The God Gene, Going Against The Grain, And Being In The East

Hello Readers and welcome back! I was posting like crazy there for awhile but realized that I was lacking passion for the posts, and lacking thought inducing content which I strive for in every post. I think this is because I was thinking for a topic instead of a topic searching for me... wait, well close enough. Enjoy!

I was reading the other day about something, I cannot remember title or original subject, but it had to do with our brains already being predisposed in believing in a higher power (i.e. God(s)) through genetics even before we are born. This has been referenced as the God Gene (specifically VMAT2) by it’s founder geneticist Dean Hamer, who has also done groundbreaking work in the areas of  biotechnology and AIDS prevention, as well as his research on the genetics of human behavior including sexual orientation and spirituality. He has also wrote numerous books, but the one that is relevant here is The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into our Genes published in 2004.

Obviously Dean’s work regarding this has came under great scrutiny by well... nearly everyone because of this or that depending on who the criticizer is. This gene has been studied thoroughly and according to his hypothesis (which now in 2012 there is much more proof of this being more than just a hypothesis) produces the sensations associated, by some, with mystic experiences, including the presence of God or others, or more specifically spirituality as a state of mind. I am not going to go any deeper into the science behind it but you are more than welcome to check out Wikipedia’s entry about the God Gene , which is where some of this info came from, that and their references.

Hamer mention’s in his book mentioned above that “Just because spirituality is partly genetic doesn't mean it is hardwired” and that is hard to disagree with completely or there would be no Atheists, as well as other religions that do not really focus on a “Creator God”. I am living proof that the above quote is truly absolute, . It took me 23 years (76.667% of my life) to realize that a belief in a “Creator God” was making me toxic, I was doing no good to myself or anyone else following down a path with blind faith and coincidences (or at least not what I thought it was). A “Creator God” is irrelevant to the sole purpose that religion provides, well the only important one in this author’s eyes, that being you should be strive to have all aspects of loving-compassion towards yourself and all others, regardless. Yes, there are special scenarios that would make this difficult, but exclude anything that may be harmful to you (e.g. it might not be a good idea to give a homeless person a place to stay without previously knowing them because they might kill you in your sleep), which is why the above statement says yourself and others... If you are just doing good deeds just because you are scared to go to a “bad place” in the afterlife, or next life depending on the reader’s perspective, then do not do it at all because that is the worst possible reason to try and embody pure loving-compassion. Do it because that is just what we are supposed to do... help others without question... without a reason that is selfish...

I thought it was purely Western Society and upbringing that was the primary reason for not being able to shake “Western” religious thought even though I was going and believing in Eastern and had been for nearly a year and still was trying to shake same of those core ideals off. Even now some of the Western thought has not went away even though my idea of Logical Spiritualism has Buddhism at it’s core. However, this is why I am a Logical Spiritualist, I pick and choose from whatever religion or religious idea to form what is most logical for me and provides the most benefit to myself and others... and would recommend everyone do the same, and who knows yo may already be where you need to be, but that likelihood is low, or at lest appears to be.  

Anyway, I do think there is something to the God Gene as everyone in my family was religious, except for my Dad and that was only to a certain extent, he was just not nuts over it and had a broad ideal on sin, per se, and my mother is one of thee most religious people you will find who follows The Bible. So genetically that would be passed down me correct, especially since everyone else in my large family was Christian. Yeah, I think is was more than just upbringing and breaking habitual thought with something that seems a little foreign. I think it is plausible that was the reason I could not let go of some of the Western ideas until long after changing direction to Eastern Thought. In the future I know that question will be possibly answered with an answer that has undoubtably truth behind it... 

Keep the gears rotating since 1981...

-automachi

The Logical Spiritualist

Bad Habits, Active Meditation, & A Quote

Hello Readers and welcome back! I have been trying to write more and more but finding a topic to really work with at this frequency is not easy so when a thought hits you must jump... and this is me taking said leap... Enjoy!

One attribute that I always have had is getting vengeance.... Yeah, not such a good attribute but I get irate when I am, or a loved one, is wronged and will plot something against the antagonist that will hit him/her ten times over, even if it takes years to execute... I know that sounds crazy but I was one that made sure everyone that needed to get theirs got theirs... In hindsight it seems like I was getting to them before Karma could, and that was not good... As you may have imagined I have paid for it in a variety of ways, but ultimately think I have paid for all my mistakes I have made in the entire existence of my mindstream  (what non Buddhists might consider a soul, but with reincarnation, click the link for more Wiki's definition of the Mindstream), which is what led to my “Enlightenment” back in the end of 2010... I am not sure why I think that but do so for some reason. Getting back to the topic at hand, sorry for the digression, when you have had this quality for a long time it is hard to break like any bad habit. It has helped me to think of Karma when I get the feeling of plotting to do something bad to someone because of something they did to me or someone else... I have always believed in Karma, I just called it “You Reap What You Sow” for 23 years instead of its proper name, Karma... It is still hard for me to not get the immediate satisfaction of revenge though, but that is what Buddhism is all about... continuous improvement... It has helped but I still find the need to want to beat Karma to it but do not anymore... so I think I have extinguished a bad attribute...

One thing I am constantly working on is controlling all emotions, thought processes, and really generally anything that comes from the mind. The mind is thee most powerful thing in the universe(s) in my opinion. You can overcome anger, sadness, any negative emotion or thought and replace it with compassion, rightfulness, any positive emotion or thought. It comes with a lot of practice, technique, and various other factors... You really can do anything you put your mind to... One thing that has helped me be able to get closer to this ultimate goal and that is taking whatever happens in any situation and giving it some thought before making any action whatsoever (speech or otherwise). It gives you a little more time to decide the proper way to react to something. To not “jump the gun”. Meditation helps with this. Also keep in mind for those of you that are very busy that active meditation is just as effective and you do not have to be a Buddhist to do it and it be effective. Google “Active Mediation while doing other things” and you will find ways to train your mind to reduce your own personal suffering (I mean suffering in the Buddhist sense as known as Dukkha Wiki's definition of Dukkha) while going through your normal day. Not only does this reduce suffering but it makes you a better person overall from any perspective. 

99.999% of my meditation after taking Buddhism as my Foundation Faith (See Blog post called “A Foundation Faith?... The First Building Block of Complex Religious Perspective...”) has been active meditation. I actually did non-active meditation before subscribing to a theology/religion/idea that highlights the importance of meditating... I know, weird huh?... You might have thought it to the other way around before that but that is how it worked out... Funny how some things just happen or work out a certain way. Any type of meditation is good, even done generally (no religious influence, per se). You can dig deeper in with traditional meditation techniques instead of active meditation but you will still benefit in ways that are amazing just through active meditation alone.  There is even ways to meditate to find out what you were and even what plane of the samsara you were on (Past Life Meditation Website).

Reflection and redirection of thoughts and actions through analysis done in meditation helps you be a better person in every way and encourage you all to take a look into A Link To a Site Dedicated to Meditation Analysis.

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” - The Buddha

Keeping the mind moving since 1981

-automachi

The Logical Spiritualist

Forgotten Knowledge that Remains So and Always Will… Knowingly...

Hello Readers and welcome back! I actually half finish another post last night but after thinking about it I was not going to continue it. I have to finish it within the same session or it just turns into crap... so here we go, brand new topic and hopefully a better piece the the previous would have been... Enjoy!

Most that will be reading this know that there has been shows on various cable networks that highlight a “forgotten knowledge”. Knowledge that the Egyptians, for example, had but the knowledge seemed to disappear until we exited the Dark Age. That is the majority of time civilization has existed... That is crazy when you think about it in such terms... We still do not know how The Pyramids were built for sure. That example highlights exactly what I am talking about. The theories of how they were built goes from just a mass of people to aliens being involved in such manner... The sad thing is you really cannot rule anything out because we do not know how they were built given the age. Could it have been done by the blunt force with huge amounts of manpower?... Maybe, wow... Nonetheless they were still ahead of their times by thousands of years... Then all civilizations go to hell for thousands of years... what gives?... I think we did lose something and it definitely was knowledge... but will we ever find it again... maybe?... but even if we do I doubt we will know it. Making it truly forgotten knowledge...

Maybe we were visited by something “other worldly”, but I doubt they are from another planet though. I think it would have been like a dimensional divide of the samsara. The definition of dimension here including a “different” plane... a higher or maybe lower than our own. Weird view huh? You have something better? If so by all means let me know... Until we have solid proof of some type all theories remain just that... theories... So known should be dismissed, only pondered I suppose...

I do know one thing, I want to see one! I have met several people who have said they have seen then once or even many times, but all of their “word” is subject to scrutiny due to other “inconsistencies”. But really I want to see a freaking UFO up close and personal... I really want to just to be able to make a better guess, if nothing else, of what they really are, and to at least be able to prove they are not “visitors” from afar. What I am really getting at is that I think this is a piece of the forgotten knowledge. Given some of the hieroglyphics in Egypt I think they knew more than we did about whatever they are. I know that is p in the air but I also know we have proof of some type of phenomenon up in the air too...

So of the forgotten knowledge is the complete picture of where we (human beings) came from. We have never found a true missing link and that opens even more speculation from where we came from too. However, that is an entire different topic that is huge and for this post should just be a footnote...

One thing that annoys me to no end is the people that think they know, or have found, the forgotten truth... because it is completely illogical and more often than not idiotic... Aliens did not drop us off, sorry it did not happen. The Anunnaku were what the ancient Sumerian saw as gods, they were not aliens. What were they I do not know but they were not aliens from a very distant planet... There are know reptilian super-races that rule the world and all the money on the planet either. AND FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY THE ILLUMINATI IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!!! It was a secret fraternity that has been gone since 1800 at the latest... However, there is something that should raise an eyebrow and that is the closest thing you will ever have to an modern Illuminati. That being 3 different entities. 1st the Trilateral Commission, 2nd the Bilderberg Group, 3rd the Council on Foreign Relations. The combination of these 3 groups have really guided most of the world since the 80s, and even earlier. Even I believe this because there has been proof, the surge in gas prices is just one example. Look the 3 up and use your best judgment of what you read but these 3 groups make me very nervous as an citizen of any country as they seem to have a world wide reach. The combination of power and influence these 3 groups reach far and is scary but their is no one world order being brought forth any time soon. I am not ruling that possibility (one world order/government) from happening I just only see it in a somewhat peaceful in the end that does not bring forth what the Book of Revelation. In my view, when Christianity spread to become the largest it was fulfilled (I mean no disrespect, just my view). The horror the Saint John spoke of was what came with Nero and corrupt Popes and what wars were to come (WW I, WW II, etc.) in the future [where Armageddon was supposed to take place there has been more bloodshed there than anywhere else on the planet to date] and the Bible is the most published and read book in the world and has been for over 1000+ year. What the Saint saw has already come to pass and still is but past the point where most, if not all, Christian think we are. Again just my opinion and respect yours.

So... at the end of the day will the forgotten knowledge always remain unknown? Yes, but we will find out more answers to great questions that may make up what the forgotten knowledge was, with us not even knowing it. One day we will know it all... and  think that will be the most beautiful day for all of humanity and science... However, we can always wish to be fully “Enlightened” (not necessarily from a Buddhist perspective either, at least directly). 

Hoping that the forgotten knowledge will be remembered since 1981.

-automachi

The Logical Spiritualist

Keeping the mind winding virally since the beginning of 2010...

Not Stuck Anymore... And Have One Checked Off The List

Hello Readers and welcome back... I have been struck with the need to write despite not feeling well, furnace fiasco, and being exhausted... Well lets get into it... I hope it makes you think and you enjoy it... Oh, I wanted to clarify my writing style on this Blog... There is always a small preface of sorts that is italicized (you are reading it write now) and that it is written to be read in a conversation tone which is why I use unorthodox punctuation that some would say are incorrect, and they are incorrect from a purely grammar perspective but I do not care. Enjoy!

In my last post I bragged up Jesus from my Logical Spiritualist perspective and mentioned that I believed that Jesus and Avalokiteśvara were one of the same... and still think he embodies him to a degree but I have been doing some research, specifically going through red letter Bibles (The words recited by Jesus according to the author of that Gospel are in red) and did not see what could point him in the way that I see him, but there is a huge gap in the Bible concerning Jesus’s life. It starts with when he was born and very shortly thereafter then picks his life back up when his ministry started around 30... There is a lot of speculation out there why this is. If he was known to be the Son of God prior to his birth why wasn’t his life followed throughout in some manner instead of only getting a small fraction of his life in scripture? There is some Apocrypha that mentions some of his later childhood but was thrown out of canon because of what it said... I think if there any literature of some type during his life in between the beginning and a few years before his crucifixion the Church Fathers discarded all of it if it hurt their plans in anyway... Not to mention that we know that none of the Bible was actually written by Jesus so we have a big chance of misinterpretation or accidental corruption of the scriptures via the author of that specific Gospel, just like in a lot of areas of the Good Book.

I know some may be thinking well you follow Buddhism, it was even a longer gap before written canon was developed there... and you would be right, but you Buddhism is much more complex and there is so much more, not to mention the structure of the religion (philosophy) is completely different and is an invalid comparison, but I think Islam would be a far better, comparison but they were trained all their lives to memorize the entire work as it was passed down, and many did, and this is a practice today for some still and was how it was translated until it was put to “paper”. The Buddha taught... The prophets of all Abrahamic Faiths preached... Like I said it is unique, in many ways, more so than the Abrahamic Faiths.

So I do not see me diving back into reading Jesus’s possible words in the New Testament anymore anytime relatively soon, and will view Jesus as the current Dali Lama does and I do not see it going much farther than that now since I did my research. However, I still have the interest to dive into other religious practices other than just my Foundation Faith to better myself and to better those around me... 

This is what the Dali Lama mentioned not to long ago about Jesus during an interview. “To sum up all that we’ve discussed, I feel there is tremendous convergence and a potential for mutual enrichment through dialogue between the Buddhist and Christian traditions, especially in the areas of ethics and spiritual practice, such as the practices of compassion, love, meditation, and the enhancement of tolerance. And I feel that this dialogue could go very far and reach a deep level of understanding. But when it comes to a philosophical or metaphysical dialogue I feel that we must part company. The entire Buddhist worldview is based on a philosophical standpoint in which the central thought is the principle of interdependence, how all things and events come into being purely as a result of interactions between causes and conditions. Within that philosophical worldview it is almost impossible to have any room for an atemporal, eternal, absolute truth. Nor is it possible to accommodate the concept of a divine Creation. Similarly, for a Christian whose entire metaphysical worldview is based on a belief in the Creation and a divine Creator, the idea that all things and events arise out of mere interaction between causes and conditions has no place within that worldview. So in the realm of metaphysics it becomes problematic at a certain point, and the two traditions must diverge (81-82 Christian Research Institute).”

So what of religions will I look into to possibly incorporate into Logical Spiritualism that coincides with what is already currently in there (Buddhism)? Taoism, Jainism, maybe a little Confucianism, Shinto, and of course Hinduism. I do believe that the root of truth in this universe is in Eastern Thought/Religion. 

One possible religion that could have been combined into my Logical Spiritualism is now checked off the list, that being Christianity... Who knows, in the end Logical Spiritualism might just be a form of Mahayana Buddhism... Only time will tell...

Keep thinking about positivity and know that Karma exists, no matter what you want to call it (e.g. you reap what you sow, it always comes back in the end, etc.) and live your life accordingly...

Keeping you thinking since 1981...

-automachi

The Logical Spiritualist   

  

Stuck in Between a Wheel and a Cross...

Hello Readers and welcome back! I am one tired guy, 3.5 hours sleep in the last 36 or more, and been working a lot. That and I have had a lot on my mind lately, constantly racing... plus having insomnia does not help... Anyway, this post in just one thing that has been weighing very heavy on me lately, hoping this post helps me figure out something... Enjoy!

I have posted before that I have had issues with dropping the Western mindset (God fearing Protestantism). Well I have been studying The Buddha’s teachings and Mahayana Thought for nearly a year and a half but still come back to certain parts of the Faith I followed for 23 years (Christian mostly, with Messianic Judaism for the last years, which is really a form of Christianity but they want to be recognized within Jewish religious sects, but Jews lay no claim of affiliation, and neither to the Christians). The unique thing is it has nothing to do with God... but has everything to do with Jesus... That my friends is the only aspect of the mindset I do see that will be shakable, and that has not already been removed from my religious beliefs, per se, and the thought of his importance makes elimination impossible... and there are numerous reasons why...

No man in history has made an impact to all of humanity like him, he has done things that no one else has, so many things and I am not even really thinking of the miracles he did in the Book, but his impact on Global Society from his inception for over 2000 years. This nation was essentially founded on him, and undoubtedly was on his Father in the Book as well. Nearly a 3rd of the people on this planet think of him as their person savior... No one else can lay claim to that... Now Buddha is my teacher... but I can still learn from Jesus, and so one else can too... emulating either at any capacity is a good thing. I do not think Jesus was the son of “God”, per se, but if you want to want more on my thoughts about YHVH or Yahweh check my last Blog post. I think the Buddhist Cosmology to be accurate, just my opinion. So obviously I have some things to work out as far as how I go forward in the grey areas of my new belief system... my logical spirituality.

That is what Logical Spiritualism is, taking on any form of some religion or theology, it can be stuff handpicked by yourself from various religions or whatever homegrown beliefs you may have, it is what you use to create/maintain your moral and core values, ultimately resulting in bettering yourself in all ways and creating benefit to everyone around you... and that my friends has been what I have been doing since I was “enlightened” in later 2010, looking for my Truth. However, I am changing some of my belief structure up. My logical spiritualism will be something like a homegrown strand of Buddhist Christianity and yes this does already exist, but mine will be a little different given my own homegrown beliefs... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity it is an interesting article, and will link you up with other things, like others that practice forms of this... 

I think Jesus was thee greatest Bodhisattva of Compassion. Jesus I think is Avalokiteśvara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokiteśvara), they are one of the same. I know both Buddhists and Christians would both freak out a bit about that statement, more so the Christians, but Buddhists would at least debate it, before shooting it down, as long they are Mahayana. There have been different interpretations within the Abrahamic Faiths but all regard him as a great person (Jesus), with varying importance given the religion and sect of the religion. 

So I have some molding to do with my belief structure, and practice really, that I know must be done... The reason I cannot get Jesus out of my head I truly think is from what I mentioned above and not that the “brainwashing” (no disrespect intended but I do not know what else to call it from my perspective). Having Western Thought engrained heavily into me for 23 years. 

H.H. The Dali Lama is thought to be the reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara, along with other current living beings as well, which fits well with the Christian view of Jesus being able to be everywhere at the same time (He is part of the Godhead which is “one” so that cannot be disputed, it is in Christian Canon as so (The Bible)) and being in the hearts of all living humans... So does that all mean that we have a little but of  Avalokiteśvara in us? Maybe? I think we may...

One thing that is now certain. I have to retract my statement of likelihood of myself picking up a Bible again... because obviously I need to again, more specifically just the New Testament and Jesus’s life only, mostly Red Letters, and other sources of his life within Apocrypha. Regardless, I know it is good for me and others to do so and how that changes my belief structure I do not know, but I do know one thing, Buddhism is my Foundation Faith, but I do have other beliefs, obviously...

The days ahead will be interesting and I will inform what I hope to be masses one day of how my (The Founder of the idea of being a Logical Spiritualist) journey goes.

Until next time,

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace. - The Buddha

-automachi

The Logical Spiritualist