I’d argue it’s not religion It’s lust for certainty where problems begin. Faith is belief in something unknown. Something you choose to believe. Denying you don’t really know, and surrounding yourself only with like-minded people, doesn’t make something known. Why should it? How can it? That self-deception may be cosy for a while. But it easily leads to demonising of anyone does not embrace the party line. And banishment of those who dare to question.…

Given the context that an individual has already freely chosen to embark on the spiritual quest to understand self and God, it may be in the initial stages that their motivation for perseverance comes mainly from fear of failure. And therefore enlightened teachers may speak that language for the sake of helping such neophyte practitioners stay with the plan. And that such preaching may justify the use of white lies because it serves the neophyte…

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix documentary) When Norwegian gamer Mats Steen died at age 25, his parents mourned what they thought was an isolated life. It was only once they had access to his blog that they discovered the deep friendships he created virtually before passing away from a degenerative muscular disease. They were unaware that Mats had long been leading a vibrant digital life that had left a profound impact on a community…

Regardless of how spiritually aware my guru might be, their reality is not my reality. Therefore, for me to accept what they tell me of their reality in place of my own is necessarily a faith thing. There may be a variety of reasons I have that faith … gut feeling, philosophical resonance, reasoning, the experience of being in the presence of such a person etc, etc. When you are a follower, rather than someone…

The main problem with denying ones divinity is that one tends to think of their suffering in terms of ‘why me?’, or ‘I’m being punished from transgression of some pre-defined code of acceptable conduct’, whereas ‘how does this serve me?’ becomes more the mindset when self-divinity is accepted. Perhaps that is why Bhagavad-gita 2.15 states yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate O best among men [Arjuna], the person who…

You are a soul with a body. Immediately I heard this idea, it made perfect sense, resonated as truth, and changed everything for me. But when I shared this – what was for me a profound revelation – I was surprised that most people rejected it out of hand. 40+ years later I still find this to be the case. Why does this explanation of self not appeal to so many? And most people who…