Posted inPersonal/Stories Radha Soami Satsang Beas

I’m churchless. And as “spiritual” as ever.

Today a friend asked me to explain my current attitude toward spirituality. We haven't talked as much about godly, mystical, and meditational matters as we did back when I was an active member of an India-based religious organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). It's always interesting for me to hear what I have to say in response to such a query. I didn't have to think much, if at all, before answering him. After all, writing posts for this blog keeps me attuned to how I feel about spirituality now, as opposed to my previous true-believing past. But talking face…
8
Posted inChristianity/Jesus

Why I don’t like to say “Merry Christmas”

It's Christmas Eve, 2010. This is the day when exclamations of "Merry Christmas!" become even more common than before December 24. But I haven't uttered those words once, even though my wife and I were out and about in several stores earlier today. My preference is to reply "Same to you" when someone says "Merry Christmas" to me. Understand: I'm not a Christmas grinch. I enjoy the holiday season. Occasionally I even will pop out with a Merry Christmas myself. I just have a good reason for saying those words as infrequently as possible. Christ. I don't believe in him.…
8
Posted inGod Science

Scary: 40% of Americans are strict creationists

How the hell is the United States going to compete with the rest of the world -- scientifically, economically, technologically -- when 4 in 10 of our citizens believe God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago? Read the Gallup poll. And weep for the future of our country if more Americans don't start embracing reality rather than superstition. Most Americans believe in God, and about 85% have a religious identity. It is not surprising as a result to find that about 8 in 10 Americans hold a view of human origins that involves actions by God…
9
Posted inGod

Oregonians debate existence of God

The past two Mondays, our local newspaper -- the Salem Statesman Journal -- has run comments from readers about the existence, or lack thereof, of God. I've enjoyed this change of pace for the editorial page. Since Oregon is one of the least religious states, it isn't surprising that many opinions on this subject were pleasingly churchless. I've shared them below. I didn't include any comments from true believers, but you can see the entire slate of opinions here and here. (Or download these PDF files.) Download SJ1 existence of God Download SJ2 existence of God "Simple question that deserves…
4
Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Be a centaur, not a horseman and horse

"The Supreme Doctrine" by Hubert Benoit is a book that I keep re-reading, because every time I pick it up, fresh insights pop out of the pages. I've highlighted so much of it, in several different colors, that now the words mostly are shaded in yellow and green. This morning I re-perused The Horseman and the Horse chapter. The basic notion is that we usually consider that "I" am a horseman (thoughts, will, mind, soul, spirit) who needs to keep control of my horse (body, desires, actions, lower self, emotions). The belief in this biparite composition expresses itself in all…
4
Posted inPersonal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

Dance, and live, like nobody (even God) is watching

Last night my wife and I went dancing. It was a Salem Big Band night at Mission Mill Museum, a beautifully restored woolen mill dating from the late 1800's. When we walked in, about half an hour after the festivities had started, I could tell that my thoroughly intermediate dancing skills were going to be stretched. The piece being played was energetically cool, but I couldn't place it in my stylistic repertoire. Foxtrot? No. Waltz? Definitely no. Latin style? Absolutely not. Swing? Sort of, but not really. Yet couples (and some uninhibited child singles) were dancing away with abandon, clearly…
3
Posted inReality Spiritual practice/meditation

Get real: give up religious and mystical concepts

Religious believers who make a pilgrimage to this blog often amuse me. They'll say, "Brian, you live in your head; you need to give up your concepts about reality and embrace God's truth." Ha ha ha. What a joke. These guys and gals are deluded. They've got things completely backward. I just rode my Burgman 650 maxi-scooter to a coffeehouse in downtown Salem. It's 45 degrees here in Oregon. I was cold, but comfortably not freezing, thanks to warm gloves/gear and a large cozy windscreen. I didn't think about anything supernatural once on my 25 minute drive. Here and now…
9
Posted inMiracles

A “miracle” happens monthly in your life

Here's an interesting take on supposed miracles -- which likely actually are a manifestation of what could be called "the law of really large numbers." Check out Desultory Decussation: Where Littlewood’s Law of Miracles meets Jung’s Synchronicity by David Lane and Andrea Diem Lane. If there are thousands, nay millions, of events in our lives (measured in transparently fractal ways), then it should be expected that for every 10,000 plus events, there may be two or more events which intersect. Notice that intersection and you will be aware of a meaningful coincidence--the meaning being that two disparate parts have something…
No Comments
Posted inScience Spiritual practice/meditation

How is it that “I” have a “self”?

I've never met the other person who seemingly inhabits my head along with me. Have you? Yet everyday language, the way we talk to ourselves (there he is again!) and others, appears to point to the existence of someone other than "I" within our psyches. I dragged myself out of bed.I held myself back from hitting him.I was beside myself.You should take a good look at yourself.He's at war with himself over who to marry.Stop being so mean to yourself.I like myself.I need to be a better friend to myself.I was debating with myself whether to leave.I'm disappointed in myself.He's…
4
Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

If a God-man is just like us, what’s the point?

So what if God was one of us? That's a question Joan Osborne asked in the lyrics of her song, "One of us." That thought came to mind after I wrote about an Indian guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, bringing in over $250 million for himself and his family through insider transactions of Religare stock. Since the shares essentially were gifted to the guru and his sons (the 2006 purchase price was very low, about 1% of the current market value) by businessman relatives who also are disciples of Gurinder Singh, it can be argued that this is nothing unusual. It's…
19
Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Radha Soami Satsang Beas guru makes $254 million

Wow, it really pays to be an Indian guru with the right connections. Check out this story, "SEBI nod for Radha Soami Satsang Beas." (SEBI is the Securities and Exchange Board of India.) The capital market regulator has granted exemption to Logos Holding Company from making an open offer to the shareholders of Religare Enterprises for its acquisition of 19.53% stake in the company. Logos Holding is an investment arm of the Gurinder Singh Dhillon family.Gurinder Singh is the current head of one of India's largest religious sect – Radha Soami Satsang Beas. At Thursday's closing price of Rs 460.95,…
134
Posted inDeath/Rebirth Science

Scientific quasi-remedies for a fear of death

I don't like the notion that I'll die one day. More than the notion, it's the reality of death that produces a sense of unease which varies from mild mostly unconscious anxiety to a strong fearful awareness of impending non-existence. So I wanted to provide a blog post addendum to my previous "This is it" ponderings. Not really a counterpoint; more like a therapeutic sidebar for those who, like me, enjoy life and don't relish the prospect of losing all trace of conscious existence for eternity. There's good reason to argue that I can't help myself. No one can. Such…
3
Posted inReality

Live like this is your last moment (because it is)

Most of my life I've been searching for What Life is All About. A poem I wrote when I was thirteen is my earliest recorded pondering about the cosmos, but I'm sure my pre-teen mind also was looking for answer's to life's big questions. Having come to an age when my first Social Security payment is due to be deposited in our checking account this month, I can report that some fifty years of philosophical, religious, mystical, scientific, and spiritual inquiring has led me to a simple three word conclusion: This is it. You're free to disagree. I can understand…
7
Posted inScience

Can one half of a brain achieve salvation?

Those who believe in the unity of consciousness or the oneness of "soul" need to watch a short You Tube video, "Split brain with one half atheist and one half theist." The neurologist making the presentation ends by saying If the person dies, does one hemisphere go to heaven and the other go to hell? I don't have the answer to that. Watch and see if you do.  
2
Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Mindfulness is better than “spiritual” meditation

I used to believe that through meditation, I could realize ultimate reality/God. Now, having lowered my unrealistic expectations, I'd be happy if I could go through the rest of my life without losing another glove. A much-beloved glove, insofar as apparel can be loved. LIghtweight, waterproof, comfortable, thin. I'd been wearing it on rainy day dog walks here in Oregon (so I wore them a lot). Headed to the recycling center on a cold, wet, windy afternoon, I decided to take the gloves along. I walked to the car, tossed them on the front seat, and drove into town with…
11
Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Hallucinogens induce profound mystical experiences

Want a mystical experience? Got no time or inclination for meditation, austerities, guru-worship, or rituals? A shortcut is available: hallucinogens, such as psilocybin. This is no surprise to baby boomers like me who experimented with LSD, mescaline, and "magic mushrooms" back in the 60's. I was searching for the Meaning Of It All, so I was part of the flower children subset who looked upon hallucinogens not only as a good time, but as a doorway to higher consciousness. I figured that these trippy drugs had pretty much gone out of fashion. However, an article in the December 2010 issue…
5
Posted inReality Science

Unconscious zombies and conscious thermostats

Comments on my previous post about David Chalmers' consciousness theories got me doing more pondering about zombies -- the philosophical variety. Personally, I resonate with Chalmers' notion that it is logically possible to conceive of beings who are identical to us down to the most minute subatomic particle, and behave exactly like us in even the most subtle fashion. The only difference betweeen zombie and human would be this: humans experience what it is like to be what we are; zombies don't. Admittedly this is a strange notion to wrap our minds around. For each of us, our entire life…
25
Posted inGod

Talking trash with Almighty God

Ah, another enjoyable blasphemous Mark Morford column, "How to talk trash with Almighty God." I like the ending, after Morford blasts God for all the crap life continues to be filled with after many millenia of worship, reverence, bowing and scraping, and all that. But you know what? It doesn't seem to matter. Mock or no mock, praise or no praise, we get nailed, over and over again, no matter what. Sickened, crushed, bloodied, heartbroken, ruined, revived and rejuvenated, only to be ruined once again. We drop that damn ball, over and over again, every single day. So much for…
5
Posted inReality Science

David Chalmer’s view of consciousness: naturalistic dualism

Consciousness. It's what we are and know, since reality doesn't exist for us if we can't experience it. Yet it's also the most mysterious thing in the cosmos. So mysterious, it can't really be called a "thing." Consciousness is utterly subjective. But without consciousness we wouldn't be aware of objective reality. So go figure... David Chalmers has done a lot of figuring on this subject. He's an Australian philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of mind/consciousness. I've had his book, "The Conscious Mind," sitting unread on my bookshelf for over a decade. A few days ago I picked it up,…
15