Month: April 2015

GOD- IS THAT YOU?

Don’t blindly accept everything that others present to you; take charge of your life like a CEO and ask questions, particularly when faced with decisions involving sacrificing this life for the next.

No concrete evidence of life after death has ever been produced. Numerous theories exist, all based on assumptions, and they often demand blind adherence.

The nature of existence after death remains a mystery, as we are still in the process of evolution and not a finished product. Until we fulfill our potential, we must strive for further evolution. Since no one can return to elucidate the experience, we must expand our understanding, which requires effort. Concepts like God are challenging to grasp, so God should be regarded and accepted in the realm of the placebo effect—it works, but the mechanism remains unknown. Thus, atheists should not simply react to religions. Embracing our inherent incompleteness should foster humility and compassion. Conversely, relying on incomplete knowledge fueled by ego, pride, or honor obstructs our evolutionary progress.

It’s beneficial to employ a metaphorical basket. When encountering situations where understanding is lacking, place it in the basket and carry it with you. This not only helps manage ego but also cultivates inner peace. Recognizing our incomplete knowledge should foster humility and empathy. However, claiming complete knowledge leads to defensiveness and egotism. We can’t be egotistical about our incomplete knowledge; we are designed to evolve continuously. No religion, ideology, or human group can complete or hasten the evolutionary process. Just as building muscle requires lifting heavier weights, we must constantly push our limits to realize our potential. Claiming complete knowledge halts our pursuit and defies the laws of nature and God.

Today, cell phones boast unbelievable technology essential for daily life. Despite this progress, human vulnerability persists due to mortality and the complexity of life processes. We cannot attribute our achievements solely to ourselves, as everything operates through simple yet incredibly complex mechanisms. Even the use of cell phones hinges on the availability of oxygen. This alone should foster spiritual humility.

Ultimately, blind faith exerts a powerful influence on individuals, despite its enigmatic nature. We excavate tombs and graves of those who believed in an afterlife, yet the mystery endures. I personally believe in the spiritual realm without ego, employing my basket of the unknown while navigating daily realities. I prioritize the physicality of this life over the rules dictated by religious politics. Logically, physical realities take precedence over the unknown, making killing over hypothetical realities unjustifiable.

Part Two: “God – Is That You?”

Cemeteries dot every community worldwide, yet homelessness persists. The deceased retain ownership of land, while the living remain destitute. The irony is palpable: we turn to religions regarding life and death discussions, relegating these topics exclusively to religious discourse. Mortality is a universal reality and should be addressed at all community levels to prevent waste.

As humans, we bear the responsibility to contribute to humanity even after death. Owning land posthumously is more about emotions than practicality. Instead of visiting graves, consider donating to the needy in honor of the deceased, thereby contributing positively to the community.

We are born into humanity as physical beings, while our religious or national identities are products of intellectual education. Education should enrich our humanity; if it does the opposite, we must prioritize our human identity over all others.

Belief in or denial of God’s existence is facile; without comprehension or understanding, killing in the name of God is unacceptable. Using God for political ends is equally absurd. In my view, these actions stem from human imagination, individual insecurities, and the politics of belonging.

Human imagination holds immense power, capable of shaping beliefs and actions. Whether through fear, oppression, or suicide bombings, human imagination influences politics and societal dynamics. Religion offers prophecies and predictions about the future, yet their interpretations remain elusive. The existence of a spiritual world hinges on humanity; without human beings, spirituality loses meaning. If we eliminate the human element, the triangle of God, Devil, and Man collapses. If God represents good, the Devil evil, and Man judgment, then good and evil require human judgment. Without humans, neither concept holds significance. God committing suicide seems inconceivable, underscoring the integral role of humanity in spirituality. While some may perceive me as an atheist or non-Muslim, I believe in God and God’s prophets, albeit acknowledging their incomplete knowledge.

The phenomenon is intricately tied to human control, imagination, and the politics of fear. Religion promises rewards in the afterlife, providing comfort in this life. If religious teachings foster spirituality and humanitarianism, they serve a purpose. Conversely, if they lead to harm, they are counterproductive. Religious leaders should possess social work degrees to address mental health issues effectively.

Despite technological advancements and millennia of pursuit, we lack proof of God’s existence. If God fails to manifest despite religious promises, faith may wane. Viewing oneself as a cell of God fosters a sense of worth and purpose. We exist to serve humanity and God, not to drive ourselves to self-destruction.

Let’s transcend our insecurities and unite as humanity, belonging not to gangs, communities, nations, races, genders, or religions, but to God and humanity as a whole.

Regardless of your status, power, genetics, appearance, or job title, you are mortal. Everything achieved in life, even the seemingly impossible, is made possible by the simple act of breathing in life-giving oxygen. Acknowledging this spiritual truth prevents one from claiming undue credit and encourages humility and perspective.

While free will allows for decision-making, it is dependent on the oxygen we breathe. Sure, believing in or denying God’s existence is a personal choice, but the ability to think, function, and contribute to self and humanity suggests a deeper purpose.

Some may dismiss these beliefs as outdated or unfounded assumptions, but rejecting them is also an assumption. Embracing faith provides comfort and courage in facing mortality. Comfortable in one’s identity, humility and acceptance of others naturally follow. Egotism, often found in extremist factions of religions, signifies a lack of humility.

Optimism and hope for life beyond the mortal years enrich the quality of living years. Knowledge should alleviate fears and bring peace. Whether beliefs transition from assumptions to certainties depends on the individual. Belief in God, like love, operates in the realm of the unknown.

Belief in nothingness stems from ego, disregarding the significance of the oxygen provider. Embracing the unknown with a metaphorical basket acknowledges incomplete knowledge while striving for potential.

The ego’s desire for omniscience contrasts with the reality of continual learning. Scientifically proven medicine may not work universally, much like belief in God. Religious and constitutional frameworks must evolve to accommodate growth and potential.

Blind faith and religious politics foster arrogance, prejudice, and human rights violations. Killings based on belief systems are fueled by the politics of belonging. True belonging lies in humanity as a whole, transcending political and religious divides.

Unity in humanity could reshape the global landscape. Despite political boundaries, joint efforts combat global challenges like climate change and disease. Overcoming insecurity and prejudice, one individual at a time, can realize humanity’s potential.

Self-Doubt and Its Impact on Confidence

Self-doubt and related influences rob individuals of their confidence. If you constantly compare yourself to others who are more successful, or if you buy into religious teachings that portray humanity as inherently worthless or sinful, you may begin to feel inferior and without value. However, if you view yourself as a useful and integral part of God or humanity, you will begin to recognize your true self-worth. Each of us is like a working cell in the body of God, contributing to the ongoing spiritual and physical world.

Our education plays a crucial role in identifying the root cause of our problems (explanation below). How we view ourselves is strongly tied to our level of conformity. Many of our physical, mental, social, and spiritual problems can be resolved by stepping beyond the boundaries of conformity. The spiritual world knows no limits, just like space. While religions may claim depth like the ocean, becoming an extremist or radical turns religion into nothing more than a pond for yourself.

Security as an Illusion

How do men and women perceive security as the most important aspect of life? That perception creates boundaries. Yet, in reality, not even the air we breathe is within our control. The idea of security is an illusion, one we seek from others and that society constantly promotes. Yet, as mortal beings, we die from the inside out.

Today, we are rising up to take charge of our environment, social justice, and equality. Interestingly, religious groups, which are often conservative, don’t believe in taking charge due to their belief systems, yet they fight against change to the point of violence in defense of those beliefs.

God helps, but not without the help of humankind. Continuous bickering and differences of opinion are used openly and with pride, even if they lead to prejudice, racism, or ignorance. This attitude slows us from reaching our full potential. Simply put, you cannot stand at mile twenty and claim to know the details of a journey spanning one hundred miles that you have not yet traveled.

Standing on the Right Side of History

We must stand on the right side of history, especially when it comes to evolution and the betterment of humanity. Even our concepts of good and bad are changing for the better, but the speed of this transformation has been slow. We can do better.

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The Dead Dog: Addressing the Cause

Once there was a small community that dug a well for water and lived around it. One day, a dog fell into the well and died. No one noticed until the water began to stink, and everyone became concerned and gathered to investigate. A leader went down into the well and discovered the dead dog. The community looked to the mayor for guidance. He advised them to remove fifty barrels of water before resuming use but reminded them to remove the dead dog first.

As human beings, we are continually evolving. Our knowledge, like ourselves, evolves. Though we have been around for millions of years, we have always claimed to know everything there is to know. Yet, we continuously learn new things. We passionately claim to know God and even kill one another over the knowledge of God, but after thousands of years, we still have no clear proof of life after death or the true nature of God. All we have are assumptions. No one has returned from the afterlife with concrete evidence, like videos of the moon or Mars.

Religions and faith systems insist we believe blindly in whatever they preach. Until we have something concrete, we all have a one-way ticket. I believe in individual freedom, and no one should be forced to believe in whatever is popular in society, let alone be killed over their beliefs. Beliefs are highly personal and can be either beneficial or harmful to the individual. Society, governments, and religions carry on, but the individual has limited time to live.

Our understanding depends greatly on our ability to comprehend. If you are standing at mile twenty, you cannot predict what lies at mile one hundred—especially when it comes to knowledge of God. The “dead dog” in this spiritual problem is ego, pride, and honor. These three offspring of our sense of belonging are behind many of our social and personal problems. Therefore, the sense of belonging is the “mother problem”—the true dead dog of our conflicts.

Evolving Knowledge: A Metaphor

B.R. Hergenhahn wrote this about the brain, but I use his quote to describe the evolution of our knowledge. It applies to the brain, God, or anything we don’t yet fully understand. I’m using it to discuss our knowledge of God and life after death. In his book An Introduction to Theories of Personality, fourth edition, chapter one, page 12, he writes:

“Imagine yourself in a dark room where you cannot directly touch a complex object. As long as the room remains dark, you will know nothing about the object except that it is there. Now, suppose a faint light illuminates part of the object, allowing you to see some of it. You now know more than you did before, but much remains unknown. Then, another beam of light falls on the object, and another. You walk around, noting what has been illuminated. The more light beams, the more information you have, even though many beams show only part of the object, with some offering greater detail than others.”

Ideas come to human beings, including our holy men and prophets, to benefit the general population. It is then up to the people to either use this knowledge for their own good or harm.

The Freezing of Knowledge

When it comes to religion, why do we have “freezing caps”? It all relates to the politics of belonging. No one wants to be tied to the “wrong” knowledge, so everyone believes their ancestral knowledge is ultimate and correct. They believe they will go to heaven while everyone else will end up in hell. Whether hell exists or not, we are certainly creating hell on earth with our differences.

Since humanity is part of God, we have essentially given God an autoimmune disease. God is sick, and the cure lies in the hands of the individual. Are we up to the task of healing God by living together in peace? Can you take responsibility and speak out against your own sense of belonging and the politics that come with it? Can you stand against your own group, even if it goes against your religion? It is time to stand for humanity, not for our belonging groups.

It’s time to rise above the boundaries of our ponds, conquer the depths of the oceans, and set anchors in space. That is God’s vision for humanity. We must stop being caught up in territorial disputes and arguments over what happens after death. It’s time to wake up and recognize the void our disputes are creating. God would not want humanity to disappear—because that would mean suicide for God as well.