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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Soulmate, Myself:
Enterprise orbiting a Dyson Sphere, Star Trek Next Generation #50, 1992
A Dyson Sphere – named after physicist Freeman Dyson – is a gigantic spherical structure built around a star. free, unlimited energy The trapped energy from the central sun would allow a civilization to dwell on the interior surface of the sphere for billions of years.
a useful metaphor The sequestered energy of a central sun offers useful metaphor to help us understand what might be the most important element of spiritual wisdom: God / Universal Consciousness / Cosmic Intelligence resides within us. God is our personal "central sun," a source of life, energy, and virtue. God might be able to say "I AM THAT I AM," a self-existent one, but our being is of a derivative nature.
This concept of central energy source was not unknown to the apostle Paul. In Acts 17:28 he quoted the Greek philosopher Aratus: “in [God] we live and move and have our being.” Inhabitants of a Dyson Sphere are well aware of their source of energy. And because the reality of their central sun's importance looms large, they construct the activities of their lives around this perception of “what is.” The Inferential Life For them, the central sun produces a sense of, what I call, The Inferential Life. In other words, when we begin to grasp an accurate view of Nature and Reality, we are to construct our lives in accordance with these. What we think, say, and do should issue as inference from what we know to be real and true. "Think, say, and do" is Paul's "live, move, and have our being." God is our central sun. God is the source of our life, energy, and virtue. We have no future but to acknowledge this. It does us no good to ignore, to live contrary to, to be out of line with, this focal point of reality. The denizens of the Dyson Sphere are not confused concerning this principle. Therefore, as reasonable extension of Nature and Truth, we are to live The Inferential Life.
this writing, in three parts Part I discusses both the general concept and the crux of the issue. Part II offers much detail. Part III presents a glimpse of humanity’s future.
worldly society preaches a competing Inferential Life, built around a primary error The uber-philosophy of worldly society is that of materialism. For adherents thereof, there is no “central sun” for one’s being. There is no life at the core of reality. the essential error Materialism constructs itself upon a view of the primacy of matter. Everything, they say, is made of matter. Everything, including mind, consciousness, the virtues like love and joy, is either directly composed of matter or derives from it. Everything, they contend, is made of molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, and neutrons. These, they insist, are like “hard little bee-bees” that constitute the building blocks of all things in the universe. As such, according to their world-view, everything we see around us, and everything we can’t, is made of matter. All this serves as basis of the metaparadigm of materialism. Editor’s note: Much could be said here, but much has already been said. You are invited to read a great deal of related discussion in the articles, “Evolution,” “Double-Slit Experiment,” and “Theory Of Everything.” But let’s consider the implications of a philosophy of materialism. If there is no “central sun,” no God-essence within, no life deep inside, and if inert matter forms all, then – there is no afterlife, no post-mortem survival of consciousness; there is no free will, no mind, no love, no joy, no courage – these are but the illusory and culturally-induced emanations of dancing sub-atomic particles; further, there is no basis for ethical living, for sacrificial serving, other than an opportunistic giving-to-get and canvassing for support. If inert, lifeless matter is all there is, then many could easily justify living for the moment, grabbing as much temporary pleasure as possible, and living the law-of-the-jungle. For, if we all die like dogs, then what is the purpose of doing anything, or doing it well, when, in a moment, it will be “lights out” forever? Pretty grim stuff.
All this constitutes basis for the world's own version of The Inferential Life. credible basis for the spiritual life But do we have credible basis for the spiritual life, one constructed with a “central sun”? Or is such proposition merely wishful thinking, a defense mechanism to allay the fears of death, the product of an unrealistic “Pollyanna” mindset? Much of Word Gems stands ready to supply scientific evidence for the “central sun,” post-mortem survival, the God-essence within. You’ll want to avail yourself of this information as you have opportunity. In receipt of this instruction, we – all of us – will naturally, without prompting, desire to live The Inferential Life. materialism lite The hard-core, radical doctrines of materialism are easy to spot and to disown. These are teachings like “there is no free will, there is no courage, there is no love,” and similar drivel. Most people immediately reject this kind of rabid, cultish thinking. But there are other forms of materialism, even popular forms, which fly under the radar and trip people up - not just in this world but over there, as well. no central sun Now you might assume that most religions of the world, though they have their problems here and there, at least, one might presume, they’re not materialistic. Actually, no. They are. But I know what you want to say. Many would come to Religion’s rescue by pointing out that most of them teach of an afterlife, promote good works, service, loving kindness, care for the disadvantaged; and they talk a lot about God, how to become a good person, and how to raise your kids the right way; and they urge the spiritual life, prayer, going to church, and sometimes fasting. They might not be perfect, but, it will be stated, they can’t be called materialistic. Yes, I understand. One of the universities I attended was a “bible college” after which I taught in churches for years. So I do understand the basis for confusion here. However, I will tell you flatly and plainly, the churches of this world, in the main, are as materialistic as the aforementioned godless scientists. The end result of the churches' "materialism lite" is the same as that of the "hard little bee-bee" crowd. Here’s what I mean. the 500 Maybe the best way for me to approach this disconcerting subject is to reference my writing, “the 500 tape-recorded messages from the other side.” Let’s take note that those offering testimony had already achieved the "reward of heaven,” if you see my point. In other words, these are people who are well beyond the “let’s go to church, it’s Sunday” stage of development. However, most of them, to various degrees, were suffering from forms of insanity. They were materialistic in their thinking, and just as cock-eyed in their views as people of this world. And yet many of them presented themselves as very wise and advanced teachers. You will want to read “the 500” article for yourself – it’s one of the most important on Word Gems. In brief synopsis, though, none of these functionally insane or spiritually unbalanced knew anything of a “central sun” or God-essence within. And that was their essential problem. Before I say a few words about the religions of this world, allow me to speak of something in my own turf. There are many “afterlife reporters” and many of them do a fairly good job presenting new evidence. And they would be greatly offended if I were to single any of them out with a charge of “materialistic thinking.” highfaluten but feckless Recently, however, I was reviewing one of their writings – and so many of them present the following kind of teaching: We come to this world to learn how to love. We come here to grow in character. We develop ourselves by serving the disadvantaged. We are to shun the world’s goals of merely making money and consuming it on oneself. We are not to focus on our own needs but to give ourselves for the greater good. Editor’s note: Allow me to say, too, the items on this list, one senses, were given as “sacred cows.” In other words, they’re meant to be “untouchable,” in that, no one could dare say a word about this kind of moralistic teaching. And so people might hide behind lofty language to cloak a feckless philosophy. All this can easily devolve to an apparent spirituality, a role that egos play, masks that people wear, as they posture a status of “good person.” Having read my list here, most will exclaim, what could possibly be wrong with any of this? Are we not to engage in this kind of altruism? And doesn’t this help us to become more spiritual, more like God? Not really. For further discussion, see my four articles on "Spirituality." But here’s the real issue that is missed by all of these “teachers”: We don’t have to work on building character. Building character is not the problem. Once we access the “central sun,” the God-essence within, one's character very quickly will begin to change, all by itself, without hardly lifting a finger. We don’t have to grow in love. Growing in love is not the problem. Once we access the “central sun,” the God-essence within, the love that has long lived behind closed doors in the soul will be released, and now we'll feel and express love, naturally, easily, without trying. We don’t have to force ourselves to “get out there” and serve the disadvantaged. Finding the impetus to serve the greater good is not the problem. Once we access the “central sun,” the God-essence within, a desire to serve the disadvantaged will naturally, automatically, rise to the surface of personhood, and will insist that we rearrange our lives for maximum service. You will forgive me if I do not offer more examples. I think you get the idea. And this is why Jesus said “my teaching is easy, my burden is light.” It’s easy because you don’t have to “work” on any of these things; it will work on you and take you for a ride. But, see, this is not what we hear from Religion, or even from the afterlife-researchers, or, as mentioned, even from most of the so-called “500 advanced” teachers on the other side. the end result is the same All of these, whether they know it or not, suffer under a materialistic mindset -- “materialistic” in the sense that there’s no “central sun,” no life-giving God-essence within. It’s like dealing with dead, inert matter that has no ability to move itself. an external, "far off" God Virtually all religions, all philosophies, all self-help endeavors promote a view of “you have to get out there and find God, and work hard, and deny yourself, and huff-and-puff,” if you want to be good person. These groups may speak of God a great deal, but it’s a “far off” God, it’s an “external” God, it’s not a “central sun” God, easy to access, as near as your deepest intuitions. The “far off” God is not the real God; as such, this kind of teaching constitutes mere shadow and form of spirituality, not the real thing, nothing that can help you. Editor’s note: Several times in my writings, but never too often, I’ve presented the testimony of Elizabeth Fry on the other side. If this were the only information I had about the next world, I would be well informed, and well blessed. Elizabeth begins her brief discussion with comments about the power structures of the Earth, corporate, governmental, and religious, and ends with a statement about where God is found. Note, especially, her emphasis on one’s internal sensibilities for discerning truth; notice, too, her choice of words, "material," when referring to those in religious leadership as they purport to teach about Christ.
The forms and shadows of this world's religions cannot help you because their externally-directed teachings do not conform to Nature and Reality. In their teachings, there is no "central sun," no hidden energy source within each of us. Instead, they would have us look to them as self-appointed local representatives of a very-far-away God. But this takes us in exactly the wrong direction - these are the "men of power and position" which Elizabeth warned us to avoid. Editor's note: And some will ask, what if they do represent God (even if they are corrupt)? The answer is, no one represents God - not as they suggest. You don't need a local agent when an immanent God promises to teach us directly, in a very personal way. Their teachings are not helpful because all good things we seek are already inside of us, in the “made in the image” soul, the spark of godhood within. We’ve already got it. We just have to help the seed to germinate. It's not that hard because we’ve never witnessed a seed huffing-and-puffing to grow itself; we've never witnessed fruit on a branch straining and groaning to ripen itself. It all happens easily and naturally. no such thing as matter, not as we thought The chair you might be sitting on right now seems solid enough. But not because its "matter" is made of “hard little bee-bees.” As we tear back the curtains of micro-reality, as we disassemble molecules into their constituent elemental parts, as we deconstruct atoms into electrons, protons, and neutrons, and as we dig deeper and “fall down the rabbit-hole,” it all disappears into a nothingness. What happened to the hard little bee-bees we've always heard about? What happened to the “solar system” model of the atom that we were taught in school, even college? It’s not true. We’ve known it’s not true for a hundred years, and yet science, as taught in school today, is still presented in forms which went out the window in the early 1900s! Why is this so? You’ll find much discussion on this in the both the “Evolution” and the "Quantum" writings. Essentially, materialistic science has "cooked the books" because it has much to lose. Their entire materialistic metaparadigm hangs precariously in the balance. Quantum mechanics, and the great quantum scientists – Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Planck, Born, Einstein, Wheeler, Bohm; we could go on – upended classical Newtonian physics. Heisenberg was the worst when he discovered that the atom has no definite form or model. And so what we have today in schools is a brave-smile propaganda effort by materialistic science, which controls the textbook publishing. We’re teaching a “horse-and-buggy” conception of nature. It’s well past obsolete, but the “materialist lobby” won’t give it up. an undefined non-material essence – a living energy There is no matter at the deepest levels. “Matter,” and its apparent solidity, is a loose term given to electrical force-fields generated by atoms. But the quantum “fathers” discovered, as one peels back the deepest layers of reality, an undefined non-material essence – a living energy or consciousness-based “ether” -- at the core of reality. We know it’s intelligent and purposeful because we can “see” what it does in the “Double-Slit” experiment. It will manage an experiment's outcome, in a flash, based upon the “observer effect” with its determination to maintain a “rule set” of non-conflicting knowledge in the world. Read about it on the “Theory Of Everything” page. matter is not primary: this is the most elemental item of knowledge on which to build The Inferential Life We’ll discuss this concept in more detail in Part II. However… If reality is consciousness-based, if matter is not primary, then – how shall we live our lives? The “central sun,” the hidden God-essence within, is a living energy which will direct our lives – what we do, where we go, what we say, and to whom -- if we learn to “open a channel” to receive the subtle directives. As we begin to sense the "living energy's" reality, the fear of death will drift away. We will begin to know things and perceive things beyond the purview of the scientific method. In other words, the heart will know things long before the head has determined veridical basis. Let’s speak to one specific example before we enter Part II. How does a perception of the “central sun,” the hidden living energy within, affect the process of finding a romantic mate? it's all "external" with materialism The traditional John-and-Mary way is to embark upon a “hunting expedition.” During this quest, one will choose a partner based upon the merits of a “resume,” a listing of good and less-good traits. We compare and “shop” the resume to find the “best deal” we can make. Well, it’s all worked out so wonderfully for those Ann Landers once called “the miserably married.” But if not the traditional way, then what? The answer here, in principle, will be the same as with any enquiry. We must “go within.” We must “open a channel” to God within, the "central sun," the “living energy.” We must not "choose," as such, but allow the answer to come to us. We must quiet our minds, and wait expectantly for the answer. It might not come the same day; or for a long time. But, if it does not, then we can know it’s not the right time for us to receive. The “living energy” will not rubber stamp a timetable that is not good for us. And so, in the meantime, we must enter a spiritual practice; we will spend some minutes each day learning how to open our spirits, to be more receptive to the directives of God – God within. The “Course In Miracles” and the “Small Quiet Room” book offer instruction. However, when we’re ready, spiritually ready, the right mate will enter our “radar screen.” The Spirit Guides say that she'll be brought to you; no hunting required. This doesn’t mean you’ll be married right away. It could still be a long time, even, into the next world. This is so because even though you might be ready, or think you are, this doesn’t mean the other party to the contract will be ready. We’re talking about a “union of spirits,” a complete meeting of minds, as “The Wedding Song” puts it. These things cannot be rushed, and you wouldn’t want it to be rushed because this a “marriage made in heaven,” one that will last for unending times to come. So it has to be done right. But here’s how you’ll know she’s the one. She may or may not be “Miss Universe.” That won’t matter to you. What will matter is how you intuitively “feel” about who and what she is on the deepest levels of your being. And when you get a “green light,” you’ll know it, you won’t be in doubt. How will you know? If you are tapped into the “living energy,” the God-essence within, you will be filled with a sense of other-worldly joy and peace at the recognition of who she is to you, of a kind and to a degree of spiritual elation previously unknown to you. And when you experience this level of certainty, you will no longer doubt. This is so because this is not an intellectual puzzle to be solved, it's an upward shift in consciousness. This means that you will "feel the energy" deep within concerning the rightness of this process. Your affinity with her is not based primarily on ephemeral bio-chemical attractors, as they do it on "Animal Planet";
as such, you will always want her as much, and this is how God keeps Twins together for eternity, a function of the pulsating "central sun," a "living energy" which never subsides.
"she hasn't got the faith or the guts to leave him" I grew up in a farming community wherein most couples, it seemed, achieved the “50 year” milestone anniversary. This was not necessarily good news. I mentally revisit those early times and perceive that almost every couple was suffering in a mismatched relationship. But they couldn’t just leave, though - that would be a pretty big scandal. What would neighbors, the church, the family, or a judging god say? No, much better just to “run the clock out” and suffer in silence, and pray for an early departure. Editor’s note: I knew an aged couple, now passed on. He was well past 80. She would comment, a kind of boast, that every day he would say that he loved her. When I heard this, it just didn’t feel right, as they displayed no fervent mutual affinity. For example, he’d speak of accomplishments in his life, which prompted her to leave the table, unable to hear them one more time. All this drama, and with guests present, as well. I was talking to him one time, and the conversation turned to his ownership of a small but somewhat run-down house; a rental, he said, but the house was vacant. But then he confided the real nature of things. He said he kept that little house just in case he could no longer stand living with her one more day. It was his “get away” house. Now, those of us who are younger would think, “Well, this very senior couple gives the appearance of having learned the art of marriage congenialities. And, in any case, given their age, they would surely be well settled in for the duration.” But, not so. Even as he approached 90, he was still eyeing the exit, weighing the pros-and-cons of making a break one of these days, when he just couldn’t take it anymore. All this is more than tragic, and quite unnecessary. “Staying the course,” if the misery is deep and wide, can hurt you spiritually, with a form of “medical treatment” required upon entrance to Summerland. These are the fortunate cases. The worst happens, though, when one stays in a dysfunctional marriage due to terror of divine punishment and the like. When we operate according to our disabling fears, we block out the “living energy” within, create darkness in our spirits, and, if the damage is substantial, we might not even be able to enter Summerland for a while; until we straighten ourselves out, overcome systemic guilt, and, in many cases, expunge the effects of teachings of Dear Mother Church. See the instruction of Jesus in Matt. 19 on the “Divorce” page.
The Inferential Life, Part III
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