on someone else’s opinion once again?
The views expressed here may be confrontational, in that I am asking you to accept an unconventional view of Man’s place in the scheme of things, that not only offers an alternative non-dogmatic approach to living, but also has the advantage of allowing a greater degree of freedom of thought, thereby allowing for new truths as they arise, and providing a continuing level of certainty about our lives.
It will be apparent throughout this book, that I am also asking you to express your opinion on the various matters raised about the basis for living your life, and this is the important aspect – it’s your life, what do you think about it all?
It is hoped that the result of all this is a more balanced and sensible approach to life, with less fear and superstition to daunt you, and an increased ability to embrace whatever lies ahead.
Some of the views put forward here are similar to those of a group of writers and thinkers who lived during the 17th and 18th centuries and included such notables as Rousseau, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and others.
But as you will see from the following, this similarity just confirms the fact that anyone today can arrive at a better understanding of a more factually based philosophy, if the time is taken to do so. However, we should always leave room for the point that some things just are – we can’t know everything. There is always the possibility that we will know and understand more tomorrow and be able to benefit from it, if we have the wit and opportunity to do so.
This work is in four parts and discusses the concepts of the existence of an Inner Self, Mind-Body Healing, Death, Spirituality, concepts of the Past, Present and Future, and proposes a basis for a philosophical and scientific reconciliation. It also suggests that history shows that God, as the Supreme Spirit who has endowed Mankind with an indestructible spirit, is probably quite indifferent to what happens to physical Man.
Finally, as all of these matters are interrelated and together are a part of the whole, keep in mind that they can’t be dismissed because a particular aspect is inconvenient or nonconformist in its nature.
Part One is a brief reminder of the development of tribal authority, the appendage of various religious beliefs to the tribe, the arrival of t h e b a s i s for t o d a y ’ s m o d e r n religions, and the part they have played in developing the world’s thinking to date, to illustrate the problem of trying to ascertain the truth of the matter.
Finally, in this section, you are asked to step aside from these points of view in order to consider Parts Two, Three and Four.
Part Two explores alternative thinking about the Self, and starts afresh to examine the individual’s make-up. It also includes a discussion about meditation, body-mind interaction and healing.
Part Three offers a discussion of a different approach when examining the make-up of the individual and provides reasons for adopting particular points of view or conclusions. For example, is there more to Man than what he sees in the mirror, and given that this is so, what form does that entity really take and, who, or what is that entity thinking about this? It also discusses the subject of Death and Beyond and offers comments about the need for grieving.
Part Four looks at the relationship between Science and Philosophy. The concept of a God, independent of man-made religions, will be of general interest, especially to those who have adopted an anti-religious viewpoint, such as Atheism or Agnosticism, who, if you like, may have a secular sacred view rather than the existing religious sacred views.
In these writings, my task was to look at the world as it seems now, rather, than as it might have seemed ages ago, and to formulate an overall concept of how it actually operates to function as a living system, taking into account the probability of the existence of spiritual entities, and the variables that have to be accommodated from time to time.
It is proposed that the underlying principle of our existence is that the one constant that applies throughout the universe is energy. Everything on Earth, including the Earth itself, can be related to its individual quotient of energy and it is suggested that this is the key to the beginning of an understanding of Mankind’s relationship with God.
This viewpoint requires that we venture into a discussion on a wide variety of related subjects to establish the point of view, and your indulgence is required where this seems a bit tedious.
This discussion will include many questions, such as does spiritual energy exist, and does it obey the same empirical rules of the laws of physics that we are in the process of discovering, or, is this a separate form of energy with different rules? Perhaps the laws of physics, we know, are just a part of a greater set of laws yet to be ascertained.
If this is so, then perhaps the concept should be considered that Man is really a spiritual energy being, who has to go through the process and appearance of being born as a physical being as a natural part of the process of changing into a spiritual being at death. This might be considered too speculative, but shouldn’t we be looking at our lives with this as an actual possibility, or even a probability? Even if you dismiss this idea as too fanciful, you will probably agree that, on reflection, it provides answers to a few questions that have been problematical for centuries.
Each individual must decide for himself the importance of the matters raised. For example, what’s the yardstick by which you will live (and die)? This is a very personal decision that no-one else can make, or should make for you. It’s your life and you only have one attempt at it, so shouldn’t you be giving this much more serious thought?
It should be kept in mind that as these decisions are of fundamental importance to each of us, each person’s feelings are the important matter here, and each of us has an unknown amount of time left to sort these out. It may be later than you think.
When considering these matters you may feel it necessary to question authoritative statements attributed many years ago. Who said that something was so? How do you know that he said it, or wrote it? Is it based on somebody else’s word or opinion,that that person said or wrote it?
Again, how do you know that this person heard or read these comments? If it’s something that was translated from another language, can it be tested today to establish its reliability? The questions seem endless and may not be fully answerable now, but they are there to be considered.
These difficulties are referred to more fully in later pages but it is undoubtedly reasonable to say that if a ‘truth’ is no longer true then it must be regarded, perhaps at best, as a conditional truth and thus be subject to change. It cannot be a part of the yardstick referred to above.
You may also agree that it is quite reasonable to ask where are the writings of recent confirmed conversations between God and Mankind. Is this a measure of Man’s progress, that he has lost his ability to communicate at this level, or has God decided to sit back and leave him to be responsible for his own destiny?
So, with all of this in mind, am I saying that all tenets of religions are false? No, but what I am saying is that Mankind’s greed for power over the centuries has muddied the waters to the extent that no-one really knows the answers, and many hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost in the struggle.
While existing religions have served their original purpose of promoting the concept of the existence of a greater power than Mankind, we should now re-assess these and base our decisions on the most reliable basis we have – that is, of reason and implications based on true knowledge. It is each person’s responsibility to carry this out as much as he is able.
