The Dualistic Concept Of Heaven And Hell

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Heaven and Hell are not places that you go to after death. Whether you’ve been “good” or “bad” there are no such places as Heaven and Hell; they are merely concepts that exist in the mind. We create our own Heaven and Hell here on earth.

The only reality, ultimately, is Consciousness, which exists as it is. For Heaven and Hell to exist, they would have to have some form of objective reality, which means that they would have to appear somewhere within the timelessness of Consciousness. If that was the case, they would have limitations (boundaries), which would render them both finite. This completely blows out of the water the mythological religious view that Heaven and Hell are eternal; eternal bliss and eternal damnation respectively. You cannot have two eternities, it is both spiritually and scientifically impossible. Eternity is timeless infinity, so if Heaven and Hell existed there would have to be a place (boundary) where one ceased and the other began. Therefore the only conclusion is that both Heaven and Hell are dualistic concepts that exist only in the mind.  

The Cycle Of Changing Perceptions

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This post is the result of some musings of mine that relate to my own journey, but I’m sharing them because I feel that other people will have had a similar experience and may have drawn the same conclusion. Looking back, I would describe my evolution in this life as follows: It seems as though I have gone through two stages and am now going through a third. The first stage is that I’m born into this world and immediately start to be conditioned by my surroundings. My conditioning ensures that as I grow, I lose sight of my true nature and become fully entrenched in “life” and remain completely oblivious to the bigger picture. I’m completely unaware of the grip that the ego has on me and my only understanding of reality is what I see around me and what I’m told by my parents, teachers, peers and the media.

I think that is fairly general and probably applies to pretty much all souls taking human birth. Although, I’m sure there are exceptions to the rule. The conclusion from the first stage is that “I am this body and my reality is the world around me and its inhabitants.”

The second stage starts thus: I feel uncomfortable; there is something missing but I don’t know what it is. I start to seek, but I don’t really know what I’m seeking or how to seek it. Personally, I never felt that I belonged anywhere and this period, which started during my teenage years and carried on until I reached my 50s, was a very difficult time for me. The first place I looked was towards religion. However, the Christian church didn’t do it for me and I just drifted aimlessly for many years, getting more and more confused and feeling more and more isolated. Eventually, I realised that spirituality was far more expansive than my conditioning had led me to believe. I became aware of other forms of spirituality that were more appealing. By the time the 1980s came along my experiences and contacts at that time led me towards Spiritualism. It was also a religion that didn’t do it for me and I walked away for several years.

For various reasons, I ventured back and remained involved for many years. During this time I never considered myself to be a Spiritualist, but through other contacts that I made became drawn towards Eastern religions; particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. In the early 2000s I also acquired a guru in the form of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. What I conclude from this stage is that although Spiritualism pointed out the truth of eternal life to me, it seemed firmly entrenched in the past. In addition and in hindsight, I realised that it encouraged me to become attached to “objects” such as spirit guides, wolves, angels and crystals etc. These things have their place along the way, but ultimately, all objectivity, being dualistic in nature, is an illusion. It was Buddhist principles in particular that brought me to the awareness of “Oneness.”

Other milestones from stage two are that I became aware also of my greatest influences, namely – Paramahansa Yogananda, Neil Donald Walsch, Ramana Maharshi and of course Sai Baba. I read quite a lot of their writings without properly understanding what I was reading.

As I embarked on stage three I was dealing with the realisation that Buddhism and Hinduism, although still very appealing, also did not complete the picture for me. It made me further realise that all religions have their limitations and are mere stepping stones along the way.

I had the knowledge of Oneness but not the knowing. There is a huge difference. We have a habit of gathering lots of knowledge, which generally speaking is the experience of others and not ourselves. Knowing is to know something through the experience of it. An example that is used very often is the fragrance of a rose. How can you know what the fragrance of a rose is like through someone else telling you? You can only truly know by smelling the beauty of its fragrance yourself. A huge help to me has been the “discovery” of Rupert Spira. His videos and writings have helped me greatly to understand in greater depth the works of Neil Donald Walsch and Ramana Maharshi. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the greatest thing that Sai Baba taught me was that at no time would I have a need to worship, or become attached to, his physical form; the physical form being akin to the objectivity mentioned above in stage two.

I can conclude this post by describing my soul’s journey as follows: From the complete knowing of Infinite Consciousness to complete ignorance on embarking on a physical experience. Then awakening to the understanding that I am not a body/mind but making the mistake of thinking that all the answers are in the esoteric and pretty much at one point believing that the world had no significance whatsoever. To the further understanding that the only reality is Consciousness, therefore the world and the esoteric are in fact One, both being projections of Consciousness, by Consciousness within Consciousness.

Will there be a stage four? I don’t know, but what I do know is that one day I will complete the cycle of changing perceptions by returning to the complete knowing of Infinite Consciousness.

The 40 Watt Lightbulb Analogy

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The 40 watt lightbulb analogy, what is it? Well, it’s actually something I’ve written about before, but not for many years. What has prompted me to revive this concept is the state of the world and where we as a race appear to be heading (not that old chestnut again, yawn!) When I first read about this analogy, probably around 12 years ago, it made a lot of sense; but, it is probably even more relevant today. At the time, there was a lot of crazy things going on in the world and you just wouldn’t have thought that things could get any crazier; how wrong can you be? To quote Neal Donald Walsch, our species seems to be going to Hell in a handcart. There is untold suffering going on in our world, and it isn’t just our species that is suffering, it’s also the animal kingdom and our very planet, Mother Earth. The craziest thing is that most, if not all of the terror, is being inflicted by humans.

Right, let’s get back to the actual analogy.

Imagine you had a storeroom, lit only by a 40W bulb. For years you were happy with this rather dim light, doing its best, but struggling to light up the space. Then suddenly, one day, you decide to brighten the place up and you change the 40W bulb for a 100W bulb. You flick the switch for the first time, and to your horror, you now see that the storeroom is filthy; it’s covered in dust and cobwebs. The reality is, that the dust and cobwebs were always there, it’s just that within the light of a 40W bulb they could not be seen. The 100W bulb hasn’t by some miracle created a mess, it’s simply highlighted the mess that was already there. And so, it is the same with what is happening now.

All of this crazy stuff has always been going on. Humans have been inflicting pain and suffering on humans since the beginning of time. The reason it seems so much more prominent these days is because our species is evolving…fast, it would seem. The light of Consciousness is awakening within humankind. Of course, there has always been ignorance, and I’m sure there always will be. But, the level of consciousness within our species is being raised; even as I type. A big difference I have noticed since I was growing up is that back then, you were told “this is how it is and there is no other way” and people just accepted this. A good example is religion. Of course, I can only speak from my own experience, but at school, we were indoctrinated in a particular way. When you became old enough to think for yourself, you either carried on with what you were told or you rejected it. Back then, it wasn’t easy for younger people to “seek” and there didn’t seem to be any alternative. Nowadays, people in the main do not accept this, and we have given birth to “The Seeker.”

I am of the view that some religions have shot themselves in the foot. So many different factions and even different holy books within one religion, all the factions interpreting their scriptures differently and all claiming to be the only truth. People are just not having it anymore and are seeking out there own pathway.

Because the general level of awareness is gradually rising, in other words, we are getting closer and closer to experiencing our true nature, we are noticing more and more all the horrors that exist in the world. Because our true nature is that of Love, these horrors affect the way we feel in a negative way, because they are the polar opposite to who we really are. Things are not helped by the mass media that seems to delight in sensationalising negatives. I personally believe that our world is full of wonder and beauty, and there are lots of positive things happening all over. Unfortunately, this is not newsworthy.

The 100W bulb (light of Consciousness) has replaced the 40W bulb (ignorance) in so many people now, worldwide. Also, if you consider relativity and the fact that our planet is a living, breathing paradox, I think it is safe to say that we are going in the right direction.

 

 

The Sea Refuses No River

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In my experience, many religious people, specifically Christians, worry about whether their God will accept them into “his” heart once they give up their physical form. This is a most pointless pastime; why would a God not greet all of “his” children with open arms at the end of physical lifetime?

The sea refuses no river, and what is God, but a timeless, accepting, non-judgemental eternally flowing Sea of Love…

The sea refuses no river

Whether stinking or rank

Or red from the tank

Whether pure as a spring

There’s no damned thing stops the poem

The sea refuses no river

And this river is homeward bound

Extract from – The Sea Refuses No River – from the 1982 album, All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes by Pete Townshend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contextual Penance

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I saw on social media recently that someone posted the following passage from the Bhagavad Gita. I wanted to share it before continuing because it kind of ties in with what I wanted to write about.

The soul is neither born nor does it ever die. Having never existed will it ever cease to be? The soul is birthless, eternal, changeless, immortal.

Bhagavad Gita 2:20

I’ve come to realise even more recently just how difficult the spiritual pathway really is. Before I continue, did you notice what happened there? I made a very contradictory statement; “the spiritual pathway.” There is no pathway or journey because ultimately, the only reality is Consciousness, which exists exactly as it is, as seamless eternal bliss, love, infinite awareness; the list of names we could call it is endless. I’ve written about this before, and you can see that we haven’t even gotten into the post properly yet, but things have become complicated. This is just one reason why the “spiritual pathway” can be such an arduous “journey.” As if life wasn’t challenging enough, we are hampered on our way by language; or to be more precise, the limitations of language. The main crux of this post cannot be aptly explained with any words from any dictionary in any language. What we have to do in these situations is use the words that fit best with what we want to say, even if it isn’t going to be 100% accurate.

I have come to the conclusion that pretty much all forms of spiritual practice are a bit of a red herring and ultimately can never be anything more than stepping stones as we blunder and stumble our way through life. I’ve realised lately that no matter how spiritually evolved we believe ourselves to have become, life doesn’t get any easier, in fact, there’s a good argument to suggest that it just gets harder. Now, I am about to get to the point; honest, but just one more thing before I do.

In order to negotiate life’s hurdles, I have found that it really does help to understand that everything along the spiritual pathway (there I go again, making contradictory statements) has context, and my truth may not be your truth and vice versa.

There are many examples of spiritual practice, but the one I want to focus on for the purpose of this article is the practice of “Surrender.” The reason being, that it’s a great example of what I’m trying to put over. For the uninitiated, I shall try to explain using my very limited understanding of the Hindu religion. In Hinduism, there are three recognised pathways to enlightenment; Bhakti (devotion), Karma Yoga (selfless service to humanity) and Surrender (complete surrender to God). I’m happy to stand corrected on this and I’m sure that in India these three pathways are not restricted to Hindus.

I’ve been struggling quite a lot recently with my mind causing absolute havoc, and it was during one such struggle that I came to the conclusion that no matter what we think we are doing with regard to spiritual practice, there is something underlying in the driving seat, going largely unnoticed and quietly going about its business, and that something is Consciousness simply being itself. It was during this moment of struggle that I had the epiphany regarding spiritual practice, and Surrender specifically came to mind. It seemed to me that to practice Surrender, the aspirant must delve into the world of illusion in order to ultimately gain something that he/she already has.

To clarify, we must first objectify a deity that exists as a separate entity from ourselves, in order to then surrender to it. The outcome of which, we hope, would be that we become enlightened. Considering that our true nature is that of the aforementioned Consciousness, which exists simply as itself, we would have to give credence to the illusion of subject/object (seer and that which is seen); also known as duality, we would also be affirming this illusion with our “spiritual” practice, and for what? To gain something we already have. This is where context comes in.

I’m currently experiencing a turbulent time with regard to my mind and the thoughts it’s throwing up. However, I am big enough and ugly enough to know that this turbulence is of my own making, and this gives me the power to be the captain of my own skateboard (I just made that saying up). When I cast my mind back 20 odd years, I was in an awful psychological state, and the “Me” that existed then would not have had a clue what all this Surrender malarky is about. Instead, I eventually started a journey of spiritual practice that got me out of that predicament and set me on the road to becoming who I am today. The practices I undertook back then would be considered very inferior to the practice of Surrender, but in the context of where I was and what was going on with me, those practices were valid and exactly what I needed.

To conclude, within the context of the illusion of duality, which we are all experiencing at this moment, all spiritual practices have some form of relevance in relation to where we are as individuals. I see them as a kind of penance, but not in the harsh, religious sense. They are simply a way to go about opening the doors of evolution for the soul who is floundering and lost. This now brings me back to the beginning and that quote from the Bhagavad Gita. Ultimately, there is no individual soul, there is only Consciousness having the adventure of experience, driven by itself, within itself and of itself.

Consciousness is unable to have this experience without veiling itself in ignorance. Paradoxically, the “gift” of duality is the way back from this ignorance to enlightenment. Enlightenment being the realisation that we are already enlightened, and ultimately, that there is no such thing as enlightenment.

 

I’m Back

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Well, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a long gap in between blog posts before. It’s been over four months since I last posted back in August. I wouldn’t say that my barren spell has been down to writer’s block. Far from it, I just seem to be going through a strange transition period; there have been changes in my life and blog posts have never been further from my mind. However…I haven’t been completely idle. After many months of procrastination, I have republished my last two books as second editions. A few years back, I removed all of my books from sale because I didn’t feel that they represented who I am anymore, not fully anyway. But, Paradise For The Ungodly is now published again, and available only directly from me, and I am waiting for the proof copy of Eyesight To The Blind to arrive. Once I’m satisfied that all is in order, I shall click on the button and it will be available to purchase on most major book sales platforms, including internationally.

I have tinkered with both books, removing bits here, adding bits there and also rewriting passages that don’t seem quite right five years down the road. To tease your taste buds, I have posted the covers below. They are only in the form of photographs, taken online, at the moment. But, I will be updating with better quality pics in due course. See you soon.

Do Not Chase The Tail

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I saw what I thought was an incredibly funny cartoon on social media recently, although I believe they are called memes these days. It was a take on the classic old spiritual thing of a seeker going up a mountain looking for a guru and/or enlightenment. The only thing was that this cartoon features dogs and not humans. I wish that I’d kept a copy because I cannot remember the caption word for word, but I think you will still get the gist of what I’m trying to say. Our intrepid canine friend reaches the mountain peak and there finds the wise guru dog sitting on a throne. The caption went something like this:

“Chase not the tail, for the tail is already yours”

Apart from finding it rather amusing I also found it very profound and it reminded me of something I’ve written about several times in the past. However, I’m not going to repeat myself here, I’m going to leave that to the masters:

“You are already that which you seek” – Ramana Maharsh

“Before enlightenment chopping wood, carrying water

After enlightenment chopping wood, carrying water” – Old Chinese proverb

“When the road ends and the Goal is gained the pilgrim finds that he has travelled only from himself to himself, that the way was long and lonesome, but, that the God whom he reached was all the while in him, around him, with him, and beside him! He himself was always Divine. His yearning to merge in God was but the sea calling out to the ocean.” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

Differences

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I remember many years ago when I was in the infants school, there was a Jewish girl in my class called Isobel Jo Rosenstein. When we had religious education (RE) classes, she would have to go and sit in a classroom all by herself because the RE classes were Christian based. Things might be different in schools these days; I’ve heard of some schools actually teaching all the major religions. But, recently, I’ve been thinking about Isobel even though I haven’t seen her for over 60 years. It occurred to me that at a very young age (we would have been around 5 or 6 years old) we were already being taught about division and difference. Now, I’m sure that Isobel’s parents were more than happy for her to be segregated instead of risking her being indoctrinated through the dogma of another religion. But It occurs to me that us kids were being taught that if someone was a bit different to us, then they should be segregated; almost “quarantined.” I like to think that today, Isobel would be welcomed into an RE class and invited to give her classmates a bit of an insight into her religion.

Now fast-forward from those days of ostracization to the recent news that the Church of England has appointed its first transgender archdeacon. This of course, is a huge step forward for the church, although inevitably it has caused division. To say that some “feather ruffling” has taken place would be an understatement. Within a certain context, I feel that this is a huge event for the LGBTQ+ community, who have had to battle in the face of adversity for so long, just to be regarded on an equal footing with so-called “normal” people. It’s great that diversity can be celebrated instead of being feared and discriminated against. Having said this, for me there is the bigger spiritual picture.

It most certainly is wonderful the way many of us celebrate diversity these days, how we see our differences as something that can bring us together. In the UK, for example, we have come a long way since the days when there were signs displayed in the windows of guest houses that said, “No dogs, No Irish, No coloured.” But, in ultimate reality we are all One consciousness; in truth, there are no differences. Until our species learns to look beyond differences and simply celebrates the beauty of who we are, there are going to be problems. There will always be bigots and there will always be sections of the community that will be the subject of bigotry.

“we are all One” is not a throwaway comment born out of new age ideology, it is an actual “thing.” There is only One soul, which is you…and me…and everyone else on the planet and beyond. We all shine with the same light because we are the same light, we all exist within the same field of infinite consciousness because we are that field of infinite consciousness. I think it’s too much to ask or expect, that all people everywhere suddenly see beyond the surface and gaze upon the beauty of the soul, but we are getting there, albeit slowly, and that is surely something to be celebrated.

Status: Is There Any Point?

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There is an old Italian proverb that goes:

At the end of the game both the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

I love that proverb. If you take it at face value, it is surely telling us that in life, it doesn’t matter who we are, we all end up leaving in a box. (Yes, I can hear you nit-pickers out there, saying not everyone goes in a box), but metaphorically, it is true. I, however, like to look at this proverb from a deeper level because this is where I think the beauty lies. For me, what this proverb is telling us is that status in life must be one of the most pointless things ever. Our true nature is that of consciousness, therefore we own nothing because we need nothing, and in ultimate reality, there is nothing to own. The same can be said of “owning” some sort of status, whether that be monarch, politician, mayor or company chairman. All such titles are superficial and any feelings of superiority are mind (ego) constructed. Life is very non-discriminative, when it comes calling it pays no mind to how much money you have in the bank or your job title.

Of course, let us also remember that as a species, we have the habit of imposing status onto others too. We describe other people in various ways, not all of them complimentary. in fact, we can be very creative and colourful in our descriptions of others. I think that this proverb is a very gentle reminder for all of us to stay grounded and to be aware that regardless of what is going on, on the surface, we are internally all one consciousness. Whether king or beggar, life can bite you on the ankles when you least expect it, so be kind, try not to judge and be grateful for everything that life offers.