From a site visitor: “In a recent post you questioned the advantages of being religious but it’s a known fact that religion has helped millions.”
F.: Well, the site does offer a link for “questions or comments,” so welcome. I greet you as a newcomer to the site since, if you’d been reading the postings from the very beginning, you’d not need to challenge that pointer. You would know that on the “journey” to Realization, spiritual and religious roles are the third of seven steps where the seeker can either fixate or pause. For those who fixate, they will remain trapped in those ego-states, and those with any degree of awareness know that there are no "advantages" to being trapped in ego-states. For those who only pause in their religious or spiritual stages, the opportunity is available to transition those false roles and move on to Full Realization. Now, your comment will be addressed. As always when this topic arises, it is suggested that those assuming religious or spiritual personas should fasten their seatbelts and try to stay on board for the entire discussion. First, the two types of “normalization” should be defined. Therapists attempt to “normalize” clients if the clients are thinking (and therefore behaving) “abnormally” (that is, behaving destructively and/or self-destructively as a result of insane thinking).
Advaitans are more concerned with the second type of barrier to Realization: “normalization” of this type is a form of mental illness marked by distorted thinking, faulty programming, and the influence of counter-productive enculturation. That type of “normalization” involves persons taking that which is not natural—which is abnormal in nature—and attempting to “normalize” it…to convince themselves that their abnormal thinking and abnormal behavior is actually normal. They mentally "normalize" the abnormal. Such distortion is at the root of what the Advaita teachings can remove, namely, that re-processing of something that is abnormal and thereby convincing one’s self that it is normal. (A typical example happens when a child grows up in a totally dysfunctional, abnormal family but—having seen nothing else by way of contrast—comes to believe that the dysfunctional and abnormal is the functional and the normal. Later, seeing examples of non-dysfunctional as well as normal situations, the same child will take the normal to be the abnormal and vice-versa.)
F.: Well, the site does offer a link for “questions or comments,” so welcome. I greet you as a newcomer to the site since, if you’d been reading the postings from the very beginning, you’d not need to challenge that pointer. You would know that on the “journey” to Realization, spiritual and religious roles are the third of seven steps where the seeker can either fixate or pause. For those who fixate, they will remain trapped in those ego-states, and those with any degree of awareness know that there are no "advantages" to being trapped in ego-states. For those who only pause in their religious or spiritual stages, the opportunity is available to transition those false roles and move on to Full Realization. Now, your comment will be addressed. As always when this topic arises, it is suggested that those assuming religious or spiritual personas should fasten their seatbelts and try to stay on board for the entire discussion. First, the two types of “normalization” should be defined. Therapists attempt to “normalize” clients if the clients are thinking (and therefore behaving) “abnormally” (that is, behaving destructively and/or self-destructively as a result of insane thinking).
Advaitans are more concerned with the second type of barrier to Realization: “normalization” of this type is a form of mental illness marked by distorted thinking, faulty programming, and the influence of counter-productive enculturation. That type of “normalization” involves persons taking that which is not natural—which is abnormal in nature—and attempting to “normalize” it…to convince themselves that their abnormal thinking and abnormal behavior is actually normal. They mentally "normalize" the abnormal. Such distortion is at the root of what the Advaita teachings can remove, namely, that re-processing of something that is abnormal and thereby convincing one’s self that it is normal. (A typical example happens when a child grows up in a totally dysfunctional, abnormal family but—having seen nothing else by way of contrast—comes to believe that the dysfunctional and abnormal is the functional and the normal. Later, seeing examples of non-dysfunctional as well as normal situations, the same child will take the normal to be the abnormal and vice-versa.)
“Normalizing” of the second type involves persons erroneously convincing themselves or others that their distorted views and beliefs and concepts are normal. In the example of a person who grew up with an elephant in the kitchen, he will “normalize” that experience and therefore believes that (a) it is normal to have an elephant in the kitchen, that (b) everyone has an elephant in the kitchen and that (c) if he is to be happy, he must find another who had an elephant in the kitchen as a child and who wants to live an adult life with an elephant in the kitchen as well. To “normalize” the abnormal is to guarantee the continuation of the abnormal. That brings us to the major religions of the world. Via their teachings about God, what totally abnormal behavior of their God do they “normalize” in their venues? How does the "normalization" of their god's abnormal behavior and "normalization" of his personality defects either consciously or unconsciously justify their abnormal behavior and normalize their defects? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]
