From a site visitor: [Received 10 June 2007] Today you said history shows religion leads to separation and judging and even killing. That’s not true. For me, my religion leads to peace and power. I stay in conscious contact with Him with prayer all day, every day, and He empowers me and gives me guidance and peace so I can be happy for as long as by His grace I am allowed to live. I hope you can find your way to Him so that you can have peace in this life and joy forever. Signed, John (as in 3:16)--A Child and Agent of God
F.: Yesterday, it was shown how your religion is based in duality and that your own prophet said, “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways.” Thus, the words of your own prophet guarantee that—trapped in the duality of your dogma—you will be guaranteed to be "unstable in all ways." You cannot compartmentalize the instability that results from your dualistic thinking and only be unstable on Sundays, for example. Next, persons who are unstable develop personality disorders and mental illnesses. Your words reveal that at least two of those illnesses have manifested in your case.
In order to be restored to sanity, you might first inquire into the ways in which professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, treat those like you who are engaging in “auditory locutions with a being or beings from another world.” In the book SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY: Recovering What Religions Lost, Dr. Jeffrey A. Schaler is quoted as he discusses “psychosis,” a condition in which persons fail to differentiate between the symbolic (abstract) and the real (concrete). He said:
People are labeled psychotic when they refer to mental representations as if they were substantive and real. One example [involves taking] the 'voice of conscience' as the literal voice of another being, known as 'hearing voices.' The failure to differentiate between the symbolic and the real may be intentional (artistic license) or strategic (lying) or the result of a cognitive inability to differentiate between fantasy and reality.
The third case is likely yours, John, since supernatural thinking and supernatural living are based in fantasy and in magical thinking rather than being in touch with reality and living naturally. Schaler also discusses another illness that can generate belief in illusions:
Schizophrenia is said to be characterized by hallucinations, i.e., self-reported imaginings. Belief in God is a socially acceptable, self-reported imagining. Another example of self-reported imaginings, i.e., hallucinations, is the popular belief in the existence of angels. This belief is considered normal by mentally “healthy” people. Belief in the existence of aliens is considered abnormal and is a sign of mental illness. Yet, insofar as angels and aliens are both hallucinations (that is, self-reported imaginings), there is no difference between believing in angels and believing in aliens. When self-reported imaginings conflict with socially accepted norms of belief, speech, and behavior, the claims are considered psychotic. When self-reported imaginings are consistent with socially accepted norms of belief, speech, and behavior, the claims are considered normal.
Thus, that which is abnormal is now considered normal among the deluded masses, and that is the obstacle that seekers face when trying to break free of the bondage of enculturation and the nonsense circulated as truth via their culture's programming and conditioning. For more, visit http://floydhenderson.com/spiritualsobriety.htm
More revealing, might the truth be that your beliefs, your concepts, and your ideas are not really “yours” at all? You unquestioningly believed "them" when they told you that there is an unseen being that knows if you are sleeping and knows if you're awake and knows if you've been good or bad and who will bring your presents. You believed that tale with unswerving faith, and even after they admitted that they had lied to you about Santa, you now have unquestioning faith in their next tale about another unseen being that watches over you and knows if you've been good or bad and gives you the gifts of power and guidance when you're good.
F.: Yesterday, it was shown how your religion is based in duality and that your own prophet said, “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways.” Thus, the words of your own prophet guarantee that—trapped in the duality of your dogma—you will be guaranteed to be "unstable in all ways." You cannot compartmentalize the instability that results from your dualistic thinking and only be unstable on Sundays, for example. Next, persons who are unstable develop personality disorders and mental illnesses. Your words reveal that at least two of those illnesses have manifested in your case.
In order to be restored to sanity, you might first inquire into the ways in which professionals, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, treat those like you who are engaging in “auditory locutions with a being or beings from another world.” In the book SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY: Recovering What Religions Lost, Dr. Jeffrey A. Schaler is quoted as he discusses “psychosis,” a condition in which persons fail to differentiate between the symbolic (abstract) and the real (concrete). He said:
People are labeled psychotic when they refer to mental representations as if they were substantive and real. One example [involves taking] the 'voice of conscience' as the literal voice of another being, known as 'hearing voices.' The failure to differentiate between the symbolic and the real may be intentional (artistic license) or strategic (lying) or the result of a cognitive inability to differentiate between fantasy and reality.
The third case is likely yours, John, since supernatural thinking and supernatural living are based in fantasy and in magical thinking rather than being in touch with reality and living naturally. Schaler also discusses another illness that can generate belief in illusions:
Schizophrenia is said to be characterized by hallucinations, i.e., self-reported imaginings. Belief in God is a socially acceptable, self-reported imagining. Another example of self-reported imaginings, i.e., hallucinations, is the popular belief in the existence of angels. This belief is considered normal by mentally “healthy” people. Belief in the existence of aliens is considered abnormal and is a sign of mental illness. Yet, insofar as angels and aliens are both hallucinations (that is, self-reported imaginings), there is no difference between believing in angels and believing in aliens. When self-reported imaginings conflict with socially accepted norms of belief, speech, and behavior, the claims are considered psychotic. When self-reported imaginings are consistent with socially accepted norms of belief, speech, and behavior, the claims are considered normal.
Thus, that which is abnormal is now considered normal among the deluded masses, and that is the obstacle that seekers face when trying to break free of the bondage of enculturation and the nonsense circulated as truth via their culture's programming and conditioning. For more, visit http://floydhenderson.com/spiritualsobriety.htm
More revealing, might the truth be that your beliefs, your concepts, and your ideas are not really “yours” at all? You unquestioningly believed "them" when they told you that there is an unseen being that knows if you are sleeping and knows if you're awake and knows if you've been good or bad and who will bring your presents. You believed that tale with unswerving faith, and even after they admitted that they had lied to you about Santa, you now have unquestioning faith in their next tale about another unseen being that watches over you and knows if you've been good or bad and gives you the gifts of power and guidance when you're good.
The ease with which persons can be programmed to believe the most outlandish tales would be humorous if it were not for the fact that the end result is all of the insane-like behavior and misery and suffering and killing that mars the relative existence because of the sleepwalkers who are walking about the planet while doing things in their sleep, talking in their sleep, and spreading their tales in their sleep.
Might you be able to find which persona, which assumed identity that has resulted from the corrupted consciousness, generated the e-mail above? Might you be able to find why you think those guiding voices in your head are being spoken by a being from another world? Might you be able to understand how it is that you came to believe what you believe and why the above illnesses have manifested?
If you find what you were before conception and where you were in the weeks prior to conception, you will find that “you” were not born at all. And if you find that you were not born, you might give up the notion that you are “born again” (even as those adhering to the teachings of other religions can give up the notion that they will be born again and again and again). You’ll also understand that, if you were not born, you cannot die, even as you understand that there will be no continuity for the body or “mind” or personality.
Since you are not in touch with reality, you will likely give no consideration to being in touch with reality. Like a six-year-old who has been told that he was lied to about Santa, you want to cling to your magical beliefs in the hope of continuing to get your "rewards" (such as "power" and "guidance," in your case.) Those who are more willing, however, can begin the “journey” to sanity, to being in touch with reality, to being able to differentiate the symbolic from the real, and to being able to distinguish reality from fantasy. That is what the Advaita Teachings can bring into being, after all. As far as your religiosity or holiness or spirituality, Maharaj dismissed all of that when he said:
"Whatever spiritual things you aspire to know are all happening in this objective world, in the illusion. All this is happening in the objective world. All is dishonesty. There is no truth in this fraud."
By the way, should you ever consider taking this “journey,” understand that it cannot begin by writing to this site to question the consciousness that speaks herein or by any acts of questioning “other” Advaitins or by seeking out people and trying to force your beliefs on them. The “journey” begins by questioning your self, by questioning what others taught you, by making an honest and impartial appraisal of all of your beliefs, your concepts, your ideas and your notions about who you are. And at the "journey's" end is freedom from all of "their" limiting beliefs and the ability to relax into the bliss of the nothingness...the bliss of zero concepts and zero false personas. Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
THE FEATURED BOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS (which identifies problems and their causes and offers suggestions for creating healthier relationships—relatively speaking). 15% off through June 17th.
Click CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS
If you find what you were before conception and where you were in the weeks prior to conception, you will find that “you” were not born at all. And if you find that you were not born, you might give up the notion that you are “born again” (even as those adhering to the teachings of other religions can give up the notion that they will be born again and again and again). You’ll also understand that, if you were not born, you cannot die, even as you understand that there will be no continuity for the body or “mind” or personality.
Since you are not in touch with reality, you will likely give no consideration to being in touch with reality. Like a six-year-old who has been told that he was lied to about Santa, you want to cling to your magical beliefs in the hope of continuing to get your "rewards" (such as "power" and "guidance," in your case.) Those who are more willing, however, can begin the “journey” to sanity, to being in touch with reality, to being able to differentiate the symbolic from the real, and to being able to distinguish reality from fantasy. That is what the Advaita Teachings can bring into being, after all. As far as your religiosity or holiness or spirituality, Maharaj dismissed all of that when he said:
"Whatever spiritual things you aspire to know are all happening in this objective world, in the illusion. All this is happening in the objective world. All is dishonesty. There is no truth in this fraud."
By the way, should you ever consider taking this “journey,” understand that it cannot begin by writing to this site to question the consciousness that speaks herein or by any acts of questioning “other” Advaitins or by seeking out people and trying to force your beliefs on them. The “journey” begins by questioning your self, by questioning what others taught you, by making an honest and impartial appraisal of all of your beliefs, your concepts, your ideas and your notions about who you are. And at the "journey's" end is freedom from all of "their" limiting beliefs and the ability to relax into the bliss of the nothingness...the bliss of zero concepts and zero false personas. Please enter into the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
THE FEATURED BOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S SALE IS CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS (which identifies problems and their causes and offers suggestions for creating healthier relationships—relatively speaking). 15% off through June 17th.
