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Where are we going? By this I mean, what is humanity's goal? Is there one? If we don't know where we are going, how will we get there?
In almost every aspect of life humans develop goals, individual or group, and takes steps to achieve those goals. Leadership can be defined as the acts of establishing direction, aligning intent and motivating action in the intended direction. We can see this all around us in our human activities and systems. However I see no evidence of a common goal for humanity, or even much thought or conversation on the matter, yet it may be the most important question of our time. Security and comfort seem to be priorities (with misguided means of attempting to achieve them) but, and perhaps this reflect some limits to human consciousness, no one seems to care much about what the world will look like in 100 years.
I suspect that ethnocentric consciousness and short-term desires have retarded this important conversation, but enough people are now world-centric in awareness that perhaps this conversation can begin.
Where do you want us to end up, and where do we begin?
Closing Statement from Mike Robinson
Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts.... sorry I got distracted trying to debate religion with some of the posters!
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Roy Bourque 20+
The body is made up of many systems. Each system operates different. Each one has its own rules. Yet they are all integrated and networked into a totally functioning organism. Every cell does its job in its own place. If it had to concern itself with what the other cells were doing, we would probably all be dead.
We are the cells of the world body. Like the cells of our body, we all have our own function and purpose. We are seeing more and more specialization taking place. If we all do our part to discover truth, that truth expands our understanding of our place in the grand scheme of things. The world soul, of which we are a part, acts as a guide to move us along. Go where the spirit leads you. It's the only path that doesn't end.
My guess is that we came from the stars, and we are destined to return to the stars. How we do that is beyond our current knowledge. But I see more and more people thinking about it (so long as they can past the world is ending syndrome). Although they may not be wrong; times they are a changing. The current world will have to end to make way for the one to come. But I see this as a transition, not an abrupt stop and start, so stay positive and enjoy the ride. We have a future as a collective body, but probably no one person knows what that is yet. Be adventurous, be willing to explore, question everything that goes against your intuition. And one day you may look back and say to yourself, I couldn't have comprehended that when I asked the question.
Mike Robinson
I'm not sure which Lord you are writing about but I'm pretty sure his wife-god is going to be very upset when she returns... In my opinion he has been an abject failure, what with all the genocides and such, and I can only assume he has been into the sacramental wine.
I agree we are bound for the stars if we can survive our industrial age. I wonder if fouling the nest is part of our process as seed-dispersal mechanisms in our galaxy.
Roy Bourque 20+
Can't say I disagree with your opinion of Lord. We look at what is going on in the world and say if the Lord is watching out for us, then "He/she/it" is doing a lousy job.
I believe that what we see or understand of the universe is only the tip of the iceberg. What we don't know far exceeds what we currently do. Do all things happen for a reason; I wouldn't put it in that tone. But I believe that what we call coincidence is not all coincidence. According to "Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records" by Todeshi, the universe has a memory. If what we are going through is necessary for us to achieve something greater, then there is a bigger plan that we are not privy to. Much of the horror that we see is preventable. We have the power to stop it but people choose not to for their own selfish motives.
I could take a gun and shoot myself. Would the Lord stop the gun from going off? Maybe, but unlikely. What led up to that act is all part of the cause. Often we only know the last few events, but it might have been months in the making. We are quick to point out that God isn't doing a good job at overseeing the quality of life, but we are not quick at accepting any of the blame. People say life sucks, but when you point out to them why life sucks, they tell you to mind your own business; don't mess with my freedom, can't tell me what to do; I wasn't asked to be born, and whatever else they can come up with to defend their own agenda. They'll do as they please and accept the risks. Many people are reaping the consequences of the choices they made. So I believe that life sucks for a lot of people. But I have had a lot of spiritual encounters and I let the Lord guide me. And I can tell you that my life doesn't suck. Not saying that I haven't had any bad luck, but I see a hopeful future despite it all.
For more information on Edgar Cayce, see the following link;
http://edgarcayce.org/
Mike Robinson
Do you use the term Lord to generalize a "force" in the universe, or is it a Christian-based label? The petty, vindictive, war-mongering, slave approving, misogynist god of the Christian bible seems at odds with your universal memory idea. I'd be much more likely to accept or consider the term "god" as some kind of unifying force in the cosmos, but we might as well label it gravity or some other ubiquitous quantum phenomenon. If this is the case then the Lord's guidance is essentially your own moral compass, perhaps supplemented by an instinct that there is more than we can measure. I always kind of liked Edgar Cayce but to be honest I have a hard time looking to dated knowledge for truth. So much of it is based on unsubstantiated claims that don't stand up to the light of 21st century observation. I very much doubt Casey would put much stock in his own ideas if he was born in the least few decades. No doubt his ideas, were he alive today, would reflect the knowledge and situation we are currently in.
I don't think life sucks. I think some of the things humans have got up to, often based on hierarchical religious paradigms, suck. It is time we matured as a species; science and reason are reasonable places to begin, in my opinion!
Cheers and thank you for your thoughts,
Roy Bourque 20+
When I was nine years old, I had an experience while meditating on God. I saw the principles of quantum mechanics as the creator of all things. That was eleven years before I would receive any formal instruction on the subject. When I learned about quantum mechanics, the two became as one in my way of thinking.
The qualities that you ascribe to the God of the bible are all taken out of context. Why did the United States engage in a civil war against the South to free the slaves? It is for the same reason that the Israelites engaged in war against the Canaanites for sacrificing their children to idols of Baal. If that makes God cruel, then Abraham Lincoln was cruel because it is the same dynamics that drove it. That is what people don't see when they read the bible.
When you see quantum mechanics, and God, as two different expressions of the same thing, it gives you a whole different perspective as to why God told the Israelites to put idol worship aside and worship the one true God. Modern science is doing just that with phenomenal results. Only they don't see it as God because they use different brain functions. The word God is a right brain term. the right brain hemisphere sees things in associations, so it regards the creative forces of nature as a creator. Because it was so incomprehensible to early cultures, they personified their understanding of God in human terms to try and understand it. The personifications were all made up ideas. What is being personified is not made up.
The errors of human reasoning and understanding have caused untold carnage throughout history. That is what religion was trying to reveal when it coined the term Satan; that master of deception. Beware of this character, but it is not the character itself that is real, it is what the character represents; all the lies, misconceptions, twisted notions that exist in the realm of human thought. These are the demons. It is all built on associations. You have to see beyond the words.
Mike Robinson
The history of religion shows a gradual transition from pantheism to monotheism. Our gods were at first created to explain natural phenomenon. Gradually the power brokers within tribes (chiefs and shamans) personified these gods, probably to make them more tangible and scary. After a while the gods become hierarchically structured to reflect the development of human societies, and lo and behold pretty soon we get King Gods, strangely about the time we start to get human kings! Et viola! Monotheistic religion arrives. Satan is a late arrival to the scene. In Deuteronomy it is god who does all the "laying to waste" and plagues and curses...
As for examples taken out of context I have a bushel for you, like Exodus 21:20-21: "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." (http://spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/biblequotes.htm)
If some of the premises within the bible are so clearly flawed, how can you or anyone else accept it as the word of god?
And this is why my original question is so important. The bible predicts the end of the world, and if believers of that book want it to be true, then they will consciously or subconsciously make choices that will further that end. I ask you, in light of your religious beliefs and its prophecies, "Where (on earth) are we going?
Roy Bourque 20+
Your concerns are noted.
Thanks for the link, I may use it in future reference to explain why religion can't be taken for face value. I haven't taken it for face value since my first experience. I realized then that it was meant to lead us to spiritual experience where we connect to the source of creation for guidance. If you never get past the words and make the connection, then you never understood it (which is most people). But then again, Jesus said so himself (Matthew 7:13,14).
Pantheism led into monotheism; the many become one. Since the Renaissance, the forces of nature were seen as many, but they have all merged into the unified field theory of physics. Both perspectives came to the same conclusion by independent means. Yes, there have been those who used the idea to promote themselves to status. But what has changed since? There are still power brokers including those who don't believe in God.
"The bible predicts the end of the world, and if believers of that book want it to be true, then they will consciously or subconsciously make choices that will further that end". The trick is, don't join them. Follow your own path. If you think that their predictions are all false then here is a link for you, it has to do with the Mayan calendar. Compare it to the geological record. The coincidences are too intriguing to ignore. Evolution is not as random as people think it is.
http://www.mayanmajix.com/art024p.pdf
We play the cards we are dealt. We are not the dealer. Once you can accept that fact, then the future is what the creator wills it to be. According to the Mayan calendar, we are about to become conscious co-creators, which means we will become a part of what is to happen. It may even be our choice as to what will happen. If anything is to succeed, then it must be in harmony with the laws of the cosmos. Those who understand are heading in that direction already.