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“Are you the product of your environment?”

Posted on 26 August 2014, 10:55

Victor Zammit asks this in this week’s newsletter. Now, I would applaud everything that appears in that newsletter in what it says about ourselves as individuals. I also applaud Victor’s A lawyer presents the evidence for the afterlife. It is excellent and all should read it. Similarly I commend R. Craig Hogan’s Your Eternal Self.  Both books discuss the individual and the realm of Spirit, how it is for the individual in the afterlife, how we may communicate with such individuals, and much more. As I say, I have no reservations about these books so far as they go. But Victor raises the question “Are you the product of your environment?”, noting that our beliefs are very much the product of the society we live in. Victor’s book presents one aspect of the picture. But we need other books that think of individuals as inalienable elements in one indivisible Whole. In the realm of physics we speak of quantum entanglement: similarly with Spirit we need to think of some kind of spiritual or mental entanglement, a timeless spaceless realm where all minds are potentially in touch. All paranormal phenomena are dependent on this timeless, spaceless entanglement. Victor Zammit and Craig Hogan quite validly present what they have to say in terms of what the Greeks called “the Many.”  But we also need to think in terms of the One. Even with this physical world we can see that everything is dependent on everything else. For example, think where ultimately that slice of breakfast toast came from, or how we came by the languages we speak.

As a person who has experienced much synchronicity, I am very conscious of this lack of separation. I have repeatedly found myself entangled with strangers from other countries in synchronistic episodes, and have puzzled as to how such events could possible occur. I read and discussed the issue in any way I could. On a sabbatical in 1984 I discussed the phenomenon with a number of scholars in Sweden including Lars Haikola of the University of Lund. He saw his synchronistic experiences in terms of his approach to the question in terms of his theology of “ecology of Spirit”. We have to do with Spirit that is in all, through all, and above all. We find ourselves dealing with “Peak experiences”, mystical states of feeling of oneness with All, namely “religious” and “spiritual experiences”.  “Enlightened” moderns often contemptuously dismiss the churches. Yes, they are very fallible, and often wrong-headed institutions, but they nevertheless have been vehicles for the transmission of mystical traditions that have inspired humanity, for “dying to self, rising with Christ”, for Communion with the Whole, sometimes for social reform. In these days all are free to change their church allegiance, and decide what may help them best develop spiritually. All are free to use their judgement as to what to accept and what to leave to one side, in a church tradition. We can accept the spiritual gifts that a church may offer, or disregard, as we will. We are citizens of the Cosmos, and we are free to look in any direction we will. Granted that churches can be one-eyed and faulty, we need always to be aware of this: and that includes Spiritualist or Spiritist churches.
 
We also have to ask whether people seeking to deepen their spirituality might not obtain benefit from hymns, songs, and poems used in church worship, whether the stories told in a particular tradition are not valuable vehicles for the transmission of deeper truth to the young, and those not yet thinking abstractly.  Differing traditions can tell a similar story. I recently participated in a Hindu service of worship. I discover that for the Hindus, God is a Trinity: The universal Spirit Brahma is personified as Brahman-Creator, Shiva-Destroyer, Vishnu-Saviour. While there are many points of divergence, many parts of their holy book the Gita, could acceptably be read in Christian worship. I am making the point that there is much in common between the great religious traditions. As I accept reincarnation as a fact, (as did many early Christians) I can also accept the goal of Hinduism of moksha, the process of becoming one with God. St Paul also has it right when he talks about being One in Christ. Yes, all religious traditions have their strengths and their weakness. But can each of us grow in love and spiritual awareness without the companionship and inspiration of souls more advanced than ourselves? Without using the language, stories and imagery of these traditions?

I have participated in many séances, and have been much enriched, and for thirteen years I have published a journal that asserts the reality of we can learn in them. But they are insufficient to present us with the length, breadth, height and depth of the All That Is.

I find this quote from Leo Tolstoy What is religion? And other writings.  “True religion is the establishment by man of a relation to the infinite life around him; as long as connecting his life with this infinitude and directing his conduct, is also in agreement with his reason and human knowledge.”

I find this in Simon Parke’s Conversations with Meister Eckhart:
“S.P:  So, to start us off, Meister Eckhart, some pastoral advice, please, for anyone feeling a little insecure or battered today. What should they do?
M.E: Do exactly what they would do if they felt secure.
S.P: And that’s it?
M.E: That’s enough. Do exactly what you would do if you felt secure.
S.P: I like it. And I can guess your reason for this sense of security.
M.E: Whoever has God as a companion is with him in all places, both on the street and among people, as well as in church or in the desert or in a monastic cell.
S.P: How is this so?
M.E: It is so because such a person possesses God alone, keeping their gaze fixed on God, and thus all things become God for him or her. Such people bear God in all their deeds and in all the places they go, and it is God alone who is author of all their deeds. If we keep our eyes fixed on God alone, then truly he must work in us; and nothing, neither the crowd, nor any place, can hinder him in this. And so nothing will be able to hinder us, if we desire and seek God alone, and take pleasure in nothing else. We must learn to maintain our inner solitude regardless of where we are or who we are with.”

Those reading this blog, or contemplating buying a book, are plainly thinking for themselves. So if we are trying to gain a balanced overall picture of Mind and Consciousness studies, both from the point of view of the Many, as well as that of the One, where do we turn? “In every possible direction” would be the short answer.

With regard to the written materials we might like to consult, let’s revisit a previous discussion of the mess that many Skeptic zealots have made to Wikipedia articles on spirituality and consciousness studies. The question is, where to turn for reliable written material? After some research I have listed thirty sites that appear to me to be reliable in the latest issue of The Ground of Faith. There are, no doubt countless others that could be added.
I have several shelves of excellent books about the reality of the afterlife and the spiritual world, including many books by many prominent writers including William James, F. W. H. Myers and several books by Colin Wilson. If you have studied academic psychology, Kelly and Kelly et al.’s landmark Irreducible Mind, a Psychology for the 21st century provides a thorough refutation of any mechanistic understanding of the subject, even suggests the possibility of the afterlife. (Coy about that subject, I think, to escape too withering a fire from colleagues.) But with the breadth and depth of its cover from the point of view of academic studies, the book is most impressive.

What about books that give encyclopaedic accounts of consciousness research, with a special emphasis on spiritual growth? I have been studying The Spirits’ Book recorded by the French Allan Kardec in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, and find myself wanting to come back to it again and again. Here is channelled material that seems to cover the height, width and depth, of Spirit. It takes into consideration both the One and the Many. We are led towards spiritual union with the One, while at the same time taking into consideration a surprisingly modern sounding evaluation of philosophical and scientific issues. I can well understand that it is treated as a kind of Bible by hundreds of thousands Spiritist followers of Kardec, who are most especially to be found in Brazil.
In 2013 was published an English translation of “Fundamentos del Espiritismo “ 2000 as Fundamentals of Spiritism: by Jon Aizpuria. On the back cover we read that it “makes a careful consideration of the teachings of spiritism..but adheres to a more scientific approach. Thus, drawing a specific and definite dividing line between what Spiritism truly is, and the superstitious beliefs and practices that with deplorable frequency is presented in its name.”

The reader may care to pursue the link to Amazon, to read descriptions and reviews of the book.

Michael Cocks edits the journal, The Ground of Faith.
Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr by Michael Cocks is published by White Crow Books and available from Amazon and other bookstores.
His forthcoming book, Into the Wider Dream will be published summer 2014 by White Crow Books.

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Afterlife and the Wider Picture

Posted on 12 August 2014, 9:56

Christchurch, NZ,  clergyman, Mike Coleman preached a sermon last Sunday, in which he mentioned that “last year, 2013, the global military expenditure was $1.747 trillion (US), on average, almost $4.8 billion (US) spent every day.”  But, before I quote him further, I ask this question: “Do you think these remarks are out of place, put alongside the kinds of books and articles we read at White Crow?”  I would be most interested in how readers might respond.

I put the question, because by nature I am a generalist, and generalism is a point of view that acknowledges that all is one, and that everything affects everything else. And before we start feeling overwhelmed by problems impossible to solve we need to remind ourselves of St Paul’s words that we all participate in body of the (universal) Christ, and as parts of that body, each of us have our own function in that body. All are not called to be Florence Nightingales. Not all will be psychics. The roles we play in this “body” cannot be counted.

I am sure I am preaching to the choir. People who go to “White Crow” will usually be certain that there is an afterlife, and the reality of the spiritual world. So, let us suppose that there are no more closed-minded Skeptics to convince, and let us suppose we are agreed that our knowledge of the spirit world is based on well studied human experience:  in what directions would philosophers and others investigate?  We could have Spirituality and Consciousness Studies and… conflict and war…traditional accounts of Spirituality and Consciousness as given in various kinds of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, various forms of mysticism, animistic traditions, and superstitions. Can we develop a system of morals and ethics? An educational program for the masses? Is there a consensus world from which we can investigate these topics? Is there a place for organised religion, where people of all stages of emotional and spiritual development can form communities of mutual support and service? Can we re-interpret existing religions in the light of our existing knowledge of the spiritual world?

Have our consciousness studies arrived at sufficient maturity for us to do this? Is there sufficient agreement?  If we examine such studies as are published in the ASCSI Journal, or the many journals to which we are now gaining access in WISEWiki, there are endless studies relevant to these questions. Can educational programs be developed on the basis of this consensus?

Perhaps there may be readers who will have opinions?

Anyhow, here is the rest of Mike Coleman’s sermon.. the one that set me questioning…

                                          ***

“Over the last hundred years wars have spread across our world devastating our earth. Often the single strongest reason for such wars has been economics and the quest for power all at the expense of people; sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, families throughout the earth.
It is obvious the desire for more is stronger than concern for the disaster of those who do not have enough.
Leaders talk of peace but have lust for power deep in their hearts.
Thomas Merton wrote in his reflections on War and Nonviolence,

‘To some men peace merely means the liberty to exploit other people without fear of retaliation or interference. To others peace means the freedom to rob brothers without interruption. To still others peace means the leisure to devour the goods of the earth without being compelled to interrupt their pleasures to feed those who their greed is starving.’

There is an evil motivator in the heart of humanity to want to be strong and powerful.

Jesus was confronted by these evil and powerful inner forces at the beginning of his ministry. As he spent time in the desert, in silence, he was allowing God to prepare him to proclaim a kingdom of peace and love. Into this space, this quiet, the evil one came and placed kingdoms before him, showed him how wondrous he would be if he performed miracles. The three pinnacles of what it means to be successful in our society were placed in front of Jesus; power, possessions and prestige; to be something, to have everything, to be totally in control of one’s life and destiny. Instead, Jesus , out of his deep faith points every evil force back to God. He said clearly, “I can only truly live and be who I am called to be on this earth by knowing I live by the word that comes from the mouth of God”.

Those who give into humanities greatest of evil forces bring much evil to the world. This is as prevalent in our secular society as it is in our church. Richard Dawkins, is possibly not wrong, when he says religion has been the greatest contributor to war and destruction on our planet. (Unfortunately, he forgets the greatest movements of compassion also come from religious people living their love.)
The western church, in particular, has been plagued by the desire to be dominant, to be stronger, own more land and gain more wealth. This is why it loves the distinctions between right and wrong, what is good and bad, who is in and out so it can justify its acts to create more for itself and go against the very gospel given to it from its inception.
Richard Rohr makes a sobering statement,

‘Christians are usually sincere and well intentioned people until you get to any real issues of ego, control, power, money, pleasure and security. Then they tend to be pretty much like everybody else. We are often given a bogus version of the gospel, some fast food religion, without any deep transformation of the self; and the result has been the spiritual disaster of “Christian” countries that tend to be as consumer orientated, proud, warlike, racist, class conscious, and addictive as everybody else.’

In Jesus’ own powerful temptations in the desert he reveals all war is created first and foremost in the hearts of people, people who become saturated in their desire for control and wealth. This is why Jesus during his ministry told his disciples,  ‘you are not evil because you ate some food the law and Pharisees said was unclean, evil comes out of the hearts of people. Out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.’

The heart with its inclinations to evil is only turned when a person lets go of these desires and journeys in metanoia back to God.
Only in the inward journey in desert silence can we allow our deepest darkness to be embraced by light.

This is the call of Jesus proclamation to let the kingdom of God come. Only in faith which brings forth love and peace are our frailty for greater things transformed.
Faith helps us to know deep in our hearts that we can be ok if we don’t have everything, that we can be full human beings if we don’t achieve everything that we can be wonderful people even though we sit in our homes unknown to the rest of the world. Faith gives us the deep assurance that we are held with an eternal caring by the God who we will spend eternity with.
The greatest challenge of any Christian or spiritual person is to live honouring their faith within our secular society.

For it seems in today’s world to be content with your possessions is to be backward, to be happy with your place in life is seen to be not using your potential, to live in prayer and in peace while challenging power bases of injustice in our society is considered fundamentalism.

This is what we see in our gospel today of Jesus and his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. When the disciples are fearing for their lives in the storm they see Jesus walking toward them, when Peter who has stepped out in faith on the turbulent water feels his faith wavering he cries out, “Lord save me!”. Matthew, the gospel writer, is declaring when the storms of life are battering you from all sides look to Christ. When you are living the gospel in a world that fights for power, craves prestige and idolises possessions the hand of Jesus will hold you and lift you and help you to say, “I cannot live by bread alone but need to worship and serve only God“.

This is the essence of our Lord’s message, only in allowing love to reach into our inward self can the move to outward peace flow.

I believe, there will be no peace in the Middle East until each side allows the essence of their religions to touch their inward heart both individually and corporately. There is no doubt that both the Israelis and Palestinians were terribly wronged by evil in the 20th century. The Palestinians were violently uprooted in 1947 by the world’s powers to create a homeland for Israel. Even though Israel would end up only a fraction of the overall population on the land they were given 55% of the land split between them and the Palestinians. They then went against United Nations conventions and created Israeli settlements on Palestinian land deepening the hate and violence.
The Jews were also violently wronged and viciously murdered in their millions in World War 2 and they had no place they could call home.
It is natural to want to hold on to hate when this level of injustice and brutality has violated a nation but Hate and violence on this scale only lead to the death of innocence.
There can be little lasting hope unless there is the inward movement by each side toward their God. Only in God can forgiveness replace bitterness, love replace hate. This on the face of it sounds superficial and trite but the heart needs to be transformed so the need to control land and maintain power can fall away. Letting go is the way to creating a fair, unoccupied and safe homeland for the Palestinians. There needs to be the place of compromise where Israel retracts from settled areas that was unlawfully stolen so a Palestinian homeland can be created.  Hamas likewise needs to now let go and accept the right of Israel to exist. From here both nation’s peoples can begin to live new lives.

Thomas Merton said, “So instead of loving what you think is peace, love other men and love God above all. And instead of hating the people you think are warmongers, hate the appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed, but hate these things in yourself, not in another.”

Michael Cocks edits the journal, The Ground of Faith.
Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr by Michael Cocks is published by White Crow Books and available from Amazon and other bookstores.
His forthcoming book, Into the Wider Dream will be published summer 2014 by White Crow Books.

Paperback               Kindle

Afterlife Teaching from Stephen the Martyr - Michael Cocks


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“Life After Death – The Communicator” by Paul Beard – If the telephone rings, naturally the caller is expected to identify himself. In post-mortem communication, necessitating something far more complex than a telephone, it is not enough to seek the speakers identity. One needs to estimate also as far as is possible his present status and stature. This involves a number of factors, overlapping and hard to keep separate, each bringing its own kind of difficulty. Four such factors can readily be named. Read here
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