Introduction
PART
1. Belief in God: A Critical Appraisal
1.1.
Criticism
1: When examined closely, "belief in God" is not generally
distinguishable from "doubt of God"
| 1.1.1.
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What do
we actually mean when we say: "I believe"? |
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| 1.1.2.
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Because
belief and doubt coincide, belief in God has had some profoundly
negative historical consequences |
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| 1.1.3.
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Religious
fundamentalism is missing a key component of true religion (and
true science): direct experience |
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| 1.1.4.
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The elephant,
the blind men, and tolerance: different religious traditions
represent different (partial) viewpoints on spiritual reality |
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| 1.1.5. |
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The ultimate
moral of the elephant and the blind men: find someone who can
see! |
1.2.
Criticism
2: The basis for "belief in God" is generally neurotic
| 1.2.1.
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Some
statistics on belief in God |
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| 1.2.2.
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Mortality
and belief in God |
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| 1.2.3.
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Belief
in God is a means for coping with a reality that otherwise seems
too harsh, in itself |
1.3.
Appropriate criticism of "belief in God" does not
mean that God does not exist
| 1.3.1. |
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Nor
does appropriate criticism of "belief in God" mean
that the implications of God's existence are not of critical
importance to humankind |
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| 1.3.2. |
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Nor
does appropriate criticism of "belief in God" mean
that those who doubt God or disbelieve in God are any less neurotic
than those who believe in God |
1.4.
We live in a God-impoverished culture, and consequently don't know
of a better choice than "belief in God". Hence we settle
for believing in God rather than finding God
1.5.
Criticism 3: The fruits of believing in God are nothing compared
to actual Spiritual Realization
1.6.
However, there IS a natural and appropriate time and place for belief
in God: at the very beginning of a genuine spiritual practice
PART
2. Practicing the Revelation of God
2.1.
The varieties of "spiritual" experience
| 2.1.1. |
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What
goes by the name, "spiritual experience", vs. what
is actually Spiritual |
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| 2.1.2. |
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The
inspirational force of experience and the binding force of experience |
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| 2.1.3. |
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The
Revelation or Transmission of God is filtered through our own
archetypes (personal or cultural) |
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| 2.1.4.
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Spiritual
experiences are, at best, a side effect of the actual Spiritual
process to be enjoyed and endured, and, at worst (if misunderstood),
a fascinating and binding sidetrack from the actual Spiritual
process |
2.2.
The nature of Reality
| 2.2.1.
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Reality
is NOT fundamentally objective in nature; it is fundamentally
Subjective. |
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| 2.2.2.
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God,
the Divine Consciousness, is Perfect Happiness |
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| 2.2.3. |
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God
is the Source of all of this but not its Creator |
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| 2.2.4.
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There
is no actual inherent separation between God and human beings |
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| 2.2.5.
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We
are not aware of God right now only because of something we
are unconsciously doing (an act of self-contraction) in every
moment |
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| 2.2.6. |
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Because
of this separative act of self-contraction, we end up identifying
with a limited, mortal body-mind, and suffer all the limitations
of that restricted identity |
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| 2.2.7.
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This
mistaken identification leads us to presume our greatest potential
is to make this body-mind feel better, and so that is how we
tend to pass our lives, instead of finding out how to be restored
to our original Divine Identity, and engaging the practice that
brings about the real and eternal freedom of that restoration |
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| 2.2.8.
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Not
because of any unfolding Divine Plan, but because of the inherent
connection between God and beings, combined with Graceful circumstances
that arise once in a rare while, a Spiritual Master appears
in human form, who steadily transmits the Revelation of God
in a manner that is completely tangible to all human beings
who discover the Master. |
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| 2.2.9.
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Through
a spiritual practice concentrated in contemplating the Divine
Transmission of the Spiritual Master, the apparently separate
being is led progressively but inexorably to the understanding
and transcendence of the self-contraction, and the Awakening
to the Divine Identity |
2.3.
The nature of Realization
| 2.3.1.
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Common
views of human potential and destiny |
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| 2.3.2.
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The Perfect
Realization and the Ultimate human Potential and Destiny: The
Perfect Happiness of "There Is Only God" |
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| 2.3.3.
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Unlike
a mere experience, a Realization of any degree involves a fundamental
and permanent shift in one's sense of Reality |
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| 2.3.4.
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God-Realization
involves a specific sequence of permanent shifts in identity
(each less restrictive than the last) until the Ultimate Divine
Identity (with no limitation whatsoever) is Realized |
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| 2.3.5.
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God-Realization
also involves a deepening in self-understanding and self-transcendence
(since it is the unconscious activity of self-contraction that
is keeping one locked in one's currently limited sense of Reality) |
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| 2.3.6.
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Realization
involves feelingly discriminating between God and "self" |
2.4.
The nature of genuine Spiritual practice: the relationship with
God as mediated by the Spiritual Master
| 2.4.1. |
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The need
for a Spiritual Teacher |
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| 2.4.2.
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The need
for a Spiritual Transmission Master |
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| 2.4.3.
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The need
for a HUMAN Spiritual Master |
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| 2.4.4.
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The need
for a LIVING Human Spiritual Master |
Conclusion
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