every treatment, the out come was inevitable. Although, we her family and also she held on to the hope of a complete recover
I had traveled, by car, from Minnesota to the Chicago area. I arrived about 7:00pm Monday, November 16, at my sister Flo and my brother-in-law Mel's house; after having something to eat, we drove to the hospital. My visit was supposed to be a surprise, but my 5 year old niece Katie 'let the cat out of the bag,' and told her Aunt Ro I was coming.
My sister Ro was on a floor in the hospital which was designated for the immediate terminally ill, so the general rules for visitor hours were excused. My sister Ro had been in the hospital for several days prior to my arrival. She had fallen down in her apartment and could not get up. She lied there for about 20 minutes before my sister Flo, my cousin Frank, and his son Rocky came to the rescue. They got Ro to the hospital where she was diagnosed as having a blood clog in her left leg. As I sat next to my sister Ro, in my heart I knew this was a death watch.
My sister Ro was never left alone. Someone from the family was always at her bedside. She had good days, especially when the fluid in her stomach was drained. Three to four liters were drained, but as soon as the fluid was drained more fluid appeared. Her son, Chris arrived from Arizona Friday Nov. 20th. This was another good day for my sister. Chris, as a good son should, stayed and cared for his mother from his arrival to his mother's death.
I am so proud of my family for unconditionally dedicating, their time, support, and love to my sister: their mother, aunt, grandma they called Mema, cousin, and son-in-law. In my family, family is on the top of the list of value. On Wed. Nov. 18, my sister's oncologist meet with my sister Ro and the immediate family to give a state of Ro's current health. She said that Ro was too weak for any further treatment, and at this time what Ro needed was love and support. This love and support she said would be very hard to deliver; to which Ro's grandson Matt, spoke out and said, "It will not be a problem." Although it was very hard to watch this person we loved slowly lose her life, we all remained dedicated to support her passing on.
On Dec. 1, 2009, with the Sun shining and the moon not quite full, at 12:40pm my sister passed. At her right side with his hand on her head, was Chris, I was next with my hand on her arm, next to me was her grandson Matt with his hand on her knee, at Ro's feet was her daughter Eliz, on her left side was her grandson Scott with his hand on her knee, next was Elina, Ro's daughter, with her hand on her arm, next was Ro's sister Flo, with her hand on Ro's head. As we surrounded her, my sister took her last breath.
As she exhaled her last breath, the body she lived in went inert. I was filled with grief and a feeling of release that her soul had passed on into another consciousness. That feeling of passing into another consciousness where her physical suffering was relieved, has given me great comfort. My sister's death was the first death I witnessed. Her last words to me were, "Thank you for being a good brother."
My Dear Sister
Your passing left a void, yet
it also left paste to fill it in:
You showed the same courage
our PaPa did at his death,
his only lament, "This will
be the end of our family."
You showed love and caring
by suffering in silence.
You showed faith in Jesus
Christ.
Farewell my dear sister.
It will be better next time.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
the meaning of life
The following blog will be a several page excerpt for the booklet I published, called "the meaning of life." If you are interested in purchasing it the details are on the left side information space.
...The idea that anyone could know, in a comprehensive manner, the meaning of life, seems to most people an absurd notion. Life qua life, is such an enormous, interwoven, complicated idea that it appears to defy comprehension, and further there is a general feeling today among Western Culture that a person searching for life's meaning is wasting scarce energy, scarce time, and being counter productive. Monty Python, a group of English funny men, created a satirical spoof, movie called, "The Meaning of Life." Of course, their title was meant to be sarcastic and to taunt the viewer with the high concept of "the meaning of life," then they immediately began to mock it in the most irreverent of ways. After many comedic skits that had little to do with the meaning of life, the movie ended with one of the Monty Python crew sitting in a chair saying, "Oh! you really expected to see evidence of the meaning of life?" Then he reaches over to a small table standing next to him, picks up the book setting there entitled, "The Meaning of Life," opens it and begins to read in a flippant manner, "Treat everyone as you would like to be treated, turn the other cheek, love your neighbor as yourself, blah, blah, blah," then throws the book to the side on the floor as the movie ends.
In contrast, Viktor E. Frankel, in a serious attempt to extract meaning from life, wrote a book entitled, Man's Search for Meaning. His presentation was taken seriously by millions of readers, owning to the facts that he was an immanent psychiatrist, and a survivor of Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Dachau. On page 154 of his book, Frankel encapsulated his perception of the meaning of life, ..."Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determined. Man does not simply exists but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment"...Thus the meaning of life for Frankel expresses itself from man's innate capacity for self-determination. What is not made clear from Fankel's above perception or perhaps it was implied, is where the capacity of self-determination originates? The answer is, it originates from our self-awareness.
Since we are sentient beings our lived lives are exposed to us every moment. We see, hear, smell, and touch our lives. It is like a continuous life-long movie, where we are the producer, director, actor, and audience or more accurately, the watcher. It is the fire of self-awareness that allows us to see our nakedness, to learn from our experiences, to extract general insights and understandings, to create wisdom, and where from meaning to our lives. This self-awareness process that extracts meaning from our lived experiences could be termed an "elemental imperative." The human race, from its origin has continuously searched, discovered, and added to its meaning. For instance, twenty five hundred years ago Gautama the Buddha had put on all the spiritual practices and techniques of his time and found them unsatisfactory. A bit despondent he sat under a Banyan Tree, determined not to get up until he became enlightened, and as the saying goes, "The rest is history." As part of our human heritage, the Buddha left an accessible and simple pathway for all truth seekers to find meaning and value in their lives. At the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo, at Delphi, over the door entrance was a crosspiece carved with the phrase, Gnothi Seauton, "Man! know thyself." The phrase was meant as an admonition and as a reminder to all that entered, that within the structure and operations of their own being lie universal principles of life. Thus humans have an ancient heritage of not only searching for the meaning of life, but also finding the meaning of life.
There is an ancient world view from India that relates a time, millions of years ago, where the gods walked the Earth among nascent mankind. The gods instructed mankind in principles of life, science, and the arts. Then when it was time for the gods to leave, they took the highest developed members of mankind and trained them to be the keepers of what is called the Mystery Schools. The Schools were meant to be the crucibles of the cosmic truths taught by the gods to fledgling mankind, and through a strict initiation process were meant to establish a trough of truth to feed evolving mankind. Some of the truths have been, over the millennia, let out through masters teachers, especially in periods of darkness, to act as beacons of light for struggling mankind. Some of the truths remain within the Mystery Schools, even today, to be let out as necessary to aid humans unfold their spiritual evolution, but to those humans whose desire for truth is unwavering, whose hearts are pure, and whose minds are highly trained these teachings are available in full.
When studied comparatively and comprehensively, those truths that have been let out compose the basis for understanding the origin, nature, purpose, and destiny of our lives. There is however, a caveat. The ancient teachings are conceptually difficult to understand, owing in part to their universal nature, and their web of interconnections and interrelationships. It is best to remember that the universal nature of these teachings relates and reflects the same universal nature at the core of each human. Therefore, by simply affirming one's own universal nature one will open a contact point to begin to comprehend these wondrous and most satisfying teachings. However, this opening is gained by pressing through the present thought forms or mind molds of our own minds These mind molds have been caste there and habituated by an intense exposure to our system of education (see blog on education in archives), our cultural customs and mores, and our religious and spiritual beliefs. Changing these mind molds is not an easy task. It is some what analogous to changing directions while driving automobile, tremendous force and energy must be brought under control before the directional change can be made. It is difficult, but not beyond the capacity of ordinary humans like you and me. There is another necessary step of preparation, and that is in considering the idea of, "expectations." These teachings are so vast they touch the outer reaches of our Home Galaxy, and the smallest particle of our earth.
Exploring such a vast body of wisdom it is best not to expect any final understanding or definition, as we are accustom to expect from our traditional educational system. Thus to know such teachings on one level is vital, but a relatively small step in an ever progressive advancement towards the truth. One last word, I promise, these teachings are not just for intellectual viewing, but are meant to be put on and practiced. They are intimately wrapper around the highest ethical principles and conduct.
Here is a list of some of the teachings let out as a part of our human heritage"
...The idea that anyone could know, in a comprehensive manner, the meaning of life, seems to most people an absurd notion. Life qua life, is such an enormous, interwoven, complicated idea that it appears to defy comprehension, and further there is a general feeling today among Western Culture that a person searching for life's meaning is wasting scarce energy, scarce time, and being counter productive. Monty Python, a group of English funny men, created a satirical spoof, movie called, "The Meaning of Life." Of course, their title was meant to be sarcastic and to taunt the viewer with the high concept of "the meaning of life," then they immediately began to mock it in the most irreverent of ways. After many comedic skits that had little to do with the meaning of life, the movie ended with one of the Monty Python crew sitting in a chair saying, "Oh! you really expected to see evidence of the meaning of life?" Then he reaches over to a small table standing next to him, picks up the book setting there entitled, "The Meaning of Life," opens it and begins to read in a flippant manner, "Treat everyone as you would like to be treated, turn the other cheek, love your neighbor as yourself, blah, blah, blah," then throws the book to the side on the floor as the movie ends.
In contrast, Viktor E. Frankel, in a serious attempt to extract meaning from life, wrote a book entitled, Man's Search for Meaning. His presentation was taken seriously by millions of readers, owning to the facts that he was an immanent psychiatrist, and a survivor of Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Dachau. On page 154 of his book, Frankel encapsulated his perception of the meaning of life, ..."Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determined. Man does not simply exists but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment"...Thus the meaning of life for Frankel expresses itself from man's innate capacity for self-determination. What is not made clear from Fankel's above perception or perhaps it was implied, is where the capacity of self-determination originates? The answer is, it originates from our self-awareness.
Since we are sentient beings our lived lives are exposed to us every moment. We see, hear, smell, and touch our lives. It is like a continuous life-long movie, where we are the producer, director, actor, and audience or more accurately, the watcher. It is the fire of self-awareness that allows us to see our nakedness, to learn from our experiences, to extract general insights and understandings, to create wisdom, and where from meaning to our lives. This self-awareness process that extracts meaning from our lived experiences could be termed an "elemental imperative." The human race, from its origin has continuously searched, discovered, and added to its meaning. For instance, twenty five hundred years ago Gautama the Buddha had put on all the spiritual practices and techniques of his time and found them unsatisfactory. A bit despondent he sat under a Banyan Tree, determined not to get up until he became enlightened, and as the saying goes, "The rest is history." As part of our human heritage, the Buddha left an accessible and simple pathway for all truth seekers to find meaning and value in their lives. At the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo, at Delphi, over the door entrance was a crosspiece carved with the phrase, Gnothi Seauton, "Man! know thyself." The phrase was meant as an admonition and as a reminder to all that entered, that within the structure and operations of their own being lie universal principles of life. Thus humans have an ancient heritage of not only searching for the meaning of life, but also finding the meaning of life.
There is an ancient world view from India that relates a time, millions of years ago, where the gods walked the Earth among nascent mankind. The gods instructed mankind in principles of life, science, and the arts. Then when it was time for the gods to leave, they took the highest developed members of mankind and trained them to be the keepers of what is called the Mystery Schools. The Schools were meant to be the crucibles of the cosmic truths taught by the gods to fledgling mankind, and through a strict initiation process were meant to establish a trough of truth to feed evolving mankind. Some of the truths have been, over the millennia, let out through masters teachers, especially in periods of darkness, to act as beacons of light for struggling mankind. Some of the truths remain within the Mystery Schools, even today, to be let out as necessary to aid humans unfold their spiritual evolution, but to those humans whose desire for truth is unwavering, whose hearts are pure, and whose minds are highly trained these teachings are available in full.
When studied comparatively and comprehensively, those truths that have been let out compose the basis for understanding the origin, nature, purpose, and destiny of our lives. There is however, a caveat. The ancient teachings are conceptually difficult to understand, owing in part to their universal nature, and their web of interconnections and interrelationships. It is best to remember that the universal nature of these teachings relates and reflects the same universal nature at the core of each human. Therefore, by simply affirming one's own universal nature one will open a contact point to begin to comprehend these wondrous and most satisfying teachings. However, this opening is gained by pressing through the present thought forms or mind molds of our own minds These mind molds have been caste there and habituated by an intense exposure to our system of education (see blog on education in archives), our cultural customs and mores, and our religious and spiritual beliefs. Changing these mind molds is not an easy task. It is some what analogous to changing directions while driving automobile, tremendous force and energy must be brought under control before the directional change can be made. It is difficult, but not beyond the capacity of ordinary humans like you and me. There is another necessary step of preparation, and that is in considering the idea of, "expectations." These teachings are so vast they touch the outer reaches of our Home Galaxy, and the smallest particle of our earth.
Exploring such a vast body of wisdom it is best not to expect any final understanding or definition, as we are accustom to expect from our traditional educational system. Thus to know such teachings on one level is vital, but a relatively small step in an ever progressive advancement towards the truth. One last word, I promise, these teachings are not just for intellectual viewing, but are meant to be put on and practiced. They are intimately wrapper around the highest ethical principles and conduct.
Here is a list of some of the teachings let out as a part of our human heritage"
- Composite organization of all beings and entities
- Indwelling consciousness of all systems, entities, and beings
- Karma and reincarnation
- Cyclical revolving of all things
- Hierarchical arrangement of all things
- Innate characteristics of all things
Thursday, September 24, 2009
"I've seen the Eternal Footman hold my coat and snicker"...
My mind has been on death for the last couple of months. I am sure that my wife's mother's death, and all the recent high profile celebrity deaths helped turn my mind towards death. These current deaths bare on me more heavily because I am becoming ripe for death. I don't have a terminal disease, unless you call aging a terminal disease. Aging stunts your youth and reduces your physical prowess, but death is the Doomster that gets you. A Zen Master said, paraphrasing, 'When I was young I was like a tiger. Now that I am old, I am like a cat. I am happy to be a cat.' Aging gives you an opportunity to redefine your life within your wrinkled skin. I don't have morbid thoughts of death nor do I have a great fear of death. Its a curiosity about my life, its stages, its processes, and its meaning, that prompts me to search for meaning of my life by discovering the meaning of my death. The moment you are born into this world so is your physical death. Death is your constant companion, so instead of denying and fearing its relationship with you, why not embrace it and investigate, and learn its nature. I have hear it said, that if you find a new definition of death you have also found a new definition of life. Life and death are intimate contraries, and as such, any consideration of one is a corresponding consideration of the other. The fact of death, places the question,"Who am I, and why am I here?" in unobstructed, plane sight.
From the dawn of human self-awareness humans have pursued the meaning of their life by discovering the meaning of their death. Some where I read that when Plato was on his deathbed his pupils asked for one final word of advice, and he responded, "Practice dying." Dyland Thomas, a Walsh poet, in his poem, "Do Not go Gentle into that Good Night," tells his dying father:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light"...
In the Zen Buddhist tradition, when a Zen Master was about to die, he writes a poem. The Master's poem serves as a summation of life, and as a parting gift to inspire his disciples. Below are two poems from, Teasho and Dogen respectively; feel the great anticipation and exultation of the Master's poetical expression, as they slip consciously into their physical death.
Finally out of reach-
No bondage, no dependency
How calm the ocean,
Towering the void.
Four and fifth years
I've hung the sky with stars.
Now I leap through-
What shattering.
In his book, "A Christmas Carol," Dickens has his character, Scrogge completely transform his life because of his experience with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The Spectra merely points to the gravestone with Scrooge's name on it to create in Scrooge an immediate, full transformation. There has been testimony from many people, the world over, who experienced a mystical, "near death experience," that instantly and completely transformed their lives. Thomas Hardy, a novelist and poet, brings yet another out look, in his poem, "The Subalterns:"
..."Come hither, Son," I heard Death Say';
"I did not will a grave
Should end thy pilgrimage today,
But, I too, am a slave!"
We smiled upon each other then,
And life to me had less
Of that fell look it wore ere when
They owned their passiveness.
In India there is a group of universal stories intended to inspire and bring wisdom to spiritual seekers, dating back 5000 years, called the "Upanishads," meaning, "at the feet of," an enlighten one. In one story, called the "Katha Upanishad," a young boy, Nachiketa wanted to know the truth beyond the cultural, spiritual rituals and ceremonies, and went to see Yama, Death, to find the truth.
..."Having tested young Nachiketa and found him fit to receive spiritual instruction, Yama, the king of death said:"
"The joy of the Atman (the highest spiritual consciousness achievable in this life cycle), ever abides. But not what seems pleasant to the senses. Both these, differing in their purpose, prompt man to action. All is well for those who choose the joy of the Atman, but they miss the goal of life who prefer the pleasant. Perennial joy or passing pleasure? This is the choice one is to make always. The wise recognize these two, but not the ignorant. The first welcome what leads to abiding joy, though painful at the time, the latter run, goaded by their senses, after what seems immediate pleasure"...
(the ignorant)..."Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men proud of their vain learning go round and round like the blind led by the blind. Far beyond their eyes, hypnotized by the world of sense, they live in darkness, unaware of any higher good, or goal, they fall life after life under my sway..."
And here is my poetic contribution about our relationship to death, called, "The Hearse:"
The Hearse travels through live streets
and all pause to pay respect.
The young, caste a wistful glance then
continue their play.
The somber, stop, bend down their head
in anxiety over their day.
The old, captured in a moments reflection
knowing soon their flesh will too decay.
The wise, let death pass unattached, with
out losing their sense of the day.
The Hearse travels through live streets
and all...pause to pay respect.
We see above a variety of thinking about the human condition of death. Some of the wisdom of life and death comes from living an examined life, some comes from accepting the cultural wisdom. In the U.S., because of our cultural, belief context, conditioned by Christian doctrine, our orientation towards youth, and our materialistic philosophy, with its myopic view of objectifying everything, our concepts of what it means to live and die takes on these conditions. One concept of death originates from a completely materialistic point of view. It says, death is separate and distinct; a passive element or force. In other words, death is a force-entity, a "purblind Doomster," that destroys life. Under this view, the destruction of life is absolute; complete annihilation of all life's components, including all consciousness. Human life defined by this concept leads to a doctrine that places its highest values on material well-being, and on cultivating pleasure from all manner of sensual experiences, affecting a hedonistic and fatalistic out look. A second concept of physical death in the U.S., probably the most culturally accepted, originates from the doctrines of Christianity. It says, death is a condition in which an immortal soul leaves the physical body and subsists in some form of eternal fashion in one of three states: eternal bliss, eternal damnation, or a middle state of limited duration, for purposes of purification. The determination of the fate of the soul comes within the Providence of God. On the "Day of Judgement" all created souls will be sentenced by God, and their physical bodies will then reunite with their souls to serve out their sentences. Human life defined under the terms of this concept becomes, for most humans, excluding perhaps the saints, semi-fatalistic. Fear, guilt, and anxiety, become the central sensations of life; although just living life presents some small shadow of hope in terms of grace. That sprig of grace for eternal bliss is however, completely over shadowed by the inevitable final judgement, and the likely-hood of eternal damnation. The guilt, fear, and anxiety, that accompany this concept acts to resists and depress a view of life's greater possibilities. A third concept of physical death, the least culturally accepted in the U.S. is reincarnation. It says, death is a process that merely changes the form of life; from a spirit, soul, body, to a spirit, soul. At physical death, the essential consciousness, the spirit and its vehicle, the soul, leaves the body and commingles on higher planes corresponding to their qualities, something like a pool of water that changes into water vapor and then commingling with its kin water vapors. Life as life, cannot die nor be annihilated. Life is eternal, and as such always exists and always will. The annihilation of even an infinitesimal particle of life would brake the unity of the entire Universe, and be a lose to the Universe that could not be replaced. The death of a manifest thing or form is a natural withdrawal of eternal life from one form into another form. Human life defined under the terms of this concept of death becomes one of almost infinite hopefulness and possibility, where all beings and entities are fitted into the Great Cycle of Universal Nature, and are granted a virtual eternity to fulfill their divine destinies.
To me, of the three concepts of death, only rebirth satisfactorily corresponds with the cyclical principles set down by Universal Nature. When physical death accrues there ensues to the body, not a lose of life, but a loss of individualized coherence. In other words, the once individualized unity of the body after death, becomes diffused; it becomes diffused life without the dominating control of a centralized inner government. In truth, physical death is not an autonomous force, a purblind "Doomster" that destroys life, but paradoxically, it is life which is the cause of death. Life's unfolding field of consciousness spreads beyond the capacity of the physical body to contain it, consequently the body, over a period of time, gradually deteriorates to the point of being cast off; the entire process is what we call, death.
Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher and writer, stated in his book "Still Here" that after 30 years of sitting with the dying that there seems to be three primary questions asked by those on the brink of their death.
1. How do I deal with the processes of dying?
2. What happens to me at the moment of death?
3. What will happen to me after I die?
At the moment of death you bring the culmination of your believes with you, and as they represent the degree of your consciousness, that is what you reap. If you believe that you are only your physical body and your personality, death brings an annihilation of your body and personality. If at the time of death you have an expanded consciousness that includes a belief in life as having, spirit, soul, and body then as the natural process of returning each of life's components to their specific sphere, there will be a degree of consciousness. This is a difficult concept to explain and to comprehend. The important point is, death is a natural process and whether your consciousness is expanded or not the process of death is the same for all; just as the process of birth is the same for all. It seems to me that the process of death is a less traumatic experience than the process of birth. At birth you are taken from a relatively peaceful place and squeezed out, with great energy and force, into a completely different dimension, and made to breath on your own. I have hear it said, that if you want to know what it feels like to crossover at the moment of death, practice keeping your mind awake as you fall asleep. By keeping the bridge of awareness as you crossover from being awake to falling asleep you will replicate the experience of passing from life to death. The transition of life to death is a natural process. All that is really required of you is to let go and accept.
I have given an answer to questions 2&3 above, now I will give an answer to question 1: How do I deal with the process of dying? All that is essentially necessary to deal with death is to understand it as a natural process and to surrender and let Universal Nature take its course. The difficulty and resistance of death comes from the out and out fear of death, mostly the fear of the unknown, the anxiety about death, and the question of the pain that may accompany death. To squelch the fear and anxiety takes a conscious and consistent practice over time. Your fear and anxiety about death has deep mind grooves, and to fill those mind grooves in with harmonizing and universal ideas is not an easy task. There are mental and spiritual practices that can guide you to a change, but the most important first step is to be come aware of your fear and anxiety, face it head on, then begin the change. Remember, the first requirement of change is that you are aware of what needs change.
From the dawn of human self-awareness humans have pursued the meaning of their life by discovering the meaning of their death. Some where I read that when Plato was on his deathbed his pupils asked for one final word of advice, and he responded, "Practice dying." Dyland Thomas, a Walsh poet, in his poem, "Do Not go Gentle into that Good Night," tells his dying father:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light"...
In the Zen Buddhist tradition, when a Zen Master was about to die, he writes a poem. The Master's poem serves as a summation of life, and as a parting gift to inspire his disciples. Below are two poems from, Teasho and Dogen respectively; feel the great anticipation and exultation of the Master's poetical expression, as they slip consciously into their physical death.
Finally out of reach-
No bondage, no dependency
How calm the ocean,
Towering the void.
Four and fifth years
I've hung the sky with stars.
Now I leap through-
What shattering.
In his book, "A Christmas Carol," Dickens has his character, Scrogge completely transform his life because of his experience with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The Spectra merely points to the gravestone with Scrooge's name on it to create in Scrooge an immediate, full transformation. There has been testimony from many people, the world over, who experienced a mystical, "near death experience," that instantly and completely transformed their lives. Thomas Hardy, a novelist and poet, brings yet another out look, in his poem, "The Subalterns:"
..."Come hither, Son," I heard Death Say';
"I did not will a grave
Should end thy pilgrimage today,
But, I too, am a slave!"
We smiled upon each other then,
And life to me had less
Of that fell look it wore ere when
They owned their passiveness.
In India there is a group of universal stories intended to inspire and bring wisdom to spiritual seekers, dating back 5000 years, called the "Upanishads," meaning, "at the feet of," an enlighten one. In one story, called the "Katha Upanishad," a young boy, Nachiketa wanted to know the truth beyond the cultural, spiritual rituals and ceremonies, and went to see Yama, Death, to find the truth.
..."Having tested young Nachiketa and found him fit to receive spiritual instruction, Yama, the king of death said:"
"The joy of the Atman (the highest spiritual consciousness achievable in this life cycle), ever abides. But not what seems pleasant to the senses. Both these, differing in their purpose, prompt man to action. All is well for those who choose the joy of the Atman, but they miss the goal of life who prefer the pleasant. Perennial joy or passing pleasure? This is the choice one is to make always. The wise recognize these two, but not the ignorant. The first welcome what leads to abiding joy, though painful at the time, the latter run, goaded by their senses, after what seems immediate pleasure"...
(the ignorant)..."Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded men proud of their vain learning go round and round like the blind led by the blind. Far beyond their eyes, hypnotized by the world of sense, they live in darkness, unaware of any higher good, or goal, they fall life after life under my sway..."
And here is my poetic contribution about our relationship to death, called, "The Hearse:"
The Hearse travels through live streets
and all pause to pay respect.
The young, caste a wistful glance then
continue their play.
The somber, stop, bend down their head
in anxiety over their day.
The old, captured in a moments reflection
knowing soon their flesh will too decay.
The wise, let death pass unattached, with
out losing their sense of the day.
The Hearse travels through live streets
and all...pause to pay respect.
We see above a variety of thinking about the human condition of death. Some of the wisdom of life and death comes from living an examined life, some comes from accepting the cultural wisdom. In the U.S., because of our cultural, belief context, conditioned by Christian doctrine, our orientation towards youth, and our materialistic philosophy, with its myopic view of objectifying everything, our concepts of what it means to live and die takes on these conditions. One concept of death originates from a completely materialistic point of view. It says, death is separate and distinct; a passive element or force. In other words, death is a force-entity, a "purblind Doomster," that destroys life. Under this view, the destruction of life is absolute; complete annihilation of all life's components, including all consciousness. Human life defined by this concept leads to a doctrine that places its highest values on material well-being, and on cultivating pleasure from all manner of sensual experiences, affecting a hedonistic and fatalistic out look. A second concept of physical death in the U.S., probably the most culturally accepted, originates from the doctrines of Christianity. It says, death is a condition in which an immortal soul leaves the physical body and subsists in some form of eternal fashion in one of three states: eternal bliss, eternal damnation, or a middle state of limited duration, for purposes of purification. The determination of the fate of the soul comes within the Providence of God. On the "Day of Judgement" all created souls will be sentenced by God, and their physical bodies will then reunite with their souls to serve out their sentences. Human life defined under the terms of this concept becomes, for most humans, excluding perhaps the saints, semi-fatalistic. Fear, guilt, and anxiety, become the central sensations of life; although just living life presents some small shadow of hope in terms of grace. That sprig of grace for eternal bliss is however, completely over shadowed by the inevitable final judgement, and the likely-hood of eternal damnation. The guilt, fear, and anxiety, that accompany this concept acts to resists and depress a view of life's greater possibilities. A third concept of physical death, the least culturally accepted in the U.S. is reincarnation. It says, death is a process that merely changes the form of life; from a spirit, soul, body, to a spirit, soul. At physical death, the essential consciousness, the spirit and its vehicle, the soul, leaves the body and commingles on higher planes corresponding to their qualities, something like a pool of water that changes into water vapor and then commingling with its kin water vapors. Life as life, cannot die nor be annihilated. Life is eternal, and as such always exists and always will. The annihilation of even an infinitesimal particle of life would brake the unity of the entire Universe, and be a lose to the Universe that could not be replaced. The death of a manifest thing or form is a natural withdrawal of eternal life from one form into another form. Human life defined under the terms of this concept of death becomes one of almost infinite hopefulness and possibility, where all beings and entities are fitted into the Great Cycle of Universal Nature, and are granted a virtual eternity to fulfill their divine destinies.
To me, of the three concepts of death, only rebirth satisfactorily corresponds with the cyclical principles set down by Universal Nature. When physical death accrues there ensues to the body, not a lose of life, but a loss of individualized coherence. In other words, the once individualized unity of the body after death, becomes diffused; it becomes diffused life without the dominating control of a centralized inner government. In truth, physical death is not an autonomous force, a purblind "Doomster" that destroys life, but paradoxically, it is life which is the cause of death. Life's unfolding field of consciousness spreads beyond the capacity of the physical body to contain it, consequently the body, over a period of time, gradually deteriorates to the point of being cast off; the entire process is what we call, death.
Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher and writer, stated in his book "Still Here" that after 30 years of sitting with the dying that there seems to be three primary questions asked by those on the brink of their death.
1. How do I deal with the processes of dying?
2. What happens to me at the moment of death?
3. What will happen to me after I die?
At the moment of death you bring the culmination of your believes with you, and as they represent the degree of your consciousness, that is what you reap. If you believe that you are only your physical body and your personality, death brings an annihilation of your body and personality. If at the time of death you have an expanded consciousness that includes a belief in life as having, spirit, soul, and body then as the natural process of returning each of life's components to their specific sphere, there will be a degree of consciousness. This is a difficult concept to explain and to comprehend. The important point is, death is a natural process and whether your consciousness is expanded or not the process of death is the same for all; just as the process of birth is the same for all. It seems to me that the process of death is a less traumatic experience than the process of birth. At birth you are taken from a relatively peaceful place and squeezed out, with great energy and force, into a completely different dimension, and made to breath on your own. I have hear it said, that if you want to know what it feels like to crossover at the moment of death, practice keeping your mind awake as you fall asleep. By keeping the bridge of awareness as you crossover from being awake to falling asleep you will replicate the experience of passing from life to death. The transition of life to death is a natural process. All that is really required of you is to let go and accept.
I have given an answer to questions 2&3 above, now I will give an answer to question 1: How do I deal with the process of dying? All that is essentially necessary to deal with death is to understand it as a natural process and to surrender and let Universal Nature take its course. The difficulty and resistance of death comes from the out and out fear of death, mostly the fear of the unknown, the anxiety about death, and the question of the pain that may accompany death. To squelch the fear and anxiety takes a conscious and consistent practice over time. Your fear and anxiety about death has deep mind grooves, and to fill those mind grooves in with harmonizing and universal ideas is not an easy task. There are mental and spiritual practices that can guide you to a change, but the most important first step is to be come aware of your fear and anxiety, face it head on, then begin the change. Remember, the first requirement of change is that you are aware of what needs change.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
ideas-the matrix for life
Ideas and their manifestation through words, in and of themselves just add to the general chaos of life, but because of their affinity to the human mind exert a force comparable to the total force wrapped up in the Universe. It is ideas merged with the intent of human minds that make, unmake, and shake our world; ideas that once set loose have the capacity to shape and determine present and future realities. They can fizzle and sputter, and eventually die out or can like a giant magnet, create a great field of attraction, and persuade the minds of millions of humans, for good or ill. When an idea's time has come for manifestation, ..."man, and mote, and star, and sun, must range to it or be pulverized by the recoil"... (Emerson). It was ideas of compassion and forgiveness seeded and cultivated by the mind of the Buddha and the Christ that lifted the hearts and minds of men and women out of spiritual depression and inertia, and into a higher spiritual consciousness. It was ideas of superiority and dominance seeded and cultivated by the mind of Hitler that launched our globe into World WarII.
As I review my life, I have found three consistent ideas that serve to motivate, direct, and anchor my life. The first idea comes from a phrase used by the ancient Greek oracles, "Man, know thyself," the second comes from the Buddha's entreatment to live an examined life, and the third, comes from the theme of the Bhagavad-Gita, devotion. Three simple ideas, "know thyself," "live an examined life," and "devotion." Words so simple yet so engaging that they continually inspire me, and so dense with wisdom that they serve as a fountainhead for the unveiling of the mysteries of life.
The moment I read the phrase, "Man know thyself," my soul stirred, and I immediately knew that I would embark on an adventure of self-discovery. I can trace the sequence of self-discovery from strategies of economic self-improvement, to a deeper psychological self-discernment, to a conscious spiritual encounter and connection, all stepping-stones on the pathway to an ever expanding consciousness. The idea of knowing one's self has found resonance in the deepest region of my soul, and has become a living imperative. As was said by Krishna to Arjuna, in the Bhagavad-Gita, ..."the principles of thy nature will impel thee to engage."
The igniting of my inner motivation towards self-discovery was augmented by the second important idea in my life, the Buddha's entreatment to live an examined life. While the idea of knowing thyself pinpointed the subject of study, the idea of living an examined life showed me how to be aware of all my experiences. This requires a conscious connection of the self to the self. It is as St. Francis of Assisi said, "What you are looking for is what is looking at you." What is looking at you is your Higher Self; the divine aspect of your being. This Self is the Watcher that you first recognize as an inner voice of an advisor, bringing good counsel. A Watcher that you begin to rely upon, over the course of time, as a friend and companion, and then becomes your beloved friend. And finally, you discover that this beloved friend is your true essence. You are it, and It is you. In the Bhagavad-Gita, recession by, William Q. Judge, chapter 11, Arjuna, just having seen Krishna in his partial divine form says, ..."Having been ignorant of thy majesty, I took thee for a friend, and have called thee 'Oh Krishna, O son of Yade, 'O friend, and blinded by my affection and presumptions, I have at times treated thee without respect in sport, recreation, in repose, in thy chair, and at meals, in private and in public; all this I beseech thee, O inconceivable Being, to forgive." Arjuna is illuminated by his divine quality, understands its source, and humbly surrenders to it. Krishna responds, "Thou hast seen this form of mine which is difficult to be perceived and which even the gods are always anxious to behold. But I am not to be seen, even as I have myself to thee, by the study of the "Vades," nor by mortification, nor by alms giving, nor sacrifices. I am to be approached and seen and known in truth by means of that devotion which has me as an object. He whose actions are for me alone, who esteemeth me the supreme goal, who is my servant only, without attachment to the results of action and free from enmity towards any creature, cometh to me, O son of Pandu."
It is from the close examination of my life that has lead me to become acquainted with the voice of the Watcher within, and to recognize that voice as my Higher Self. My third idea of devotion takes root in that recognition of my Higher Self. Even though my recognition of the divine within comes nowhere near Arjuna's revelation of Krishna's glory and even though my acts are involved in faults and failure, I recognize the Truth. And in striving towards Truth as a goal worthy of fixed devotion I am provided with an ultimate goal, and with an infinite source of hope.
There is a Hindu or could be a Sanskrit word, "Namaste" that is use as a salutation, which means, the divine in me, recognizes and acknowledges, the divine in you.
As I review my life, I have found three consistent ideas that serve to motivate, direct, and anchor my life. The first idea comes from a phrase used by the ancient Greek oracles, "Man, know thyself," the second comes from the Buddha's entreatment to live an examined life, and the third, comes from the theme of the Bhagavad-Gita, devotion. Three simple ideas, "know thyself," "live an examined life," and "devotion." Words so simple yet so engaging that they continually inspire me, and so dense with wisdom that they serve as a fountainhead for the unveiling of the mysteries of life.
The moment I read the phrase, "Man know thyself," my soul stirred, and I immediately knew that I would embark on an adventure of self-discovery. I can trace the sequence of self-discovery from strategies of economic self-improvement, to a deeper psychological self-discernment, to a conscious spiritual encounter and connection, all stepping-stones on the pathway to an ever expanding consciousness. The idea of knowing one's self has found resonance in the deepest region of my soul, and has become a living imperative. As was said by Krishna to Arjuna, in the Bhagavad-Gita, ..."the principles of thy nature will impel thee to engage."
The igniting of my inner motivation towards self-discovery was augmented by the second important idea in my life, the Buddha's entreatment to live an examined life. While the idea of knowing thyself pinpointed the subject of study, the idea of living an examined life showed me how to be aware of all my experiences. This requires a conscious connection of the self to the self. It is as St. Francis of Assisi said, "What you are looking for is what is looking at you." What is looking at you is your Higher Self; the divine aspect of your being. This Self is the Watcher that you first recognize as an inner voice of an advisor, bringing good counsel. A Watcher that you begin to rely upon, over the course of time, as a friend and companion, and then becomes your beloved friend. And finally, you discover that this beloved friend is your true essence. You are it, and It is you. In the Bhagavad-Gita, recession by, William Q. Judge, chapter 11, Arjuna, just having seen Krishna in his partial divine form says, ..."Having been ignorant of thy majesty, I took thee for a friend, and have called thee 'Oh Krishna, O son of Yade, 'O friend, and blinded by my affection and presumptions, I have at times treated thee without respect in sport, recreation, in repose, in thy chair, and at meals, in private and in public; all this I beseech thee, O inconceivable Being, to forgive." Arjuna is illuminated by his divine quality, understands its source, and humbly surrenders to it. Krishna responds, "Thou hast seen this form of mine which is difficult to be perceived and which even the gods are always anxious to behold. But I am not to be seen, even as I have myself to thee, by the study of the "Vades," nor by mortification, nor by alms giving, nor sacrifices. I am to be approached and seen and known in truth by means of that devotion which has me as an object. He whose actions are for me alone, who esteemeth me the supreme goal, who is my servant only, without attachment to the results of action and free from enmity towards any creature, cometh to me, O son of Pandu."
It is from the close examination of my life that has lead me to become acquainted with the voice of the Watcher within, and to recognize that voice as my Higher Self. My third idea of devotion takes root in that recognition of my Higher Self. Even though my recognition of the divine within comes nowhere near Arjuna's revelation of Krishna's glory and even though my acts are involved in faults and failure, I recognize the Truth. And in striving towards Truth as a goal worthy of fixed devotion I am provided with an ultimate goal, and with an infinite source of hope.
There is a Hindu or could be a Sanskrit word, "Namaste" that is use as a salutation, which means, the divine in me, recognizes and acknowledges, the divine in you.
Friday, June 5, 2009
period of transition-evolving existing national principles into new standards of thought and conduct
..."Now there are times, when a whole generation is caught in this way, between two ages, two modes of life with the consequences that it loses all power to understand itself and has no standard, no security, no simple acquiescence"... The above quote is from the book, Steppenwolf, by Herman Hess. The quote describes a whole society involved in self conflict because of a premature overlapping of an older generation by its succeeding generation before the older generation was ready to retire. The consequence of such a condition left a whole society in a battle of wills, unable to evolve existing principles into acceptable standards of conduct for its future survival along with chronic unrest, and all corresponding noticeably well with the kind of symptoms exhibited in our present society.
Our current unrest is so profound and so deep that it cuts across all aspects of our society: economic, educational, political, spiritual. Everyone seems to be cut away from existing cultural principles of structure and conduct, searching desperately for some kind of reliable standard of thought and conduct that would ease and stabilize our unrest and give us our bearings, so that we could chart a true and accurate course into the future. Our once "blind-faith" approach to our religions, and our reliance on the "rock solid, copper sheath" framework of our government have been riddled by skepticism and cynicism. Where once our society had clear vision and purpose drawn from high virtue and noble values, it now sees no farther then sensual and psychological gratifications. Where once our society built its hopes and future on high principles of justice, equality, and tolerance, it now places its hopes and future on appearance, personality, and scientific powers. The once high principled fabric of our society has been ripped by the attributes of our lower self: greed, privilege, indolence, indulgence, selfish ambition.
No where in our relatively brief history has there been a period of transition of the comprehensive magnitude as we are now experiencing. The Civil War was a devastating event, and almost laid ruin to our fledgling society, yet it didn't reach the spiritual and intellectual comprehensiveness as is true of today's transition period. The Industrial Revolution, although comprehensive in the field of sociology and economic material affects, didn't expose our basic principles of thought and conduct to the threat of dissolution. The Decade of the 60's, with its protests and rebellion, was not as comprehensive a transition period as is being experienced now. Although a direct assault was launched against established governmental and moral principles, its main focus was on specific, perceived injustices. When those injustices were satisfactorily dissolved, so too was the greater part of the 60's social conscience.
The closest parallel to our current period of transition is that of the Roman Empire; that period just after its zenith, and at the beginning of its descending arc. That period, like ours, was marked by unusual forms of ideas and activities involving the dissolution of principles of thought and conduct, and perceptual novelties both of a spiritual and intellectual character. See if you can detect any similarity in the thought and conduct of the Senate of the Roman Empire during its declining period with the thought and conduct of our U.S. Congress and other governing bodies of our society: ..."divided hopes, indigent at the institutions of the state which it ruled, and yet incapable of even systematic assailing them, vacillating in all its conduct except where its own material advantage prompted decision, a picture of faithlessness toward its own as well as the opposite party, of the inward inconsistency of the most pitfall impotence, of the meanest selfishness, and an unsurpassed ideal of misrule"...
The match between the declining Roman Empire and our current society is obviously not perfect, but the similarities are striking. If this match were studied in detail, no doubt many remarkable insights could be drawn about the condition and possible future of our society, but we will leave that study to a motivated scholar. Here we are interested in drawing a wider, more universal comparison. Our society is comparatively much younger then the Roman Empire of the period under consideration. The Roman Empire had already progressed to its zenith and was in decline. Our society is still progressing. To a true student of Universal Nature the fact that our society is in a growth phase of development would be very significant. To him or her, a society is effected by the same cyclical and periodic "Laws of Nature" imposed on all manifest things, from the cosmic to the local. All things revolve according to Nature's Grooves: first, from birth to growth, leveling at some middle point, then decay and finally death. Nothing is exempt from these Laws.
By a comparison between the periodic phase of the Roman Empire with our current society, we will have discovered a fundamental principle at work within Universal Nature. With this knowledge we can begin to unlock the meaning behind our period of transition. (It should be obvious that what is being done here is developing a paradigm for purposes of drawing an analogy. Statistical accuracy is not necessary, approximations will do.)
Our country, as an independent society, is relatively young, some 240 years old. If we mark the average life expectancy of new civilizations at 1000 years, for no other reason then it seems empirically reasonable, then our society, at this point in time, has spend approximately one forth of its average life. This places our society within the growth phase of Nature's Grooves, and also places us in a position for a positive evolutionary out come for our society.
All societies are created out of the minds of human beings. That there should not exist a direct causative relationship between the thoughts and conduct of the human beings that make up a society and the society itself, is absurd. Add to the above reason that human beings are, in composition, microcosmic representations of the macrocosm, and the reasons begin to crystallize. Thus, knowledge of the processes and phases that function within human beings can be applied, by direct analogy, to the processes and phases of a larger scale, namely our society.
Human desire invokes a passion which in turn becomes its vehicle for force that fires the imagination and will toward the gratification or achievement of the desire. However, the power that is felt by desire is mixed with an element of danger, which is a blind spot, lacking the experience necessary to foresee the effects of the use of the desire. Not only does this position of ignorance leave itself vulnerable to unseen consequences, but also vulnerable to the manipulation of a stronger more experienced will.
By analogy then, our nation is at a present stage of development equivalent to a fifteen or sixteen year old human being. Where the unfolding of desire coupled with the force of passion has recently been installed into our nation's consciousness. As a nation, we feel this power and begin to express it through all aspects of our national life, and because we haven't enough experience to integrated this power with regard to control, it escapes our higher reason. Consequently, as with any initial developmental phase, there will be many failures, followed by feelings of frustration, anger, and impotency. It is like a young child at the walking stage. He stands, wabbles, and falls many times before gaining enough strength and stability necessary to walk. Because we are involved with the development of a faculty of mind that must be integrated with other mental and physical faculties, the difficulity of mastery is compounded many times. This difficulty of mastery can be sighted as the cause of our general feelings of unrest, and as the motivation behind the widespread feelings of caution and conservatism, and anger and violence.
Simply, our nation is making the mistakes of a human adolescent; letting the force of passion and emotion have full reign over our conscience, our higher reason, while oblivious to the consequences. Because of the low moral stamina associated with this phase of human development, our desires are bent toward our lower natures. This reign of our lower natures has overwhelmed our higher reason to the point that we resemble those persons which Plato describe that have no experience with wisdom and virtue: ..."they look ever downward and feed...they kick and butt with iron horns and hooves and kill one another, because of their insatiate desire..."
We have let our lower passions loose, and have given them reign over the fabric of our nation's consciousness; a mistake of an adolescent. Our national, moral conscious has consequently been voluntarily distracted by all manner of vice, amusements, entertainments, and personal, material ambitions, and gratifications. Yet as serious and dangerous as is the present state of our national consciousness, hope and courage can be raised from the idea that this condition is temporary, (remembering that the word, "temporary" when related to a growing society can mean 50 to 100 years). Every parent who has successfully guided his child through adolescence can testify to the difficulty and enormous effort involved, and to the tremendous reward in seeing the blossoming of a good young adult.
This then is the nature of our period of transition where we are in the process of evolving existing national principles into new standards of thought and conduct which correspond to the unfolding of our expanding consciousness. On a more practical level, we can correctly say, that we are in the process of changing national habits. Pain, suffering, and disorder are the natural symptoms of this transformation, but are also motivations for progress through the unlocking of our national consciousness.
It is through suffering and yearning for the light that we sharpen our virtues and advance, and when the light comes then also comes, great peace and wisdom, and our hearts are temporarily at rest, until then next evolutionary transition.
Our current unrest is so profound and so deep that it cuts across all aspects of our society: economic, educational, political, spiritual. Everyone seems to be cut away from existing cultural principles of structure and conduct, searching desperately for some kind of reliable standard of thought and conduct that would ease and stabilize our unrest and give us our bearings, so that we could chart a true and accurate course into the future. Our once "blind-faith" approach to our religions, and our reliance on the "rock solid, copper sheath" framework of our government have been riddled by skepticism and cynicism. Where once our society had clear vision and purpose drawn from high virtue and noble values, it now sees no farther then sensual and psychological gratifications. Where once our society built its hopes and future on high principles of justice, equality, and tolerance, it now places its hopes and future on appearance, personality, and scientific powers. The once high principled fabric of our society has been ripped by the attributes of our lower self: greed, privilege, indolence, indulgence, selfish ambition.
No where in our relatively brief history has there been a period of transition of the comprehensive magnitude as we are now experiencing. The Civil War was a devastating event, and almost laid ruin to our fledgling society, yet it didn't reach the spiritual and intellectual comprehensiveness as is true of today's transition period. The Industrial Revolution, although comprehensive in the field of sociology and economic material affects, didn't expose our basic principles of thought and conduct to the threat of dissolution. The Decade of the 60's, with its protests and rebellion, was not as comprehensive a transition period as is being experienced now. Although a direct assault was launched against established governmental and moral principles, its main focus was on specific, perceived injustices. When those injustices were satisfactorily dissolved, so too was the greater part of the 60's social conscience.
The closest parallel to our current period of transition is that of the Roman Empire; that period just after its zenith, and at the beginning of its descending arc. That period, like ours, was marked by unusual forms of ideas and activities involving the dissolution of principles of thought and conduct, and perceptual novelties both of a spiritual and intellectual character. See if you can detect any similarity in the thought and conduct of the Senate of the Roman Empire during its declining period with the thought and conduct of our U.S. Congress and other governing bodies of our society: ..."divided hopes, indigent at the institutions of the state which it ruled, and yet incapable of even systematic assailing them, vacillating in all its conduct except where its own material advantage prompted decision, a picture of faithlessness toward its own as well as the opposite party, of the inward inconsistency of the most pitfall impotence, of the meanest selfishness, and an unsurpassed ideal of misrule"...
The match between the declining Roman Empire and our current society is obviously not perfect, but the similarities are striking. If this match were studied in detail, no doubt many remarkable insights could be drawn about the condition and possible future of our society, but we will leave that study to a motivated scholar. Here we are interested in drawing a wider, more universal comparison. Our society is comparatively much younger then the Roman Empire of the period under consideration. The Roman Empire had already progressed to its zenith and was in decline. Our society is still progressing. To a true student of Universal Nature the fact that our society is in a growth phase of development would be very significant. To him or her, a society is effected by the same cyclical and periodic "Laws of Nature" imposed on all manifest things, from the cosmic to the local. All things revolve according to Nature's Grooves: first, from birth to growth, leveling at some middle point, then decay and finally death. Nothing is exempt from these Laws.
By a comparison between the periodic phase of the Roman Empire with our current society, we will have discovered a fundamental principle at work within Universal Nature. With this knowledge we can begin to unlock the meaning behind our period of transition. (It should be obvious that what is being done here is developing a paradigm for purposes of drawing an analogy. Statistical accuracy is not necessary, approximations will do.)
Our country, as an independent society, is relatively young, some 240 years old. If we mark the average life expectancy of new civilizations at 1000 years, for no other reason then it seems empirically reasonable, then our society, at this point in time, has spend approximately one forth of its average life. This places our society within the growth phase of Nature's Grooves, and also places us in a position for a positive evolutionary out come for our society.
All societies are created out of the minds of human beings. That there should not exist a direct causative relationship between the thoughts and conduct of the human beings that make up a society and the society itself, is absurd. Add to the above reason that human beings are, in composition, microcosmic representations of the macrocosm, and the reasons begin to crystallize. Thus, knowledge of the processes and phases that function within human beings can be applied, by direct analogy, to the processes and phases of a larger scale, namely our society.
Human desire invokes a passion which in turn becomes its vehicle for force that fires the imagination and will toward the gratification or achievement of the desire. However, the power that is felt by desire is mixed with an element of danger, which is a blind spot, lacking the experience necessary to foresee the effects of the use of the desire. Not only does this position of ignorance leave itself vulnerable to unseen consequences, but also vulnerable to the manipulation of a stronger more experienced will.
By analogy then, our nation is at a present stage of development equivalent to a fifteen or sixteen year old human being. Where the unfolding of desire coupled with the force of passion has recently been installed into our nation's consciousness. As a nation, we feel this power and begin to express it through all aspects of our national life, and because we haven't enough experience to integrated this power with regard to control, it escapes our higher reason. Consequently, as with any initial developmental phase, there will be many failures, followed by feelings of frustration, anger, and impotency. It is like a young child at the walking stage. He stands, wabbles, and falls many times before gaining enough strength and stability necessary to walk. Because we are involved with the development of a faculty of mind that must be integrated with other mental and physical faculties, the difficulity of mastery is compounded many times. This difficulty of mastery can be sighted as the cause of our general feelings of unrest, and as the motivation behind the widespread feelings of caution and conservatism, and anger and violence.
Simply, our nation is making the mistakes of a human adolescent; letting the force of passion and emotion have full reign over our conscience, our higher reason, while oblivious to the consequences. Because of the low moral stamina associated with this phase of human development, our desires are bent toward our lower natures. This reign of our lower natures has overwhelmed our higher reason to the point that we resemble those persons which Plato describe that have no experience with wisdom and virtue: ..."they look ever downward and feed...they kick and butt with iron horns and hooves and kill one another, because of their insatiate desire..."
We have let our lower passions loose, and have given them reign over the fabric of our nation's consciousness; a mistake of an adolescent. Our national, moral conscious has consequently been voluntarily distracted by all manner of vice, amusements, entertainments, and personal, material ambitions, and gratifications. Yet as serious and dangerous as is the present state of our national consciousness, hope and courage can be raised from the idea that this condition is temporary, (remembering that the word, "temporary" when related to a growing society can mean 50 to 100 years). Every parent who has successfully guided his child through adolescence can testify to the difficulty and enormous effort involved, and to the tremendous reward in seeing the blossoming of a good young adult.
This then is the nature of our period of transition where we are in the process of evolving existing national principles into new standards of thought and conduct which correspond to the unfolding of our expanding consciousness. On a more practical level, we can correctly say, that we are in the process of changing national habits. Pain, suffering, and disorder are the natural symptoms of this transformation, but are also motivations for progress through the unlocking of our national consciousness.
It is through suffering and yearning for the light that we sharpen our virtues and advance, and when the light comes then also comes, great peace and wisdom, and our hearts are temporarily at rest, until then next evolutionary transition.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
to those unaffiliated with a religion
I was watching a documentary, by Bill Maher called Religulous. In it, he mentions some where, that there are 50,000,000 people in the U.S. that are unaffiliated with a religion; last year, '08, I had heard on public radio that there were 30,000,000 people unaffiliated. I always have a skeptical eye with all statistics. Most are a momentary snap shot into what ever is being analysed. For instance, in 2010 the Census will be taken, and as soon as the results are published, the count will have changed, and as a matter of fact, the results would have changed the first day of recording. Also, most statistics take on the bias of the entity initiating the analysis. To me objectivity in relationship to statistics is a misnomer. However, I gave that 30, to 50,000,000 unaffiliated statistic some value because I understand that voluntarily abandoning a religion can be a stepping stone for spiritual seekers. I know that because I lived through that experience, and I intuitively understand that in an developmental way, humans are seeking points of truth to help guide their spiritual progression, especially woman. Where ever there is learning or training in the broad spectrum of human development woman are there, in much greater numbers than men. I believe that the days of men leading the U.S. are numbered, and by the turn of this century, women will have taken most of the leadership roles from men.
Forthcoming, is a synopsis of my experience of abandoning my inherited religion. I had sixteen years of formal religious education: eight years of Catholic Grammar School, four years of Catholic High School, and four years of Catholic College. You would think that such a long, active association with a religion would at least generate a modicum of "real" spiritual identity. It did not.
In grammar school, I went along with religious instruction and tried to put into practice what I had been told. I didn't use foul language, prayed daily, confessed my sins, fasted on appointed days, went to Mass on Sundays, and received the sacraments. Retrospectively, my religious education was comparable to "brain washing," the only difference being I had the consent and approval of my parents and culture. Regular doses of dogma were introduced into my mind, from what I was told to believe an infallible source. The doctrine of the Catholic Church says that the Pope acts infallibly when rendering doctrines or decisions of faith and/or morals. I swallowed whole. I could readily regurgitate doctrine, simulating mastery, and I could practice as though spiritually motivated. In truth, I carried undigested and unfelt concepts, ideas, values, attitudes, and objectives that belonged more to the instructors than to me. My primary motivation behind my religious education was fear of punishment, and not deep-felt convictions or believes. I feared blackening my immortal soul with sin, and the consequence of suffering eternal damnation in hellfire. There were times when I would concentrate so singularly on the idea of eternity that I was able to gain a mental sensation of that idea. I was frightened by that sensation, but I was terrified when I associated that idea of eternity with that of eternal damnation. Accompanying my fear of punishment were anxiety and guilt. I was anxious over the continuous encounters with "mortal sin," and forever guilty over the weakness of my will to resist.
By the time I entered high school, my religious education had become mechanical. I bit off large chunks of Catholic dogma, partially chewed, then swallowed. My spiritual development was completely repressed and overshadowed by the strict infallible doctrine of the Catholic Church. The problem with chasing after other's ideas, values, attitudes, and objectives, I discovered, lies in the area of limited physical energy and misplaced attention. We have on average, a life expectancy of 75 plus years of life. Consequently, any energy misdirected is a squandering. Following others' goals, we spend our scare energy, maximizing their objectives at the direct expense of maximizing our own human potential. In this process of achieving other's goals our minds are also misdirected. The one essential tool necessary for realizing full human potential is occupied with the attainment of subordinate objectives. This kind of misdirected attention limits our mind by narrowing its range of focus and capabilities.
It wasn't until my last year in college that I finally gained enough experience to truly begin, with awareness, directing my destiny. This period too, begins my unfettered search for spiritual identity. Unfettered in that I no longer was bound by the thoughts and desires of authorities other than myself. I had castoff the excess baggage in my mind, and was thrust into the initial stage of becoming my own authority.
I chewed all information thoroughly, digesting and assimilating what I believed valuable, and jettisoned the rest. Now, I looked to outside authorities only for verification of my own ideas, and as a stimulating source of bairn-food. This change in seats of authority brought a complete rethinking of Catholic doctrine. I adapted a skeptical eye with regard to its spiritual value. My daily experiences suggested other less debilitating ideas and concepts more in line with spiritual identification to assimilate and use. I developed a humanistic philosophy which greatly flattened out the idealized Catholic doctrine, and substantially decreased the debilitating effects of fear and guilt. The "Catholic Way" didn't sustain, comfort, or guide my spiritual life. Here I was , 22 years of age, religiously derelict, but ready for spiritual awakening.
There is an important distinction that must be made clear between spiritual and religious. It is like the old argument of what came first, the chicken or the egg. What came first, that which is spiritual or religious? After I voluntarily abandoned my Catholic Faith, many would say, I than also discarded my spiritual life. Most people associate spiritual expression exclusively with religion. However, spiritual expressions are often completely separate from religion. Spiritual expression originates from within human beings, as an expression of their essential spiritual core, and although religious rituals and ceremonies, can initiate a spiritual response, religion is not the source of spirituality. Religion is a direct effect of a spiritual cause. So therefore, as I am a living argument, it is possible for human beings to be highly spiritual without being religious. Even at this late date in my life I remain unaffiliated, and none the worse for it.
For most of us, what is sensed on the material plane is what is believe. The spirit, (our essential core), lies within the medium of the intangible, beyond the ordinary reach of the ordinary use of our senses. Those dependent entirely on ordinary sense perception try to see the spiritual aspect or soul by dissecting the physical organ, the brain. When the senses do not reveal it, they deny its existence. Then there are those who believe the soul exists and that it is the result of the physical form we call the body. Consciousness, thought, soul and all mental phenomena, they say, is a function of the brain. Every special form of thought is a result of the activity of a special portion of the brain. When we see things or think of seen things, the optical convolutions of our brain are activated. A certain portion of the temporal lobes are activated when we hear, and so on. If the brain functions stop, all associated phenomena will instantly cease. Because of our heavy reliance on our ordinary senses, the above reasoning is very difficult to overcome. Most of us stop at this barrier or feebly attempt to cross. The truth cannot be made manifest by philosophically based arguments, they help or by religious doctrines, they also help, but by a honest answer to several questions. When your own heart asks: What happens to me after death? When your own heart asks: Is there something beyond my physical reality? When your own heart asks: How is it that I can sometimes know what is true, and sometimes feel what is beautiful without the use of my reason? How will you respond? Will you rationalize your answers to conform to your affections or will you answer with a heart that unconditionally seeks to understand what is true?
So, brotheren and sisteren of the "unaffiliated," if you have something to say about your unaffiliation send me an e-mail.
Forthcoming, is a synopsis of my experience of abandoning my inherited religion. I had sixteen years of formal religious education: eight years of Catholic Grammar School, four years of Catholic High School, and four years of Catholic College. You would think that such a long, active association with a religion would at least generate a modicum of "real" spiritual identity. It did not.
In grammar school, I went along with religious instruction and tried to put into practice what I had been told. I didn't use foul language, prayed daily, confessed my sins, fasted on appointed days, went to Mass on Sundays, and received the sacraments. Retrospectively, my religious education was comparable to "brain washing," the only difference being I had the consent and approval of my parents and culture. Regular doses of dogma were introduced into my mind, from what I was told to believe an infallible source. The doctrine of the Catholic Church says that the Pope acts infallibly when rendering doctrines or decisions of faith and/or morals. I swallowed whole. I could readily regurgitate doctrine, simulating mastery, and I could practice as though spiritually motivated. In truth, I carried undigested and unfelt concepts, ideas, values, attitudes, and objectives that belonged more to the instructors than to me. My primary motivation behind my religious education was fear of punishment, and not deep-felt convictions or believes. I feared blackening my immortal soul with sin, and the consequence of suffering eternal damnation in hellfire. There were times when I would concentrate so singularly on the idea of eternity that I was able to gain a mental sensation of that idea. I was frightened by that sensation, but I was terrified when I associated that idea of eternity with that of eternal damnation. Accompanying my fear of punishment were anxiety and guilt. I was anxious over the continuous encounters with "mortal sin," and forever guilty over the weakness of my will to resist.
By the time I entered high school, my religious education had become mechanical. I bit off large chunks of Catholic dogma, partially chewed, then swallowed. My spiritual development was completely repressed and overshadowed by the strict infallible doctrine of the Catholic Church. The problem with chasing after other's ideas, values, attitudes, and objectives, I discovered, lies in the area of limited physical energy and misplaced attention. We have on average, a life expectancy of 75 plus years of life. Consequently, any energy misdirected is a squandering. Following others' goals, we spend our scare energy, maximizing their objectives at the direct expense of maximizing our own human potential. In this process of achieving other's goals our minds are also misdirected. The one essential tool necessary for realizing full human potential is occupied with the attainment of subordinate objectives. This kind of misdirected attention limits our mind by narrowing its range of focus and capabilities.
It wasn't until my last year in college that I finally gained enough experience to truly begin, with awareness, directing my destiny. This period too, begins my unfettered search for spiritual identity. Unfettered in that I no longer was bound by the thoughts and desires of authorities other than myself. I had castoff the excess baggage in my mind, and was thrust into the initial stage of becoming my own authority.
I chewed all information thoroughly, digesting and assimilating what I believed valuable, and jettisoned the rest. Now, I looked to outside authorities only for verification of my own ideas, and as a stimulating source of bairn-food. This change in seats of authority brought a complete rethinking of Catholic doctrine. I adapted a skeptical eye with regard to its spiritual value. My daily experiences suggested other less debilitating ideas and concepts more in line with spiritual identification to assimilate and use. I developed a humanistic philosophy which greatly flattened out the idealized Catholic doctrine, and substantially decreased the debilitating effects of fear and guilt. The "Catholic Way" didn't sustain, comfort, or guide my spiritual life. Here I was , 22 years of age, religiously derelict, but ready for spiritual awakening.
There is an important distinction that must be made clear between spiritual and religious. It is like the old argument of what came first, the chicken or the egg. What came first, that which is spiritual or religious? After I voluntarily abandoned my Catholic Faith, many would say, I than also discarded my spiritual life. Most people associate spiritual expression exclusively with religion. However, spiritual expressions are often completely separate from religion. Spiritual expression originates from within human beings, as an expression of their essential spiritual core, and although religious rituals and ceremonies, can initiate a spiritual response, religion is not the source of spirituality. Religion is a direct effect of a spiritual cause. So therefore, as I am a living argument, it is possible for human beings to be highly spiritual without being religious. Even at this late date in my life I remain unaffiliated, and none the worse for it.
For most of us, what is sensed on the material plane is what is believe. The spirit, (our essential core), lies within the medium of the intangible, beyond the ordinary reach of the ordinary use of our senses. Those dependent entirely on ordinary sense perception try to see the spiritual aspect or soul by dissecting the physical organ, the brain. When the senses do not reveal it, they deny its existence. Then there are those who believe the soul exists and that it is the result of the physical form we call the body. Consciousness, thought, soul and all mental phenomena, they say, is a function of the brain. Every special form of thought is a result of the activity of a special portion of the brain. When we see things or think of seen things, the optical convolutions of our brain are activated. A certain portion of the temporal lobes are activated when we hear, and so on. If the brain functions stop, all associated phenomena will instantly cease. Because of our heavy reliance on our ordinary senses, the above reasoning is very difficult to overcome. Most of us stop at this barrier or feebly attempt to cross. The truth cannot be made manifest by philosophically based arguments, they help or by religious doctrines, they also help, but by a honest answer to several questions. When your own heart asks: What happens to me after death? When your own heart asks: Is there something beyond my physical reality? When your own heart asks: How is it that I can sometimes know what is true, and sometimes feel what is beautiful without the use of my reason? How will you respond? Will you rationalize your answers to conform to your affections or will you answer with a heart that unconditionally seeks to understand what is true?
So, brotheren and sisteren of the "unaffiliated," if you have something to say about your unaffiliation send me an e-mail.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
education
Mark Twain is reported to have said that he never let his schooling interfere with his education. That statement seems, at first glance, to be an interplay of synonymous words, used for the purpose of humor, but a closer review exposes, in an overtone of sarcasm, the narrow understanding our society takes with regard to education. Our society clings steadfast to an iron clad understanding of education that says, only formal schooling equals education, Q.E.D. All other types of learning such as, self introspection, "self taught," (we forget that many of our country's founding fathers were self taught), through informal mentorship, or the learning that Twain was alluding too in his statement, bold and informal following of one's own ideas in areas of inquiry not sanctioned by formal schooling. All of the above and more, are viewed by our society as something other then education. In the book, Hard Times, Charles Dickens describes the pedantic attitude of Thomas Gradgrind, a teacher of great reputation.
"With a rule and a pair of scales, and the multiplication table always in his pocket sir, ready to weight and measure any parcel of human nature and tell you exactly what it comes to."...
Our society would whole heartily applaud and support Mr. Gradgrind's attitude.
In our society, we allow a system of formal schooling, with its initiated authorities and experts, to define and establish educational objectives and the manner in which learning takes place. These experts, over many decades, lead us through a pedantic maze of intellectualized formulas of education all of which included some form of quantitative evaluation to prove the value of their formulas. The overall result of this quantitative approach to education has been to install a strict framework for educating. That is, it keeps learning strictly on a lower or practical bases which subsequently exercises the lower and lower-middle ranges of human principles. It isn't that the lower and lower-middle principles of human beings should be neglected, but to make of them the foundation on which to build an educational system is at best shortsighted, and at worst an obvious display of ignorance about the true composition of human beings.
In addition to the constricting structure of our education system, its experts have build into it an enforcement process of rewards and punishments. What this enforcement process does is to compound the already low focus of education by directing the student's mind to the low desire to be first, while at the same time inflaming passion for honor. On the other end, it humiliates and depresses all expression not within its education parameters, and it evaluates, classifies, medicates, and names all offenders.
Our education system, as expressed through its institutions, tilts the students mind towards the lower human principles of animal desires and passions, under the false mantle of high intellectual development. Under this system if a student successfully meets the system's objectives and becomes wholly intellectual, his entire nature begins to bend downward, for intellect along is cold, heartless, and selfish, because it is not lighted up by the higher principles.
The sad fact is that most of our formal schooling is pure display or vanity. In his Republic, Plato says, "What the mind can grasp and throw away is vanity." You have been schooled to be good test takers, accurate accountants, award achievers, good employees for the corporate world, etc. etc. Yet as practically beneficial as that schooling may have been, it was not directed at the development of your higher principles; towards helping mold you into a "good" human being. In other words, directed at your higher-self; those more noble characteristics such as, a moral sense, self-sacrifice, compassion, service.
Through some kind of unspoken assignment, that higher part of your education was allotted to religious institutions, parents , and yourself. However, when all the above are products of the same quantitative, intellectualized system of education, all are infected by the same low results. Except for a few brave and unfettered souls like, Mark Twain, Fredrick Douglas, Thoreau, Emerson, and others of the same consciousness, whose lives help us to have a peek under the weighted veil of our own educational confinement, we carry our low educational symptoms around with us, ignorantly contaminating all we contact.
The primary objective of any education system, or any endeavor for that matter, should be to awaken the higher principles of human nature. Given the human composition, and its total involvement with its own process to evolve and express its higher principles, any objective other then the awakening of the higher human nature is a form of vanity. You have at your life core the spark of the Supreme-Consciousness-Power of the Universe, and to recognize and express that god-hood is the most fundamental of human objectives.
To those educational experts who are today in an uproar over the inability of the current educational system to educate, and are under pressure to find a more comprehensive way to educate, let them read a simple book called, The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter. The entire book is a manual for the successful education of children, and in the chapter entitled, Mr. Wine, the secret to a successful system of education is revealed.
"Mr. Wine said figuring was important. He said education was a
two-part proposition. One part was technical, which was how you
moved ahead in your trade. He said he was for getting more modern
in that end of education. But, he said the other part you had better
stick to and not change it. He called it valuing.
Mr. Wine said if you learnt to place a value on being honest and thrifty,
on doing your best, and caring for folks; this was more important than anything.
He said if you was not taught these values, then no matter how modern you got
about the technical part, you was not going to get any wheres atall.
As a matter of fact, the more modern you get without these
valuings, then you would more than likely use the modern things for bad and
destroying and ruining."...
I will let Charles Dickens have the final words on this topic. In his book, Hard Times, Dickens exposes an ironic flaw in the esteemed teacher, Thomas Gradgind:
"If he had only learned a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more."
"With a rule and a pair of scales, and the multiplication table always in his pocket sir, ready to weight and measure any parcel of human nature and tell you exactly what it comes to."...
Our society would whole heartily applaud and support Mr. Gradgrind's attitude.
In our society, we allow a system of formal schooling, with its initiated authorities and experts, to define and establish educational objectives and the manner in which learning takes place. These experts, over many decades, lead us through a pedantic maze of intellectualized formulas of education all of which included some form of quantitative evaluation to prove the value of their formulas. The overall result of this quantitative approach to education has been to install a strict framework for educating. That is, it keeps learning strictly on a lower or practical bases which subsequently exercises the lower and lower-middle ranges of human principles. It isn't that the lower and lower-middle principles of human beings should be neglected, but to make of them the foundation on which to build an educational system is at best shortsighted, and at worst an obvious display of ignorance about the true composition of human beings.
In addition to the constricting structure of our education system, its experts have build into it an enforcement process of rewards and punishments. What this enforcement process does is to compound the already low focus of education by directing the student's mind to the low desire to be first, while at the same time inflaming passion for honor. On the other end, it humiliates and depresses all expression not within its education parameters, and it evaluates, classifies, medicates, and names all offenders.
Our education system, as expressed through its institutions, tilts the students mind towards the lower human principles of animal desires and passions, under the false mantle of high intellectual development. Under this system if a student successfully meets the system's objectives and becomes wholly intellectual, his entire nature begins to bend downward, for intellect along is cold, heartless, and selfish, because it is not lighted up by the higher principles.
The sad fact is that most of our formal schooling is pure display or vanity. In his Republic, Plato says, "What the mind can grasp and throw away is vanity." You have been schooled to be good test takers, accurate accountants, award achievers, good employees for the corporate world, etc. etc. Yet as practically beneficial as that schooling may have been, it was not directed at the development of your higher principles; towards helping mold you into a "good" human being. In other words, directed at your higher-self; those more noble characteristics such as, a moral sense, self-sacrifice, compassion, service.
Through some kind of unspoken assignment, that higher part of your education was allotted to religious institutions, parents , and yourself. However, when all the above are products of the same quantitative, intellectualized system of education, all are infected by the same low results. Except for a few brave and unfettered souls like, Mark Twain, Fredrick Douglas, Thoreau, Emerson, and others of the same consciousness, whose lives help us to have a peek under the weighted veil of our own educational confinement, we carry our low educational symptoms around with us, ignorantly contaminating all we contact.
The primary objective of any education system, or any endeavor for that matter, should be to awaken the higher principles of human nature. Given the human composition, and its total involvement with its own process to evolve and express its higher principles, any objective other then the awakening of the higher human nature is a form of vanity. You have at your life core the spark of the Supreme-Consciousness-Power of the Universe, and to recognize and express that god-hood is the most fundamental of human objectives.
To those educational experts who are today in an uproar over the inability of the current educational system to educate, and are under pressure to find a more comprehensive way to educate, let them read a simple book called, The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter. The entire book is a manual for the successful education of children, and in the chapter entitled, Mr. Wine, the secret to a successful system of education is revealed.
"Mr. Wine said figuring was important. He said education was a
two-part proposition. One part was technical, which was how you
moved ahead in your trade. He said he was for getting more modern
in that end of education. But, he said the other part you had better
stick to and not change it. He called it valuing.
Mr. Wine said if you learnt to place a value on being honest and thrifty,
on doing your best, and caring for folks; this was more important than anything.
He said if you was not taught these values, then no matter how modern you got
about the technical part, you was not going to get any wheres atall.
As a matter of fact, the more modern you get without these
valuings, then you would more than likely use the modern things for bad and
destroying and ruining."...
I will let Charles Dickens have the final words on this topic. In his book, Hard Times, Dickens exposes an ironic flaw in the esteemed teacher, Thomas Gradgind:
"If he had only learned a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more."
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