http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye/browse_thread/thread/578544569f95107a/3e4e48a408b3ca17?#3e4e48a408b3ca17
develop cultures, and these cultures, among other things, try to
interpret the universe around us, the purpose of our existence; they
also try to provide guidelines for happy living, and attempt to
understand the nature of our consciousness (is it some form of 'energy'
that can't be perceived? Is it a 'soul'?).
Regardless of culture, the need to interpret, and to find some sense of
purpose is obviously a fundamental human trait. As we do this, we
develop rules for living a joyous life. Which is the right
interpretation? Can a poem, a painting or a song be categorized as
having a 'right' interpretation? It's just an interpretation which, in
the end, is what spirituality is: just an interpretation. The
interesting thing is that independent of cultural interpretations, the
rules for a happy life, which are essentially conclusions drawn from
these interpretations, are almost identical. If your particular
interpretation allows you to achieve the goals that are important to
you, to feel good about yourself, to see your value (and thus the value
of others), to socialize, to ponder, to just live a happy life wihout
denying anyone else's right to the same, then you've got yourself a
good religion.
A note on organized religion: the texts of ALL major religions contain
similar messages that are intended to guide us towards a happy life.
If we can understand them, then understand how and when to apply them
in everyday life, barring natural disasters, everything should be
great. Since these are all valid interpretations, it's when you get a
particular group claiming their way is the only way that you have to be
careful: this can result from a desire for power, or from a need to
feel special or superior (which points to an inferiority complex:
you're special cause you're YOU dammit).
Gradually heading back to my main point, here's the foundation for my
religion, which stems from what I've experienced, deduced and felt:
I look inside myself and I see three things I understand and one that I
don't: I understand my emotions, my memories and my thought processes,
but all these are like waves crashing on a shore that is of an
incomprehensible nature. Awareness. I am not my emotions, nor
memories nor thoughts, but I can perceive and exert control over all
three, using one to control the other, but my awareness, my individual
essence, is something I can't even begin to understand. What are we?
I am that which allows me to KNOW that I am (nothing new; Descartes "I
think, therefore I am"), but what, exactly, is that? I think that if
we could answer that question, we wouldn't have anymore.
Maybe science can provide some answers someday...Maybe there's an as of
yet invisible connection between the universe without and the one
within, maybe they give rise to each other... and I'm getting carried
away by my need for answers.
My 'rules for a happy life' are derived from my perceptions above, and
are obviously exhaustively long, so I won't list them except for this,
which coincidently matches one from the Bible (though I'm not a
Christian) regarding this particular facet of life, illustrating my
earlier point about all this just being interpretations leading to
similar conclusions:
Lord, give me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity the
accept those I cannot, and the wisdom to know the diff. My personal
wording was different when I realized the above and how to apply it in
life, but the meaning was exactly the same.
SO, the real question is: what is your personal interpretation of the
world around you and the one within? And for a little extra on the
side, why do we have a need for spirituality? Why was this, along with
ethics and whatnot, hardwired into us? What the HELL is going on?" | Show original |
