Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Be your own sunlight, not a religious reflection

Thanks to an email from Alex, a regular Church of the Churchless visitor, I learned about Don Cupitt's book, "Above Us Only Sky." It's short and inspiring, a paean to finding meaning through "solar" living of our everyday life. By solar, Cupitt means... We accept and we joyfully affirm life and its limits, traditionally described as Time, Chance, and Death. We no longer wish to veil the truth about life, nor do we dream of somehow being able to transcend its limits. Instead, our religion is now our joyful and immediate engagement with life, just as it is. Right on.…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth Reality Universe

If the universe is infinite, we’re immortal (sort of)

Wow, I got some great news after reading only two chapters in physicist Brian Greene's new book, "The Hidden Reality." I'm immortal! Only catch is, the "me" who exists forever isn't really the same me who is typing out these words. Though maybe it is. Just depends on how I look upon myself: (1) as a being with a unique essence peculiar to myself (I don't mean a smell, but a non-physical identity), or (2) as a configuration of atoms which could be almost exactly duplicated in another corner of the cosmos. I've read Greene's previous books, enjoying them, but…
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Posted inReality

Does “Being” exist?

I suspect that churchless skeptics who are drawn to question traditional belief systems also enjoy the feeling of an elevator suddenly descending, when it seems like the floor has fallen away from under your feet. At least, this is a sensation I frequently have now that I've stopped being a True Believer. It isn't disconcerting, because after an initial jolt of finding that one more unquestioned assumption needs to be closely examined, it feels good to have discarded an additional piece of conceptual junk which doesn't deserve the prominent positioning it used to have in my Philosophical Display Case. For…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

Somali pirates kill couple distributing Bibles

It's a tragedy when four Americans on a yacht are killed by Somali pirates. But when I heard about them being taken hostage, I thought, "Who would be crazy enough to sail by themselves into such a dangerous area, given all the other well-publicized hijackings in that part of the Indian Ocean?" Then I learned that one of the couples had been distributing Bibles around the world. My suspicion is that they felt they were under God's protection. Mistaken feeling, obviously. However, I've little doubt that countless Christians are now saying, "It was God's will that they were killed." I…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Science

Finding enlightenment through a colonoscopy (and propofol)

I want to get as much philosophical mileage as possible out of the colonoscopy I had a few days ago. After all, I had to sacrifice eating solid food for almost two days. That isn't exactly a major ascetic accomplishment -- certainly not Gandhi'an -- but since I'm a vegetarian habituated to frequent food browsing, the colonoscopy prep period was a shock to my culinary system. This wasn't the most interesting part of the procedure, though. Just as with the colonoscopy I had two years ago (a benign polyp was found, and the prep wasn't perfect, so the doctor wanted…
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Posted inReligions Spiritual practice/meditation

The “self” is culturally determined

We in the West (not the wild west, but Western culture) are obsessed with ourselves. "I've got to find my true self," people say. Self-development is a big industry, featuring countless workshops, books, lectures, and such. We're big on autonomy, independence, finding our own way in life, not marching to the beat of someone else's drummer. Other cultures, such as those in East Asia, are quite different. To a much greater degree than self-absorbed Americans and Europeans, they view the self as including family, community, and societal relationships. Such is the message of an interesting Philosophy Talk podcast that I…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth Science

Will Kurzweil’s “singularity” let us become immortal?

Shit! Along with a lot of other baby boomers, I bet, that was my instant reaction to the TIME magazine cover that shouted out "2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal" at me when I opened the mailbox a few days ago. Those of us who were born a few years after the end of World War II would be pushing 100 by the time immortality could be ours. Even before I read the cover story, I figured that (1) almost certainly I'll be dead by 2045, and (2) even if I wasn't, living forever in a worn out body/brain wouldn't…
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Posted inBooks Reality Spiritual practice/meditation

A religious or spiritual path is a metaphor — not reality

Metaphors are fun to play around with. Over on my other blog, I recently called the Oregon city where I live "a blandburger sandwiched between spicy Portland and Eugene." But Salem isn't really food. It's what it is: people, places, buildings, roads, parks, culture (and the lack thereof), plus so much else immediately cognizable stuff. Metaphors are a big step removed from the sort of reality that doesn't depend upon mentally connecting this, such as Salem, with that, such as the innards of a sandwich. I'm plugging away on reading a big thick book, "Philosophy in the Flesh," that I've…
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Posted inWu Project

How “Nothing” is the key to a meaningful life

I've never watched an episode of Seinfeld, but the theme of the show -- "nothing" -- appeals to me. In one way or another, this is what attracted me to my Wu Project, which is still bubbling along in its nothing-much fashion. Here's the thing, though: "nothing" still is something, when this notion is viewed as something special, something to be attained, something waiting around a meaning-of-life corner. Zen folks have a lot to say, via words or silently, on this subject. But I don't think there's any unique understanding of "nothing" here either, since Zen (and Buddhism in general)…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth Science

Near-death experiences are physical, as is meditation

I've finished reading Kevin Nelson's intriguing book, "The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist's Search for the God Experience." His focus is on near-death experiences. (I've previously blogged about the book here, here, and here.) The bottom line is that Nelson cites lots of research, which he combines with his extensive knowledge of how the brain works, to come up with a compelling explanation for the seemingly spiritual nature of what often happens to people on the edge of death. It's all physical. Natural. Brain-based. As is meditation. As is everything, so long as we are alive in a…
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Posted inBooks Christianity/Jesus

“Jesus Potter, Harry Christ” relates Hogwarts and Heaven

Who comes to mind when you think...? Magic father, human motherMiraculous birth, foretold by prophecyThreatened by an evil ruler, had to go into hiding as a babyPower over animals, time, and matterSymbolized by a lion, enemy symbolized by a snakeDescended into the underworldBroke seven magical sealsWent willingly to his deathSuffered and died (or appeared to die) willingly, was mournedCame back to lifeDefeated his enemy in a glorious final battle I'm no Biblical scholar. And I've never read the Harry Potter series. But I believe Derek Murphy when he says, early on in his book "Jesus Potter, Harry Christ," that there…
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Posted inReligions

Religion is the biggest joke — but with no punchline

What if you spent quite a bit of time doing something that was very serious and important to you? And then you came to understand it was a joke and useless. How would that make you feel? Probably, disturbed that you'd wasted so much effort on something so laughable. Yet also happy that you reached your realization before frittering away more of your life on a big bit of nothing. This is how I see religions now. As jokes, but without a punchline. Often a joke isn't funny until the very end. That's when we see the humor in the…
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Posted inBooks Spiritual practice/meditation

“All Things Shining” is a luminous philosophical read

If you're looking for a book that (1) discusses Western classics like Moby Dick and the Odyssey in a fresh and creative fashion, (2) points the way to a philosophy of life that navigates between the danger zones of religiosity and nihilism, and (3) was featured on a recent episode of The Colbert Report, there's only one choice: "All Things Shining," by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly, two heavy-duty philosophers (Kelly is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Harvard, but looks too young and clean-cut for this; where's the beard and pipe?) I'm not literary enough to be…
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Posted inReligions

No, Randi Rhodes, I can’t tolerate blind faith

This afternoon, all it took was a few minutes of listening to Randi Rhodes on Portland's progressive talk station (KPOJ) to get irritated by what she was saying. Usually it takes a bit longer, but eventually I always find Rhodes to be almost as difficult for me to listen to as Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage -- her ideological opposites. (See here, here, and here for my previous anti-Randi rants.) Today I tuned into her show as she was talking with an atheist caller. He said that he couldn't believe in any religion, or God, because…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Be selflessly selfish (as if you had a choice)

A few nights ago my wife traumatized me. She shook the foundation of my existence, which in no small part rests on a weekly filling up of our bathtub with steaming hot water, pouring a glass of red wine, and having a pleasant soak while reading the latest issue of People magazine. (How else am I going to keep up on celebrity weddings?) "Where's the People magazine?" I asked Laurel, wine in hand. "I left it at the athletic club," she told me. "I thought you'd read it." Instantly the bottom dropped out of my envisioned future. I couldn't believe…
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Posted inReality Science

Reality isn’t what we imagine, or remember

Most forms of religion, mysticism, spirituality, and philosophizing have a big drawback: they're wildly out of touch with reality. Of course, for those who don't care about living a truthful life, imagining an illusory world where Jesus saves, a guru enlightens, karma bites you in the butt during your next incarnation, or whatever, can be appealing -- since a believer can substitute warm and fuzzy concepts for whatever hard realities he or she wishes to deny. Those of us who are committed to experiencing life as honestly as possible have our own sources of solace, though. Since I'm a long-time…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

“Story of Suzie” shows absurdity of Jesus

Thanks to one of my favorite blasphemous blogs, Pharyngula, I got to watch the new version of the Story of Suzie. I found it especially enjoyable because Christians are upset that the video depicts them as delusional. Well, to me Suzie accurately reflects the craziness of Christianity. Have a look and see if you agree.
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Posted inBuddhism

Zen says the door is wide open (while we cling to bars)

As noted before, I keep re-reading Hubert Benoit's brilliant book about Zen, "The Supreme Doctrine." No matter how many times I ponder a page, a fresh understanding (or productive non-understanding) almost always pops into my psyche upon another perusal. This morning I re-read Benoit's chapter on The Immediate Presence of Satori. In the first few paragraphs he accurately captures the psychology of both spiritual seekers and humanity at large. My primordial demand to be a distinct being conditions all my desires and, by my desires, my hopes and my beliefs. Bearing this claim, I am the bearer of an aspiration,…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

“Selfless Insight” — intriguing, yet disappointing, Zen book

I didn't enjoy neurologist James Austin's book about Zen and neuroscience as much as I thought I would. My reading of "Selfless Insight: Zen and the Meditative Transformations of Consciousness" may show, of course, that I'm neither selfless nor imbued with enlightened (or kensho'ened) insight -- both of which I plead guilty to. Regardless, I expected that Austin would provide a clearer and simpler analysis of how Zen meditation and brain science relate. He's written two other books on this subject, this being the most recent, so perhaps "Selfless Insight" is more complicated than his earlier works. I was left…
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