Posted inPersonal/Stories

Our Christmas letter shows unbelievers are — shock! — normal people

Every year it's my non-sacred duty to compose a Holiday, a.k.a. Christmas, Letter. I use "Holiday" on the letter itself, because sometimes my wife and I don't get around to mailing them until after December 25, and this gives us sort of an excuse. Hey, you're getting it before New Year's, which is the last end of year holiday.  Have a look if you want to get a glimpse into the Real World of the Church of the Churchless' unpastor. And gaze upon a photo of his amazingly adorable granddaughter. Download 2012 Christmas Letter PDF I capitalized "Real World" to…
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Posted inBuddhism

How to challenge ghosts who seem real

I came across a great story in one of my non-holy inspirational books, "Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living."  Here's a simple way to prove whether a seemingly supernatural vision, thought, presence, or whatever really is other-worldly, or just an emanation of your own mind.  Adapt the proof as desired. There's lots of ways to do what this Zen master advised. An old Zen story tells of a man whose wife, on her deathbed, begged him never to go to another woman. A few months after her death, the man fell in love and became engaged. Immediately, he was haunted…
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Posted inBuddhism

Who the heck is inside my head, talking to “me”?

Last night my wife and I spent a pleasant couple of hours at a holiday gathering hosted by a Tai Chi friend. Meeting some new people, we enjoyed stimulating conversation on a variety of subjects. Including meditation, spirituality, that sort of stuff. At one point, I said something like: A few days ago I had a realization that seemed fresh to me, even after more than forty years of daily meditation. Why do I so often feel at odds with myself? After all, who is there inside my head in addition to me? What's up with my worrying about whether…
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Posted inFundamentalism

Pope acts like an bigot in denouncing gay marriage

How could anybody believe the Pope is a spiritual person worthy of emulation? Clearly the Pope is a narrow-minded bigot who is woefully ignorant about both modern science and the basics of human compassion. Here's proof: "Pope says future of mankind at stake over gay marriage."  The defence of the family, the Pope said, "is about man himself. And it becomes clear that when God is denied, human dignity also disappears." On Monday, the Vatican's newspaper described laws on gay marriage as an attempt at a communist-like "utopia", a day after tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in France…
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Posted inReality Religions

How atheists comfort children about death

Interesting story in the Washington Post: "Atheist parents comfort children about death without talk of God or heaven." As so many millions of Americans turn to clergy and prayers to help their children sort out the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, parents like Drizin do not. They don’t agonize over interpreting God’s will or message in the event. They don’t seek to explain what kind of God allows suffering, and they don’t fudge it when children ask what happens to people who die, be they Grandma or the young victims of Newtown. It's kind of weird, of course, that non-religious…
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Posted inMiracles Reality Science

Spiritual hallucinations provide illusory certainty

Synchronicity. I don't believe in it as something supernatural or miraculous. Just as an interesting phenomenon which has a natural explanation. Still... I enjoyed the connection between a book I started reading this morning, and a new video from David Lane, a.k.a. neuralsurfer, I came across a few minutes later via a Lane Facebook post. Common theme: brain-produced hallucinations which can seem absolutely real to the person hallucinating. The book is Oliver Sacks' "Hallucinations." Sacks is a professor of neurology who writes books about ways the brain produces unusual experiences.  Here's some of what I learned in the first few…
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Posted inReligions

Religious arguments I respect, and those I don’t

Having served as the un-pastor of this here Church of the Churchless for over eight years, I've heard just about every argument for the existence of God, soul, spirit, heaven, miracles, life after death, and other supernatural stuff. Naturally -- given my current skeptical, scientific nature -- I don't resonate much with religiosity. Been there, done that. But I can understand why other people do embrace religion. And I respect their viewpoints when they're presented in a reasonable, open-minded fashion. TypePad, my blog service, tells me that there have been 24,143 comments on the 1,637 posts I've written. Like I…
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Posted inBuddhism

Creative Zen idea: Our individuality makes universality possible

During most of my spirituality-seeking life, which spans about forty five years, I've considered individuality to be at odds with universality -- feeling one with the universe. The mystical philosophies that I embraced taught that ego, a sense of "I-ness," is what keeps us humans from becoming one with the One which supposedly is ultimate reality.  Not so, according to Zen Buddhism. So explains Kosho Uchiyama in "Opening the Hand of Thought," a book I blogged about recently.  That's a relief. Uchiyama has a take on this whole individuality/universality thing that makes a lot of sense to me. When I…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

In Zen Buddhism, meditation replaces God

I've got a lot of books about Zen. Back in college I liked "The Supreme Doctrine" so much I couldn't bear returning it to the San Jose Public Library, so I kept it.  My attitude toward Zen Buddhism is decidedly mixed, though. I resonate with the philosophical aspects, but when Zen gets too religious and supernatural, that turns me off. Which is why I'm enjoying a re-reading of Kosho Uchiyama's "Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice" so much. On the back cover there's a quote from the book which pretty much sums it up: When we let…
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Posted inScience

“Spiritual” hallucinations are brain-based

The human brain is amazing. Though it is entirely physical, the brain can produce sensations that seem spiritual, soulful, supernatural.  Oliver Sacks, M.D., a professor of neurology, describes how the brain does this in a fascinating Atlantic article, "Seeing God in the Third Millenium: How the brain creates out-of-body experiences and religious epiphanies." Here's some excerpts that I found particularly interesting. Below Sacks explains why people are so convinced that what they hallucinate is objectively real, not a product of their own brain -- which it is. But the fundamental reason that hallucinations -- whatever their cause or modality --…
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Posted inMiracles Radha Soami Satsang Beas Science

Believing in miracles is an insult to God

In tune with the Christmas season, which is full of talk about unproven religious miracles, yesterday "G" left a comment on my "Where have all the miracles gone?" post.  Sorry Peaceseeker, if you want proof of the RSSB miracles all you have to do is do a Google search, it's funny how there is positive news about RSSB on Google but Brian doesn't incorporate it on here. But when there is false news about RSSB he's quick along with the other bloggers to incorporate it here. My response made a lot more sense. G, please share the proof of RSSB miracles.…
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Posted inScience

Great video! “The Burden of Proof.” Claims demand evidence.

I just watched a terrific eleven minute You Tube video, "The Burden of Proof," that should be required viewing for everyone who believes in God, miracles, psychic powers, or anything else in the supernatural realm.  Also for those who challenge them. I highly recommend the video. This is the sort of clear thinking that cuts through religious bullshit like a razor sharp blade. It's no different from the prove it! and demonstrable evidence, please! pleas that I regularly utter to true believing commenters on this blog. The video just does a great job of demolishing the ridiculous notion that it…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

An atheist meditation that pleases God

I'm a believer. Not in God. But in "covering my bases." (For those unfamiliar with American English, this means being thoroughly prepared for something.) I don't believe in God. But I believe in the possibility that God exists. Heck, I believe in the possibility that anything imaginable exists. Along with what can't be imagined, just to cover my bases. That's because I'm scientifically minded. Contrary to how many religious people view science, actually it is science that is most open to reality in any form, any guise, any way of being. Material. Energetic. Non-physical. Mathematical. Ethereal. Conscious. Unconscious. Higher dimensional. Lower…
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Posted inReligions

Religion at root of opposition to gay marriage

Today is a happy moment for lots of gay people in Washington state, Oregon's neighbor to the north. Last month Washingtonians ratified the legislature's legalization of gay marriage. They also legalized marijuana -- which means that, as painful as it is for me to say this, I have to give Washington the edge over Oregon on "coolness" (cultural, not meteorological). Same sex people in Washington became eligible to get marriage licenses today. Their mood was celebratory, according to the Portland Oregonian. Who can blame them? As a harpist played in the lobby, excited couples converged on the Clark County auditor's…
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Posted inScience

Seeing red. Much more to this than meets the eye.

I love pondering Big Questions About the Cosmos. The stark existence of, well, existence is one of them, though I'm not sure if this is really a question. Maybe just a brute fact about which nothing more can be said.  (Along this line, recently I read a letter to the editor in New Scientist magazine arguing that circular reasoning, sort of like "existence exists," has to be the nature of a final truth. Otherwise there's always another truth along another link in a chain of causes/effects or reasoned explanations, and we never get to the end.) Sometimes, though, little questions…
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Posted inReality

Words are irrelevant to the cosmos

I'm walking along on a path to the lake, talking to one of our dogs. A habit of mine. Maybe inherited from my mother, since she also liked to talk to herself. Except when I talk to our dogs, I don't feel like I'm talking to myself. After all, there's a sentient being with large ears right next to me. Tonight, though, a marvelous intuition suddenly flashed into my consciousness. Virtually everything in the universe doesn't relate to words; apart from other people the cosmos doesn't give a crap about what we say. I'd never thought of speech in this…
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Extra-terrestrial meets an open-minded human

A regular blog commenter, "cc," sent me these thoughts recently. I enjoy writing like this: something I can read several times, and not exhaust the thoughtfulness contained therein. Reminds me a bit of Chuang Tzu's useless tree.  When the extra-terrestrial alights on Earth it says to the first human it encounters, "Take me to your leader", because it sees immediately that the human is not intelligent enough to live an unauthorized existence.  It is obvious to the extra-terrestrial that the human's slavish dependency on its knowledge renders it ignorant of the need for an open mind; that because it can't…
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Posted inGod Personal/Stories Spiritual practice/meditation

A cup of coffee is more real than God. Drink up!

There's so much to like about reality. It's got real stuff in it. Way cool. This is what makes living so satisfying. And so frustrating. Yet always interesting. We bump into real stuff that isn't us.  Maybe that bump is with an attractive sexual partner. Maybe it is with a mountain whose steep slopes challenge our climbing skills. Maybe it is with sitting still on a meditation cushion, aware of air going in and out of our nose. Maybe it is with cancer cells that have invaded our body. There's no end to the variety of encounters with physical reality.…
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Blog praise and nonduality criticism I agree with

Whenever I get an email from someone about this blog that has a first line with "love it," I'm inclined to agree with the rest of whatever is said. In this case, I have good reasons. Nicely said, dude. Just enough profanity to emphasize your points. Here's the guy's message, mildly edited to correct some spelling. I was just snooping around your site and gotta say..LOVE IT...I did manage to stumble across it a few years ago, but managed to turn a blind eye cause i couldnt have anyone fucking with my nonduality delusions..he he he..all these spiritual traditions are…
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Posted inReality

Would you choose to be hooked up to an Experience Machine?

The Experience Machine has popped into my life again. A few years ago I blogged about it in "Choose reality, not religion." Today I read about Robert Nozick's thought experiment again in Julian Baggini's "What's It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life." Nozick asks us to imagine an experience machine, which works very much along the same lines as the eponymous supercomputer in the film The Matrix. Once plugged into the machine, you can live a life which from the inside feels just like normal life. Rocks feel hard, the sun bright, coffee hot, and so on. In…
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