Tagged: religion
Conditioning in Death
Is there Life after death?
Generally, no. Neither for “you” or “I.”
What is death?
The complementary state of Life.
Is death painful?
Once “you” are death, No.
What happens after death?
You will find out, but “you” will not remember.
How does rebirth happen?
When “you” are no longer there, someone else is.
These kinds of questions will fill our minds. When a dear one dies, then we say : “How lucky I am !” and we will continue on with our “objectives,” “goals,” and “successful activities” as if there was no death at the end of the road, to wash away all of our “accomplishments.”
Our society has sold us the idea that there is a permanent “Me,” an unchanging “I” that needs to continue on in “heaven,” the “afterlife,” in another realm, even if it is “hell,” but “I” must continue.
In another realm, “I” will take a new label as a name: “Spirit” is good, “atma” (soul) is better…
A religion is nothing else but insurance for the “afterlife.” Your monthly payments are due now, while alive and then you are promised that “you” will get the pay off “over there.” What a sweet deal!
“The office world” will sell us “insurance” to be prepared for those events that we cannot control. With a little money back, we believe that we could compensate any “loss” from any “act of god.” But it doesn’t finish there. “I” have to take care of “my” family too, even though “I” am no longer here. The message is clear: “Live for others.” Worry, preoccupy in making sure that “part of you” survives very well, despite “you” going away.
Your heirs may not give a damn about the little cash you left, but “you” think that “you” have fulfilled your duties. A golden star in your chart when God counts your virtues for the final judgment, hell vs. heaven! Yeah It is all about “you.”
Our Life is filled with fear and then we fear death. Isn’t that a sorry state to be in?
If that “I” dies while living Life; who could die, when death arrives? That is the riddle!
I know, it is hard to “get it.” However, it is not meant to be “gotten.” It is meant to be experienced.
When? When you are ready. Until then, enjoy “your” Life.
Questions have been answered straight to the point, so free “yourself,” let your mind go for a walk, a long walk…. to enjoy. 🙂
The rule of collective consciousness
In the path of self-realization, there are no things to DO to become something “special.” On the contrary, we are taking away those learned things which have been imbibed through centuries of conditioning.
In a nutshell, part of the path of self-realization is to be aware of the influence of the collective consciousness without rejection.
What is referred as “mass consciousness” has been identified by thinkers, philosophers, etc. However, for them it may be a reaction towards it, a rebellion as when a kid finds out that Santa does not exist. That kid could make a religion, a life purpose, a goal to “save” other kids from the lie of Santa… That is until he becomes an adult and has kids of his own, then he will support that “lie” when he sees the eager and happy faces of his kids as Christmas comes around …Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa is there to give gifts!
That is Life. If we reject, we will accept. That is the full range of experiences. If we neither reject nor accept; then there is a quality which cannot be described through words. You are out of that duality, but if we must describe that; we have no choice but to call it “acceptance, openness,” although it is not.
So there are 2 “acceptances” in the world of the mind. The one with a duality and the one without it.
The collective consciousness is goal oriented. It has to have a purpose. However, any activity with a goal in mind is void of enjoyment.
Enjoyment in Life is not just a phrase to make a religion out of it. It is BEING which comes through taking away the clothes of conditioning. Your underwear, the most intimate attire, is collective consciousness.
John says that he likes sex. He says that he enjoys it. Nevertheless, he is concerned about “not lasting long enough” and to satiate the sexual appetite of his lover. His ego is searching for self-esteem through the recognition of his lover. He wants to be called a “stud,” he wants to be recognized as a fine lover. That is what John has learned. His fear is not to comply with that ideal, to “fail.”
How is it possible for John to enjoy sex? Mentally he is stuck in reaching an objective. His DOING is object oriented. That creates stress, anxiety and even emotional resentment to women, although John may not be AWARE enough to perceive it. John will look for “solutions” which in turn will support his conditioning, his belief system. Otherwise, John wouldn’t be interested.
To truly enjoy sex or any activity like eating or sleeping, the mind needs to go away. Far away. Sex is a discovery. Anything could happen. It is an opportunity for expression without frontiers of learned behaviors. It is an opportunity for trust, for opening to the possibility of being vulnerable. It is in that newness where enjoyment resides.
The collective consciousness has ideas, beliefs, moral values which are held as monuments of “Truth.” However, like Santa Claus; those ideals are just a matter of utility.
Enjoyment is a word with experiential depth. That depth is not known by the collective consciousness. 🙂
Let it flow
“Flowing” in Life cannot happen while we maintain our ideal of what it “should be.”
The most important item to unlearn is the idea that “I am someone.”
Look at yourself in the mirror. Observe all the labels coming from your mind to define “you.” Some may be stuck with the image of a brainy lawyer, others with the image of a 24 x 7 Mom and yet others with the image of a self-defined punk.
Out of that image, comes the behavior to support the ideal. That behavior will be our activities, our actions.
That is how religions and psychological systems created to change individuals, assume that by changing the perception of our image, our behavior and actions will change.
Yes… the individual will change superficially through defined actions by a system and he will be stuck in that “mental” box of artificial change, unable to BE who he truly is or someone else… Although Life roars for change.
That is the problem with hard core belief systems and strong father/mother/spouse figures: I may be busy changing my image to be what my religion thinks an angel or a saint should be or a good son or daughter or wife or husband should be. I may change my behavior to try to match that expectation. I may act purposely to fit the ideal… But the bottom line is that “I AM” not that. It is rehearsed, artificial, manipulative, calculating… all mind created.
Because “I am not” that, a strong dissonance will arrive to the ideal “I should be,” for it will not fit the growth, the change coming from within.
Those willing to “suck that up,” convinced that “I should not change no matter what,” those are not living Life. Those are already death in their stubbornness. Enjoyment is an experience away from their experience.
Fear of change is their Life. There cannot be “flowing in Life” under fear.
To flow means that the “I” is immersed in Life, as a drop of water in the Ocean.
Observe and feel in your gut, what is your calling at this time. Once something else arrives in Life, observe, feel and act if called for.
If we believe that because we acted in one way in the past, we should act the same way in the future to be consistent, then your mind is defining you and that definition will not allow you to flow in Life.
That is how the struggle of living Life appears. The “I” wanting to remain unchanged, when everything is change.
Please observe this: “I used to do that, when I was younger. Now I can’t.”
That is not because “you” are older. That is because “You” are not the same. Are you willing to observe that “You” are never the same?
“I divided my fortune between my 2 sons equally. That is fair.”
Fairness in Life is not a mathematical equation. Give to each according to their needs, but that sort of fairness, requires for us to be able to feel, to connect to be empathy and not just to use our mind. This sort of fairness is not understood by many. Are we willing to dispel our belief in mathematical fairness?
“I say that Sex before marriage is a sin.” “I say that Sex is a sin.” “I say that Sex is …”
Sex is not a sin. Sex is just Sex. The sin resides in what you feel about it. We cannot change our true feelings, we can only fake that we are changing what we truly feel. Observe that in yourself.
Allow for that one who defines and asserts opinions and beliefs, to be “wrong.” Allow for Life to show you something different. That openness will bring a flow, for there is nothing in this Life that could be qualified with some word, without the possibility of using the opposite word (antonym) for the same item at the same time.
It just depends on how you feel. 🙂
100% “good” and “real.”
“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.” Agent Smith – in the movie the Matrix.
If you look at the above statement, it has some “truth” and some “falsehood.” Just like everything in Life. There are 2 extremes and everything in between. It just depends on which side someone wants to take.
For an “android” like Mr. Smith it is easy to separate himself from the human species.
For a human, the above may be an extremist perception.
Mark and his wife decide to have 5 kids. They want to enjoy their growth and they know that this episode of raising kids will be relatively fast, therefore; they are willing to “sacrifice.”
That is “good”! What a “happy” family!
In the bigger picture, however; Agent Smith’s description is accurate.
That is how we find that something considered “good,” may not be 100%. Likewise, something considered “bad,” or “wrong” and “right.”
Every duality has a point of union. That is a gray area for our “black or white” morality.
This will bring us to another “revelation” of Life: Something which is “real” has the equal potential to be “good or bad,” “right or wrong.”
You have a knife. It has the same potential to be helpful or harmful. It just depends on your viewpoint, your circumstances, your previous experiences… and your intention.
“So what about God? Isn’t “Him” 100% good?”
Ahem… yes… what about “Him”?
Those who have ears will hear.
A belief is neither “right nor wrong.” It has timing. When timing is not respected then that belief is not according to the movement of Life. It becomes antiquated.
The “black or white” mentality and morality is the disease. Why? Because it does not fit the “reality” of change, movement, but it supports stagnation, through the belief of static ideals which cannot be “true” in a world of changes.
The “reality” of Life cannot be understood by those who are conditioned through static ideals, extreme beliefs and ego driven minds. It is all in the mind.
Of course, the above may be misunderstood by many. It could be labeled as “bad.”
It is “natural.” That is why, a “best seller” may be “good” for you…
Something that may tell you how “good you are.” Something that may teach you how to “materialize your desires.” Something that may give you the key for wealth, happiness and love in your life… 100% good and “real.” 🙂
Society’s ideals
When we were born, an “ideal” was established for us. It didn’t have to be thanks to our parents. Anyone who took care of us, had an ideal for us. With an ideal in mind, the map was built and all they had to do was to “accomplish it” no matter what. It is about their “success” after all. That ideal was part of the “approved” ideals that society had established for many generations.
Some may have had the experience of being subordinates of authority. The “Yes, sir” person was born out of that ideal. Others, may had the opposite experience. The “My way or the highway” was born. Both individuals embracing opposite ideals like to comfortably, follow their scripts.
The problem arrives when Life brings the opposite ideal into their experiences.
That creates a trauma.
Ideals are “black or white.” Even the idealist lawyer who dreams about dismantling crime in a society, is only capable of seeing “one way,” but never the process. Crime will exist as long as obedience exists.
That is duality 101. Opposites go together, except in an idealistic society who is concerned only on “achieving” one part of the equation without considering the other side to balance things out. This type of useful “math” is not taught at Universities.
Do you want to vote for the candidate who promised to eradicate crime? What about the one promising to bring peace? Promises are meant to be broken and lies meant to stay.
“That makes sense, so how do we get rid of crime?” Certainly, when obedience is gone.
“That does not make sense. We cannot live as a society like that!”
Certainly. The ideal is to obey the hierarchy represented by laws, moral standards, etc.
Do you see how the creation of a duality brings the phantom problem and the so called “solutions”?
“Yes… but again, we cannot live without rules, regulations, etc.”
Correct. But observe that a society with less regulations invites less crime. Do you see that?
Look, we can go on with “ideas.” The purpose of these writings is not to change society. The purpose is to OBSERVE what is.
When we have observed things as they are, we could live in a society. Just like a grown up playing dolls with kids, is aware that he is playing a game while the kids are not necessarily so; the same is with a person who is fully aware of the game being played in society.
“I don’t get it…”
You had a kid out of wedlock. What is the stigma? Sex before marriage… What does the religion say? And what about God?
Do you see the potential trauma for you and your kid? Do you see the labeling, the stigma, the sense of guilt, shame, etc.?
That is what I am talking about.
In some societies, to get to God’s altar as virgins, is a big deal. This is just an example. Explore the ideals in your society which has been passed around for generations as the source of “truth, goodness and morality.”
An Aware individual plays the game knowing that it is only a game… and as all games; they finish when you have enough of it.
An AWARE individual may leave the game in an elegant way, with a smile in his face… but for the rest, it may be another struggle, another traumatic experience… 🙂
The sin of sacrifice
I received some feedback from the last article. Take it easy, Would ya? I am not writing to take away your toys… No! I am just sharing. 🙂
Just as “success and failure” are toys to play with, to entertain ourselves while Life passes by us; there is a stronger ideal which hasn’t been observed: To sacrifice.
“To sacrifice for an ideal is the utmost that a human can do for humanity.” Isn’t that the teaching? Isn’t that the “nice” phrase to live by and quote in our power point presentations?
To confuse matters, the “Office World” has provided some catchy phrases: “To sacrifice is to love.”
Love has nothing to do with sacrifice. As a matter of fact, we sacrifice because there is no love. When we sacrifice we give up something in order to get something else. That something else can be for us in the “future” or to “help” someone else… we believe.
In short, we frustrate ourselves “now,” we block ourselves. That frustration can go as far as offering your own Life for the “benefit of mankind,” it is said; although it hasn’t happened. Life continues on. You live, you die… you live again. Isn’t that the “spiritual teaching”? Why do you sacrifice for? 🙂 Become AWARE of who you ARE do not cover it with pretty phrases and cinderella ideals…
In the movie “Superman II;” Superman did not hesitate to give up his powers to have a human experience with his girlfriend, Lois Lane. Was that a sacrifice?
No. He simply followed his heart. He was honest with himself.
A religious group may label him as “egoist,” because he didn’t “sacrifice for the sake of humanity.” Imagine if Superman decided to play “Saint” and sacrificed his feelings for the sake of an ideal. He would have been a frustrated “superhero.” Saving others would be sacrifice , work. Love couldn’t touch his heart, because his mind was engaged into DOING what is deemed to be “right” by others, over his own feelings.
Through Life experiences, Superman learned about his mission in Life and satisfied with the human experience he experienced, he was ready to continue, not out of a compulsion; but out of maturity, out of living a process in Life.
Superman recovered his powers because his father foresaw this “human” incident and gave the opportunity to his son. Once Superman passed this test by “failing it,” Superman was ready to continue alone without his father’s advice. Out of love, his father disappeared. Superman and his mission in Life were one.
What would have happened if Superman was forbidden by his father to experience the love of a girlfriend for the sake of his mission? That would have been a sin against his own son. Total lack of respect to his human nature and his own process. That is violence.
Any sacrifice is void of love. Many times “failure” is part of the “success” but it happens when we are honest with our deepest feelings… 🙂
Success in Failure
What we have learned about Life through our society, religions, moral systems etc. is a way to look at Life, a way to respond to it, a way to deal with it.
Nothing more.
When we label that perspective as “right,” “true,” “moral,” etc. we automatically close our doors to perceive Life from a different, more extensive way.
“Spirituality” is Life itself. It teaches us to open up, to expand our horizons.
Through conditioning, we learn to perceive Life in a particular way, according to the values of our society. In our society at this time, we perceive Life from a conceptual way; the mind has great importance. For example, let me go into the concepts of “success and failure.”
What is to be “successful” in Life?
Even though everyone may have their own definition; there is a concept lingering in the air which most are able to pick up: A wealthy person is successful.
That is the idea sold to the masses.
Do we see that “success” in Life truly does not exist for it cannot be limited to just one aspect of Life, to one perspective?
If we don’t see it that is fine; for we will invent “failure” to help us look at it.
What is the consequence of that invention?
Individuals wanting to achieve “success,” but are fearful of “failure.”
Those individuals will need a “coach” to inspire them to “succeed.”
What is the inspiration?
It is alright to fail. “Success” is the outcome of many “failures.”
That permission to “fail” is the origin of many “best sellers” in a society obsessed with success.
“Why?”
Fear is minimized. It is OK to fail, for I will be closer to succeeding…
Do you see why I say that we live in our mind?
That one who is not concerned with success will not know about failure.
“But that is boring!!”
That is why you may need to play with a couple of toys to make your life exciting. Here is Gruffalo “Success” and Katerina Kittycat “Failure.”
Do we see how we stress our Life? We don’t play with those concepts. We take it seriously as if our Life depended on those toys.
Is our desire for success the cause of our unhappiness?
A shallow answer is “yes.” That is why, “no desires” was invented as a nemesis toy. By the way, that game sold many books while “helping others.”
Observe the game. Observe how the mind creates the rules, the players and the labels.
How do you enjoy a game?
When you know, when you are AWARE that you are playing.
Life is a game. We may find out that any way we look at it, any perspective we may take has meaning only if we get a good laugh at it. 🙂
Exploring the Depth of Living 