"By doing one learns; with study one refines; through dreaming one creates; in loving one fulfills--such is the secret art for tending to the perennial garden of our soul."
- don Oscar Miro-Quesada
What do you think of when you think of religion? Is it distinct from spirituality?
Or, are these just meaningless words?
Are you atheistic? I strive to be a-theistic. To be a-theistic is to be non-theistic with theistic meaning a particular religious philosophy. It's the same with being a-philosophical. It's to be without a conditioned mindset towards the world. To be a-theistic or a-philosophical is to be empty of preconditioned thoughts. This is the most spiritual and religious of experiences. Indeed, for those who dive deeply into spiritual matters, virginity is ultimately a state of emptiness. It is the mind in an unconditioned state.
The rule of thumb behind this is that to be nothing is to embrace all. This is experience, not belief.
For example, Jesus Christ says to be like a newborn infant. This is to be a virgin. It is also about expressing an a-theistic mindset. Does an infant have a philosophical or theological outlook on life? No, he or she is a-philosophical, a-theoretical and a-theological or a-theistic.
Meanwhile, as infant researchers realizes, an infant sees the entire world as Self. So did our ancestors.
Philosophical, theoretical and theological as I am using the terms here are one and the same. They are ideal-isms, meaning they are ideas. The idea(l)s we call isms are particularly dangerous. Isms breed schisms every time! (Maybe that's what's wrong with humanism!)
Ideas define the way you look at life. They are simply your thoughts about reality. Thoughts in relation to the Psyche (Mind or Soul) are like clouds in the atmosphere. They arise, sustain and dissolve into a clear sky or pour forth to nourish the earth. They also block your view of the immensity of the cosmos.
When do you get the best view of the universe? Clearly, it's at night when the light doesn't blind you to all that lies beyond. Is it on a cloudy night or one that is cloudless?
Again, thoughts are your clouds. Your ego is the sun. Could you go beyond these clouds, or allow them to dissolve into a clear black sky and discover that infinity is within you?
Ah, now you know the real purpose of meditation! It's to get rid of your cloudy mind! "Be newborn be free of yourself," Lao Tzu says in the Tao Te Ching. "Be like an infant", Jesus Christ responds upon seeing a woman breastfeeding a baby. Therein lies the first step in changing the world.
Being like an infant is the same as being a-philosophical or a-theistic. Most people are conditioned to see an a-theist as being a person who is not spiritual, or does not believe in God. This is mistaken. Since the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh or I AM, then can a person truly deny that he or she exists? God is the Self or Nature. As such, the word atheistic simply means being beyond thought or theology.
Can one say Nature or the Self is non-existent? Or could we say in our contrary mode, "If Nature/Self doesn't exist, how can you be reading this?"
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