Hope

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Author Richard F Holmes

Thanks to Nick Fewings of Unsplash for the image

There are two ways of looking at Hope; like everything else, I suppose. On one hand it’s great to have, especially from a religious perspective. To have hope in a world that has seemingly gone mad is surely a very positive thing. But, I’m going to look at hope from a deeper spiritual perspective. First of all though, what is it? For me, hope relates to an event or something in the future that is going to be responsible for making me happy. There’s only one drawback with that. If I don’t get the thing I’m hoping for, or if the event I’m hoping for doesn’t happen, I’m in danger of my hope turning into pain and suffering.

Hoping for a certain thing or event to happen really keeps us blind to our true reality, which is the One eternal Self. This truth can only be realised in the Now, or present moment. Past and future constitute imaginary time and do not really exist. The past that shaped and conditioned us, happened Now, and the future that everyone is worried about and that contains the hoped for things that we have spoken of, can also only happen Now.

Yes, hope can be a positive thing when it is understood for what it actually is, but it can also be a jailer, keeping us locked away in the mind-made prison of imaginary time (past and future).

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!

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.