The Pure Mind

 With all respect to religion and philosophy it would seem that whether random events or predetermined suffering would cause harm to the human condition. Whether genetically coded or through suggestive conditioning. What we call fate or calling matters very little.
  We will abuse the word divine trying to explain what science has yet to uncover or the mystic has yet to reveal. Our imaginations ,our dreams and our aspirations should lead us in one direction. To seek the pure mind. Free of worry or fear or desire. We are lead through mazes of power struggles within the social circles and often cling to survival and comfort. The defining of absolutes or  unknowns can leave us forever in the maze or wilderness. The pure mind is at rest, at peace.

-Earl

Duality and Non-Duality

When studying the bible you cannot help but notice the switch from a duality to a non-duality posture. In the Abrahamic old testament and into the new testament teachings of Jesus this switch occurs.

In the days of Abraham it was taught we were separated from God , it was always a religion of sin and separation. In the teachings of Jesus - we are brought into a closeness the duality disappears. Jesus says I and the Father are one, we are one. All throughout the life of Jesus we are brought closer and closer to the Father. God becomes our Father who art in heaven, our guide to lead us.

Our salvation is actually the switch from a duality to a non-duality. We become children of light no longer children of darkness. The greatest gift is the Holy Spirit which comforts us and guides us. Many will say the greatest gift is eternal life and they may only be looking toward an afterlife. In the catholic church it is also taught the greatest gift is the Holy Spirit.

Why is the Holy Spirit so important?
The Holy Spirit comforts and guides us spiritually into a relationship with our God. This is the basis of the catholic teaching to bring us out of the dualistic into a non-dualistic experience. Sin and ignorance are no longer the path. The path is of grace and wisdom which brings us into becoming children of light.

In some religions only duality is taught where in the catholic and in the brahmin hindu faith non-dualism is taught. In Sikhism it is strictly a non-dualist approach as we are connected in the soul. The path Jesus taught was definitely non-dualistic , we are united - one with the Father. The Islamic teachings seem to keep us separated in a dualistic form , similar to Judaism. Some believe Abraham simply means not brahmin. When we think of an interfaith platform it needs to be understood the concepts of duality and non-duality are not the same.

We are to experience the Holy Spirit and it is not enough to know Gods name. Jesus said depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. He made it clear regardless of works done in his name or even miracles, we are to know the spirit within. We are to be one, not separated. Banging your head against a wall or shouting praise openly will not get you close to God. The kingdom of God is within you.

God is spirit, we have to worship God in spirit. When we study thought , divine thought it becomes clear. Our thoughts are not divine thoughts. Actually the brain is a trash bin of all the sensory input and this is normal , nothing to be guilty about. The mind however is to be pure mind and this gets confused with duality. Pure mind and duality are not the same thing. Meditation to me is taking time to read something inspiring or simply relaxing and experiencing these divine thoughts.

Going into a religious frenzy or beating the chest , begging all of this is not worship. The greatest praise is to become like a child and not a beggar. To become a son or daughter - similar to the story of the returning prodigal son- this is the relationship we should seek. How happy the father was when his son returned to be with him.


Peace.
Earl

Alzheimers and halos

We all have known a loved one or relative who experienced Alzheimer's. The symptoms may start out slow and gradually it becomes more noticeable. The person going through this seems to lose their memory of past experience. To me it would be like having your house burn down with all the pictures and moments of a lifetime completely destroyed.

This would be the case except for the halo or aura that surrounds each of us. The mind has another perfect image of our life embedded on that halo. We will all eventually lose our earthly body and the brain will dissolve like all other matter. If we think of the brain as merely an instrument to hold temporary data similar to the computers ram. Think of the halo or aura as the place that holds the permanent image of us. It has been known for eons that this halo exists and it was often portrayed as an angels head dress or that of a saint.

We see it in drawings and sometimes captured in a photograph.

What is the purpose of the halo?

If you have ever had an out of body experience it may be that you have temporarily made a connection with the halo. The halo contains a pure image of the mind outside of the body. It seems that some have such a resonance others can see their halo.

An elderly man once was upset that his wife had Alzheimer's. He thought she would not remember him in heaven and she seemed quite angry toward the end. The wife he grew to love and cherish actually became very playful and full of joy in the spirit before passing. Alzheimer is a disease of the brain and has no effect on the halo. The halo holds the pure mind and also can be used to communicate. In buddhism there is a place called the pure land outside of the body. My experience is it has something to do with this halo which surrounds us. The beauty of life is not lost in the last moments and is captured throughout.

When being in the presence of the holy spirit at first we may feel inadequate or filthy. Then we are touched and cleansed feeling the joy immediately returns to us. We are comforted by this loving presence throughout our lives and it is not taken away because of our weakness. Grace is something the christian experiences during weakness, it is this amazing grace that separates the christian experience from any other.

If you have suffered the pain of a loved one with Alzheimer's it would be good to know that their pure mind is still intact.

Peace and joy,
Earl.

Fog

Why is it important to understand fog? Many will reach a point where they seem to be in a fog neither progressing or regressing. 

This happens to all spiritual travelers and is very common. 

Liken this to driving your car in the fog. Have patience and maintain your speed. Keep your light on for others to see. Below the fog is a beautiful valley and above the fog is a wonderful view from the mountaintop.

In James chapter 4 it explains that life is like the morning fog. Here today and gone tomorrow. We also are reminded here of patience and waiting for the fog to lift. We are reminded that anxiety is often a result of our sight. The fog is always temporary and to realize that can make a difference in how we react. You will find out that the most successful people in business are able to hold on to their positions without regard to circumstance. Faith is about making decisions based on goals and determination not sight.

Being September - thought of the song september morn. One of the lyrics is we traveled halfway around the world to find ourselves. Perhaps fog is a temporary illusion in which we find ourselves.

Peace.

Earl.

the Rooster

We are reminded that in conscience before passing into death all debt should be paid. Even Socrates one of the greatest thinkers of all time reminded a friend to pay back a rooster that he had borrowed. It may have seemed like such a trivial thing - a rooster. Socrates also had many opportunities to flee - Yet he stood his ground in court and faced death as a philosopher that was not about to retreat. His most famous saying, " I know, I know nothing". That is realization in its finest.

In many religions karma is sort of a debt that is collected over lifetimes and need to be resolved. As a christian we believe this debt is impossible to pay and therefore Christ paid it for us. Do we use this as an excuse to disobey God. I found that 85% of the persons in prison claim christianity as their religion. That is a staggering number compared to most religions. You will find the next largest number is muslims , then native indians and jews - so religion does not seem to keep people out of prison. The lowest number very minute are actually Sikh and hindu. Of the highest number most are catholic then closely followed by protestant.

Is this a direct correlaton to the number of the population -No! Then why the large number of christians, muslims and jews  in the prison system. Perhaps they are not fully practicing their religion, on the contrary most come from a very religious background. They all believe in repenting for sin as an atonement and that they are forgiven and owe no debt.

My contention is that we should always be willing to pay back the rooster and do the right action regardless of religious teachings. If you borrow money- pay it back , religion does not give you the right to steal. This is a misconception held by many of those in prison, they have weakened their conscience. We are not given the right to kill and steal as chosen people. We need to live lives above reproach and within the law. When we see ,so called, religious beings committing violence in the name of God , it is even worse.

Is it because the Sikh are not really religious , they are spiritual. The hindu is not religious but spiritual, if you look closely, they are more serious about experience and practice. It also is true with the orthodox christians who are more concerned with spirituality and practice. There are some others within christianity that also have a believe in spiritual experience and practice. These are all in the smallest percent of prison population , there is a direct reflection of this in statistics. By their fruit you shall know them.

We need to achieve awareness to get closer to God , it is not just a matter of appeasing conscience.

Peace.
Earl.

Apocrypha

Recently I developed an interest in scriptural studies. For some reason I felt the need to study the Septuagint and the Apocryphal books used by some. Actually there were several greek versions of the bible and many did not survive the ages. In all 600 books were presented and only one tenth were put into the modern bible. Some are referred to as canon and other deuterocanonical depending on the conference in which they were approved. So, I spent some time reading the stories and trying to see if the book of wisdom and others actually contained divine wisdom. It appears in the old testament other books are mentioned in Numbers 23 the book of the War of Lords and found a few others.

What does all this mean will I be given extra credit for reading all the books possibly related to the christian world - probably not. Leave no stone unturned is usually the incentive. Actually my favorite book is you. I love people even more than any biblical book. In all my studies never put a book before a person. Jesus never wrote a book, buddha never wrote a book, Muhammad was said to have written the Quran even though he himself was illiterate - this in itself would be a miracle. Actually hindu scriptures were attributed to gurus - enlightened holy men. The scriptures written by the the various gurus used by the Sikhs are considered to be a guru , the final guru in a series of guru. I have read about two thirds of the Guru Granth Sahib which is very inspiring. To be honest it is very poetic and could be used for quiet meditation effectively.

We take great pride in our scriptures because they are the religious guidelines. Yet - many will not read the others books. If you are truly a student , it seems you will read every book produced by gurus or apostles or by men of wisdom such as Solomon, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle or saints. Even more important there is a common thread of universal truth in most inspirational books. Read your books but never put a book before a person, they are much more wonderful it seems. If you get a chance hold a newborn baby , it can make us tremble in amazement. The most memorable times in my life were holding my children and grandchildren in the moments following birth.

Peace.
Earl.

Potholes

 While exploring other religions there is a possibility of hitting a pothole. You may realize your own religion is bringing you into a stale personal relationship with your inner being. This is not good, Luke 17:22 Jesus said' the kingdom of God is within you'.  This almost sounds like something the buddha would say , in fact many of the sayings of Jesus are found in other religions. Wisdom of the ages can be found in all religions , including christianity.

Consider the universal principal of the Golden Rule;
Buddha: Consider others as yourself
Jesus: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Mohammed:  Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.  That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind.
The Talmud:  What is hurtful to yourself do not to your fellow man.  That is the whole of the Torah and the remainder is but commentary.
Egyptian Late Period Papyrus:  That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another.
Epicurus: Neither harm nor be harmed.
Confucius: Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.

And what about Love your enemy it also appears in every religion as a universal principle.

We find there are many of these universal truths that are at the top of everyones list.

So why are people changing churches and some even switching religions?

Because  they can.... Freedom of religion allows us to be whoever we want in this country, we are not forced into a state religion. To me this is a good thing , it keeps everyone on their toes. You cannot get away with indifference or prejudice as in the past. People are realizing there are other choices and becoming braver to make that change.

Honestly I feel at home in a catholic church or a lutheran church. In a baptist or a methodist church or independent church. Do not involve myself in the dogma and reach out spiritually. It to me is a matter of choice but you should not ever act indifferent toward another christian. It seems this spirit of indifference is driving some to other religions, a pothole. 

In spirituality we search for wisdom. to me that is God's will - to obtain wisdom. There are many that leave other religions because of the same reason- indifference. Indifference is to me like a pothole , it means you do not love your neighbor , or your enemy and rather show them indifference. You may not even love the members of another church with the same lettering. I have seen this a lot. 

We need to hold onto all universal truths first , and then settle your dogma or minor disputes outside. It is important that we realize that we are all created in the image of the divine regardless of beliefs. We are all different in faith and character but of the same creator. If you do not believe in a creator , we are of the same fabric. 

To some science and philosophy is enough , some like to have both science and spirituality. I personally am this way. My mind and I get along very well. The most important thing is to be content with your own mind before you can help others. Getting along in this life is important, avoid potholes , if you are content in your beliefs , build upon them. I built this house with Jesus as the cornerstone, and somewhere in that foundation is my own mind. We find it is very much like building a house.

Peace.

Earl.