If you’re like me, you find it difficult to comprehend concepts that are not overtly logical or tangible to form; in other words, ideas which have no solid basis in the realm of human understanding, such as spirituality and the awareness of the human soul. The soul, inner energy, life force, God, Self, or however you prefer to name it, has no form, gender, personality traits, etc; it is simply inconceivable to our minds which prevents many people from exploring spirituality and other such beliefs.
As humans we believe that we are born, live a mediocre life if we’re lucky, and then die. The soul is infinite, however, which we cannot understand. Therefore, contemplating its existence can be confusing, frightening or seem just plain pointless; regardless, I would urge everyone to ask themselves what they believe. The worst that can happen is that nothing changes and you go about your business, continuing your average to shitty life; the best that can happen is that you tap into some awareness and gain new insight about who you are and what you want. Either way, everyone can admit that humans tend to experience frustration which originates from misidentification with the material crap they own or don’t own but want, what they look like and the clothes they wear, what they do for work, hobbies, etc., who they are with or who they know, what they’ve done in the past and what they plan to do in the future. These are things that surround our lives, but they do not define who we are. They cannot make us permanently happy because they are all transient by nature.
Don’t get me wrong, I was skeptical at first as well. My initial thought when I began to delve into these topics was ‘this shit is crazy, there is no such thing as inner happiness and peace, it can’t possibly be that simple!’ Then I realized that the truly crazy thought was, in fact, that I was actually afraid of gaining inner peace and happiness. To be human is to suffer, that is all we know, so a life without such things isn’t possible, right? But it was certainly appealing to think that all the power I needed to change, be happy, and lead a fulfilling life was already inside of me, completely inherent; it takes the guesswork out of where to look since I’m not sure how to get to Narnia or Middle Earth. That’s when I thought, ‘oh no, people will think I’m some kind of crack-pot and I won’t be able to relate to anybody anymore, subsequently alienating my friends and family.’ Well I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really felt like anyone truly understood me anyway, my family has to love me whether they think I’m crazy or not, friends who question our relationship based on my beliefs are not true friends; and most importantly, I don’t need to share my new insight! The process of self-discovery is completely my own, and that realization in itself brought me a degree of inner peace.
So why am I sharing it now? It occurred to me that people don’t know what questions to ask, or how to understand the answers once they get them. Therefore, I will attempt to shed light on spirituality in a way that makes sense to me; by relating it to concepts that I already understand. Because of my educational background, I tend to do so in contexts of biological processes. Ask my best friend how she liked the Maid-of-Honor speech I delivered at her wedding; it compared the purity of true love to the process of re-crystallization, it was an absolute show-stopper, literally. So stay tuned as I teach you about both biology and self-awareness in upcoming articles such as “Thoughtful Diffusion”, how to practice control over compulsive thinking and learning to let go of destructive thoughts by understanding the natural process of diffusion, “Spiritual Mechanics” which compares your body to a car and begs the question: why do you let crazy people drive it?, and “The Breaking Point”, a riveting tale of catalysts and the effects of life’s major changes.
I don’t care what belief system you chose; from the Torah to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, be open to the suggestion that there is something greater within yourself than the everyday shit that happens to you, the aging body in which you find yourself and the constant stream of thoughts and emotions that can sometimes convince you that you are completely losing your mind, or at least your control over it. Read what I have to say first, and then you can tell me if I’m full of shit.
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