In Love, In God

Genuine love is genuine altruism. Genuine love is loving without necessarily expecting the other party to reciprocate. God is Love. Love is God. God is zero. Love, therefore is zero. “Love” in etymology means nothing, space, vacuum. That is why in the game of tennis or badminton, zero score is love. Can we say then that love is nothing? In fact, the answer is yes. Love is nothing because nothing is everything. Paradoxically speaking, when we are in the state of nothingness, we are in the state of full and heightened awareness, where everything is known to us—nothing hidden or lied upon. In the state of love where nothing exists but our omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience, there is the euphoric experience of being God—a spiritual experience Abraham Maslow calls “peak experience.” It is oftentimes referred to as transcendence. If love is nothingness and is a spiritual experience of viewing humanity in God’s eyes, why do we feel pain when we love? Why do we hurt the ones we love?

Love in itself is perfect, but it has been tainted and contaminated with humanity’s imperfection. When love is exercised by humans, it becomes imperfect. We aren’t humans experiencing spiritual experiences, but spiritual people experiencing the amazing human condition. But we see things the other way around. We were conditioned to believe that we are nothing more than human beings capable of experiencing all human conditions such as pain, anger, frustration, disgust, happiness, joy, excitement and so on without realizing that we are more than that. The only reason why we experience human condition is due to this conditioning—a linear thinking wherein our mind is not initially branded for. This conditioning is the culprit to all types of emotional dysfunction.

Love is perfect. Loving someone is almost perfect, if one doesn’t love back, it is incomplete but still, the love is genuine. If the other party loves back, it is what defines completeness, not perfect but still genuine. Love can only be perfect with the coexistence of equity. What defines justice is the mere fact that what I offer, I shall also get. If I offer this much, I should and must get the same amount of energy. If I love this much, the same amount of love I shall get. This is the notion of perfection and justice, but this isn’t genuine. For me there is no such thing as a perfect love while experiencing the human condition because no one can truly love someone in the same amount the other party has given.

“Loving someone is like holding sand. Grasp it tightly then it slips from your fingertips until you loosen your hold, and you are left in the cold. Loving you is knowing you’re free to stay or go away.” Loving someone is not about owning a person. A person is a separate entity. We have boundaries that define our individuality. We cannot expect the people we love to be there forever. We all go through different paths. I have my own to make, as they have their own to make too.


While undergoing the human condition, we are all separate individuals. When we are in a spiritual experience—that is experiencing our own spirituality in a trance—we all become one. We are no longer separate but one and in unity with the universe. Sex is union between man and woman, where they are in unity with all nature and universe. Lust is a human condition, but sexual intercourse together with the love we feel with the one who we are united with is a spiritual experience. In sexual intercourse, we are spirits in a spiritual trance. Sex is holy. Pornography has changed this universal principle. Pornography is a violation and a deliberate offensive act to our own spirituality.

Who does this? Humans do, not the spirit. Hence, our humanity is in constant battle with our spirituality, when they shouldn’t be in the first place. It is the body that feels lust, but it is the spirit that loves. I am not saying that we should deny our desires because that would be denial to our individuality. Both entities must coordinate together because they are both interconnected and hence interdependent with one anther.

Perfection, perfect love, absolute and genuine love is possible only in the spirit but not in the human flesh. The flesh is merely a separate aesthetic tool with its own limited awareness. The spirit is the perfect transcendental entity of the highest awareness, capable of infinite possibilities. The spirit is boundless, limitless, and infinite.

The body, which brings about our humanity must be in coordination with the spirit to reach this so called peak experience. Buddhists call this a “satori” or an “aha!” experience where everything seems transparent before our eyes. It is like looking at the world and the worlds beyond worlds in God’s eyes. The mystery of the existence of God has been unlocked. God is within us. He ain’t somewhere in heaven or nirvana as places of the afterlife, but in all of us.

God is Zero. God is Love. Love is Zero. Love is nothing. Love is everything. People are connected in love and in God.

Spirituality and Psychology

Earlier I wrote a blog about a certain former seminarian classmate of mine who asked me why do I desire to be a teacher.

And during the next class we were like sharing our ideas in the middle of out Guidance and Counseling class discussion about psychology and how psychology is different from religion, and that spirituality is at all different from psychology. Another classmate who is 20 years older than I am and is an engineer also said the same about psychology. And so did my teacher who graduated bachelor in psychology about probably 20 years ago.

My engineer classmate says that psychology is only focused on the mind and does not tackle about spirituality. My commentaries are first of all, psychology deals not only with mental processes but also behavior. Secondly, psychology, just like education, takes into consideration the Psychomotor, Affective, and Cognitive aspects of an individual and of learning. Thirdly, spirituality is a form of a higher frequency of consciousness. And consciousness is just a part of the broader field of psychology. Somehow I can say that spirituality is related with psychology or that it is studied in the science of psychology. Laslty, there is a branch in psychology called Transpersonal psychology that studies self-transcendence and spiritual aspects of the human experiences.

The essence of spirituality is the search to know our true selves, to discover the real nature of consciousness. This quest has been the foundation of all the great spiritual teachings, and the goal of all the great mystics. (more)

• Abraham Maslow identifies peak experiences wherein people often have spiritual experiences. He calls this self-transcendence, which is beyond self-actualization or self-realization.


• Carl Gustav Jung calls this  process a person undergoes to wholiness the process of individuation.


• Eastern religions call this "Great Awakening" and/or "Enlightenment"


• In Carl Gustav Jung's Psyche and Symbol, he emphasized that the spirit is "the sum total of all phenomena of rational thought, or of the intellect, including the will, memory, imagination, creative power, and aspirations motivated by ideals."

While I was looking for research journals to find answers to the question initially raised, I stumbled upon this informative  interdiciplinary conversation (pdf) in a certain college wherein participants shared their own point of view about the connections and intersection between psychology and spirituality .

As a learner, I do want to stick with the linear thinking, rather do otherwise and try to find the answers through my own inquiry or read as much as possible until the mind's query is sufficed.

Suffering and it's end

I just remembered my Philosophy classes, especially on Ethics. My teacher discussed us about great philosophers. On of my favorite was Plato, but this time I’m not going to talk about him, I’m going to talk about Buddha instead.

Why him? What about him?

The Enlightened One

Two thousand five hundred years ago, Queen Maya gave birth to a child named Gautama Buddha, the enlightened one. Gautama Buddha was said to be in the Prophesy, that he would be the enlightened one and a far greater King than anyone in the land. And so his father became jealous and decided to keep the child inside the palace until he dies. Though Buddha lived in confinement inside their colossal palace, he was the first time to have understood what suffering really is. While her mother and his father the King kept Buddha safe inside the palace, he was curious as to what’s outside the Royal walls and decided to see for himself. Initially, his parents refused his desire. But Budhha was uncompromising, and he went out. While outside the walls, he saw youth no more, but old age among people.

Prophecies have conditions before they happen. There were 3 things, some says 4 to confirm if the prophecy was true or not. One is for Buddha to see a dead man (a corpse), a sick man (a terminally ill), and an Acetic monk (someone who practices extreme poverty), and last is an old man. Books say he all saw the conditions.

After he saw that Acetic monk, he became one of them and practiced poverty, but years later Buddha decided to separate from the them because he couldn’t find what he was looking for. So he was on his own and one day he sat under a bow tree, stayed there and overnight he found enlightenment. His ministry started from then on. Progressively over the years, Buddhism became a religion, not just a religion but also one the greatest and strongest religion in the world with about billions of zillions of followers all over the globe.

The Four Noble Truths

The original Buddhism was known for Gautama Buddha’s the four noble truths. One is that suffering is in the world. Second, there is a cause of suffering. Third, there is a cessation of suffering, and lastly, the eight-fold path is the way to end suffering.

Obviously, suffering is in the world. The Philippines and other poor countries are suffering from poverty. It’s so ironic how my parents tell me that we are poor, when there are those who are less fortunate than we are. I am not saying that we are rich because we aren’t. We don’t have a mansion like those rich people have, we don’t have a pool in our backyard, nor do we have many cars, we only have one, and this one’s really cheap car. If I were living in the states right now with this condition, I am very poor, but here in the Philippines, we belong to the middle class, like majority of Filipinos are.

Samsara and karma are Buddhist doctrines. One cause of suffering is what we call samsara, which is the cycle of birth or Reincarnation in the Hindu religion. Another is karma, which we know as “what you reap is what you sow” or if you’re familiar with Alicia Key’s Karma with the line “what goes around, comes around.” Buddhists believe that when a person does well in his life, he will be replayed with a happy reincarnation. He will be blessed in his or her second life. If does bad things to his people, he will reincarnate into insects like roaches, flies and other creatures lower than a human being. So, my advice to you is to stop biting people’s back, and start a new.

Suffering has an end. Buddhists has a doctrine called anata, or “no self, ” that individuals have no soul or ego, and that we do not exist. The way to enlightenment is to loose thy self from five aggregates, body, feelings, impulses, consciousness, and perceptions. This is what we call “nothingness.” I think this idea is one of the bases of meditation.

Now I would like to share my past experiences with meditation. I attempted to meditate twice on the row, but I wasn’t successful with it that it ended me sleeping because I lost all my energy. The basic idea of meditation is that you loose your senses, and your mind does the work, which is contrary to Gestaltist Friderick “Fritz” Perl’s “loose your mind, come to your senses.” Well, anyways, after loosing your senses in mediation, and after your body has relaxed, you have to send all energies (including negative energies) away from your body, and take in the energy that nature has provided for you. This is the rationale behind why Buddhists and even some yogists do mediation outdoors or near nature. So, after I lost all my energy, I failed to absorb a new energy so when I opened my eyes, I felt so tired that all I wanted was to sleep to restore my energy. Then I knew the meditation was unsuccessful. I did it again the next day and was still unsuccessful. I realized that I haven’t mastered the art of “loosing one’s self” yet, and that I was not yet ready for it. Just like introspection needs to be mastered before undergoing Wundt’s experiments, meditation needs to be mastered as well.

The Eight-Fold Path

Furthermore, the only way to cease suffering is by following the Eight-fold truth, according to Buddha. The first one is the Right View, which refers to the right understanding of the four noble truth. Next is the Right Effort, which says we shouldn’t rush our actions and do things slow but surely, and that without effort, nothing can be achieved. Right Speech, we must not curse or say bad things against anybody, and not lie to anyone. Right Action, refers to doing what is right, like not stealing or cheating. Right Livelihood, refers to avoid occupations that bring about bad things like swindling, corruption, scamming, stealing or snatching people’s possessions. Right Aspiration or Resolve refers to our hopes and dreams. Second to the last is Right Concentration, refers to calm thinking, just like in meditation. And last, but definitely not the least is, Right Consciousness, which means silence and avoiding unnecessary thoughts.

Moderation and Nirvana

All these truths lead anyone to the right path called the middle path, which is the path of moderation. Take things moderately is the basic truth in all these doctrines because moderation is moral discipline, extremities can be deadly. Extreme love or hate are deadly. Extreme jealousy is too. Buddhists follow all these for one goal that is to enter the gates of heaven, or bliss, or the point of no return called Nirvana.

Although I have my own criticisms on a few of these ideas, I think they would certainly help people to change to the better, and change for themselves and not for others.

That was educational, wasn’t it? See, my brain remembers things selectively—things I want to remember, and does the opposite on things or events that are insignificant to me.

Wiccans of England

Pentacle

Okay, since I was still young I was so fascinated with witchcraft, I studied witchcraft literature, but I'm no practitioner nor do I belong to a particular Wiccan sect. Wicca is a modern day witchcraft, quite contrary to the notion that witches are minions of the devil.

Wicca is a lifestyle and a way of thinking based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It is believed to be a harmonious and balanced way of thinking and life which promotes oneness with the divine and with nature. And thereby considered as a form of paganism.

Wicca continued to flourished to existence in England. And now in England a coven of witches is gradually accepted into the community. They call themselves the Raven and the Rose.

The video from the National Geographic Channel below is a testimony of a practitioner of modern day witchcraft oftentimes called a witch

The Reason Your Church Must Twitter

Yesterday I blogged about Twitter Wit, which is book compilation of the wittiest wits in Twitter, edited by a freelance author from San Francisco. Read Entry Here.

And now, I have discovered yet another Twitter e-book entitled The Reason Your Church Must Twitter, which was released in January 2009, authored by church technology evangelist Anthony Coppedge.

If you’re a pastor, student minister, or involved with some type of ministry, your first reaction to such a resource title is probably something along the lines of “Awesome, I need to read this”.  Others who don’t follow the “faith” probably see such a book as one more tool to promote evangelism through a social network.  I understand both possible reactions, but what’s unique about this book is though it was written “for” churches, it’s not your typical “church” resource.  This book would easily serve as a  tool for any individual or business who would like to know more about Twitter and learn how to get started.

I honestly haven't read the e-book but let me quote  from previous review. Read More.

Leadership is important to Anthony.  I don’t know that personally, but it’s clear within the book how much he values good and effective leadership, as well as the role of the church pastor.  The book devotes an entire chapter to pastors and leaders and explains how effective Twitter could make them with not only their congregation, but with their staff and volunteers.

Faithfulness

I just come to realize that religiosity is different from faithfulness. It's just sad when I hear people say how religious they are because they pray three times a day, read the bible upon waking up and before sleeping, celebrate the Holy Eucharist everyday and go back to their household nagging their children (I'm referring to others from all walks of living). They think that they are always on the right track, and we "the non-religious"  and the "rarely-church-goers" are the ones yet to be condemned when our time comes. I don't believe that my religion teaches me anything about religiosity, but I'm certain on the one hand that It teaches me faith and Godliness. On the other hand, my religion is more than a religion, its my personal ideation that links me to my God, Jesus Christ. Or should I say a meme rather than an ideation that connects me to Him; it helps me build my relationship with Him, and the mere thought of Him stops me from doing something against His will. However, I am human, I am a sinner; sometimes I choose to do things for a reason which other human s like me cannot use it against me. No one but God alone can. I pray every night before I sleep. That's how I continuously maintain and nourish my personal faithfulness. I may not be much of a church goer as I was before, I know for sure that I am having a religion not for the sake of having one but because I have trust and belief in my religion that it will guide me along the way. And it is me that chooses which path I must go on, because I hold my life, the free will and intelligence God has given me are the tools I integrate for my own wellness. Bottomline is there is no need for a religion because I believe in my own "pop psychology" that spiritual experiences do not come from religious rituals but come from the self, although these rituals may be used as stimulus for an anticipated spiritual experience responses. My philosophy is that I am an eternal being--not necessarily a God--because I am no God. My flesh may rot, but my soul will not, for it is pure, divine and constant---an all-powerful spirit dwells within me. I am not a perfect creation of God, but God created me just perfectly.

[This blog enrty is copied from my previous blogsite.]