I ask myself this question everyday… what will it take to bring about absolute peace in the world? I don’t have a fix-all solution for the world but I have come upon a realization so profound that it has dramatically changed my view of life and purpose in this world.

As a matter of fact there isn’t anything more important in my life than to investigate the human condition so that I along with everyone else might know absolute peace.

What is absolute peace?

I haven’t the slightest idea what absolute peace is… actually I do have ideas about it but that is all they are, ideas! This world that we live in has never known peace, so any notion or idea that I come up with for peace is just a concept for we have never know true world peace. For centuries we have fought amongst one another shedding blood in the name of ones religion, country, faith, etc.

It is clear that we all have ideas of what peace should look like. If you’re a Christian you will say follow the word of the Bible and you will know peace. If you are Jewish you will say follow the word of the Old Testament and you will know peace. If you are Muslim you will say follow the words of Allah and the Quran and you will surely know peace.

There are thousands and thousands of other books and religions that have ideas about what we must all do to bring about peace in this world and all of them are willing to die to prove it.

Top 5 Religions in The World

Christian 2 Billion
Islam 1.2 Billion
Hinduism 785 Million
Buddhism 360 Million
Judaism 17 Million

What can I do to bring about absolute peace in the world?

If you ask yourself the same question and truly understand the question completely you will see the answer is in understanding the question itself.

When I ask myself this question immediately a problem arises and for me to solve any problem I first look at what has been done that has not worked to fix the problem. Once you see what has not worked in the past you can then eliminate it and move forward, make progress.

Without casting judgment or a skewed opinion I can clearly see that looking at our history completely as a human race, all organized religions and systems of government have failed to bring about peace. I’m not stating an opinion but looking at the actual facts of our past.

I’m also not singling out any one religion and as a matter of fact I’m including all the so called non-religions too, Atheist, etc.

To see things as they actually are is not easy for most people because for most of us including myself… we’ve been conditioned to believe one thing or another from our parents, schools, etc. As a matter of fact most people will never truly be able to examine this question completely because their conditioning is so deep they can’t even understand the question and as I said above, the answer to this question is in understanding the question itself. What can I do to bring about absolute peace in the world?

If you and I can quiet our minds if only for a moment to step outside of what we know and see things truly how they are that is in itself a miracle.

Another interesting question to put to oneself is: Why do I have to know everything?

It seems as though we are brought up with this idea that we have to know what happens to us when we die, we have to know the meaning of life, we have to know EVERYTHING. This is a fundamental flaw in the way we are all brought up.

We don’t have to know everything, there is an infinite freedom in realizing this. You know that saying “some things are better left unknown”… well it’s true. Instead of interpreting different books, scrolls and ancient text from the past how about living right now? Instead of spending countless years of ones life KNOWING what you know how about waking up each day ready to find out?

For a person to wake each day KNOWING the word of god or the purpose of all humanity is really saying something about that person. For a person to wake up each day and know for a fact without a doubt that life started in this one particular way and this is what you must do in order to secure eternal salvation is in itself doing a disservice to your beliefs.

What audacity a person would have to have to believe they have “truth”, and what a shame it is to never wake up from that state of mind.

A state of mind that reads from the same book and says the same prayers over and over again surely isn’t the mind that will bring about peace in this world rather this is a mind that has been frozen and is no longer dynamic and progressive.

The mind that is to bring about peace in this world has no ties to books, churches, nations, temples or congregations. The mind that will bring about peace in this world will come from the human being that realizes this completely and this human being will go to sleep each night knowing that when he or she wakes the next day everything he or she knew the day before has nothing to do with that new day.

So again I ask myself. What can I do to bring about absolute peace in the world?

I can realize that in this world, in this existence in order to change the world I must change myself. In order to bring about absolute peace in the world I cannot live my life by the interpretations of other men, I must find out for myself what it is to know peace and in the process I must not only read and explore this intellectually but I must live this in my daily life.

Living and manifesting peace in the world has nothing to do with going to church or reading a book, it has everything to do with loving everyone UNCONDITIONALLY and speaking the truth always.

Loving everyone unconditionally is not the same as what all the religions of the world teach today. What the religions of the world teach you today is to TOLERATE one another not love one another. A Christian might say he loves a Jew but this is far from the “truth”. The fact that you subscribe to one religion or another implies that the other religion is wrong and damned… this is not love but fear.

Fear has no place in the enlightenment of humanity or day to day life. Fear breads hate, war, aggression, murder and insecurity in the world. Christians fear Muslims and Jews fear Atheist and Catholics fear Hindus and the list goes on and on.

See this all for what it is… it’s what you’ve been told, that’s all… nothing more. What you’ve been told is what they’ve been told and what they’ve been told is what someone told them and it goes on and on. It’s time to break this cycle… break free from the KNOWN.

Being a good Christian or Catholic is nothing more than an idea and ideas have nothing to do with peace.

Join the revolution and step into the UNKNOWN. Forget everything you know each day when you wake up and find out what life is all about each day as a new.

What would Jesus do? I’ll tell you what he did… BUT DON’T BELIEVE ME!!!

Go find out for yourself read the Bible but don’t take it as the word of god. When you’re finished reading the Bible pick up the Quran or the Buddhist 7 Noble Truths and continue seeking the truth but for the sake of all humanity don’t ever say you KNOW the truth.

The truth, the answers to all the universe and the purpose of all humanity cannot be quantified in any book, sermon or gospel for the truth for lack of a better word is ineffable.

If you want to live in a world of peace then drop the church, don’t call yourself a Buddhist or Atheist instead of talking the talk… walk the walk. In walking the walk you understand that to connect to the absolute truth that connection is through love. If you understand this then all your actions will be from a place of love and in acting from love you are expressing the truth.

So in summary: To bring about peace in the world I have to change myself, if I can change myself I have done all I can to change the world. Living life day to day, each day a new with all my actions and words coming from a place of love not ideologies, religions or beliefs but from unconditional love… in that ACTION you are realizing peace and from that realization others will come into realization as well.

Don’t take my word for it, go find out for yourself. Examine what it is that you KNOW and examine how it is that you’ve come to know what you know, then forget it. Once you’ve done that then ask yourself what can I do to bring about absolute peace in the world?

Understand that question completely and you will have the answer.

Peace,

Taken cumulatively, the integration of the world as a whole, particularly in terms of economic globalization and the mythic qualities of “free market” capitalism, represents a veritable “empire” in its own right. . . No nation on earth has been able to resist the compelling magnetism of globalization. Few have been able to escape the “structural adjustments” and “conditionalities” of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, or the arbitration’s of the World Trade Organization, those international financial institutions that, however inadequate, still determine what economic globalization means, what the rules are, and who is rewarded for submission and punished for infractions. Such is the power of globalization that within our lifetime we are likely to see the integration, even if unevenly, of all national economies in the world into a single global, free market system.

~ Jim Garrison

Well as many of you have probably already heard Michael Jackson died today. I’m a little ashamed to admit the first thing that popped in my head when I heard he had dies was… is Michael Jackson going to heaven or hell? This is such a random and silly question to pose to ones self especially when I don’t particularly believe in heaven or hell. The funny thing is my belief in heaven or hell has nothing to do with the thoughts arising in my mind.

And that’s how the mind works, one minute your working on a powerpoint presentation on photosynthesis and the next you’re pondering the purpose of all mankind. I’ve learned to just observe and go with the flow.

So in the spirit of going with the flow I think the question I posed myself deserves examination. Does Michael Jackson get to go to heaven?

When I ask myself this question immediately another question comes to mind and that is, does it really matter? To answer the second question I’ll firmly say no it doesn’t matter but for the purposes of intellectual stimulation and semantic banter why not say yes it does matter.

I’m going to cast my vote now and say Michael Jackson does get to go to heaven! Let us assume the worst that all the rumors about him are true with regard to his indiscretions with underage boys, Jesus juice and the whole 9 yards… I say he still goes to heaven.

The reason I say this and let me clarify again (I don’t believe in a actual heaven) but Michael Jackson from what I have gathered lived his life in hell.

I would dare say that with Michael Jackson’s death today in his last breath it would have been a sigh of relief. Just think about it, that poor man (boy) never got the chance at a normal childhood. Think about it every time you’ve seen him on television in an interview he seemed like a child trapped in a mans body. Painfully shy and reclusive for me it was almost painful to watch him interviewed or questioned in front of a live audience, and do you remember the staged kiss between him and Lisa Marie Presley?

The only time we got to see the real Michael Jackson was when he was on stage doing his thing, singing and dancing… that’s when he let his guard down and that’s when you could see who Michael really was.

For lack of a better phrase… “God bless Michael Jackson” and amen he’s finally free!

I’m sure the next 2 weeks will be nothing but sensationalized news coverage and all kind of celebrities coming out of the wood works to say how much they loved Michael Jackson. But after these next few weeks, week by week, year by year and on to the next generation perhaps all the rumors and silver tongued news reporters will fade into the past and all that will be left is his music and legacy as a great entertainer.

None of us got to know who Michael Jackson truly was because that poor man didn’t even know who he was. So I’ll shy away from the canned response Michael Jackson R.I.P. that I’m sure everyone and their mom’s will be posting and twittering over the next couple of days.

Michael Jackson… don’t rest in peace, Michael Jackson spread your wings and fly, dance on clouds and show the angels how to moon walk. Today is not a day for mourning but a day for celebration, Michael Jackson is finally free and gone from this hellish life of under a microscope.

Peace and love to the king of pop!

I’ve been fascinated with lucid dreaming ever since I had one many years ago, getting back to that state of consciousness and mastering the ability requires great patience. It seems as though the more I try, the farther I push myself away from dream consciousness. Whenever I am lucky enough to find myself aware of the dream it’s only but an instant before I awake. What is even more frustrating is  I can never remember what it was that brought about the awareness in the first place.

In addition to the practice of lucid dreaming for the past several months I’ve been trying to catch myself falling asleep. A better phrase might be, I’ve been observing my sleep process. Its been several months now and unfortunately I seem to be at the same place I was months ago. I will say this however, I’m not discouraged. I’m guessing once I am able to flick the switch “0101 0101 111 01″, it will only take the once and then instantly I will have mastered the technique. (I’m guessing.)

In any case I’m always on the hunt for new methods and tips so I thought I’d share an interesting website I came across tonight. The website offers 6 basic steps to lucid dreaming, let me know if anyone has success.

Peace,

Hello to you all, I’ve been gone for over a month now and haven’t been writing but I can assure you… I’m back, with purpose!

Today I’d like to talk about what most of the country has forgotten, ironically on this very day “Memorial Day”. The topic of today’s discussion is none other than purpose.

What is your purpose?

Today, Memorial Day we’re supposed to be remembering those who have fallen in the many wars and battles securing our liberties and freedom. Please excuse me if you are offended by me saying so but it seems to me that Memorial Day is everything but remembrance.

Living here in southern California I can assure you that Memorial Day is nothing more then a sign that Summer is here and reason to go to the beach. I would like to note that before heading to the beach you would be hard pressed not to stop at Macy’s to pick up some new attire as they are always having their annual Memorial Day sale!

Let us assume for a moment that in a perfect world, Memorial Day wasn’t a big beach party and people actually did stop to remember our fallen soldiers. In this perfect world where we all stop pay our respects, watch the parades and television specials… at the end of the day what good would have come of it?

Basically I’m trying to figure out (1) what is the point of remembering that people have died in wars most of us know nothing about and (2) if we actually did pay our respects in remembrance and not party… would our simple “remembering” contribute any progress or advancement to mankind? After all these soldiers were fighting for our progress and advancement correct?

So back to the perfect world envisioned where we all actually do pay our respects. Simply paying our respects in my opinion isn’t good enough.

I would think that anyone who has actually died in a previous war wouldn’t want anyone to romanticize over that fact but rather take advantage of the opportunities secured for them. Some might argue that having a party, going to the beach and cracking open a Bud Light is taking advantage of the opportunities secured for them but I’m assuming anyone reading this post is educated, articulate and at the least a “C” average student… so let’s not go there.

On Memorial Day we remember those who have fought so bravely or those who were all but forced to fight, but what exactly were they fighting for? This is a loaded question I know but it is a question worth examining because after all it is Memorial Day.

On this Memorial Day do we remember those Native Americans who fought against those who came to this land uninvited? On this Memorial Day do we remember the southern confederate soldier who fought to keep slavery alive?

As you can see we are in deep waters here or a slippery slope whatever you prefer, my point being that this day deserves more than high fives, sun tan lotion, barbecues and drunk driving. Memorial Day should actually be the one day out of the year were we all collectively try to remember how this came to be, the United States and what is our purpose.

When I stop to ask myself this question, what is my purpose it is abundantly clear to me that it has nothing to do with a 9-5 job, a new car, designer clothes or putting a ring on anyone’s finger in a facade most of us continue to perpetuate. My life’s purpose or your lifes purpose for that matter has nothing to do with anyone else but rather everything to do with you.

Do you want to share your life with someone else? How about figuring out what your life is about first?

We all want to be a part of something bigger but don’t know the first thing about ourselves. I’m married to this person, or I’m from this state, or I’m an American… how can you be ANYTHING when you don’t know who you are?

Again I ask, what is your purpose?

If you think it is your purpose to have children, start a family or hold a high ranking job with a six figure income then it is time to do some serious soul searching. All of those things are secondary and cannot be truly enjoyed or realized unless you know what your purpose is.

I cannot tell you what your purpose is but only remind you that you have one. In a world full of distractions it is all to easy to forget or for that matter to have never even put the question to ones self.

So on this Memorial Day, let us forget what we previously celebrated and let us remember who we truly are. On this Memorial Day let us find our purpose in life and from there manifest a life and world worth remembering.

What is your purpose?

This lecture by Alan Watts is titled “On Being God”. This 2 hour lecture in 2 parts has numerous gems, one of my favorite lines has to be “Socially approved experiences of reality”.

Alan takes a look at the nature of the human mind and our interpretations of it. He looks over the many different conclusions that we’ve come up with to explain our existence. It is noted by Alan that man, no matter how hard he tries to sum up or quantify the human condition and existence these attempts in the past have all been futile. The reason being for this folly is that man is incapable to come upon and maintain the conscious attention that is needed to observe the multi faceted, numerous and unlimited states of the universe.

“The scanning process of mans conscious attention is very inadequate for dealing with the infinitely many variables the multi-dimensional processes of the universe”.

He then goes on to examine how man has fundamentally waged war on nature and the natural ways and processes of the world. It seems as though we must conquer and make nature subordinate to man. Its as though we think man is the ruler of nature and this is the natural order of things.

This is a terrible mistake.

It does seem to be a true observation by Alan, even though this lecture was over 2 decades ago it seems to hold even more truth today. From my viewpoint man is a part of nature not its custodian. We cannot bring order to nature or control it, the continued attempt to do so is a fundamental flaw in our global society.

We want to control and account for everything. We draw imaginary lines in the world and create countries separating ourselves from one another. From within those imaginary lines we then create governments and systems that are supposed to bring order and peace but as it were… looking over history none of these systems or governments have ever brought order or peace nor will they in the future.

I digress…

Later in the lecture Alan then goes on to talk about Jesus and the many different interpretations of his words and experiences. Alan’s commentary is very colorful and in my opinion on point. One of the more interesting points he sticks with is the interpretation of when Jesus said “I am a son of God”.

He goes on to talk about how the Jews made it blasphemy and the Christians said only Jesus can say that he’s the son of god. Alan points out that this is a flaw and obvious misinterpretation as we are all the son’s of god, we are all god, we are all one with god. When Jesus said “I and the father are one” he didn’t mean just him.

To know that you are god is another way to say that you feel connected with this Universe, that in everything you do you feel that you express the perfection and ultimate truth. It is when you are disconnected from that truth when you cannot see that you are by all means “God” this is when man becomes ignorant, agitated and has to try to put things in order… give reason to things.

When one sees he is perfection there is no need to explain it, there aren’t any needs for interpetations, Bibles, Qurans, Atheist, etc.

I would like to invite anyone who is interested to post your thoughts on the audio lecture. The second part to the lecture will be posted shortly after this one.

Peace.

Speaks on what is possible with right speech, using your imagination to envision what is possible for us as individuals and your relationships with other people. Can one speak in a way that allows you and others do develop? Is there a way to speak so that there is more harmony between individuals and the community as a whole?

In any case I’ll let you listen to this Zencast and make of it what you will, as always your comments are welcome.

In this episode Gil begins to talk on the ethics of right speech, this episode is more focused on what to avoid as opposed to what to act on. Gil then goes over some of the different ethics: taking care of yourself, minimizing harm for others, etc.

One of the more interesting precepts with regard to taking care of yourself is to be mindful that you never lie. This precept in particular I take a great personal interest; I’ve been especially mindful of this in the last year of my life. Telling even what seem to be harmless or little lies can definitely come back to bite you when you are most unexpected. If one is truly mindful and aware of their speech one would never lie, not even the little lies.

One of my favorite stories that Gil gives in this episode with regard to lying is that even in the society of the Devil the one precept that they follow is that there is no lying. He then explains that even in a society such as the Devil’s there needs to be a level of truth otherwise even that society wouldn’t function.

Ah yes… the truth shall set you free indeed.

In any case I’ll let you listen to this Zencast and make of it what you will, as always your comments are welcome.

To begin this article let me start off by saying if you define yourself as an Atheist please read the following words very carefully, actually read them 3 or 4 times until you understand.

I, “Echo” am not here to judge you… I, don’t have an opinion either way about you being an Atheist. The content within this article are my observations, not my opinions but what is actually happening in reality. So please [[[ DO NOT TAKE THIS PERSONALLY ]]] if you are an Atheist, go on with your beliefs I’m not trying to change your belief system or how you want to define yourself.

To start lets clarify what it is to actually have a belief.

be⋅lief

1.something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.
2.confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof: a statement unworthy of belief.

3.confidence; faith; trust: a child’s belief in his parents.

4.a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith: the Christian belief.

(link to reference page)

Having a belief in something is basically having come to a conclusion. So what we have here are a world of believers and non-believers, ironically the non-believers, non-belief becomes their belief.

Ideally this is how it works for the believers. A group of people say we’ve looked back over all of time, we’ve looked back over history since man has kept a record and after our rigorous unbiased investigations of history and reality this is our conclusion, this is our set of beliefs.

If one would like to question their set of beliefs then they (the believers) will produce the evidence that substantiates their findings e.g., Bible, Quran, Bagavaghita, Scrolls or any other ancient text or findings.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the non-believers.

How it works for the non-believers is EXACTLY the same. A group of people say we’ve looked back over all of time, we’ve looked back over history since man has kept a record and after our rigorous unbiased and scientific investigations of history and reality this is our conclusion, this is our set of beliefs.

Although the non-believers won’t put a name on anything like God, Jesus, Buddha, Jehovah for example nameless or not they now have a belief that there is NO GOD.

a⋅the⋅ist

1.a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
(link to reference page)

Let me quickly summarize to make sure that we’re on the same page here. Whether you want to call yourself a believer in whatever faith (Christian, Muslim, Buddhist) or if you claim there isn’t a God… you have a belief. Your belief implies that you’ve done the research, you’ve investigated, gathered all the facts and as such you can say for certain that your conclusion of this evidence is the absolute truth.

If you can see this, observe that this isn’t my (Echo’s) opinion this simply is the way things are.

I’m not making anything up, the facts are… there are people who believe in god and they label themselves one of the many god believing labels e.g. Scientologist, Mormon, Catholic, Baptist, Jew, Muslim, Wicken, Born Again Christian, etc. Opposite of them on the other side of the same coin there are people who don’t believe in god and they label themselves any number of labels mainly, Atheist.

What I would like to talk about today are the Atheist, the so called non-believers. I’m fascinated and amazed by people who call themselves Atheist for a number of reasons. The reason for my fascination primarily is being an outsider looking at the believers and non-believers (Atheist) I can clearly see that they are one in the same.

For as much fighting and fussing that goes on between the two groups (believers and non-believers) they fail to see just how similar they truly are. If one takes the time to seriously look into the fundamental mind of a believer and non-believer you will observe that their BELIEF in a god or lack thereof is divisive, destructive and gives rise to conflict, fighting and great suffering in the world.

In my observations Atheist are very quick to point out that the believers of a god are the reason for wars, fighting, killing, etc. What the Atheist fail to see however is that fundamentally the same thought process that brought the believers to their conclusions about there being a god is the same exact thought process that brought the Atheist to believe there isn’t a god.

The believers and non-believers are similar in several ways. They both subscribe to a belief (in god or no god), they both have spokespersons e.g. authors, preachers, reverends and they both organize to protest their rights to believe what they believe. Above all the most shocking similarity is they both have annoying bumper stickers! To my surprise Atheist even have advertisements in public places and websites that ask for donations to support “the cause”, just like churches.

It is apparent to me that the Atheist mind certainly has good intentions and sees the devastation that has been brought about in this world by the many different faith based religions. It seems as though the Atheist mind sees that because the different religions have taken a stance, because they have come to conclusions, these steadfast absolute conclusions are what give birth to fear, conflict and war.

In seeing this obvious pattern of divisive and destructive behavior the Atheist does not subscribe to a god, the Atheist does not allow themselves to be trapped in the box of religion because obviously it manifest the great horrors and suffering in the world.

The Atheist mind has certainly taken a step in the right direction, they’ve stepped out of the trap, they’ve stepped out of the box but the irony is that they have simply stepped into another trap, another box.

The person who calls himself an Atheist has just traded one label for another, what they are painfully not seeing is that subscribing to any label is what causes conflict, aggression, hate, fear, war and all the rest of it.

Being an observer like myself standing on the outside of this whole beautiful mess one can see that the only difference between an Atheist and a Christian is the spelling of the two words. FundaMENTALLY the Athiest and Muslim share the same mind, they share the same process of thought. This process of thought has given them the audacity to claim truth for themselves one way or the other… god or no god.

If the Atheist mind can go deeper and find it WITHIN himself to not limit himself and this reality with a labels then perhaps he can come to a wonderful realization. Before the Atheist mind can come to this realization he must quiet his mind, be humble and set aside all of his research, scientific proof, book knowledge, etc., if one can do this then perhaps the Atheist mind will find out that… he doesn’t know.

There is a great sigh of relief that comes with not knowing. There is a wonderful weight that is lifted off of ones consciousness in the realization that one simply does not know.

When you subscribe to an idea, concept or set of beliefs and give yourself the label Atheist or Christian or Jew, etc., the flag you’ve raised above your head now requires that you constantly have to maintain and defend your label… your conclusion. People will continually want you to prove your conclusion wrong, and you will be all to happy to do defend and justify your label. The problem with proving your beliefs, justifying your conclusions is that you don’t have any energy to live in the NOW, you’re constantly defending knowledge and thoughts from the past.

The believer and non-believer BOTH have to take care to fastidiously maintain the walls they have built up around themselves. The moment a person claims to be an Atheist or Hindu in that same moment there will be someone trying to prove you wrong and you will naturally feel inclined to justify or prove that you are correct, that your way is the way… this is the truth! Whether you are a peaceful passive believer or non-believer your belief in a god or no god, implies conflict with the other.

If it weren’t for the constant building and tearing down of these walls (labels) that eventually breed conflict, fear, aggression and war it wouldn’t be a problem. The facts are however that because people have come to their individual conclusions and beliefs the world is full of fearful people who absolutely KNOW they have the truth and a world like this will never know peace.

The purpose of me writing this article is to hopefully reach at least one Atheist and perhaps point out that what seems to be a non-aggressive act in calling ones self an Atheist does in fact imply aggression. You could be the most peaceful, kind and loving person on the planet the moment you call yourself an Atheist you are (for lack of a better phrase) waging war on all the believers in god.

I would ask all Atheist who may come across this article to set aside all your beliefs, all your research and proof that there isn’t a god… and ask yourself one question.

Please don’t casually ask yourself this question, don’t simplify it… really go deep with it and sit with it. There is the definition in the dictionary of Atheist and it says“a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.” What if there were no dictionary, what then?

If you can humble yourself and see that the act of applying a label to yourself be it Christian, Buddhist or Atheist will eventually lead to conflict perhaps you might consider stepping out of this box. Perhaps in seeing this reality you won’t be fooled by the comfort that yet another label brings. Perhaps you’ll see that in calling yourself an Atheist your subscription to this idea, definition, conclusion or belief is the only thing standing between you and the truth. The truth is… you, like me and everyone else on the planet doesn’t know.

When someone asks you is there a god or what is your religion perhaps instead of blocking yourself with an impenetrable wall of a labels like Atheist, Jesus or whatever you can simply say I don’t know. When you say I don’t know you leave the door open for conversation, you are open for discussion… you don’t have to prove anything!

You will find that if someone does approach you and asks you about god or church and you say I don’t know they will go on to explain matter of factually how the world came to be and why reality is the way it is but when you say “I don’t know” there isn’t any conflict there, you don’t give them any reason to argue or become aggressive.

Now that you have spoken the truth “I don’t know” you have the energy to listen to this person and observe them completely. When you have complete energy and are listening to them totally without agreeing or disagreeing, without blocking or denying them it will be easy to see how they HAVE TO TELL YOU their truth.

Don’t judge them but see it for what it is. They are fearful, confused and afraid just like you and in order to deal with this fear they must tell you the way, they must have you agree with them because if they get you to agree with them then they take great comfort in that. It can also be said that if you do not agree with them some people will revel in your not subscribing to their belief and they will take great comfort that YOU are wrong, that you are going to hell and all the rest of it.

The magic here… the real revelation is that in acknowledging that you don’t know you then have the energy to find out!

Whatever it is that has given you and I life and created all the wonders and beauties of the world, the trees, the butterflies, the clouds, earth, wind, water and fire… surely it can’t be summed up by our words, ideas, books, knowledge or labels. However beautiful a language we devise, whatever ideas, poems, verses we come up with to express our ideas about reality, god or no god those words and ideas will only keep us from whatever it is that is actually the ultimate unspeakable truth.

I can see that the Atheist mind is so close to this realization, you’re (almost) ready to say, I don’t know and not knowing is a beautiful loving way to be.

Go deeply Atheist, find it in yourself, you’re almost there… whatever it is that gives rise to this reality, whatever it is or isn’t that gave you and I consciousness trying to describe it with ANY label including “Atheist” will only frustrate others, cause conflict, bring aggression, pain and war.

If you want peace in the world like I do, like everybody does deep down then see this label for what it is… a trap, a limitation, a box and step out… free yourself. There is no shame in not knowing, I (Echo) don’t know and I can tell you standing naked in the winds of truth without clinging to anything is the most loving and liberating action you can take. Not knowing is what will bring peace to you and the world.

Peace and love to you all, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

“I was an Atheist until I found out I am god”

Welcome to number 3 of 7 in this Zencast series on mindfulness of speaking with Gil Fronsdal.

The focus of this talk is on the dangers and opportunities in speech. The idea is quite simple, if one can understand the range of opportunities and dangers in speaking then perhaps one will find it easier to communicate others. It is also pointed out that how someone speaks is a good indicator of how someone feels about themselves.

In this talk Gil says a wise person avoids what is harmful to ones self and others, a wise person engages in what is beneficial for ones self and other people. This may seem like common sense to a lot of people but when it comes to speaking a lot of the times we forget how harmful words can be.

It seems as though a wise person is someone that understands clearly what it is that causes harm and what it is that is beneficial when speaking. This understanding and awareness of ones speech brings about a wonderful ability to communicate from a place of clarity and compassion.

Enjoy the Zecast as always feel free to leave comments or ask questions.