(Chapter 5): The God Module (Humans)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Monday, August 01, 2011, 02:54 (4659 days ago) @ xeno6696

Literally just today I picked up a book on discount called "The Faith Instinct, How Religion Evolved & Why it Endures." -When you discuss in your book the writings of Wilson, Larson, and Witham.-One of the things I have experienced is a feeling of oneness with the universe. It is always fleeting, but at times I feel that I can almost feel the turning of another distant galaxy. -However, what kind of weight should I put on this occasional feeling when I meditate? Buddhism is largely esoteric; a core principle is precisely that nothing can really be taught within Buddhism. The practitioner must learn to harness the experience on his own. -But am I really coming into contact with "The Divine?" -No way. I'm having an experience that is firmly rooted in my own head--yes it has meaning for me, but its reality ends at the boundary of my perception; like when angry or surprised. I've played around with occult meditations in the past, and while I can agree that they are good at being able to put words/images to psychological states and they teach you to put some trust back in your instincts... the God-forms used are no more than tools to drive to psychological states. After reading the sections leading up to p.133 in your book, I can come to no other conclusion than that I actually HAVE had religious experiences. I just don't recognize anything that I would consider DIVINE in them...-You catch me in an interesting quandary. I want to continue to believe that I'm incapable of religious experience, but its entirely possible to me that the broad bursts of energy I feel when I meditate or write sections of song or novel are precisely this... -But what is a religious experience without religion?-However, as your book's point is NOT about my esoteric meanderings, I'll end this silly digression...

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\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"