An extension of the Mom's Day sermon, here is the cogent quote from the great Alan Watts that I mentioned yesterday.
Most of us have the sensation that "I myself" is a separate center of feeling and action, living inside and bounded by the physical body -- a center which "confronts" an "external" world of people and things, making contact through the senses with a universe both alien and strange. Everyday figures of speech reflect this illusion. "I came into this world." "You must FACE reality." "The conquest of nature."
This feeling of being lonely and very temporary visitors in the universe is in flat contradiction to everything known about man (and all other living organisms) in the sciences. We do not "come into" this world; we come OUT of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean "waves," so the universe "peoples." Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe. This fact is rarely, if ever, experienced by most individuals. Even those who know it to be true in theory do not sense or feel it, but continue to be aware of themselves as isolated "egos" inside bags of skin. -- Alan Watts, The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, (c) 1966.
We spend precious little time reflecting on the fact that we are built of stuff that was present at some Big Bang/Let-There-Be-Light moment millions of millenia ago. All that material substance is just passing through, and will one day be residing in blades of grass, garden dirt, rain drops and, perhaps, some other sentient beings. Parts of us will no doubt sail into space to land who knows where...
Right now at this "point" in "history," matter has manifested in your shape, size and sentience. The universe has temporarily brought forth YOU. How should you spend your l'il blip of existence?
(Hint: The least you could do is call your mother...)
Corey, the night of Jim's birth, when my desparate prayer was answered directly, THIS was the experience I had. This was the context in which my answer was given. What a thrill to have it described so succinctly. It sent shivers. The silent response that I had nothing to fear was couched in the knowledge of my part, my belonging, to, in and of the universe. I believe Mr. Watts has provided a glimpse of the essence of God. It meshes with everything I know but can not prove. Thanks, Bro. This one hit home.
ReplyDeleteI love the point Watts makes here. Unfortunately, the idea of the soul not being so much an individual, but being a connection to something greater may be rejected as something depressing and heretical. But I think it is brilliant and full of hope (which 'heresies' have proven to be frequently throughout history). The idea of being not "me" but "part of a greater good" seems to be the sort of thing that would create a much better society than the one we have today, which is largely based on individual salvation. If we think of ourselves and everyone else as one great soul of the universe, judgement and comparison become less important than finding actual solutions to our problems. If we recognize ourselves as manifestations of the beautiful natural world instead of trying to view ourselves as something separate, we are more motivated to focus on the here and now, on the wellbeing of our society and planet, than on what might happen to us after we die. And what is death? No one can say for sure, but I hope it is a peaceful transition of my connection to the universe back into the universe, and of my physical self to the stardust we all are a part of.
ReplyDeleteA few months ago, while listening to meditation podcasts and trying to figure out how I define the soul and what I believe its purpose is, I eventually decided that what we call the soul actually belongs to everyone. When we do good things, we improve the health of this big soul. When we do bad things, we take away from this big soul. I think that's where morality comes in. We don't need to be good to guarantee good things for ourselves, but we ought to be good to each other to improve humanity's situation.
(I'd also like to recommend the Meditation Society of Australia's podcasts on iTunes to anyone who is interested in the sort of ideas Watts wrote about. To expand on his idea, I'd recommend their "Charity and Oneness" episode.)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in seminary I became aware of being a small expression of the wholeness that God is. And that all of creation is also an expression of who God is. This realization was frightening because of the responsibility that it implied. I thought, "No wonder people don't subscribe to this concept. It calls us to a morality that is more than people are willing to live."
ReplyDeleteHow do you, in all good conscience, abuse any part of creation when it is an expression of who God is?
Love God becomes love all of creation.
Salvation becomes universal, not individual.
If all of creation is a tiny part of who God is, then all of creation is sacred. The unity of it all is what we call God. We live in an illusion of separateness.