the good conspiracy theory.

there’s always another way to look at things. there’s always another point of view. i have appreciated painting a slightly negative picture of religion, spiritual aspirations and new-age philosophy. i suppose i’ve appreciated painting a slightly negative picture of religious leaders, spiritual teachers and new-age gurus. and yet, i ask myself, where would i have ended up had it not been for all of those in my life(?)

there may be no beginning or end to the enquiry. as a matter of fact i firmly believe that. it seems so obvious. and it also seems as obvious that anyone who states or infers that he or she knows ‘the answer’ is either a fool or worse. but, perhaps the very best a human can aspire to is a direct cognition of an underlying reality, an all-permeating self, irregardless of the question ‘ok, but where did that come from?’

the fact is i’m not saying anything so important. or if i am, it’s certainly not different than a lot of folks have said, from george carlin to friedrich nietzsche. hey, anyone who would not simply spend a lifetime in hiding after being named friedrich must’ve been a great philosopher. and apparently he did not have an ultimate answer. he philosophized, like george and me, that religion may be the greatest conspiracy ever played on humankind.

however, a friend recently asked: “what’s the harm of believing in an eternal self without beginning or end?” and that was a really good question, the absolute right question. we know very well that certainly a blind faith in an ideology, theory or idea can cause horrible huge and hideous harm. and if i wanted to remain the glass is half empty kinda guy i’d leave it at that. 

but that glass is also half full. so, yeah, a belief in a god or an underlying reality can precipitate tremendous good. there’s no doubt about it. and, more to the point, if a practice of meditation can actually acquaint or reacquaint oneself with that reality, irregardless of its seeming endlessness, what a tremendous blessing. 

as well, if enough people were to meditate on the infinite and interconnectedness of all life, what a blessing it’d be for the world as a whole(?)