Holy Shit, Physicists Become Gods!

"A team of 20 physicists from four institutions has literally made something from nothing, creating particles of matter from ordinary light for the first time." Link. They've recreated the sequence of the big bang wherein divine light transmuted into matter. All that is came from nothingness. One of these days they'll figure out how to change everything back into what it was before and the universe will disappear. Can't wait.

Count it As Pure Joy My Brothers

"Count it as pure joy my brothers all the trials and tribulations you encounter for they build character." James 1:2-3. At first blush, a nice little proverb such as "Slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20. But I think the first point goes much deeper.

In a prior article, I discuss Being Broken or Slaying the Dragon. In my view, this concept plays into that from James 1:2. The ultimate destination of all is return to our father's house (i.e., the return of the prodigal son). Blocking that path home is the dragon, our heinous earthly ego. No one can slay this dragon but ourselves. Luckily, life provides us assistance in this regard. No matter how puffed up we become with our own importance, life has a way of breaking us. In smashing us upon the rocks of life, the trials and tribulations we all encounter loosen the grip of the earthly ego. This is a necessary process all of us undergo. The more we resist, the more pain life inflicts.

And what of those who hunker down in the mud attempting to hide from life's inevitable woes? I think the prologue of Richard Bach's Illusions gave the best analogy. Note: prologue reproduced by permission at bottom of linked page. Those hunkering down fearful of life may avoid going backward but, also, are prevented from going forward. They are the prisoner who refuses to exit his cage after parole has been granted. One may find safety in lock down but the inevitable is thereby delayed. A mother must experience pain to give birth. So each us must bear the pain inherent in tearing back the curtain that separates us from the realization of the fullness of our being.

Brother James, in theory I hear you about joy at the advent of trials and tribulations. But please forgive me for failing to leap enraptured in ecstasy when the miseries of life appear at my doorstep (as they inevitably must). I've learned to bear my burdens in life ... but haven't advanced far enough as yet to do so with a smile.

The Buddhist Concept of No Soul, Anātman

I don't really know much about Buddhism. One day I'll find the time to study it in depth. One Buddhist concept that interests me is that humans lack a soul, anātman. I saw a post on a message board stating: "A 'soul' implies that a spiritual body is in place but there is no such thing in Buddhism." Link, see 6th post. I'll just riff on that thought a bit (which may or may not have anything to do with Buddhism).

All things come from God.
Nothing exists outside of God.
All things are one.
All things are God, but God is nothing.

Only the veil of our human ignorance of the fullness and absoluteness of God allow for the concept of a soul. All things flow from God and must, inevitably, flow back into and merge with God. In fact, they never left, only the illusion of having left exists. In the end, no thing will exist, only God who is not a thing. The Godhead is nothingness.

An individual soul is only a temporary illusion that will ultimately disappear with knowledge of the oneness of God. A soul is supposed to be divine. But that which is divine cannot disappear, divine = immortal. Thus, the Christian divine soul is itself an illusion.

But what part of us travails in life again and again striving for perfection? We in the west call it the soul because it survives death. But in Buddhism, that which survives death is merely energy. I posit this energy must contain information regarding past lives that is carried forward. The karma scorecard has to reside somewhere. Under this concept, the soul is just an energy based data card doomed ultimately for erasure when the veil of ignorance is pierced and the energy reunites with the source.

Being Broken or Slaying the Dragon

In an article about mythology, I wrote: "As a child grows into a man, the soul is gripped ever tighter in the mistaken belief of separateness from all other humans and from God. This belief in individuality manifests itself in dominance of the ego. Our earthly ego is the dragon blocking the gateway from the material world back to the spirit world." Link.

Thus, the inner meaning to symbolically slaying the dragon is the destruction of our own earthly ego. This monstrous ego blocks the path back to God. Jesus doesn't talk about dragons or monsters but he does say we must become as children again to enter the kingdom of God. Newborn children are trusting, innocent beings lacking an ego.

One hears Christian sermons on the subject of being broken as was Jesus at Golgotha. See sample. In the ritual which is the Roman Catholic mass, the priest relates the words of Jesus referring to the bread as his body and instructing that the bread is to be broken then eaten in remembrance of him.

Jesus said, the stone which the builders rejected became the cornerstone. “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whoever it falls it will scatter him like dust." Matthew 21:44. At first read, neither alternative offered by Jesus looks promising, i.e., being broken or being scattered. No other alternative is mentioned in the parable. But, perhaps, this is the ultimate fate of us all. "Man you are dust and to dust you shall return." Option 2 is inevitable. We all must return to dust. But option 1 involves action on the part of the individual. If we fall on "the cornerstone". "The cornerstone" of which Jesus speaks in Matthew 21 is the teaching of Jesus Christ, the "Word" if you will. Fall upon the Word and your ego shall be broken (the dragon slain) opening up the path back to the kingdom of God.