Updated: 06/2010
SPIRITUALITY
Earlier, you were asking me to discuss spirituality. Here are some of my thoughts.
Spirituality
is an attitude. It is an attitude, which is determined by your philosophy of life.
Your philosophy of life determines your goals in life and that is determined by
your knowledge. Your knowledge is determined by the extent of your devotion and
love for knowledge and truth, and of course, your opportunities. Your search
for truth is determined and oriented by your biases, opinions and beliefs. In
other words, honesty, justice, compassion and open-mindedness determines if you
will, or if you will not find out the truth about any matter. In this
situation, we are looking into the truth of spirituality.
Spirituality
is not something you can find by looking outside of your own self for it. You
cannot find it in the sky. You cannot find or buy spirituality in a God Shop.
You cannot have spirituality by begging or praying for it. Spirituality is not
a reward for good conduct or for following some man made rules. Spirituality is
a reward for internal purity, love and compassion. Spirituality is an inside
attitude that can only be practiced. It cannot be found or discovered. Spirituality
is a product of self-domestication. It can only be cultivated.
If spiritual is
a continuum, what is at the opposite end of it? It is not enough to say the
opposite of spiritual is Ònon-spiritual.Ó I am forced to conclude that the
opposite of spiritual is selfishness (self centeredness), and the greater part
of selfishness is conformity to culture norms and to political and religious
beliefs. Religious salvation proclaimed by Christianity actually becomes an
attempt to escape personal spirituality, and is therefore, a product of
personal selfishness, which is opposed to true spirituality.
Selfishness is
often disguised as altruism and can only be judged by the individual himself as
he develops his spiritual eyes. Selfishness is often described as smart
business or looking out for number one or providing for ones family and
responsibilities. If an action or thought blossoms from love and compassion,
then that is an act of spirituality. If an action stems from any motivation
other than compassion and love then that action is a selfish act and thus, it
is not spiritual.
This
brings up a question. Are not all religious plans of salvation based on a
personal selfishness? The Hindus will accept no salvation that does not include
all of mankind. The Baptists accept a salvation that includes only the one
person - you. Which concept is more spiritual, the HinduÕs plan, or the
BaptistÕs plan? This is not to laud the Hindus or to belittle the Baptists. It
is to show that the concept of ÒspiritualÓ is in constant conflict with the
personal wants and desires of the individual. Spirituality is the
self-adjustment and self-alignment of the individual with the truth, with compassion,
with love and with the justice of the universe.
The
whole universe comes into focus only inside of each individual. If you are
blind, you cannot see the things revealed by the light. Even with good eyesight
one must still concentrate on what he is seeing, what it means and how it
relates to other known and visible things. When it comes to the universal
truths inside of you, your spiritual eyes must be focused inward in order to
rightly interpret what you are seeing.
What disrupts
this internal flow of spiritual eyesight?
Everything!
In
order to use your spiritual eyes you must discard one by one those things that
hinder the use and focus of your spiritual eyes. Jesus says in the Bible that
if you would be perfect, you must give up all that you have and follow him. In
order to see the spiritual truths you must first see and give up the hindering
falsehoods that disrupt the focus of your spiritual eyes. You will then develop
a distain for lies, deceptions, distortions and their offshoots. This is called
Òpurifying or cleansing.Ó It is also called Atheism because honest doubt is the
only honest approach to seeing, understanding and getting rid of the hindering
elements to spirituality in your life.
Having seen the troubling
impediments to spirituality, one must begin to eliminate those things that
separate him from the knowledge and truths of the universal spirituality. One
will not find spirituality by seeking for it. Seeking spirituality becomes a
selfish endeavor and defeats the whole concept of spirituality. Spirituality,
like happiness, is a by-product of right judgment, right attitude and right
living.
So,
the trouble begins. All of those things that hinder spirituality maybe
classified under the term Òselfishness.Ó Decisions must be made as to what is
compassionate, what is essential and what is necessary. That must be weighted
against those things that are based on personal human wants and desires.
The
philosophies of oneÕs culture are the most hindering impediments to
spirituality, and that includes religion, economics, government, business,
family, friends, expectations and such. If I were the devil and wanted to
divert everyoneÕs attention away from becoming spiritual, I would invent TV,
football and other sports. But above all, I would invent religions, businesses
and stock markets.
These
conflicts produce stress.
What
is stress? Stress is the conflict between what one inwardly knows is the right
thing to be and do, as opposed to what is the pragmatic and selfish thing to do
in order to get along with oneÕs fellowman and oneÕs culture. Stress is hardly
ever caused by too much to do. It is most often caused by not having good
spiritual, loving and compassionate priorities established. Your philosophy of
life determines your priorities. If you are trying to live according to the
economic or religious philosophies of life, you are lost from the start. All
the economic and religious philosophies are based on personal selfishness - the
enemy of spirituality.
This
is not to say that religion does not have some good precepts and admonitions,
but it is rather to say that according to religion what you do (your conduct)
and what you ÒbelieveÓ (your religion) are all important to your own personal
future and present.
The
Atheist philosophy emphasizes that what Òyou are insideÓ is most important in
determining your spirituality. And what Òyou are insideÓ is the measure of your
spirituality.
Spirituality
is understanding who you are, what powers you possess, what your purpose is
here, what you should do and what is your future in life. Spirituality is
developing the inner you to the extent that you not only understand yourself,
but you will soon begin to understand others. Finally, you will begin to
understand the universe itself. You will discover that the universe follows the
infallible and universal law of cause and effect. You will also discover how
you may use the universal powers available to you and for what purposes.
Spirituality
is like happiness. The more you hunt for it the more elusive it becomes. So,
spirituality is not a commodity within itself. Spirituality is a byproduct
(like happiness) and it suddenly can become a traveling companion without you
knowing it. Others will recognize and know your spirituality a long time before
you do.
Indeed,
the deliberate hunt for and the overt display of spirituality might be
considered a selfish act or attitude within itself, and therefore, unspiritual.
The
secret to spirituality is personal mental freedom and tranquility. Again, this
is found in Atheism. Freedom is found in the quietness of the mind, in knowing
who you are. Spirituality is the condition of being in harmony with the
universe. Spirituality is the release from all the things of the world that
keeps you from being quiet. Once you are free and tranquil, it doesnÕt matter
to you who control the government, or what war is being fought, or what earthly
matters are pressing upon you. You become free from all that pressure and
stress.
You
are even free from death because you are at one with all the universal truths.
You are free to accept your fate no matter what that may entail.
My
attitude is to forget about spirituality. Instead, seek justice, love,
compassion, knowledge, understanding, (wisdom) open mindedness and fellowship
with others of like mind. Do this and others not blinded by their religion and
culture will consider you and know you to be spiritual.
Others
(the religious and auper patriots) will most likely, hate you. Why? Your
spirituality becomes the standard by which their own narrow views and
selfishness must be measured and they hate their own conclusions.
No
longer must you wrestle with the questions of: ÒWho is God? What religion is
correct? What does the future hold? Am I saved? What religious writings are the
truth? What is Truth?Ó These and many such selfish questions dissolve and are
eliminated in the spiritual person.
Any person that thinks he is spiritual - he is not!
The questions
you must ask yourself are:
ÒWhat am I?Ó and
ÒWho am I?Ó
When you can
answer those questions, all others vanish.
It seems to me that one must embrace the cleansing of
Atheism before he can be spiritual.
That is
Atheistic Spirituality.
Thomas E.
Blaylock
Posted: August 2008
Updated: 06/2010