Spirituality Guide

The Birth of Religion - Part 4
by Seeker

Invisible universes? How could that be? How could there be entire realms which remain invisible even for those who look? It seems strange to think of but it is easily demonstrated.

The above is a series of images of just one thing. It’s something we can see every night when the sky is clear. The Milky Way looks markedly different depending on which frequency we choose to view it in. remarkable isn’t it? To think that each of those views is there, all the time, yet they remain invisible until we choose the right wavelength of light to record.

In a similar fashion, it has been suggested that there may be vibration differences that can reveal new vistas for us when we achieve them. Science has only brought credence to this view with the discoveries they bring forth. What we see as solid simply isn’t; in fact it may not be there at all.

When we track our way down through orders of magnitude of size, we come to atoms, once thought to be the ultimate in smallness. Now the investigations have gone way smaller than that, talking of quarks and muons, of photons, neutrinos and other particle exotica that are much smaller than atoms.

No longer can we even pretend that there is such a things as solidity as even within atomic size, most of the ‘matter’ is empty. If the nucleus of a hydrogen atom was swelled to the size of a basketball, the electron would be orbiting it more than ten miles out.

And down from that again, they talk of strings, basic fabric of the cosmos that are smaller compared to an atom than a grain of sand is to the sun. And strings vibrate!

And now for the third part in Seeker’s series on The Birth of Religion.

The Birth of Religion - Part 3
by Seeker

What is it to be human? A part of it is our ability to think and reason, but another part of it is our wonder and sense of awe at the scale and content of the world around us.

Reason tells us that it is at least a possibility that the universe exist only in our minds. Those considered wise among civilizations throughout history tell us over and again that consciousness, spirit, beingness, or whatever name you give to the essence that is us, is all there is. That we create the cosmos around us and that without awareness there is nothing.

Whether or not this is so, Einstein’s Relativity tells us of the importance of the Observer, that it matters from where you look as to what you see. Quantum Theory seems to tell us that Consciousness is an integral part of the universe rather than just a facet of it. In science there are theories that the Observer affects the results of the experiment, including some quite strange results that seem to say the results change in strange ways.

Mystics talk of this world being just one place among many while science talks of the possibility of many dimensions. So why is it we see only this realm?

Our senses are not really enablers for our minds. Rather than opening us to the cosmos around us, when looked at realistically, they instead limit our view. Out of the huge range of the spectrum of light available, we ‘see’ only a tiny slice. Our ears pass very little of the possible spread of sounds that occur around us. Our noses have nothing like the sensitivity of the animals we keep as pets and we can feel only things which directly contact our skin.

All that it takes for a world to exist that we can’t perceive is for it to not react to the wavelengths we can see.

Today Seeker joins us again for part two of “The Birth of Religion” series.

The Birth of Religion - Part 2
by Seeker

Why do we humans think of things other than this purely physical world? What evidence is there that the world of the senses isn’t all there is?

A problem for those who teach in schools and who decry the idea that there may be more to life than making money and buying ‘things’ is that we actually have no real evidence that there is actually a universe out there. The physical view of things demands we accept evidence that the universe is ‘Real’ and that any other view has to provide real evidence that it has a right to be held as an alternative.

But what is ‘Real’? When an event occurs in the universe, (if it actually does) then in some way, that event creates an effect that has to impinge on our senses or we cannot know it has happened. From the moment it impinges on our senses, it becomes a series of electrical impulses that cause chemical reactions within cells. The impulses travel rapidly along the nervous system until they reach the brain where they cause and are affected by a series of reactions that include triggering previous memories and being ‘coloured’ by emotions based on past experiences.

Then and only then, do we become aware of the ‘event’ that triggered the process. At that point, if things go as they should, we think about all the information that comes attached to the signal, we come to a decision and we react according to rational thought.

But we need to realize – at no point do we have any real evidence that anything actually happened. Everything we know, everything we see, feel, smell, taste or hear is a construction of the mind interpreting the signals coming into the brain. In all we have learned of the physical world, there is nothing that allows for us to reach beyond those tiny signals coming into the brain and constructing our entire view of the universe.

For part of this week, a wonderful person I know is providing a series of guest posts about humanity and religion. I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do.

The Birth of Religion - Part One
by Seeker

Of all the life forms on Earth, as far as we know, only humans have religion. It may be that dolphins worship whales or that dogs worship their masters, but the wonderment at the possibility of higher realms and or a Creator seems to be a particularly human trait.

Mind you I am not talking here about any of the established or orthodox religions but rather the personal sense of awe and numinous feeling that there is more to life, more to the universe, than just atoms and other particles.

It seems strange but there is little in the normal world to indicate that people are thinking about just why we have the religious sense – or maybe we should call it the spiritual sense so we don’t keep getting tangled up with Religion.

Why do we have this feeling? When you ask those of science about such things, they talk about how Man would feel so alone, or our need for a father figure, or trying to find answers to the mysteries we see around us. Yet that begs the question of just why we would have those feelings at all.

It seems to me that if intelligence brings along with it such fear of facing the real world that we go looking for phantasms to brace us against the vicissitudes of life, then maybe it doesn’t have so much going for it after all. That if we need to invent a supernatural and omnipotent being to protect us and provide us with meaning to our lives then perhaps we don’t really meet the definitions for sanity and wisdom.

Unless of course, there is actually something beyond our merely physical world – as mystics and sages have been telling us all through history. Unless the sense of spirituality is really based in a recognition of something beyond the mundane and an awareness of lives and self that allows us to reach past the boundaries of the mere mortal world and catch a glimpse of forever.

I found this here and thought you might enjoy it.

From the desk of THE Boss (Source: Unknown)

Adopt some of these tips and live longer

Tips for an Exceptional, Superb & Powerful Life!

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3.) Always pray and make time to exercise.
4.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70,and under the age of 7.
5.) Eat more foods that grow ON trees and plants, And eat less foods that are manufactured IN processing plants.
6.) Drink tea and plenty of water. Eat broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
7.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.
8.) Clear your clutter from your house, car, desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
9.) Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
10.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class ……. but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
11.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a layman, And dinner like a beggar.
12.) Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
13.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
14.) Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.) You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
16.) Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
17.) Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
18.) Ladies - Go on and burn those ’special’ scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets,
the good china and wear fancy clothes now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. E v e r y day is special.
19.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
20.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years, will this matter?
21.) Forgive everyone for everything.
22.) What other people think of you is none of your business.
23.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!
24.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
25.) Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.
26.) Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
27.) Envy is a waste of time.
You already have all you need. God provides, remember?!
28.) The best is yet to come.
29.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
30.) Do the right thing without fussing about.
31.) Call your family, son or daughter more often.
32.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: ….I am thankful for __________…..And Today I accomplished _________.
33.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
34.) Enjoy the ride.

Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast ride.

You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

‘Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No-one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.’

Author Unknown

I don’t think there is much more to say.
Found here.

Yesterday I talked about being moved by a video I watched and how it made me feel. It was amazing to me that one person was doing one small thing, but by doing that one small thing, he was connecting people across the globe. It was a beautiful sight to see.

Matt is not the only person doing beautiful projects and connecting people across the world. There are a lot of projects out there just waiting for more people to discover them. It inspires me to no end when I find a new one.

I recently found a wonderful site called HopeRevo.com where people all over the world are leaving anonymous messages of hope and inspiration.

When I have a little more time to work with, I will start working on my HopeRevo pages. Hopefully I’ll be able to take pictures of them and post them here as I make my progress. I’m not quite sure what materials I’ll be using just yet, but I am looking forward to it being a lot of fun.

If you take part or would like to take part in the HopeRevo project, please let me know. Link to your blog or website in the comments or, if you don’t have a site, just let us all know how you’re doing in the comments section.

I would like to start talking more about things like the video I posted yesterday and the HopeRevo project because it fills me (and others, I hope) with hope for the human race and what we can achieve together. At the very base, most of us what to connect and feel connected with other people.

If you have any sites, projects, or anything else that inspire you and help you to feel connected, please let me know.

Just in case anyone is offended by the title of this post, I would like you to know that the title comes from the website URL and video title that I will be talking about below.

Recently I was looking through my friends blogs and saw that one person had put up a video. This person often introduces me to funny/interesting things and new music, so I certainly wasn’t going to pass it by. However, upon watching the video, I had a reaction that puzzled even me, who was reacting.

Before I tell you what the reaction was, I’d like you to watch the video:

This video was made by Matt, who now runs WheretheHellIsMatt.com. What he does is basically what you see on this video; he travels to places all over the world and videotapes his strange and funny dance. As you can see in this video, he sometimes gets people to dance with him as well.

How did I react to seeing this video? I got teary-eyed.

Yes, as strange as it sounds, this video very nearly made me cry. As you can imagine, that puzzled me.

I was not crying for sadness nor for extreme joy. For many minutes after watching the video, I sat wondering what exactly I was feeling.

I think that in these days of rising prices, global warming, terrorism, war, etc, that we get run down. Sometimes we realize it, sometimes we don’t, but we get run down by all these images and stories of what is horrible and rotten with the world. It is because of that that I almost cried when I watched this video.

Matt makes it clear that the message of this video is whatever you think it is. I take it to be connection. That we are all human and we can all have happiness. We can all work together if we so choose.

Please take from this video what you will and pass it on if it makes you feel anything good. Because there are too many people out there who are run down and down realize it. Too many people who truly need a glimpse of hope.

Wow, it seems like it has been ages since I was last able to write here. Due to problems with the 451press servers and such, many blogs on the network have been unavailable for a while. Thankfully, all the blogs that were down seem to be up now.

I will echo the sentiments of many other bloggers in apologizing for the down time and thank you all for your patience. This has been quite a frustrating time for all of us.

I will not be posting to cover the days that were missed due to the technical difficulties, but I will be getting right back into the swing of things.

As always, if you have any questions or comments for me that you would rather not have posted on the site, you can contact me with the ‘contact me’ button under the site description on the right.

I have plans for a few changes as to some of the content on this site in the future, so be sure to come back often and see what I am talking about. I would love to have some excellent discussions here on site. You can always feel free to speak your mind here (unless your comments are derogatory, malicious, etc).

Thank you all again for waiting for so long and for coming back after such a long absence. I am looking forward to getting back to what I love best – writing.

I hope you all have a wonderful day full of laughter and happiness.