It’s Nearly That Time Of Year Again – Part Three

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

Well, we are now into December and the juggernaut that is Christmas is heading towards us in all its vulgarity at a rate of knots. What’s that I hear you say? You’re sick of mince pies already? But we’ve still got over three weeks to go! Never mind, put your feet up, relax and peruse my latest blog post.

It has occurred to me that religion actually contradicts religion. Although, I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this as yet another wonderful paradox of the zillions that make up our world. I would further add that the arts are more religious than religion. Why? Well, to recap for newer readers, the word “religion”, can be broken down into two parts; “re” (meaning “again”) and “ligio” (meaning “to come together”). So, the true meaning of religion is the process by which the individual soul can realise its truth and merge (come together) again with the One Eternal Self. But the religion we have today, being man-made, relies solely on the presence of ego for its existence; and as I’ve written umpteen times throughout the pages of this blog, it is not possible to experience Self-realisation when the ego is present. You see, all religious practice is actually designed to prevent Self-realisation, because all religious practice involves the mind (ego) being engaged. This means that the practice of religion, can at best, be nothing more than a stepping stone to Self-realisation. The practice of religion generally means that one has to be indoctrinated, therefore the boundaries set by the indoctrination prevent the practitioner from looking beyond their particular chosen religion. The only way to break free of the restrictions is to become a rebel (be creative), which religion does not want.

Imagine what it would be like if the world’s artists, musicians, dancers and singers could only perform in accordance with a particular doctrine? Where would we be? Painting and performance art would be mechanical and pointless. All the great artists and performers get completely lost in their craft to the point where they virtually don’t even feel the presence of a body. In that time they have allowed themselves to become empty, free of mind, in order that the creative force can bubble up through them. In those moments the artists are performing from the soul, not the ego; therefore they have merged with God again, therefore in those moments they are pure religion. Not fakes, not carbon copies, but pure originals straight from the soul. People who perform a type of art or craft are closer to source than philosophers. The philosopher always has the mind engaged, otherwise the philosopher would not be able to philosophise.

We all have an abundance of gifts already. But if you want to give yourself a gift this Christmas… Be creative!

It’s Nearly That Time Of Year Again!

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

It most certainly is nearly that time of year again; when the Christian Church dusts the cobwebs off its story and peddles it once again to the unsuspecting masses. I must say that I do find the whole “epic” just a tad ironic. First of all, let me just mention that I have no doubt in my mind at all that Jesus Christ actually existed; and I have no doubts at all that he was a truly incredible soul. However, the story that organised religion wants us to believe just does not stack up.

We have to understand that Christ was not a Christian; Christianity is the man-made religion founded by unscrupulous religious leaders in an effort to control the naive and the gullible through fear. Christ was strictly non-religious, however, if you really had to pigeon-hole him, you would have to say that he was a Buddhist. He studied the teachings of Buddha in the monasteries of the Himalayas and he also hung out with the Essenes and the Nazarenes, who were religious sects that practised a form of Buddhism. Christ was attracted to these people because their religion was non-violent. It was common practise in those times for live animals to be sacrificed in the temples, and Jesus was against this (and made his feelings known in no uncertain terms). Christ was the original hippie activist and was considered to be a subversive by the religious leaders of the time.

It’s worth noting that it is because of his association with the Nazarenes that Christ is often incorrectly referred to as, “Jesus of Nazareth”. Historically, Nazareth was nothing more than a tiny hamlet that Jesus may or may not have passed through at some time or other. So, why do I find the whole Christmas story a tad ironic? It’s because the church peddles their messiah as being, “the one and only begotten Son of God”. According to Christians, God is an all-powerful entity that is separate from us mere mortals, and Jesus is his son. This theory completely contradicts the Buddhist teachings, amongst other belief systems, that Christ followed. Buddhists do not believe in a deity as such, rather in a Creative Force, or infinite consciousness that permeates the whole creation. Christ’s message was simple. He said that we are all the same as him, we are all Gods and that we will find the Kingdom of Heaven within ourselves; it is not a place we can go to.

So the Christian messiah is marketed by the church as something that he would never have considered himself to be. I also can’t help thinking (cynically perhaps) that the reason the church marketed their messiah as a meat eating wine drinker, which he wasn’t, was simply so that they could justify their own gluttonous desires.

Merry Christmas!

God + Ego = Man

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

I think it is true to say that only the most un-spiritually minded people would not agree that jealousy, vengeance, anger and judgementalism are some of the worst traits that can be attributed to human beings, and they only exist when the ego is present. I think it is also true to say that only the most un-spiritually minded people would not agree that God transcends the ego. So, having said this, the question on my lips is, “why does the God of organised religion possess all of these most unsavoury traits”? The answer is because the God of organised religion simply doesn’t exist.

The concept of an angry, jealous and vengeful God, who will also pass judgement on us when we leave this earthly life; and either allow us into heaven or cast us into hell, is simply one of many fear-based methods used by the church to control the masses. Blasphemy is also another ridiculous concept pedalled by the church. One can only be offended when the ego is present, and as already stated, God is beyond human ego and cannot be offended. In truth, to seek to offend another, whether Godly or human will ultimately only harm the one seeking to offend. Even the name “God”, was created by humans for the sole purpose of communicating with an all-powerful but imaginary being, separate from the rest of the human race. The Creative Force, however, exists as the One eternal Self, in a state of pure bliss (Love) as infinite awareness.

Ticking All The Boxes

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

I was browsing on facebook one day when I noticed that a you tube video by a man called Rupert Spira had appeared on my wall. I was attracted by the title and decided to give it a go. To say I was blown away is an understatement and I am now a Rupert convert. This man really ticks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned and he is my current “man of the moment”, relegating Neale Donald Walsch down to #2. He has a very calm, almost deadpan, manner about him and explains potentially complicated subject matter in a way that is mainly easy to understand. In the last video of his that I watched the point of discussion (and this is not word for word, it’s simply my way of explaining things) was about how our true nature is always present but the mind, or ego, prevents us from recognising it. He used the analogy of a cinema screen and a film; how the film is simply a series of images that masks the screen, but whilst it is showing, the screen is ever present although not visible. When the film is over the screen remains.

It is the same principle as our true nature (the screen) being ever present before and after we take birth in the world (the film). Many people still do not understand who they really are simply due to ignorance of their true nature. In the video an audience member asked a question regarding this and Rupert gave the following explanation:

“Ignorance is a point of view; it’s not something that is really there. It’s a way of seeing, it is not something that is seen”

There are many ways to describe our true nature; and they are all accurate. Truth, God, Bliss, Awareness and Consciousness are just a handful of ways to describe who we really are. In the following example Rupert referred to us as “happiness” and he said to the same audience member:

“Happiness is not a state that comes and goes, it is the true nature of consciousness and is ever-present. It reveals itself when the layers of ignorance periodically dissolve away”.

He also referred to:

“the dissolution of thoughts”

as being the cause for happiness to reveal itself. Of course, it has been stated many times before that the infinite, creative force that we know as “God”, of its own will, splits itself into billions of particles and experiences the physical life in order to know experientially what it previously only knew as concept. So, in other words, the infinite voluntarily becomes the finite on a temporary basis. Although the finite is always only an illusion. Rupert describes this phenomenon thus:

“The finite mind is infinite consciousness modulating itself”.

Rupert Spira is one of many wonderful souls on the planet right now who truly are a fountain of wisdom and wonder. I’m not on a commission; honest! but you could do a lot worse than check out this man’s you tube channel. God bless!

Rupert’s you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/rupertspira

The Social Effect – Video #1

Video

This is the first in a series of videos specifically aimed at a group of incredible people, “The Social Effect”, social media group on facebook. As with all my work, it is there for all to view and share at will; hence I’m posting the videos on my blog. Please leave feedback; it would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Just About Sums It Up…

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

I will be leaving for a working trip to Wales today and wanted to leave you with something special before I set off. I would like to be able to say that the following words came from within me; but if I did I would be a liar! I came across this fantastic piece of writing on a website called Pearls Of Wisdom – awakening personal and global consciousness. It truly is a wonderful piece of wisdom and just about sums up how I feel about religion and spirituality. I hope these words inspire you in the same way they inspired me:

For as far back as we can remember, religion has been a source of contention, being the cause of many wars and countless deaths and sufferenings in the name of God. Most religions say that they are the only true religion and that all others are wrong. This is a result of the false belief of separateness – separate from God and separate from each other and nature. We are all a part of God because we exist. God can be interpreted in many different ways. Religions tend to teach that God is a separate entity, whilst other belief systems speak only of a ‘Creative Force’.

The notion that God is a separate external being, and that we are born ‘sinners’ who have to get back into the good graces of God (fear-based belief system to keep us in a powerless state), makes god a judgemental vengeful God. Yet, God (the creative force) is no such thing. God is LOVE, and there is no judgement. And the only ‘hell’ is the one we create for ourselves here on Earth. There is NO one true religion, each religion has its truths and there are many paths we can choose to take that will lead us to God.

We are ALL God, each of us. We are of the same ‘stuff’ that God is made from. Each a spark of the Divine Creative force (Love). We are here to experience life in the form of matter. We are all spiritual beings having an adventure, and we will all eventually return to the same place. There is no judgement and there is no separateness. Heaven and Hell are what we create for ourselves. It is time now to have respect for each and every different religion or belief system, and allow each person his/her right to follow the path or belief system of their choice -without preaching at them or trying to convert them, or even killing those of a different belief system.

For the man who prays in his heart, the whole world is a church – Sylvain of Athos

I will be back before you know it! In the meantime check out this fantastic website:

http://www.sapphyr.net/index.htm