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Seeking the Sacred

Posted By: Randy GageApril 5, 2013

The columns on organized religion and faith started a profound and fascinating discussion.   And raise the interesting question – what is the role of faith in a rational, healthy society?

We turn to religion and faith in an attempt to analyze and make sense of our lives.  We try to find some kind of meaning, especially when we face things like disease, natural disasters and death.

Faith is only helpful when it propels you toward the path of enlightenment.  The path of enlightenment is the path of possibilities – becoming the person you are capable of being.  Anything that takes you away from that is unhealthy, even evil.  Anything that takes you toward that is positive and empowering.

Most people are a conflicting mix of emotional perceptions, created by the memes they are infected with.  This causes them to develop core, foundational beliefs about all the important stuff: relationships, marriage, money, God, health and happiness.  These core beliefs function as a lens between them and the world – and it is through this lens that they create their goals and decide what kind of life they want to live.

Dogma, doctrines, rituals, myths, superstitions, emotional attachments, and sectarian institutions all stand between you and your greatness.   A positive religion is one that allows you to understand yourself and your place in the world in objective reality, without getting trapped in mysticism.

As I was flying here to Oslo, I read a fascinating article in the International Herald Tribune that really exemplifies how ludicrous the situation has become today.  It was detailing the problems Iranian president Ahmadinejad is facing because he is not religious enough for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other hardline clerics.

This is a man who insists the holocaust never happened, thought Hugo Chavez was a folk hero, and believes Israel should be bombed off the face of the earth.  But wanting to kill all the infidels doesn’t make him devout enough for the Muslim clerics – because he promotes direct relations with God, instead of going through them.  (It appears wholesalers everywhere get upset when the customer buys direct!)

There is without a doubt, a sacred and spiritual dimension to life.  And the exploration of that dimension using your rational mind is the real path to enlightenment.   While we can find many insights into this spirituality through ancient sacred texts, we can do so from the parables and metaphors, without a crazed belief that they are the literal word of God.

There are many “spiritual experiences “ we experience, quite grounded in science.  ( The "runner's high" and creating an alpha state through meditation are examples.)  And others that we can’t scientifically explain.  But that’s no reason to subscribe to sky God myths from centuries ago to seemingly explain them.  We should be able to be comfortable knowing there are some things we don’t know.  And seek those answers with a rational mind.

The greatest faith is an empowering one, and the greatest religion is a life well lived.

Thoughts?

-RG

15 comments on “Seeking the Sacred”

  1. Hi RG,
    Think. Do your beliefs hurt or help, restrict or empower? Think through why you do what you do, feel the uncomfortable feelings of "Uh Oh, looks like I lived so much of my life according to beliefs I really do not believe in," and reassess.
    You can change. You can see the blessing in the high energy loving messages shared through organized religion, and you can leave the low energy stuff behind. The Dali Lama said his religion is kindness. Follow this simple concept the best you can, and when twisted egos interject into your religious message, returned to this enlightened beings message of religion, and you should be good to go.
    If I am kind to everybody I meet, or shower loving kindness on anybody I read about - including the folks you noted above, who have lost their way - I live a complete life, because I feel good, render the best service to humanity, and yeah, as a result of this rendering and feeling good, I make money too. 
    Once I deviate from acting kindly, I suffer. My fault. Of course, thinking deeply, and looking beyond appearances, is part and parcel with being kind, because if you follow dogma, without thinking, you are as mindless as a dog, and hey I love dogs. Think. Through your whole day. Then learn to dig deeper, love people, accept them, accept the moment, be kind, and if you can make this your religion, well, you will have done all you can do in your short time on this planet.
    Thanks RG,
    Ryan

  2. Randy do you think that enlightenment can lead to religious faith? Or are we talking about too dis-similar paths...

  3. My good friend from high school is a Catholic nun. But she's not stuck in dogma. She weighs everything form the inside of herself... ~ Bess

  4. I would say that there are mindsets that are mystical in nature that allow people to have true freedom and I would add that its those same freedoms that allow people to have greater choice and flexibility in discovering who they are, what they do and why they are designed.  As a member of a group of people devoted to Self-Mastery we drive the bus to where the students want to go by allowing them to look inside themselves and see where those flaws are and how they can achieve greater freedom in who they are.  Those who are students of a mystical pathway know and understand how important it is to respect all nations, religions, and peoples, from wherever they come from and know we are all human and deserve greater prosperity and love.  I would say there are 2 paths in life that we can follow; 1 is one that allows the individual to live life and have everything they want and they second one is one that allows people to live a life devoted to a greater cause, one that is greater than themselves that goes beyond who they are into a mystical state from which we all came from.  Its all a matter of choice dont you agree....

  5. Wealthy and Abundant Life, I believe it can, if people remain rational and free from mind viruses.

  6. Hi Randy. I ran across one of your past blogs in which you discussed "poverty is sin". I was actually doing a research for hosting a guest on my radio show who has a similar view. I mentioned your blog and the comment of one of your responders on the show. You might want to check out our archived discussion http://www.talkzone.com/episodes/199/MWP040513.html#;. Maybe you wouldn't mind coming on and having a dialog some time also. Let me know if you want do please.

  7. Seems to me that part of the function of some / many organised religions is to actively discourage and obstruct the personal experience of our direct sacred, spiritual connection to Source / God(s) / All That Is - realizing and remembering that aspect of ourselves makes us far too powerful (for their liking) and much harder to control!

  8. To live a fulfilling life that allows me achieve my full potential it is necessary not only to let go of the beliefs that are not serving me and embrace the one that do... easier said than done ... but also to stop focusing on others and their mistakes and concentrate on myself. 
    I personally believe that my own reality is of my own creation or perhaps co-creation and that includes all those crazy sect with all those extreme beliefs, and all those fantastic people with all those cool ideas. The reality that I feed the most is the one that will grow more powerful in my life.

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  • 15 comments on “Seeking the Sacred”

    1. Hi RG,
      Think. Do your beliefs hurt or help, restrict or empower? Think through why you do what you do, feel the uncomfortable feelings of "Uh Oh, looks like I lived so much of my life according to beliefs I really do not believe in," and reassess.
      You can change. You can see the blessing in the high energy loving messages shared through organized religion, and you can leave the low energy stuff behind. The Dali Lama said his religion is kindness. Follow this simple concept the best you can, and when twisted egos interject into your religious message, returned to this enlightened beings message of religion, and you should be good to go.
      If I am kind to everybody I meet, or shower loving kindness on anybody I read about - including the folks you noted above, who have lost their way - I live a complete life, because I feel good, render the best service to humanity, and yeah, as a result of this rendering and feeling good, I make money too. 
      Once I deviate from acting kindly, I suffer. My fault. Of course, thinking deeply, and looking beyond appearances, is part and parcel with being kind, because if you follow dogma, without thinking, you are as mindless as a dog, and hey I love dogs. Think. Through your whole day. Then learn to dig deeper, love people, accept them, accept the moment, be kind, and if you can make this your religion, well, you will have done all you can do in your short time on this planet.
      Thanks RG,
      Ryan

    2. Randy do you think that enlightenment can lead to religious faith? Or are we talking about too dis-similar paths...

    3. My good friend from high school is a Catholic nun. But she's not stuck in dogma. She weighs everything form the inside of herself... ~ Bess

    4. I would say that there are mindsets that are mystical in nature that allow people to have true freedom and I would add that its those same freedoms that allow people to have greater choice and flexibility in discovering who they are, what they do and why they are designed.  As a member of a group of people devoted to Self-Mastery we drive the bus to where the students want to go by allowing them to look inside themselves and see where those flaws are and how they can achieve greater freedom in who they are.  Those who are students of a mystical pathway know and understand how important it is to respect all nations, religions, and peoples, from wherever they come from and know we are all human and deserve greater prosperity and love.  I would say there are 2 paths in life that we can follow; 1 is one that allows the individual to live life and have everything they want and they second one is one that allows people to live a life devoted to a greater cause, one that is greater than themselves that goes beyond who they are into a mystical state from which we all came from.  Its all a matter of choice dont you agree....

    5. Wealthy and Abundant Life, I believe it can, if people remain rational and free from mind viruses.

    6. Hi Randy. I ran across one of your past blogs in which you discussed "poverty is sin". I was actually doing a research for hosting a guest on my radio show who has a similar view. I mentioned your blog and the comment of one of your responders on the show. You might want to check out our archived discussion http://www.talkzone.com/episodes/199/MWP040513.html#;. Maybe you wouldn't mind coming on and having a dialog some time also. Let me know if you want do please.

    7. Seems to me that part of the function of some / many organised religions is to actively discourage and obstruct the personal experience of our direct sacred, spiritual connection to Source / God(s) / All That Is - realizing and remembering that aspect of ourselves makes us far too powerful (for their liking) and much harder to control!

    8. To live a fulfilling life that allows me achieve my full potential it is necessary not only to let go of the beliefs that are not serving me and embrace the one that do... easier said than done ... but also to stop focusing on others and their mistakes and concentrate on myself. 
      I personally believe that my own reality is of my own creation or perhaps co-creation and that includes all those crazy sect with all those extreme beliefs, and all those fantastic people with all those cool ideas. The reality that I feed the most is the one that will grow more powerful in my life.

    Leave a Reply to TheFirstbornSon Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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