Category Archives: Blog

Wealth, God and Happiness

The following was a reply to a discussion about whether Christians Should be Wealthy or not on myLot Discussions:

What do you need wealth for but to maintain your level of living? What are you going to save for? What are you going to spend on? What is the point of hoarding wealth instead of spreading it to others or into the economy (through purchasing, creating jobs, investing, etc.) Wealth does nothing. It is an insubstantial number in an insubstantial account somewhere…which surprisingly can be used to purchase substantial things. Until it is used it is just potential.

Those who are wealthy are those who have something substantial. This substance can be emotional, mental or physical. Being Christian and having money in an account does not mean you are wealthy, especially if you believe that true wealth is to have the compassion and salvation of your Lord and savior. If you have this, you are wealthy. Is it wrong then to be wealthy in such a manner?

Place this perspective on the concept of wealth and you will see that whatever it is that fulfills you is wealth. If a number in an account fulfills you, then that is wealth. If your friends and family are happy around you and it fulfills you then that is wealth. If knowing you have the kingdom of God in your reach as a promise from your lord and savior, then that is wealth.

Looking at it this way…I don’t see whats wrong with being wealthy, Christian or otherwise.

On Death and Memory – Birth and Death

When a person is born, it can be said that they have no memory whatsoever of anything before birth. Can this not be said then of death? Is there really that much of a difference between birth and death?

If both are said to be oblivious states in which conscious does not yet, or ceases to exist, then they are one in the same. There is no difference, before or after, for something that doesn’t exist. Experience of consciousness happens during the living phase, which is the only phase. A state of non-existence is not a phase. This is an interesting thought, because God is said to be beyond time and space, essentially a phaseless existence. There is no change because there is no change possible, as a moment to change does not exist.

If both are said to be conscious states of which we only have no memory, then it calls into question so many different things. What were we before we were born? What created us if we were nothing before we were born? The generation of a soul may be just an accident of physical birth. If it is, then is Man the creator of Man?

What decided what body we assumed before we were born if were not created at birth? From here we go on into various metaphysical and theological questions about God and the nature of reality. However, none of these questions can be satisfactorily answered without some degree of hesitation, exception or faith.

I do not think that there is any difference between Birth and Death, they are merely labels for transitional states of which we move from one existence to another. Even if we have no memory left, if we move on to become angel or demon, animal or human again, there must be some condition that has come from our past lives, generate by our actions and conscious thought, that moves on into another body or mode of existence. What is to say that a rock which has had my ashes placed upon it does not contain some of my essence. Who knows in what world that rock may become part of another living being, by passive influence or by direct absorbtion as a mineral.

Birth, Life, Death, Reincarnation, Eternal Salvation, Transcendental States, are all speculation and will remain so until we experience the end for ourselves…if there remains an experience to be had.

Progress

Why do we need progress? What is it about feeling as if we are progressing, accomplishing something, that drives us forward?

I know that whenever there is a huge project with a goal that I know will satisfy and lead to other things, that I become extremely motivated to do so. It’s why gaming works so well for me, that sense of progression is always fed. Often if i reach the top too quickly I get bored and drop off.

It is the same with my Religious Studies Degree and my Thesis. I have yet to finish my Thesis and honestly don’t feel like writing it. I have felt like writing many other things about Kashmir Shaivism, Spirituality, Vedanta, etc. But even though the Thesis is the last paper I will have to do for the degree, I could care less. Why? There are various reasons, one being that I will not really use the degree anytime soon in the near future, and hold some spite as toward the reasons for getting the degree.

There is just no sense of progression when i write for the purpose of Thesis. It is a labor, for work I have almost completely finished. I continue to pay for thesis credits and don’t get it done. It bothers me that its always on my head, but it bothers me more that I have to spend grueling time to finish it, even though almost all the research is already done.

I will finish it, begrudgingly, but only to feel as if i didn’t “waste” my time getting the degree. The knowledge I gained and have from the degree is far more important than the paper anyways…but I guess quitting right at the end when I am guaranteed success is silly.

I feel like I can start writing again once I change jobs, or get the notification that I will be changing jobs. The feeling of insecurity coming from being in one job ready to go to another (permanent one), but just not yet is irritating but manageable, just doesn’t do anything for my desire to continue to write.

Transactional Relationships

There is a certain amount of effort that people put into individuals they meet. This effort is usually for a Return. The threat of that effort being removed creates anxiety and rashness. The loss of that effort creates depression, hate, malice and other negative affects towards the individual.

What isn’t normally realized is that this effort was placed willingly, and with complete knowledge that it is a risk. Why do we treat our relationships as business transactions? If you don’t either follow a person’s lead or contribute to a person’s interest, there is no relationship.

It makes me wonder if thinking that relationships should be based on non-transactional “interest and care” for each other is the right way to think of my role toward other human beings, as a human being. Why do we even have this opinion of non-conditional relationships where we accept our friends and family as “who they are”, without any expectation of change or validation of our own interests?

More and more it appears to me that our lives are based on what I would call “Threat”. I will relate this to video game terminology, silly as it may seem. “Threat” is a concept that goes along with another known as “Aggro” or aggression. The more you perform an action or relinquish performing and action you gain and lose aggro. The closer you are to someone, the more of a threat you are, and the easier it is to get “Aggro”‘. The further away, physically and emotionally, the less likely you are going to gain “Aggro”. There is always the exception, such as the random act of senseless violence, or kindness. But these are few and far between and are indeed also transactional relationships because they create and instant and unexpected transaction between yourself and another that creates great and intense gratification, sorrow, despair, and other powerful feelings right at the start of the relationship.

Transactional relationships exist in all aspects of our lives. Of course, in business, this is the norm. If you don’t do you work, you are fired. If you do your work well, you are rewarded. You make deals, hold up, or let down your end of bargains. You help people and you defy people. You create opportunity, and block others for your, or your associates benefit, to the downfall of your competitors. These are all transactions, one comment traded for another, one persons salary increases as another loses their job.

Competition itself is a transaction. It is an agreement toward gain and loss between two or more parties, and the acceptance of thereof.

This transactional relationship exists in counseling as well. You must pay money, or perform the advice given, or else the counselor severs the relationship. The counselor has the intent to help others, but never out of selfless care. There is always something given, whether its physical payment, emotional gratification or mental satisfaction.

Would it surprise you that it occurs in spiritual circles as well?

What use are you to a person or group if you don’t follow their belief system, leadership or advice? The minute you forget the mantra, you have threatened your relationship with the teacher, the student, with God! If you forget to pray or pay homage to your deity, you may have sinned and must repent or “make up” for the forgotten transaction. This is an expected transaction as well, payment for misdeed.

When the group realizes you no longer have interest in their subject, they see the effort they “put” into you as a loss and discard you. It is completely conditional, and conditional relationships can only create conditioned thinking and behavior. Conditioning is a transaction. You put in to get out something, your own brainwashing or the brainwashing of others, along with the strengthening of your own personal position.

Is it bothersome that our lives function this way? Is this the way it is supposed to be? Is it healthy? Is it sane?

Wonderings

Sometimes I wonder if we are really ever meant to do anything. Are we fooling ourselves with purpose? Do we need it?

What is the purpose of purpose seems to be a redundant question. One that leaves me in a state of silence, my mind doesn’t travel to an answer because…whats the point??

Life is strange, the way we mill about focused on numbers.

In our western culture we are mostly preoccupied with two things, money and weight. Both can be measured, both are sought after. Statistics are appealing, I am not sure why. Even myself, I am drawn to video games with meaningless pointless numbers…maybe that’s why it is so entertaining…it reminds us that life doesn’t need a purpose to be lived.