One needs only to scroll down the titles and peruse the content of my recent posts to know that I have been really struggling to make sense of things lately. Battling between mind and heart and trying to find clarity amidst two different paths that seem to call me both to them with nearly equal strength.
The following I wrote a few days ago in my online journal. I believe I have been really battling with my skepticism for some time now. It has been an aid for me for sure in the past. It has helped slough off layers of misconceptions that clouded my perception of things and was key in bringing me into awareness of the attachments that I needed to let go of at the time in order to pursue the truth more rationally. But then I believe it kept taking off layers that were perhaps just as necessary to remove as the previous ones but the difference being with these was that I started to feel uncomfortable when they were threatening to come off. So I found myself struggling mightily to resist skepticism and maintain that which preserved my sense of security. Now, after considerable reading and reflection and angst, I am deciding to embrace my skepticism and endure what is hopefully temporary discomfort in order to pursue the truth less tethered by illusions.
Well, I don't want to write too much because I believe my entry will speak for itself. I just want to note beforehand that I hope none of my readers are offended at some of the conclusions I have been coming too. It is not my intention to offend but to be genuinely honest in revealing, stage by stage, what I am encountering and experiencing in my search for the truth into the nature of reality.
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It started to occur to me lately that I have potentially been caught up in a futile endeavor. I've been looking only into the areas of spirituality and religion in my pursuit for truth into the nature of reality. Thinking that within ancient texts, within the teachings of saints and yogis, there can be precious jewels of realization into the Absolute to be found. In exclusively looking to those sources I contradicted my own rule of not using presuppositions while digging for the truth. It was like at the beginning of my journey I set off knowing whereabouts my destination would be-in the region of the Divine somewhere. I presupposed that wherever my journey would take me it would lead me closer to God, whatever or whoever He is. That even if He wasn't personal that there were transcendental realities that existed. I also naturally assumed from the very start that within every living being there was an eternal essence which came from something Divine, that is something that I have always maintained.
All of my presuppositions could very well be true and for sure there are seemingly intuitive moments of clarity where they most definitely seem true. But, what I'm coming to find is that really nothing into the transcendental nature of things can truly be known with any substantial certainty and the plain fact is that they could also be false. It doesn't mean that there aren't realities that we cannot perceive that do exist. Certainly there's lots of things that we have not been able to detect in the past that we can now-like radio waves, waves of light, etc. via new technology. And we are sure to discover more as time goes on. But when it comes to questions of whether or not there is a soul, maybe there is no real point in asking such questions because there's no real way of finding an answer. Or, maybe before considering such questions and looking for religion/spirituality to provide an answer, we should first look at what can be known and after that re-assess the question and see if it still has merit.
I'm finding that religions and spiritual philosophies fall exceedingly short if not impede greatly in any potential glimpse or experience one can have of what really Is. When I really think about things objectively I am finding myself agreeing with many philosophers and great thinkers that I have come across in their conclusion that religion and even God are artificial constructs. Simple as that.
Even though reality in its entirety seems nearly inconceivable to ever truly "know", there are things that we can know and discover. We might not be able to "know" the nature of things in their entirety but we can come to know a lot and in the process come to realize and appreciate reality in a deeper way than we wouldn't have otherwise because we are coming to understand different and very real facets of it, rather than ascribing to speculations and conjectures towards it.
So, I guess the theme of this stream of consciousness entry is that I'm starting to wonder what the point is of chasing after what really can never be known with any measure of certainty when one can discover what can be known?...Is the former merely akin to chasing a mirage while the latter can be perceived as plunging into the roaring ocean's tide , tasting and feeling, truly experiencing, a tiny fraction of its greatness for oneself? Yes, we might not be able to canvass the whole ocean for example (yet), knowing intimately its depths. But we can learn to understand as much as we can, and find ourselves in a reverent sense of awe while doing so, digesting the fact that there are even more untold treasures teeming beneath its waves. So, true, of reality as a whole and all the mysteries it holds.
Your thoughts are always welcome. Please consider leaving them in the comments section. Thank you!
Welcome to reality. It's nice to see that you've joined the ranks of those who have woken up.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, we as humans find it distressing to live with uncertainty -- the fact that we will never have absolute knowledge, the fact that we will never know everything. But would you rather have comforting illusions and lies, or would you rather have the truth -- to the best of our knowledge at the time?
Thank you Jeff for your encouraging comment. :)
Delete"But would you rather have comforting illusions and lies, or would you rather have the truth -- to the best of our knowledge at the time?"
The truth. that's all I've ever wanted. :)
Hi, Jessica! ~
ReplyDeleteI admire your courage and tenacity in seeking Truth.
I wonder if you are 'experiencing' life or 'examining' life when you say such things as this: "I'm starting to wonder what the point is of chasing after what really can never be known with any measure of certainty when one can discover what can be known?"
It is important to examine life but sometimes I find it crucial to stop thinking and just experience what IS. Maybe that's kind of what you're saying here?
Although, I will never be completely satisfied with experience, I need to seek answers too -- even if the answers come in the form of more questions!
Thank you so much for stopping by Linda. :)
DeleteHmm your comment made me think..I'll try to answer it as best as I can.
"I wonder if you are 'experiencing' life or 'examining' life when you say such things as this: "I'm starting to wonder what the point is of chasing after what really can never be known with any measure of certainty when one can discover what can be known?" "
Well, I think I've tried to both examine and experience life in different ways. I agree with you later on when you say,
"It is important to examine life but sometimes I find it crucial to stop thinking and just experience what IS. "
Those moments when I feel I am experiencing what "IS" are when I'm immersed in the present and those moments are purely free of any dogma or sense of the supernatural really besides the deep feeling of being interconnected with all that is around me. In a poem I recently wrote about the angst caused by the sparring oftentimes happening between heart and mind I described how everything seems to come together in the present..
"The only time they cease their droning,[heart and mind]
their lamenting for satisfaction,
Their perpetual moaning,
Is when I allow my senses to take in all that is;
When my consciousness stands erect
On this moment's narrow precipice.
Then I am simply what I am, right there and right then
And all that is, just simply is that,
And my steady breath is a steady friend."
"I need to seek answers too -- even if the answers come in the form of more questions!"
I definitely think there will always be more questions than answers! :)
Thanks so much again for stopping by. :)
There's a quote from "Jesus Christ Superstar" that I really like when pondering the mysteries of the universe. It is from Pontius Pilate and it goes "And what is 'truth'? Is truth unchanging law? We both have truths. Are mine the same as yours?"
ReplyDeleteI have installed an automatic brake in my mind -- a safety brake, so to speak -- when pondering the deep questions -- "what is the purpose of life? Why am I here? Will any part of me continue after death? How did the Universe start? What happened "before" the beginning? If there is a God, how did she come into existence?" The thing is (to me) that these often end up as recursive questions -- each answer posing two or more additional questions.
But I really end up going back to the quote from JCS -- or perhaps Schrodinger -- and allow for the possibility of more than one truth and more than one answer possible at the same time. I apply the safety brake more quickly if it is NOT something that can help me to live my life "better".
Hi Charles,
DeleteThank you for stopping by. :)
"The thing is (to me) that these often end up as recursive questions -- each answer posing two or more additional questions."
That mirrors Linda's sentiment about more questions arising than answers...I definitely can relate to that. I think that is the nature of things since the depth that reality consists of is seemingly infinite and so inconceivably complex, there will always be more questions.
"and allow for the possibility of more than one truth and more than one answer possible at the same time."
I definitely think we can see the truth from different vantage points, so that can seem like their are different answers to the same question that are both true, but I do think that there are some things that are simply true and some things that are simply false.
"I apply the safety brake more quickly if it is NOT something that can help me to live my life "better"."
That sounds like a very wise thing to do. :)
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
I don't think things are just knowing or not knowing. I remember a moment before I started to develop as my current form. It does not seem that we find "proof." But we can find earlier memories and discover awareness as we break from some of the disorientation that has been given us. You are not going to read answers in words. But you mind might find lost memories and expanded perception in yourself. In a way, this is painful because we have been so mistaken. Words of wisdom can point you in the right direction. But you will probably have to do the "push-up" yourself by allowing your perception to unfold as you become more aware of your heart or feelings that have been invalidated.
ReplyDeleteEdward,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to read this post and comment. :)
"discover awareness as we break from some of the disorientation that has been given us."
I agree that we can find more clarity when we break away from the presuppositions that we have had, perhaps that we've developed on our own throughout the years as well as in conjunction with the information or rather sometimes misinformation that we have received in our childhood and from the messages we get via the cultures we find ourselves in. When we learn to think critically on our own it starts to dismantle those artificial structures within our mind that block our view and senses from perceiving truth at a deeper level.
"You are not going to read answers in words. "
Well, I think that depends on what answers one is looking for..in some respects yes, I agree. I also agree with, "Words of wisdom can point you in the right direction. But you will probably have to do the "push-up" yourself"
Thanks again. :)
Ed, when you say "I remember a moment before I started to develop as my current form.", and when you speak of finding "earlier memories", are you talking about reincarnation and memories of past lives?
DeleteI guess you could say I remembered the choice of incarnating this one time. It was only a very brief moment of memory of the anxiety of the memory death that would come with birthing here. Somehow I had protected that brief moment in the past. Now, I just have a memory of a memory which usually is the case with memory. I and I will assume most have flashbacks to our past. Then we remember the flashback. And then there are some in between a memory of a memory and a flashback. I had just one flashback to that choice. That deeply shook my view of myself and my world. But it happened about 40 years ago.
DeleteI don't want to be too quick to dismiss much of probing, but isn't skepticism an initial feeling that what we were taught or assumed was reality was found to be questionable? I think skepticism is more than natural. It is the rejection of the Old World thinking. Sometimes, we have to reject the old to give the new, space to arise. Once we reject the old, there is a void there until our minds can assemble from the pieces of the old with the pieces of the new, a better understanding of existence.
DeleteYou are on a similar journey to mine - I used to be an evangelical Christian, then gradually became pretty agnostic and sceptical. However I now regularly do yoga and meditate which to me is a kind of non-dogmatic spiritual path - I do believe there is 'something' out there that is more than the physical world we can see and detect although I'm rather vague about what this might be! Sorry, I am not very good with words like you are and probably haven't expressed myself very well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by! Yes, I do believe we share some very common parallels when it comes to our paths. If you check out the archive section of this blog you'll see that it started off as a Christian blog and I was very much an evangelical Christian.
DeleteI also enjoy yoga and meditation. I don't discount and leave myself open to the possibilities of spiritual realities. I think it would be very unwise and narrow to rule those possibilities out. I just want to never lose sight of the importance to think critically and objectively in my pursuit of truth. To allow my heart to explore as well as my mind but not to be swept away by sentimentalism or what I wish to be true. I think there are certainly realities that can be believed but not yet truly "known".
I think you are very good with words and have expressed yourself very well. Thank you for sharing. :)
Religion is very much an artificial construct. If God is a construct, then God is an organic construct. Just my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cairn for reading this and leaving your thoughts. I found the idea of God being an organic construct interesting...I'm going to have to think more on what that might mean...If you'd like to expand on that , that would be great. Thank you for sharing. :)
DeleteTruth is what you make of it. Faith is neither good nor bad, real nor illusion. Believing in something is a step that requires more than the concept of reality. Stop listening to other people and looking for answers outside of yourself! See things with your heart and I guarantee you will find your answers.
ReplyDeleteHi Patrick...Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. :)
Delete"Truth is what you make of it.Faith is neither good nor bad, real nor illusion. "
Hmm..Well I do think something is either true or untrue. Our belief in something can be very real but that which we believe in is not necessarily real. This might be a really poor comparison, but when I was a young child I believed in Santa, my belief was real, but Santa was not.
As to faith not being either good or bad..I'm not sure I necessarily agree with that. I think faith has at times brought out the best in humanity, inspiring people to do charitable works, reach out to others in compassion, etc. But faith can also bring out the worst in people by creating the illusion of separateness and division. Erecting artificial boundaries between people and creating an us v. them mentality ...the saved and the unsaved, those "for" God and those "against" God..and this can cause considerable violence and suffering, and has, in this world. So faith is a mixed bag it seems at time.
"you are the only one who can answer the questions for you. Stop listening to other people. Listen to your heart"
I agree that we must all find our answers on our own. The Buddha is attributed to saying, "No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We must ourselves walk the path."
We are all responsible to thinking critically about what we believe and why and should not expect to depend on others for the truth but find it on our own. I am not "listening to other people". Of course I converse with a multitude of people coming from a multitude of perspectives. But when it comes down to it, I've sought out truth looking at all kinds of sources the last few years-the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and the writings of various philosophers and spiritual teachers. I've practiced various forms of meditation and spiritual disciplines and from doing all that I have come to view things the way I have described in my post. By seeking the answers out on my own and trying to listen to both my head and my heart. I have also learned to be wary of what our emotions (heart) can sometimes tell us as it can be very misleading at times. That's where the thinking critically comes in.
Thanks again for stopping by. :)
Hahaha your welcome for "stopping by." Clearly you didn't find my input of any use. Good luck to you in all of your adventures.
ReplyDeleteWell, Patrick, just because I didn't necessarily agree with everything you said didn't mean that I didn't find your input of use ..I just had points that came to mind while reading them and shared those in my response. I did agree completely when you said, "you are the only one who can answer the questions for you". I agree with that. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Jessica, I thought your response to Patrick was respectful and thoughtful, and I hope he'll stick around and feel free to comment further without perceiving a lack of complete agreement with him as a devaluation of what he offers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve for your thoughts towards that. I was certainly not trying to offend him or anything. I enjoy discussion and when a response from someone brings to mind some things I like sharing them, in hopes that perhaps the person might want to respond to them...Oftentimes that kind of discourse can become interesting for both parties and might even inspire others to join in the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI believe everyone has something valuable to offer for we each come from a unique perspective and also share in your hopes that he will continue to return and share his thoughts.
Thanks for stopping by. :)
Jessica -
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed your post! Your journey is so complex...and having read prior comments...somewhat subjective. I think that as we examine our own faith in life, our beliefs, and reality around us part of that faith is still searching and asking questions, and always well intended. I question my own faith daily relative to what I think, see and how I act. It is a daily journey.
When my late wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer my faith was shattered to some extent, but the faith I adapted evolved during her illness to adjust to the reality of the moment, and to help me be the best care giver I could be.
I don't know that there are finite answers even possible. To me faith and hope are strong tools that we work towards and with...and wishes are passive denial.
I admire you for this intense introspective journey and wish you peace through all of it. Thank you for sharing your life and thoughts.
Thanks so much for reading this post and leaving your thoughts Ron. :)
Delete"I question my own faith daily relative to what I think, see and how I act. It is a daily journey."
I think that's really important. And it seems if one's faith is a daily journey than it's truly a living faith; continually conforming itself to reality and being applied actively to one's situations, which is undoubtedly beneficial.
"To me faith and hope are strong tools that we work towards and with."
I agree that that can be true. As it was in your case where your faith helped you be there for your wife during such an unbelievably difficult time. Faith has definitely been an instrumental source of strength and inspiration that many have turned to in their darkest times and I think anyone of any belief or disbelief has to acknowledge that.
Thank you again so much for stopping by. I always appreciate hearing what you have to say about my posts. :)
Ah, you are struggling with the BIG issues! Like Jacob wrestling with the angel, you will not let go until you have been blessed. The closest thing I have to a statement of faith is the beginning of the Tao Te Ching. "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless one can see the mystery. Ever desiring one can see the manifestations."
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflections and questions.
Thank you Galen for stopping by. I really enjoyed the verse from the Tao to Ching that you shared. That is one book that I would love to re-read. Every sentence in that book just emanated with simple yet transforming truths.
ReplyDeleteGreat read!
ReplyDeleteI believe that the truth is that there is no truth. Everyone makes their own truth to help them try to understand and get through this life.
Well, I believe that there are some truths..as in hard facts about the world we live in which science can certainly reveal to us. But there are also realities and answers to questions that will always remain mysteries which we can choose to speculate about or even accept.
Delete"Everyone makes their own truth to help them try to understand and get through this life."
I think that can be true for a lot of people. My aim, for myself, though is not to make my own truth to be discover and realize as much of what is true about this world and our existence is possible. I do believe we all create our own meaning in life, and that can certainly vary from individual to individual, depending on perspective.
Thanks so much for stopping by! :)
Religion is like sitting by a bonfire surrounded by your friends and family, a place of security, union, and warmth. To step away from that, and onto the dark and twisting path of uncertainty, with only the light of your own conscience to guide you is a very brave and noble thing.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it that fuels this fire? Is it truth, or is it what people want to be true? Surely, most people that have basked in it’s glow, have wondered if the fire is what it promises to be. If the ancient people who first kindled it, ought to be believed. We do not know how much, if any of it should be believed, just as we do not know where the path away from the fire will lead. It may, after many twists and turns, lead you back to where you started, or it may not lead anywhere at all... No truth, no comforting answers to warm you and make you feel secure about what the future holds, nothing absolute, only partial answers that lead to more questions. No ultimate destination, just a journey that will never be finished.
Why would anyone embark on such a journey? The fire may in fact be an illusion, but the warmth it provides is real enough, and what if… What if it is not an illusion? What if it is fueled by truth? Would it not be stupid to search for something you may never find, when you were already at a place that offers answers, comfort, and security? Why then, would anyone step away?
The answer is, at least in my opinion, that the truth is less important than the path you take as you endeavor to reach it. It does not matter how the metaphorical fire is fueled, if it is truth, if it is a lie, or if it was simply based on the best knowledge of the time. What matters is that we do not know, and pretending to know, or claiming to know, is itself dishonest, and clearly not the best path to take if you care about what is true. The best path to truth is through the compilation and analysis of evidence. It is through the scientific method that humans have made strides in understanding the nature of reality, and it is that same method that we should all use to examine our beliefs. If we do not, we may find ourselves living in a palace built on shifting sands that collapses when we need it most.
continued...
ReplyDeleteThere can be comfort in a lie, but it is still a lie. The reality of the comfort is not evidence for the reality of what is claimed, and the comfort itself is not a good reason to ignore the fact that it is a lie. We all want answers, hope, security, and a sense of purpose, but should we believe in anything at all that offers us these things, and close our eyes, ears, and mind to the fact that we have no evidence as a basis for these beliefs?
Some people say yes. Yes, false answers, false hope, false security, and a false sense of purpose, is better than a truth that doesn't sufficiently provide them. But I ask you, what good is a false answer, when there is no penalty for not answering the question at all? Is it not better to be honest and leave it blank until such a time, that it can be answered correctly? A false hope may raise people’s spirits in the short term, but how much more devastating is the truth when it finally comes out? A false sense of security may help you sleep at night, confident that the world is governed by a just power, but what if it isn’t. What if there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and this life is all we have? This life becomes all the more important and special, if it is the only one we will ever get. What if the only justice we can hope for, is that which we create for ourselves? If that is the reality, then wouldn’t we all be better off contributing in whatever way we can, to make this world a better place, and if so, then don’t we all owe it to each other to face that reality together? And lastly, a false purpose. If there is no divine purpose for our lives, no plan set forth for us to carry out, what then? Does that mean that our life is, that the lives of all humans that have ever lived, are devoid of meaning? How could that possibly be the case. Has no human ever inspired another, helped another when they needed it, brought joy to another’s life? When a person does something good, when they create something, when they inspire others, it matters. These acts have an intrinsic value independent of any outside arbiter.
"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what is true." - Carl Sagan.
Thank you so much Inquisitive Nature, for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
DeleteI really consider your comments to be among the best left by a reader so far on my blog.
Everything you said resonates with my own sense of what is necessary to pursue the truth. Which has taken some time to develop. You build a stirring and compelling case for embracing the position "I don't know" rather than accepting false truths in order to pacify ourselves into the cozy condition of settling ourselves under the warm blankets of false hope and an artificial sense of security. To be able to take off those blankets which hold us in a sustained state of complacency and bear the brilliance of the world in all its mystery and complexity, to tolerate the fact that there are things that we might never know but to have the courage to pursue the truth no matter where it leads, is a valiant gesture that rebels against much of the social conditioning many of us have been brought up under.
I loved the Carl Sagan quote. :)
Thanks so much again for stopping by.
One only needs to look around to see and accept the miracle of creation. But truly, that's a realization we all need to make on our own. It's not always easy, is it? Sometimes the truth is hidden from our sight till the light is made brighter, which can be achieved by continual study.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up.
Thank you Jeffrey, for stopping by.
DeleteI do believe study, reflection, exploration, all help the truth become more and more evident, or at least aspects of the truth.
Thanks for your encouragement. :)
I've been reflecting on what you wrote and coming across with a book I've been reading, I thought of you. This constant struggle to 'know,' to 'search' ~ I think it's because we're made for things greater than what we are experiencing now. The answers might not be here for us to find out... it just make us search for it more. I am not even sure if we'll come into a full realization of so many things...maybe they are out there to remain to be called a mystery :) ~ I take delight in what I see and hear but might not be able to fully understand it...
ReplyDeleteKeep right at it sis...I love that you're embracing this journey...it's quite too deep for me :) but I am right beside you to support you ~ lots of love!
Thank you Melissa :)
Delete"I take delight in what I see and hear but might not be able to fully understand it... "
I think taking delight in what reality has to offer is a beautiful thing. :) Even though we have a limited understanding of things, we can still come to appreciate and take delight in what we witness with our senses, knowing that it gives us a glimpse and allows us to enter into experiencing what remains, and perhaps will always remain, a mystery. May that delight that we feel when looking at the night sky, or the intricate web of a spider, fuel within us a curiosity to ask questions, explore more of our reality at more depth, and thus cause us to continue to find more elements to take delight and awe in.
Thank you for your encouragement. : )
<3
As difficult as it may seem at times, it's good to question things. Getting too comfortable in what we already know just keeps us stagnant. However, the more you question things, the more your mind can expand and you can learn new things.
ReplyDeleteI have been on a spiritual path too. Not exactly a religious path, but kind of like a path to enlightenment. Each day, I learn more and more about myself through meditation, writing, and other creative endeavors. It helps me check in on myself and making sure that I am enjoying who I am as well as life. If there is something that's not right, I just need to contemplate on what needs to be modified or changed.
You definitely have interesting ideas and entries (as well as inspiring pictures). Keep up the good work! :)
Thank you Jenn for stopping by and sharing! :)
Delete"I just need to contemplate on what needs to be modified or changed."
I think that's so important for us all to do-to be willing to change things-whether it is our methods or conclusions, when new evidence comes to light. It helps us pursue our goals with integrity.
I think your method of questioning and introspection is a great way of discovering more in depth yourself and this world. Thank you for sharing what you've found to work for you. :)
What I've learned for myself on this topic is that truth is a fluid entity. I am a different person with each breath and moment lived. As a result, what I hold as truth for long stretches can be and have been shifted diametrically, more than once. The longer I live, the more at peace I am with the concept that shades of gray mix and morph on virtually every subject under the sun.
ReplyDeleteI've never enjoyed the mindset of being rigid, because it paints me into a corner and leaves me there, stuck and lacking the ability to grow. I don't want to continually be my own roadblock, if that makes sense!
Consequently, rather than labeling it skepticism (only for myself, mind you - I can't speak for others), I label it being eternally curious. Open minded and willing to learn. The gift of this is that when I greet a part of my Self that held a specific truth for a long while which suddenly no longer resonates, I learn more about Me. I grow in compassion for my Self, and for others.
It sounds like a simple, effortless process, but it isn't always. It requires being willing to adapt and release, and be brave enough to those new Truths. They are ever changing, as am I within the whole dynamic.
This is another solid, profound topic of discussion, Jessica. I think in sharing your thoughts, and your own unique dance, you're speaking to all of us. We all dance these questions, I think. Some of us just dance a bit more loudly than others, and invite conversation! :)
Namaste',
Dawn
*That should read: "...and be brave enough to welcome those new Truths". I just caught that typo and realized it might be confusing!
ReplyDelete- Dawn
I sense your frustration Jessica in not finding the answers and I relate to that because I went through the same thing many times over.
ReplyDeleteThe answers don't come from books or from the view points of others. They come from within and from living life.
Through your experiences a pattern emerges in your life and that pattern starts to make sense. Then suddenly it morphs into another pattern and the discovery starts again. There are millions of patterns that will continue to emerge. Life after all does not stand still.
The truth I learn from the pattern may be very different from the truth you learn from the same pattern. Or in other words, my truth may not be your truth and vice versa and may in fact be in complete opposition to yours even though the experiences may be similar. Yet both truths are real and true.
I say this from my own experience in seeking the truth. I realised that when I tried too hard to seek the truth, it seemed to run further away from me. And when I let go the need to know the truth, the insights came like a torrent. "Do nothing in order to do more" Lao Tse - there is great wisdom in these words.
To illustrate my thoughts better ... children learn the most when we let go the need to control their every move and allow them to experience life for themselves. If you lock them away and teach them from books without ever seeing the world, their truth of the world would be exceedingly narrow. A flower in a book looks very pretty but to really know a flower one has to see it in 3D, smell it, touch it, watch it rock in the wind, watch it bloom and so on. Yet each experience of that flower will be different and each of us will look at it in completely different ways.
We need to live and experience life to know. The truth comes from daily living.
Blessings Jessica - may you find all you seek.
Namaste.
I'm pretty late commenting on this but wanted to put my two cents in anyhow... I have not done anywhere near as much study or pursuit of the spiritual as you have, and yet I feel I am coming to the same conclusion - that religion, any religion, is just man's way of trying to explain and become comfortable with the unexplainable. I still believe in God, but think embracing the discomfort is an important part of the journey. Here's hoping I/we can do it! (I know we can.)
ReplyDelete