Posted inNeuroscience Religions

Religion and mysticism are nothing other than the placebo effect

We've all heard about placebos. You know, those inactive substances, such as sugar pills, that are used as controls in research designed to determine whether a genuine drug has positive bodily effects.  Most of us also are familiar with the frequent finding that placebos turn out to be as effective as genuine drugs, or even surgical procedures. This is perplexing if we assume that the mind and body are separate entities. But not at all perplexing given the obvious fact that the mind is the brain in action, and the brain is an organ of the body. So if someone…
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Posted inFree will

In Daniel Dennett vs. Robert Sapolsky debate, Sapolsky clearly won

Hey, it's been a while since I've written a post about free will, or rather, the lack thereof. Obviously the universe determined that I take a break from one of my favorite subjects. Not a complete break, though. For during my daily at-home exercise routine, I've been listening to a debate between Robert Sapolsky, who wrote the recent instant-classic book Determined that persuasively argues why free will is an illusion, and Daniel Dennett, a philosopher who is noted for his view that while determinism guides the world, free will still exists. Here's the You Tube video of their debate. To…
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Posted inGay rights Religions

Two examples of religious dogmatism from here in Oregon

Today the Portland Oregonian, our state's largest newspaper, had two stories side-by-side about Republican lawmakers acting like the Christian dogmatists that they are. It's amazing, speaking as an atheist, how religious believers can be so hateful and prejudiced toward people who aren't like them. I'd never say that Christians shouldn't serve in an elected office. I'd also never say that an entire group -- in this case the LGBTQ community -- supported child abuse and pedophilia. But that's exactly what the Republican lawmakers said.  That's shameful. Unfortunately, I strongly suspect that enough of their conservative constituencies will like what they…
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Posted inMindfulness

Great observations about life in “The Mindful Body”

It was kind of a strange way for me to learn about a book. I usually ignore emails from Strong Towns, an organization devoted to making cities and towns more livable, but this one featured messages from staff members about what they're finding interesting in books, film, and such. I saw that a woman spoke highly of Ellen Langer's book, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health. Since I'm big on mindfulness, and also liked the creative mention of "chronic health," I ordered the book after reading some laudatory reviews on Amazon. The cover copy says that Langer,…
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Posted inReality Spiritual practice/meditation

The spiritual journey leads nowhere, and that’s absolutely fine

My last post was a digression of sorts, as I explained in the opening paragraphs.  Today I was planning to write a post about a central theme in a book I've been blogging about recently, Joan Tollifson's Nothing to Grasp. I was struck by how Tollifson has come around to viewing reality in simple terms, "as it is." Leaves falling. Birds flying. Pain happening. Dishes being washed. She came to this outlook after a lengthy period of seeking the Truth of It All via meditation, Zen Buddhism, nondual teachings, therapy, and other means. I wanted to write about how weird…
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Posted inBuddhism Reality

Here’s what I wrote about Zen and naive realism when I was 20

Today I was planning to write a post about a central theme in a book I've been blogging about recently, Joan Tollifson's Nothing to Grasp. I was struck by how Tollifson has come around to viewing reality in simple terms, "as it is." Leaves falling. Birds flying. Pain happening. Dishes being washed. She came to this outlook after a lengthy period of seeking the Truth of It All via meditation, Zen Buddhism, nondual teachings, therapy, and other means. I wanted to write about how weird and wonderful it is to have sought reality in esoteric teachings, then realize that, hey,…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Don’t idealize spiritual teachers or put them on pedestals

There are thousands of religions in the world. But I believe that the one I belonged to for thirty-five years, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), which is headquartered in India, could have the most grandiose conception of its spiritual leaders of any religion. For the RSSB teaching is that not only is the organization's guru God in Human Form, but the guru is greater than God, since the guru manifests on our planet to initiate "marked souls" and guide them back to the highest supernatural level of reality, while God just sits up there, letting the Perfect Living Master do…
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Posted inReality Spiritual practice/meditation

Joan Tollifson’s Pathless Path to Here/Now

For thirty-five years I was a member of an organization, Eastern religion variety, that taught how to pursue a spiritual Path. That word was capitalized, because it was no ordinary path, but a Path from the illusion of the physical world to supernatural realms of existence.  It feels great to be free of that fantasy.  Here's passages from "The Pathless Path to Here/Now" chapter in Joan Tollifson's book, Nothing to Grasp. She beautifully captures the wisdom of giving up the notion of a Path in favor of experiencing the reality of what is what right before us at every moment.…
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Posted inMystics Spiritual practice/meditation

I hear from someone who experiences mystical sound and light

Recently I got an email from a man in Austria who started to experience mystical sound and light, even though he had no connection with a teaching that claims to produce such experiences. Since, we've exchanged several messages. I asked him if I could share his messages on my blog. He asked that I remove some of what he said that wasn't germane to what he's been experiencing, which I've done. You'll find his email address at the end of this post, as he'd welcome being contacted by anyone who has experienced something similar. Enjoy... I came across your critical…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation Taoism/Tai Chi

Maybe the biggest problem with life is believing there’s a problem with life

It sort of feels to me like a rapidly descending elevator. You know, when it seems like the floor is falling away beneath you even though you're standing on it. Except in an elevator you know what the lowest level is.  I'm not sure how much further I have to sink. And that's okay with me. At least I'm moving in the right direction: away from the heights of religious supernaturalism toward a grounding in here-and-now reality. Reading Joan Tollifson's book, Nothing to Grasp, has made me more aware of that descending elevator feeling. For she ably undercuts what I…
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Posted inFree will

Our choosing just happens. It doesn’t spring from free will.

It's such a beautiful way of looking upon the world. I didn't choose to write this blog post. You didn't choose to read it. Yet here we are, a blog post having been written, and a blog post having been read. This is how the entire world works. Things happen, yet there is no one making them happen.  As bizarre as this may seem, it makes good sense for a couple of reasons. First, free will is an illusion. Second, the notion of an independent self capable of freely choosing also is an illusion.  So choosing just happens. I love…
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Posted inBuddhism

Buddhist emptiness isn’t nothing, it is everything

I'm a fan of emptiness, Buddhist variety. Though this really is a simple notion, it took me quite a while to appreciate what "emptiness" means from a Buddhist perspective.  One reason is that in everyday usage, emptiness points to the absence of something, like an empty glass or an empty bank account. Though this isn't really how Buddhism uses the term, I frequently see people speaking of Buddhist emptiness similarly, as if it is a nothingness. That's incorrect. Actually Buddhists view every entity as failing to have a quality of inherent existence. Meaning, it doesn't stand alone as an independent reality.…
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Posted inBuddhism Reality Religions

Religious believers are in love with concepts, not reality

I find it amusing when religiously-minded people accuse atheist skeptics like me of thinking too much, of not being in touch with direct experience, of being in love with abstract concepts. This is a classic case of, as the saying goes, the pot calling the kettle black. Meaning, as that Wikipedia article points out, psychological projection has taken over, and the accuser claims that someone else has the attribute that actually they have.  For there's nothing more tied to thinking, indirect experience, and abstract concepts than religious belief. The reason is obvious: since there's no demonstrable evidence that the entities…
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Posted inAwareness Free will

What we do, think, and feel comes not from us, but the cosmos

The title of this blog post, though a statement, actually is a proposition, a hypothesis, a possibility. It fits with a heck of a lot of spiritual teachings, and it fits with a heck of a lot of scientific teachings. I've been pondering the source of my actions, thoughts, and feelings more intensely now that I'm reading Joan Tollifson's provocative book, Nothing to Grasp. She's a spiritual teacher and writer, with a background in Zen. But below I'll share some passages from her book that are closely akin to a central message in biologist Robert Sapolsky's book, Determined, where he…
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Posted inMindfulness

Joan Tollifson’s “awakening” seems to be mindfulness, basically

I'm continuing to enjoy Joan Tollifson's book, Nothing to Grasp. As noted before, she has an approach to spirituality, and life, that resonates with me. Simple. Clear. Non-dogmatic.  But I'm coming to believe that as distinctive as her views are, they seem to boil down to a familiar subject: mindfulness. Since Tollifson doesn't use this term in her writing and speaking -- at least, I haven't come across it yet -- at first I thought that her worldview was founded in the disciplines mentioned on the back cover of Nothing to Grasp in an "About the Author" section:  Joan Tollifson…
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Posted inAtheism Radha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

I’m inspired by Sam Harris’ sharp attacks on religion

Like all of us, Sam Harris has changed over the years. Following the publication of his acclaimed The End of Faith in 2004, Harris became well known as an eloquent advocate for atheism against the foolishness of religion, joining other noted atheists -- Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett -- who were known as "The Four Horsemen of the New Atheism." Since, Harris has written additional books and has fashioned a vibrant online presence through his Waking Up app and Making Sense podcast. He still bashes religion, but appears more concerned with other subjects, such as helping people experience…
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Posted inBooks Buddhism Meaning of life

Beautiful: how Joan Tollifson sees life, and us.

Having received Joan Tollifson's book, Nothing to Grasp, I wanted to share these passages from her opening chapter, "Life." The more I learn about how Toliffson views things, the more I like her perspective. How do we make sense of all this? What's it all about? Is there any way out of our suffering or the world suffering, or any way to live through it without falling into destructive mind-states like despair, anger, hatred, and self-pity? Like many others, I looked in different directions for answers to these questions. I tried alcohol and drugs, psychotherapy, political activism, meditation, satsang and…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

For me, the real spiritual quest is to stop searching for spirituality

A few days ago I wrote about how discovering Jean Toliffson was a gift not only for myself, but for the readers of this blog. Since, I finished listening to her interview with Sam Harris on his Waking Up app, which made me even more appreciative of Toliffson's naturalness and humility. She's a spiritual teacher who doesn't actually believe in either spirituality or teaching. At least, not as how those words are generally defined and used in Zen, Buddhist, Advaita, Nonduality, and similar pursuits. That's what made her discussion with Harris so interesting. I like and respect Harris a lot.…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Happy New Year. Here’s my gift of Joan Tollifson.

In a few hours it will be 2024 here in Oregon. Of  course, in one sense tomorrow is just another day, another rotation of Earth on its axis. But we humans have come up with the calendar, so in another sense tomorrow is the beginning of a brand new year. At any rate, I want to express how grateful I am that in 2023 not only was I able to write a Church of the Churchless post every other day (on the other days I tend to my HinesSight and Salem Political Snark blogs), but that my posts were enriched…
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Posted inBasics of our faithless faith Buddhism

Why it makes sense to assemble your own unique spirituality

As I've noted many times before, and surely will note many times again, like right now, it took me just a few seconds back in 2004 to come up with the tag line, or slogan, that's below the title of this blog: Preaching the gospel of spiritual independence.  I've never thought of changing those words, because they encapsulate what I consider to be the wisest form of spirituality. To me spirituality doesn't have anything to do with religion or supernatural stuff; it's a quest for the deeper side of life, which means it has no firm definition. And that's the…
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