The Next Chapter

My current theological/cosmic understanding is bittersweet.  On the one hand, I am incredibly relieved that I have been permitted to recognize the connection between the spiritual truths of various religions, my personal experience and perceptions, and contemporary scientific knowledge and theories.  While I am fully aware that my understanding is woefully incomplete, I do feel that I have reached a new plateau of understanding.  Nevertheless, the joy of this enlightenment is tempered by the awareness that this knowledge has arrived so far along my personal journey.  It reminds me of the old saying attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch, “Too soon old and too late smart.”

I definitely have a sense of entering a new phase of my life.  With a keen sense of who God is, I am striving to apply my concepts to the world around me.  This involves recognizing my misconceptions and either discarding them or redirecting the thought process.  The clearest example of this is the “I-ness” I have lived with throughout my life.  At present it is necessary for me to consciously recognize my connection to everything around me.  However, I find that as I practice this awareness, it becomes increasingly integrated into my sense of self.  That self is gradually becoming a universal Self with a capital “S”.

I am extremely thankful that a recent development in this unfolding adventure has been my involvement with a local Quaker meeting.   There, I have found others who are engaged in their own journeys along this spiritual pathway.   It is very comforting to be part of a spiritual community that does not impose specific doctrines or dogmas, but recognizes that we are all enlightened by the same cosmic source and that our divine experience and knowledge is individually unique.

I am quite certain that an association with like-minded individuals is essential for personal growth.  Like Tolstoy, I believe that true spiritual knowledge comes through personal introspection and contemplation coupled with their application through social interaction.  Theories and philosophies lack significant value if they are not relevant to the world in which we live and the people who inhabit it.  Therefore, interacting with others who are striving to live an authentically spiritual life provides us with a marvelous opportunity to share, learn, and grow together.

Who Am I?

This has been a very difficult entry to write because my sense of self has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years through reading, reflection, and realization, and I am quite certain that I am nowhere near finished because life itself is comprised of continual change.  .  After several attempts to express my present understanding, I have discovered that conveying this process in this brief format is quite challenging. 

For years, I, like most people in western civilization, viewed my body as “me”.  I saw myself as a separate and distinct entity defined by the limits of my physical being.  Though I had genuine concern for others, I viewed all events, relations, activities, possessions, etc. as they pertained to me, my desires, goals, and well-being.  However, as I have considered the teachings of eastern philosophy and explored current scientific cosmology, my perspective has changed dramatically.

In light of the fact that our natural perceptions do not accurately reflect reality (as I presented in my posting Is Perception Reality), I now believe that the Hindu/Buddhist teaching regarding duality is quite accurate.  Our sense of individuality is an illusion.  We are, in fact, interconnected with everything in the material world through an energetic and conscious source.  The challenge is to embrace this reality and nurture this realization on a conscious level.

For me, it is necessary to deliberately rethink old concepts.  For example, several years ago I learned that the elements that comprise the world around us were forged in a star billions of years ago.  That is a concept that I have to revisit periodically.  As I consider the things around me, I contemplate the fact that it all is stardust and once existed in the midst of a thermonuclear fusion reaction.  The fact that that awareness does not present itself automatically does not detract from the reality of the situation.

I go through a similar process regarding the identification of myself with my body.  I look at my hands, arms, torso, etc., and my natural tendency is to think of it as “me”.  In one sense “I” am 60+ years old.  However, the cells of my body are continually dying and being replaced.  Consequently, almost every cell in my body is probably less than 10 years old.  Furthermore, the elements that make up the atoms that comprise my body are over 14 billion years old.  Am I my body?  No.  I am viewing the material world through this life form at this point in time and space, but it is not me.  For thousands of years, the sages have been pondering this very issue, “Who is it behind my eyes that is asking the questions?”

I happen to believe that God, the universal consciousness, energizes every living thing and is the self behind the eyes.  Similarly, many people believe that the universe is becoming progressively aware of itself through evolving consciousness in the material world.  If this is true, the implications are enormous.  It means that there is no “me”, only “we”.  It means that we are all part of one another and what we do to others, we, in fact, are doing to ourselves.  Oddly enough, that is precisely the message that has been presented to us through various religions for thousands of years.

This is just one more aspect of reality that does not reveal itself naturally.  However, I have discovered that as I ponder this concept, I am developing an ever increasing sense of connection with others.  At times, I really do have an awareness of being one with them whether they share this perspective or not.  It has given a whole new meaning to what Jesus may have meant when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Does this mean that I think I am God?  Is a wave the ocean?  Is a leaf the tree?  Is one brain cell my entire body?  I believe that I am an aspect of God, but that is all.  However, through prayer or meditation I have access to the entirety of God and can become all that I am designed to be, fulfilling my purpose whatever that may be.

There are 10 clips associated with this video.  I would recommed viewing them all.

Speaking of God......

1

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

                               ---- Tao Te Ching

What a dilemma.  We exist in a material world and from our childhood are taught to attach names to everything around us.   Under most circumstances this approach enables us to communicate with others more effectively.  Yet, when it comes to God, our ability to use words when referring to Him is woefully inadequate.

For the past couple of years I have avoided using the term “God” because of the traditional connotations associated with it.  In an effort not to convey the concept of an anthropomorphic being I started using expressions like, “the universe, cosmic consciousness, cosmic intelligence” and other non-theistic terms.  However, these seem so impersonal and do not convey the intimacy that exists between the universal source and all that is sustained by it.  I find that the difficulty becomes even more complex when I try to make a reference using a personal pronoun.  Certainly this cosmic entity is neither male nor female, so using terms like He or She seem inappropriate.  Yet, referring to God as “It” seems to lack the proper respect for this pervasive consciousness.

I like the term “Universal Source.”  We could shorten that to “US”, which would also convey the idea of the connectivity that exists between all conscious beings.  Unfortunately, that would probably be confused with “U.S.” which is already associated with the United States, so that’s out.  We could make up a name like Tsoe (The source of everything), but then people would think we were referring to Chinese food or something.  Some people use the term “Mother/Father God”, but I can’t bring myself to do that because if you say it too fast, it just sounds like profanity.

So I have come full circle and have decided to merely use the term, “God”, knowing   full well that it is inadequate but gets about as close as I can to what I currently believe.   I am going to use the masculine pronouns simply because that is most commonly used and understood.  In my personal communion with Him, I generally refer to Him as “Father” because I know implicitly that He is the source of who I am, whatever that may be.

God Is Hiding In The Quanntum Field

14

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.

                  ---- Tao Te Ching

About 10 years ago, I felt that I had reached an impasse in my desire to have a deeper understanding about God.  I had spent many years attempting to reconcile the obvious discrepancies in the Bible, but had finally concluded that the deity portrayed there was merely an ancient concept that simplistically projected the characteristics of earthly monarchs onto a heavenly being.  I was quite certain that there was a universal presence, but I had no idea where to find genuine knowledge.  It appeared that I would have to be content with unanswered questions.

Then, while reading Quantum Healing written by Deepak Chopra, I encountered a statement that caught my attention and directed me down a new path.  Chopra was merely writing about the number of subatomic particles that fill the universe and pass through our bodies every second.  Suddenly I was struck with the thought that those particles could be god’s neuro-network.  It became quite obvious why we could not perceive Him in the material world because He exists at the sub-atomic level.

At the time, I knew very little about quantum physics and had no idea that my “revelation” was already being promoted by well established quantum physicists like John Hagelin and Amit Goswami.  As I began following various leads, I discovered websites like IONS and EnlightenNext where research and theories of cosmic consciousness are reported.

I have found this information extremely comforting because it has confirmed what I have sensed for a long time.  God is not some transcendent being dwelling in a realm separate from this universe.  Instead, He is the universe.  Based on the “string theory,” the prevailing unified field theory, I am quite certain that God is the ground substance in which energy strings vibrate and form sub-atomic particles which become increasingly complex atomic structures and ultimately comprise everything in the material world.  Furthermore, I believe that that substance is pure consciousness and the source of the consciousness that is manifested in all living beings.    This conscious energy field is what has been rightly perceived as God because it is the source of everything.

I find it impossible to imagine what thought is like when time, space, being and non-being are irrelevant.  However, Hindus have taught for millennia that our bodies are a reflection of the cosmos.  If that is the case, then we might liken this consciousness to what takes place in our bodies.  Respiration, circulation, digestion, cell division, immune response, and much more occur within us and require no conscious thought on our part whatsoever.  Perhaps this is the way God interacts with us on a cosmic scale, being aware of the existence of the material world and directing it in some manner without having specific “thoughts” about what is going on.

To me, the implications of this are extraordinarily profound.   I no longer have to wonder where God is because He is in everything I see, feel, smell, or hear.  This is something I reflect upon as I go through my day.  He is all around me and in me as well.  For a long time I have sensed a deep connection to the eternal.  Now I understand that perception.  This awareness is not the result of extensive meditation.  It is merely due to a greater understanding of the composition of the universe and my relation to it.

                                        

Note: Several of the video clips presented here are only the fist in a series.  To understand the full significance of their information, please follow the related links.



Looking For God

As far back as I can remember I have had a desire to understand God.  I know that seems like a rather lofty goal, but there has simply been an underlying sense of connection with the eternal.  This is somewhat surprising because I was raised in a liberal mainstream denomination and was taught in Sunday school that the Bible was merely a compilation of material written by various men, not a divinely inspired source of truth.  Consequently, by the time I was a teenager, it seemed absurd to attend church if the doctrines and worship were merely based on myths and human ideas.

As an older teenager, I briefly became involved with the Mormon Church because it was supposedly based on a more contemporary connection with God.  This appealed to me because I reasoned that if God is real, then He should still be active in the universe today and potentially interacting with mankind.  Eventually, I drifted away from the Mormon Church and my spiritual interests and became involved in many of the activities that were prevalent among young adults during the late 1960s and early 70s.

Ultimately, I encountered and became actively involved with a Pentecostal church.  There I had some amazing spiritual experiences that confirmed my underlying sense that there was a divine presence in the universe that can be perceived by people today.  For nearly 30 years I remained involved with several different congregations, but I struggled with the fundamental Christian doctrines.  I was quite certain about the validity of my experiences, but could not accept that the Bible is “inerrant” and the only source of spiritual truth. 

As I have continued my effort for spiritual growth, I have read a variety of religious texts from many of the major religions of the world.  One thing I have noticed is that it is easy to identify the myths and contradictions in religious writings that are not part of one’s upbringing.  However, it is harder to step back from scriptures that one has been raised with and accepted as “truth” and evaluate them with a purely objective eye.  It really is more satisfying when someone else’s sacred cow is being gored.  Nevertheless, I have had to be honest with myself and objective in my search.

Many have written works examining the origin of the Bible and/or challenging its claim of divine inspiration.  I have found two that have been very enlightening.  They may not necessarily be the final word on the subject, but they were quite interesting.  The first, Age of Reason, written by Thomas Paine in 1794, has extensive historical significance.  Paine was a proponent of British deism, an eighteenth-century philosophy that espoused faith in a divine being but rejected formal religion.  The objective of his book was to point out inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible, thus refuting the divine authority attributed to it by “the church.”

It was not an easy book to read.  The first section was written hastily while he was in a French prison during the French revolution and had no idea whether or not he would survive the ordeal.  He had to rely on his memory because he did not have access to a Bible; consequently the arguments and conclusions presented in the first section are often weak and flawed.  However, the second section of the book is thoroughly thought out and extremely well done for someone who was not trained as a Biblical scholar.  Although I found it difficult at times to endure the disdainful tone of his writings, I learned a great deal.

The second book that has been very helpful is Misquoting Jesus:  The Story of Who Changed the Bible and Why, written by Bart D. Ehrman in 2007.  This is truly a scholarly work on the compilation of the New Testament.  Written to be understood by non-scholars, it clearly elaborates many of the factors that influenced the variations contained in the numerous texts of the New Testament that have been discovered over the years.  After reading this book, it was quite evident that what is presented in the current Bible is merely what the orthodox church promoted and cannot be viewed as an accurate or complete source for the original teachings of Jesus. 

My conclusion has been that what I was taught in my Episcopal Sunday school class is generally true; the religious texts from around the world were compiled by human beings and convey the thoughts and opinions of the individual writers.  However, what I was not taught in Sunday school but now believe wholeheartedly is that much of what appears in the original writings reflect a sincere effort to know God and convey their understanding of His nature to others.  What is quite amazing is the continuity of the underlying principles contained in these numerous works.  In Tolstoy’s last major book, A Calendar  of Wisdom, he gives us a brilliantly simple means of evaluating the truth in these various scriptures.  He wrote, “Only the spiritual teachings of religion are true.”  I appreciate this approach and have discovered that when I apply this, I begin to see God peeking out at me from various sources.

Is Perception Reality?

I have often heard it said that perception is reality.  In fact, I have used that expression myself, and in many ways this phrase is true.  From the time of our birth, and perhaps while still in the uterus, we begin to form a mental model of what the world is like.  Our sensory organs are continuously feeding information into our brains about the world around us, and as we process that information we evaluate, make judgments, plan responses, and filter additional input based on our perceptions.  To us, this is reality whether we are completely rational or are a paranoid schizophrenic.

What kind of world do we live in?  Is it safe or hostile?  Are the inhabitants friendly or cruel?  Can I rely on others to cooperate with me, or do I have to continually struggle with them in order to achieve my desires?  My perceptions regarding these issues and thousands of others will influence how I interact with the world around me.  Furthermore, my behavior will impact those that I encounter, and their reactions will often serve to either confirm or discredit my preconceived ideas.  So, are my perceptions about reality accurate, or is reality being influenced by my perceptions?

What if my perceptions are merely based on a narrow segment of information?  Can I truly trust my perspective?  And, if I don’t know something, how will I know that I don’t know it or how much information I am lacking?  If we really carry this line of thinking to its ultimate conclusion, we won’t be able to do anything because we won’t be able to trust the validity of our perceptions.  So, we content ourselves with knowing what we can and proceeding through life based on that awareness.  However, this is the very reason why we need to be open to new discoveries and revelations.

Early man was quite convinced that the earth was the center of creation.  Ancient religions were based on this geocentric perspective, and even early scientific theories reflected this errant belief.  Beginning in the 5^th century BC, Greeks developed elaborate mathematical models to describe how the sun, moon, planets, and stars orbited around the earth.  It took men like Galileo and Copernicus to recognize that the earth was merely part of a vast universe.  (see History of Astronomy)

Our existence is filled with amazing events that we do not perceive.  Our understanding of reality is still primarily earth-bound and the way in which it appears to our senses, but this does not make our perception real.  In fact, material reality is much different than what we think it is.  One example of this constantly stretches my comprehension.  It is the speed at which we are traveling through the universe.  Our general perception is that the earth is merely lumbering along through space; however, the table below is an attempt to show what is really going on.

                                                                        Time required to travel

from N ew York City to Los Angles

Object                                      Speed              approximately 2,500 miles

Automobile                               100 mph           25 hours

Jetliner                                      500 mph           5 hours

Sound                                      660 mph           3.8 hours

Earth rotation at the

equator                                     1070 mph         2.3 hours

.50 cal. Sniper rifle                    .5 mps              1.4 hours

Kinetic energy penetrating

round from M1A1 tank 1.1 mps            38 minutes

Earth rotation around the sun     19 mps             2.2 minutes

Solar system rotation within

The Milky Way                        175 mps           14.3 seconds

Milky Way traveling through

the universe                              300 mps           8.3 seconds

mph= miles per hour                 mps= miles per second

The next time you find yourself staring up into the night sky, try wrapping your brain around the fact that we are speeding through the universe 300 times faster than a shell fired from a tank.  Even though I have known the reality of this for years, I still cannot fully grasp it.

Another area which reveals a gap between our perception and reality is the illusion of

matter.  Everything around us appears to be solid; however, this is not the case at all.  In fact, approximately 99% of matter is empty space.  The illusion of solidity is the result of electromagnetic bonds among the subatomic particles comprising atoms, between atoms, and within molecules.  The gaps make it possible for trillions of neutrinos and tachyons to pass through the earth and everything on it every second without causing any significant damage.

I am so glad that reality is not dependent upon my ability to perceive it. Because the composition of the cosmos simply leaves my comprehension in the dust.  However, what I am able to understand about the material world reinforces my conviction that there is much more going on in this universe than what appears in the phenomenal realm.  In light of these clear discrepancies between our perceptions and reality, in our search for truth, it is imperative that we remain open to rethinking traditional concepts of reality, God, humanity, even our existence.

Misconceptions remain misconceptions even if they are held by the majority.

                                            ----Leo Tolstoy



Be The Change

Some time ago I came across a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi that challenged me more than anything has in many years.  It was, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.”  Gradually, I have discovered that the true depth of this statement tends to be obscured by its simplicity and that to truly comprehend it requires more than a casual acknowledgement.  As I was pondering this concept, I encountered a statement by Martin Luther King who was a devout admirer of Gandhi and modeled his civil rights efforts upon Gandhi’s concept of non-violent civil disobedience.   As part of King's acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize which he received in 1964, he said, “I refuse to accept that the isness of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal oughtness that forever confronts him.”

Suddenly I found myself confronted by two outstanding martyrs staring me in the face and lovingly but firmly saying, “Pick up a glove and get in the game. Change is possible, and you need to be part of it.”  This is not something I wanted to hear.  I like sitting in the bleachers, yelling at the umpires, deriding the players, and commiserating with my fellow cynics about how the game is being played.  I don’t want to have to work out and get in shape or play the game in a way that I might be observed and thereby judged by others.  Can’t I just sit on the sideline and critique everybody else?  Well, the answer to that was a deafening, “NO!”

This sounds like an overwhelming task.  The world is so big and there is so much that needs to be changed, and on the grand scheme of things, I am quite insignificant.   Yet upon further examination, the call is not to change the world.  It is to be the change I want to see in the world.  What does that mean?  To me, there are three aspects involved.  First, I had to ask myself what kind of people would I like to see inhabiting this planet.  Second, how would those characteristics influence their behavior?  Finally, what changes need to take place in my life in order to manifest those characteristics and behaviors?

So, I began my list.  I would like people to be honest, kind, compassionate, loving, generous, hard working, content to live simply with no need for accumulating wealth, tolerant of diverse opinions, having a deep sense of connection with others and a willingness to sacrifice for the common good.  These traits would be evident in their daily lives.  They would work cooperatively, care for the weak, act lovingly towards one another and find ways to contribute to their communities.

It doesn’t take too long thinking along these lines before these lists start to sound familiar.  These are the kind of virtues we find extolled in the scriptures of almost all of the major religions of the world.  What I find fascinating is that these prescriptions for harmonious human interaction have been presented as preparation for spiritual objectives and not as a means of improving our existence here on earth.

In fact, much of traditional religious teachings have more to do with avoiding spiritual consequences than effecting change.  In Judaism, the focus is on obtaining God’s blessing and avoiding His punishments in this present world.  In Hinduism the primary effort is to become enlightened in order to avoid being reincarnated.  Similarly, Buddhists seek enlightenment in order to avoid both rebirth and suffering in this present world.  Meanwhile, Christians and Muslims are trying to reach heaven and avoid hell.

With all of this focus on getting out of here, it is a wonder that religion has contributed anything to this present world, but it has.  Thankfully, in more recent years adherents seem to be increasingly aware of the obvious:  if we become more God-like, then the kingdom of God will become increasingly evident here and now.  What if that was the original intention of the inspirations, but the message has been misconstrued over the years?  What if Jesus meant exactly what he said when he said, “The kingdom of God is within you”?  What if we merely need to begin living it?

Certainly Gautama Buddha and Jesus are two of the primary archetypes for leading the way to selfless service.  In their shadow we find people like Anthony Benezet, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hanh and countless others.  However, recently a friend shared an account of an event that occurred in a local hospice facility.  It reaffirmed my conviction that, although we need inspired leaders to promote positive social change, true change will occur among the masses as we embrace the message on a broad scale and interact one-on-one.

In the local hospice house, a Muslim man was nearing death.  There was no Muslim cleric available to minister to him.  So, the female Jewish Chaplin took an English translation of Muslim prayers, sat by his bed and began to read them to him.  In response, he lifted his hands toward heaven and began repeating the prayers in Arabic.  This is truly what it means to become the change we want to see in the world.

I would love to think that I am at the forefront of this approach, but that would be pure fantasy.  As I began working on this posting, I googled “be the change,” and to my amazement and delight I discovered that there is an organization called Be The Change, Inc.  Its mission is to promote policy development that will bring about significant social changes on a global scale.  One of its campaigns has been Service Nation, which is federal legislation that was enacted in April, 2009.  Its focus is to promote citizen involvement in problem-solving social issues at the grassroots level.  One of its extremely ambitious goals is to make service an integral part of American culture.  It is hard for me to place a great deal of confidence in anything that the government initiates; however, this certainly seems to be headed in a positive direction.

I find theology, philosophy and science fascinating, but I would hate to discover one day that while I was pondering the eternal and speculating on theories of cosmic origin, others were busy nurturing an environment that would promote our progression towards the omega point.  I have identified what I need to become.  I just need to seek ways to manifest it in my life.  Being the change instead of waiting for the change to occur is how the present isness of my nature will become the eternal oughtness that ever confronts me.

Evolution All Around

In the past when I thought about evolution it seemed like something that happened a long time ago and merely affected the origin of life, dinosaurs, and the initial emergence of mankind.  It just didn’t seem relevant to our current experience.  However, more recently I have realized that nothing could be further from the truth.  Evolution is an ongoing process all around us, but in order to perceive it, it often needs to be observed from a more distant historical perspective. 

Evolution’s primary mechanism prior to the appearance of humans was “natural selection/survival of the fittest” which was accomplished through physical mutation and adaptation.  However, the emergence of human consciousness meant that we were no longer compelled to physically adapt to our environment in order to progress because we had developed the ability to reason and invent.  For example, even the most elementary cutting tools eliminated the need to grow claws for self defense or obtaining and preparing food. 

Consequently, there have only been limited physiological changes in human beings over the last 20,000 years.  Instead, our evolution has occurred mentally, socially, technologically, and spiritually.  Because these factors are not dependent on the extremely slow process of physical adaptation, human evolution is occurring at an ever accelerating pace.  Furthermore, the various aspects of our development are interdependent.  This is most clearly evident when considering the influence of technology.  The development of fire, the wheel, metallurgy, gun powder, the telescope, the printing press, steam power, the telephone, radio, flight, computers and Velcro have all had their impact on human progression.  Well, maybe not Velcro.

As we review history, it is easy to observe the benefits of technological progress, but social changes often appear more ambiguous.  Mere consideration of the Roman Empire reveals enormous growth in our development.  In our current world, it is almost impossible to imagine government-sponsored mortal combat and the mutilation of animals and prisoners as a form of entertainment, and yet that is exactly what was taking place then.  We would like to think that we are far more enlightened now; however, simply looking at the history of the United States reveals that the worldwide interest in human rights is a relatively new concept.  The international ban on slave trade was implemented less than 200 years ago, and it has only been 150 years since Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation that freed the slaves.  Believe it or not, in the United States of America it has only about 75 years since women have been allowed to vote and married women have been able to own property in their own names.  Furthermore, the Civil Rights Act that sought to eliminate segregation was passed less than 50 years ago. 

Although I have been unable to confirm it, someone once told me that in the 1970s the president of the American Psychological Association (APA) made a rather profound comment while addressing a conference.  He informed the gathering that the link between primates and civilized man had been discovered.  Understandably, the audience became quite excited at this news.  After the murmur subsided somewhat, he continued, “It is us.”  If this did not actually occur, it certainly should have because it conveys such an incredible truth.  Mankind tends to be over-impressed with the fact that we are on the cutting edge of evolution.  When contrasted to the hundreds of millions of years that life has existed on this planet, it is irrefutable that mankind has made some amazing advances in a relatively short time.  Nevertheless, we need to accomplish much more.  So, it is not time for self exaltation.  It is time to clarify our direction and focus our efforts towards true progress.

At times, it may be hard to accept the possibility that there is a divine hand in all of this.  We seem to take two steps forward and one step back, groping clumsily for direction.  It would be more encouraging if we could see a straight line of progression, but unfortunately, that is apparently not how evolution works.  It is loaded with stops and starts, charging ahead, and then meandering in circles.  However, in the midst of all of this apparent uncertainty are the voices of the spiritual sages telling us to acknowledge the source of everything, to recognize that relationships are more important than accumulating material wealth, to preserve our mental, physical and spiritual health, to love one another and to care for the needs of the weak.  These are messages that ring true in our hearts and seem to lie behind every positive step along the way.

If the evolutionary process occurring in the universe is being influenced at all by a cosmic consciousness, and the ancient scriptures provide us with a view of our ultimate destiny, then it is very possible that in the future, our descendants will possess a keen awareness of that consciousness.  Their perception of individuality will be tempered by a deep sense of universal connectivity, and their primary joy will be in sharing the unity of existence with one another.

In 5,000 years, future generations may look back at our time in history and wonder why war was still so prevalent and we had not reached a point where differences could be settled peacefully.  In 10,000 years, the concept of wealth may be completely foreign to them.  They may wonder why a small minority of the population horded such a large quantity of the resources while multitudes suffered from a lack of shelter, food, clothing, clean water and much more of life’s basic necessities.  However, as those future anthropologists analyze the actions of this generation, let’s hope that there will be a record of those who chose to pursue the universal truths and they will recognize that we were attempting to find and follow the evolutionary path that has led to where they are at that moment.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

                           Mathew 6:10

Intelligent Evolution

Evolution is one of those topics, like right-to-life, politics and religion, which cause many to go onto autopilot when mentioned.  The staunch members of the various factions immediately retreat to their respective corners, lace up their gloves, and prepare to duke it out.  Opinions on this subject run the gamut from traditional creationists who believe that God absolutely created the entire heavens and earth in six literal days to evolutionists who are strict materialists who believe that the entire process is the result of the random interaction of inert elements.  However, I think that many people, including myself, fall somewhere in the middle and lean towards a theory that envisions an evolutionary process directed to some degree by a cosmic creative force. 

If we accept that evolution is still in process, and we accept the possibility that it has been directed in some way by a cosmic intelligence, then shouldn’t we assume that that direction is still occurring?  The answer to this question really depends on one’s opinion regarding the degree of involvement that has been present.  Some believe that the universe was merely set in motion and there has been no other participation from a divine source.  From a traditional religious perspective, many believe that God (however they may conceive of Him) is intimately involved in every aspect of our existence.  Personally, I tend to view the cosmic involvement as an underlying progression towards order and unity.

The concept of a directed evolution is conveyed in a marvelous book written by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin entitled The Phenomenon of Man.*  Teilhard was a Jesuit priest and paleontologist who died in 1955.  He was involved in several notable discoveries of prehistoric human fossils.  His book, published in 1950, puts forth a remarkable thesis that the entire universe is undergoing a process of “cosmogenesis,” (the progressive guided development of the universe) which is occurring through the mechanism of “complexification.”  This latter term perfectly conveys the process that has been going on since the beginning. 

According to current cosmological theory, at the instant of the formation of the universe, it was comprised exclusively of sub-atomic particles.  These coalesced into hydrogen atoms, which in turn were compressed into more dense atoms through fusion reaction within stars.  Eventually these elements were incorporated into our planet and finally combined into complex DNA molecules which are the building blocks of life and contained millions of atoms in a single molecule.  This is precisely the opposite of what one would expect to observe.  Over time, matter tends to degrade, not increase in complexity.  Nevertheless, it was through complexification that life emerged, thus suggesting the influence of a creative force directing the progression of this phenomenon.

Teilhard presents a somewhat technical but still understandable description of evolution as it has unfolded from the “big bang” through its current manifestation in the earth.  He believed that we are currently experiencing one of the primary objectives of the evolutionary process, consciousness.  He further believed that the ultimate objective is the “Omega point,” which is God-consciousness.  This thesis is especially interesting because it not only provides a link between creation and evolution, but it sets forth an interesting rationale for the process.

Is Teilhard right?  Naturally, it is impossible for us to know to what degree this theory reflects reality, but for me it is an idea that definitely resonates with my truth meter.  We have no way of knowing why a purely energetic cosmic consciousness would have generated matter, but it is certainly conceivable that if that is what took place, that that entity could also convey an awareness of its existence within the resulting life forms.  Perhaps the common aspects of so many of the world religions are due to a progressive awakening that is unfolding in our collective human awareness.  If this is what is truly taking place, then we are engaged in a dual evolutionary process, both physical and energetic/spiritual.

Unfortunately, evolution occurs over an extremely long period of time.  Therefore, none of us will be able to observe the complete fulfillment of any awakening that may be in progress.  Nevertheless, we can attempt to develop a sensitivity that will enable us to perceive the direction of this progression and fulfill whatever role we may have in it.

* For a more thorough understanding of Teilhard’s theory, I would recommend obtaining a copy of his book.

Ancient Scientists

It seems that since the first appearance of mankind, we have been wondering about everything around us.  Early man did not wait for the development of the scientific method to begin considering how the world was formed and what it all meant.  Although modern science has discovered much about the composition and function of our world and the universe that surrounds it, it is incapable of answering the lingering question, “Where did all of this stuff come from?”

Early efforts to figure everything out are grossly undervalued.  Every generation is on the cutting edge of knowledge and technology, but those accomplishments are built upon the discoveries and insights of previous generations.  Hindsight truly is 20/20, and from our vantage point, it is tempting to discount ancient concepts as primitive and ignorant.  However, we need to keep in mind that they were often forming their opinions with little or no preceding information.

Early man was doing exactly the same thing that scientists do today, observing, analyzing and making educated guesses.  To them it apparently seemed obvious that the world had been designed, thus implying the involvement of a master designer.  Consequently, much of the early “scientific” conclusions were coupled with theological explanations and overtones.  This is clearly seen in one of the earliest scientific fields, astronomy and its related component astrology.

It was this process that probably led to some of the early myths.  The story of Lot’s wife being turned to a pillar of salt was most likely an attempt to explain the existence of salt columns that surround the Dead Sea even today.  Anthropologists who study the origin of myths have traced many of the stories to locations where there are numerous prehistoric fossils.  For example, it is thought that the origin of the belief in the existence of the Cyclops probably resulted from the ancient discovery of the skull of an extinct dwarf elephant that once inhabited the European continent. 

The use of mythical explanations for material observations has generally led to a total dismissal of ancient scriptures as having any credible value for our current society.  However, what is truly amazing is the fact that some of the concepts developed by our ancestors were incredibly insightful and often relatively accurate.  The creation story contained in the book of Genesis conveys bits of information that closely parallel much of the current scientific theories of cosmology and evolution.  The heavens were formed before the earth.  In the early development of the earth, it is said to have been “without form and void,” an incredibly apt description.  Vegetation preceded animal forms, and when animals did appear, they were first created in the water and later on the land.  Certainly concurrent is the idea that mankind was the last and most complex creature to be formed.

Furthermore, Hindu and Buddhist traditions have taught that everything is one and that the duality that we perceive is an illusion.  We may debate the latter part of that statement, but beginning in the early 1900s the field of quantum physics has gradually proven the unity of all matter.  One of the prevalent unified field theories (string theory) postulates that minute strings of energy vibrate within a pervasive multidimensional energy field and form the subatomic particles that ultimately comprise the visible matter in our phenomenal world.  In other words, all is one.  How did those early yogis know that?  Their awareness came through deep meditation and insight.

Over the millennia we have seen a huge swing of the philosophical pendulum from a position of assigning a supernatural explanation to everything to the current scientific approach which totally excludes the involvement of any cosmic consciousness whatsoever.   It would be my hope that someday we might be able to take a more balanced and truly scientific approach in considering the possibility that there may be a pervasive creative force at work in the universe.  At present, it seems that modern science can offer very little regarding the deeper questions that still remain about the existence of God, the path to ideal human relations, or the purpose of mankind.  As we search for direction regarding these issues, the insights and admonitions presented in ancient scriptures deserve our respectful consideration because those who wrote them were not afraid to sit quietly and listen to “the still small voice.”

15

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.

Tao Te Ching

It's OK Not To Know

Not-knowing is true knowledge.

Presuming to know is a disease.

First realize that you are sick;

then you can move toward health.

The Master is her own physician.

She has healed herself of all knowing.

Thus she is truly whole.

            ---- Tao Te Ching chapter 71

Last year I turned 60.  It seems like for 50 of those years I have pondered eternal issues in varying degrees of intensity.  For about half of that time I was a devout fundamentalist Christian with periodic questions and a growing awareness that there was more to know than what was presented in the Bible.  At times, I anguished over my desire to know “the truth” and my lack of direction.  Then, I had a realization that freed me from that anxiety.  It probably occurred over a period of time because I do not remember a specific “Eureka” moment.  It was a recognition of the immensity of the universe and my finite place within it. 

I am awed by the enormity of the universe.  Every time I watch the accompanying videos, I am confronted with my inability to grasp the concept of infinity.  After all, we live in a finite world with limitations and boundaries.  So, trying to envision the universe expanding forever is truly mind-blowing.  For example, in 1995 for a period of 11 days, the Hubble telescope was focused on an apparently empty region of space.  During this time, researchers detected an additional 3,500 previously unknown galaxies.  A similar deep space probe was conducted in 2003 after Hubble had been equipped with new optics.  This time, it remained focused on a single point for approximately three weeks.  This resulted in the discovery of an additional 10,000 galaxies.  We are talking about galaxies, not individual stars.

Let’s see if an analogy can bring this vastness into focus.  Imagine that we lived on the surface of an electron (earth) orbiting the nucleus of an atom (the sun) which was part of a DNA molecule (our galaxy) in a cell (our local cluster of galaxies) in the brain of a gigantic human (the universe).  Would we be able to fully recognize the total reality?  Would we recognize that we were part of an enormous living being?  Absolutely not.  Our perception would be much as it is now.  We would be able to scan as far as our technology would allow, but it is impossible to believe that we would ever comprehend the big picture. 

As I have considered this perspective, I have come to the conclusion that neither I, nor any other human, will ever be able to completely understand God, the Source, the cosmos because it is just too vast and our comprehension is so incredibly limited.  I doubt that everyone will understand the magnitude of this revelation.  Many people are not particularly interested in cosmic contemplation anyway.  They are quite satisfied with focusing on the day-to-day issues of their lives.  Many more are content to place their absolute trust in ancient scriptures and believe that everything we need to know about God is contained there. 

For those who are actively seeking a deeper revelation, the idea of not being able to know the “ultimate truth” may be unsettling or depressing.  Personally I find it incredibly liberating.  For me, accepting the reality of this limitation has allowed me to thoroughly cherish what I do learn and understand.  I recognize that every effort to perceive God will always be partial, no matter how insightful.  This offers the freedom to consider a variety of sources, gleaning what seems true, and rejecting what seems erroneous.  I have yet to find any teachings that I feel compelled to fully embrace (although I thoroughly enjoy the Tao Te Ch’ing).

Does this mean that we should give up the search altogether?  Of course not!  If someone offers me a piece of cake, I don’t refuse it because I’m not allowed to eat the whole cake.  I gratefully accept the portion that is offered.  If I am among friends, I may ask for a second piece, and if someone suggests that I take some home, you can count on me gladly accepting the offer.  I feel the same way about enlightenment.

I think we all just need to take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the process of discovering what we can about the cosmos and our place in it.  I have discovered a great freedom and joy in merely following a path of illumination as it is presented to me.  There is an old Buddhist saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.”

We Just Want To Know

Humans have three seemingly inseparable characteristics that both amaze and baffle me.  I am amazed by our insatiable desire to know everything that could possibly be known about virtually anything.  Of course, curiosity is not limited to humans.  Anyone who has ever been owned by a cat has witnessed unbridled curiosity.  Especially as kittens, they can spend hours exploring and investigating the world around them.  This tendency appears in the young of most animals to one degree or another and is probably related to some sort of survival instinct.  Humans, however, have this characteristic in spades.  This is aided by our ability to conceptualize what we want to know and communicate to others what we have learned. 

The results of these abilities are incredible.  At this point, we have pointed the Hubble telescope into the heavens and seen galaxies billions of light years away.  We have developed viable theories about quantum physics and appear to understand the very essence of the phenomenal world.  We have developed marvelous technology that enables doctors to work miracles and the average person to instantly communicate with someone on the other side of the planet.  Our potential to learn and apply that knowledge in practical ways seems limitless.

Nevertheless, what absolutely baffles me are the two evil step-sisters of our desire to know, a need to be “in the know” and a need to be “right” about everything.  Hundreds of years ago it seems that the desire to be in the know was typically concentrated in the village busy-body/gossip.  As technology grew, this tendency broadened.  No doubt the day after the printing press was invented the local newspaper was printed sporting a brand new gossip column.  When cell phones became prevalent, people could be seen all over the place with a phone glued to their ear.  Now we have the social networks providing voluminous information about the minute details of people’s lives. 

I think that the social networks can be a wonderful tool.  In fact, I have a Facebook account.  But please, do we really need to know that your dog just pooped on the rug, or that you are dying to have a Dr. Pepper, or what color shoes you just bought?  For those who want to be in the know, this is a golden age.  However, I suspect that before long we will be hearing about a new condition requiring professional therapy, social network obsessive disorder (SNOD).  Its chief symptoms will be a failure to perform normal daily activities due to excessive use of the computer and an inability to relate to other humans in a face-to-face setting.

Although satisfying the desire to be in the know can consume a great deal of time and energy, it is relatively harmless.  The same cannot be said about the other step-sister.  Those who always want to be right range from merely being abrasive to being lethal.  The root of the problem is that too frequently people are unable to distinguish between fact, belief and opinion.  While it may be possible for someone to be right about facts, right or wrong, people are entitled to their own beliefs and opinions unless they lead to behavior that infringes on the rights of someone else.  Yet beliefs and opinions are the areas that generally cause the greatest conflicts.

An insistence on being right runs the gamut of our social relationships.  At the personal level, this tendency can strain or even sever friendships and family ties.  Within a society, it can lead to the thought police insisting that we be PC in our speech.  At the governmental level, it can lead to oppression and even war.  Even a casual review of history and current events will produce an inordinate list of conflicts related to this inclination.

It seems to me that this problem is related to some sort of personal insecurity.  Is it possible that people like this need others to agree with them in order to establish their sense of worth?  Or, is their concept of the world so rigid and fragile that conflicting opinions will cause their house of cards to tumble?  It’s hard to tell what the underlying cause is, but the phenomenon is ubiquitous.

It would be wonderful if we could pass a law that prevented people from insisting on being right about everything, but we would have to convince the majority of the legislators that we were right about passing the law, and implementing it would be a nightmare.  That just sounds like way too much work.  So, as I share my observations, I’m just going to look out for that tendency in myself and not insist that I am right.  This is merely an invitation to consider what is presented here. 

I’m pretty sure that I’m right about that.