Posted inReality

Your planet has a population of 1

Here's my most recent Strange Up Salem column, which I've been writing regularly since last May for my town's alternative newspaper, Salem Weekly. It has a churchless vibe. My first column is here. Your planet has a population of 1 Be yourself. And let the world be itself. Eight words. Which do a damn good job of summing up my lifetime of philosophizing, spiritual seeking, pondering the Meaning of It All.  The strangest thing is you, me, every individual. Inside the human cranium is an utterly private realm, unknown to anyone but the consciousness that experiences it from the inside.  …
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

I get a “good news/bad news” sort of letter from a Christian

A few days ago a letter arrived in the mail. Not email. The regular mail! Amazing. A miracle of sorts, since this happens so rarely in these Internet times. It contained some good news and bad news for my churchless soul. Figured I might as well share it, since others are in the same non-believing boat I am.  My comments are interspersed in italics. Hi Brian, I recently noticed your article in a community paper, sharing your life emphasizing that "life doesn't make sense." Appreciate your honest evaluation. You've searched in many places. For freaking sure. You can't believe where…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Mindfulness or Mindlessness video — good points about meditation

Thanks to a Tweet from David Chapman, I spent thirty minutes this morning watching a video of Robert Sharf talking about "Mindfulness or Mindlessness."  Demonstrating my own approach to the subject, I paid some bills while concentrating as much as I could on what Sharf had to say. Which was pretty darn interesting, albeit involving quite a few abstruse Buddhist terms. You should watch the video yourself if you want to know exactly what he said. Below I'll share some recollections of his talk, along with my own take on the themes that resonated with me.   Don't assume spirituality…
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Posted inReality Science

It’s possible to prove God does not exist

When faced with the lack of evidence of God's existence, one of the favorite retorts of religious people is, "Well, you can't prove that God doesn't exist." I've been prone to argue back, the burden of proof is on the person making a claim that something exists. Or, it is impossible to prove a negative. But these are rather simplistic responses. I've come to feel that a more nuanced reply should be, "Hell, yes, I can prove that God doesn't exist."  Here's how it can be done. Get some specifics from the God-believer. What are the characteristics of this God…
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Posted inScience Spiritual practice/meditation

Wandering mind and focused mind: we need both

Driving home after a Tai Chi class tonight, I listened to part of an NPR interview with several psychologists. They talked about creativity, daydreaming, focused attention, the brain's default network. Interesting stuff. The basic notion being discussed was that the brain has several ways of functioning. These aren't exhaustive, of course. Scientists are nowhere close to understanding the intricacies of how the brain works. But common sense is in line with what sometimes is called "experiential focus" and "narrative focus." One of the psychologists said it is like what happens when we drive a familiar route. We don't need to…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Attachment and detachment are equally good

I'm not big on the whole detachment thing. Strikes me as horribly unnatural. Why should we give up attachments, desires, cravings, longings? Than again, why shouldn't we? If someone feels like being attached to someone or something, great. Go for it, dude or dudette. If someone feels like detaching from someone or something, also great. Let loose, let go. There's no problem in wanting and not-wanting, clinging and releasing. Each of us does this countless times a day.  I just had a desire for a sip of coffee. I attached my fingers to the handle of my cup. I lifted…
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Posted inScience

Scientific faith is way different from religious faith

Here's an interesting look at faith: "No Faith in Science -- why the Higgs boson is not like a sea of milk that sustains the gods." Just because a scientifically minded person uses the word, faith, doesn't mean it is being used in the same sense as religious faith.  I have faith that global warming is happening, because the evidence in support of this conclusion is clear, convincing, and attested to by almost all of the world's climate scientists.  I don't have faith that Jesus saves, because this is a belief with zero demonstrable evidence backing it up.  The Slate…
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Posted inBuddhism Humor

Buddhism shows its extremist side: threatening tranquility

Damn those Buddhists! I knew they were up to no good. Had to be some malevolent plotting going on behind those serene smiles.  The Onion has revealed the truth in "Buddhist Extremist Cell Vows to Unleash Tranquility on West."  WASHINGTON—In a 45-minute video posted on Tibetan websites Thursday, Tsuglag Rinpoche, leader of the Buddhist extremist group Kammaṭṭhāna, threatened to soon inflict a wave of peace and tranquility on the West. Speaking in front of a nondescript altar surrounded by candles, burning sticks of incense, and a small golden statue of the Buddha, Rinpoche did not specify when or where an…
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Posted inReality

I figure out the Meaning of It All

Here it is... the capstone of 65 years of living, my grand theory of meaningfulness, the key to a satisfying life, all of philosophy and science encapsulated in a few pithy sentences.  (Plus, I readily admit, convincing proof of my delusional grandiosity.) This is where everything goes wrong, and where everything goes right: keeping our personal subjective interior in relationship with the world's objective exterior. The key is figuring out that relationship. I assume that such exists. There are indeed two aspects to our living. Subjective and objective.  I realize many would disagree. Those strongly inclined toward idealism see everything…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

Two good comments about faith and guru games

Here's a couple of comments on Church of the Churchless posts that I particularly enjoyed today. Understand, I like all the comments people leave here, even the ones I disagree with. Dialogue, discussion, debate -- that's what this blog is about. (Religious people would add another "D" word,  damnation.) But some comments strike me in a special way, making me think, ah!, nicely said. This one is from Gene: "...remove the foundation of faith that supports their religiosity." The foundation of faith is the 'meaning' one finds from their very own life experiences. The only way to remove this would…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

December visits to the RSSB Dera cancelled. Anyone know why?

Today I got an email message from someone in South Africa who said that the Radha Soami Satsang Beas group there has heard that December visits with "Babaji," a.k.a. Gurinder Singh Dhillon (current guru) at the Dera in the Punjab have been cancelled. First time ever, said this person, who asked if I knew anything about this. I don't. Since quite a few people who are still involved with RSSB visit this blog, I figured I'd share the information/question and see if anyone else knows what is going on.
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Posted inReligions

How to cure an addiction to faith

In his book "A Manual for Creating Atheists," Peter Boghossian has some advice for those who want to helo cure religious addicts: don't focus on weaning them off of religion; rather, remove the foundation of faith that supports their religiosity. Makes sense.  Attacks on religion are often peceived as attacks on friends, families, communities, and relationships. As such, attacking religion may alienate people, making it even more difficult to separate them from their faith. ...Attempting to disabuse people of a belief in their God(s) is the wrong way to conceptualize the problem. God is the conclusion that one arrives at…
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Posted inReligions Science

Atheism is the rejection of theism, not a belief system

Here's a follow-up to my "Atheism isn't a belief. It is a lack of belief." That post had quotes from James Lindsay's second book.  The passages below are from Lindsay's first book, God Doesn't, We Do. Once again, he persuasively challenges the false assumption that theism, believing in God, and atheism, not believing in God, are somehow both belief systems. Doesn't make sense. Read on to see why. Another common misconception among believers is that infidels, atheists in particular, subscribe to a religious view that is called Atheism. This is incorrect, generally speaking. We might be able to call (capitalized)…
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Posted inReligions Science

What are the odds of alien civilizations believing in our gods?

Astonomers have come up with an estimate of how many earth-like planets there are in our galaxy: some 40 billion. Wow.  The known odds of something — or someone — living far, far away from Earth improved beyond astronomers’ boldest dreams on Monday. Astronomers reported that there could be as many as 40 billion habitable Earth-size planets in the galaxy, based on a new analysis of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. One out of every five sunlike stars in the galaxy has a planet the size of Earth circling it in the Goldilocks zone — not too hot, not too cold…
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Posted inReligions

Atheism isn’t a belief. It is a lack of belief.

I don't listen to country music. I don't like country music. I don't believe country music is worth listening to. So does this make me an "acountrymusicist"?  That is, someone who holds to a belief that country music sucks. No, I just don't like it. I pay very little attention to it, noticing this musical genre only when it is is foisted unwillingly on me by a radio station, TV show, or store.  Likewise, I don't consider myself an "asoccerfan." I just am not much interested in soccer. Same goes for religion. So why should I be called an "atheist"…
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Posted inReligions Science

Faith is pretending to know things you don’t know

To most people, faith is a positive quality. Perhaps it is, if "faith" is construed as "hope" or "positive thinking." As in, I have faith that I'll be able to make it to the top of this mountain.  You don't know if you'll be able to reach the summit, but you hope that you will. Nothing wrong with this. Somewhat similarly, faith can be viewed in probabilistic terms. I have faith that my laptop will start up when I raise the lid in the morning, because so far it has every time I've done this. But in his book, "A…
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Posted inReality Science

Wisdom is humility in the face of mystery

The title of this post is a sub-heading in the final chapter of Robert Burton's "A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves."  Burton cautions against taking neuroscientific claims about how the human brain/mind works too seriously when they aren't backed up by solid evidence. Yet even when they are, he reminds us that our interpretation of evidence is guided by processes in the very brain/mind we're trying to understand. Naturally this applies to religious, mystical, spiritual, and philosophical claims equally, if not more so. Just because we feel like we can stand…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

Stop talking to God… and other imaginary friends

I've decided that I talk too much. Not to other people. I do that just fine, in my opinion. Not too much, and not too little. Just about right. It's another type of talking I'm referring to. Talking to entities that aren't there, or can't understand me. For example... God. Our dogs. My dead mother and father. The now-deceased guru I used to follow. Myself.  Now, I don't really believe that any of these entities can comprehend what I'm saying, either because they don't exist (God, dead mother and father, guru) or don't have the ability (dogs). Myself is an…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Four good questions for a guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon

Below is an email message I received today that asks four good questions of Gurinder Singh, the current guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) -- an India-based spiritual organization that I was a member of for many years. Some background info: (1) In RSSB, the next guru is appointed by the preceding guru via a will; (2) Gurinder Singh is the nephew of the preceding guru, Charan Singh, who appointed him; (3) "Satpurush" means the Supreme Being; (4) the Punjab is a province in northwest India; (5) RSSB and other Sant Mat movements believe that God/Satpurush incarnates as a…
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Posted inScience

We humans think we’re special. What makes us believe that?

Oh, you're so special! Just about every parent has thought this about a child. Their child. Because in the realm of parenthood, as in Lake Woebegon, every child is above average.  Ditto for us humans as a whole. Why, it's just so obvious that Homo sapiens is a unique species. Somewhat like other animals, of course. But on the whole we're so special.  Ditto for every religion humans have come up with. Every religion, faith, spiritual belief system, mystical practice, and meditation approach considers that it is uniquely able to bring believers closer to truth, God, ultimate reality, enlightenment, whatever.…
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