Is awareness an experience? What if we were only an awareness? No material body, no material world and no other awarenesses to communicate with. Wouldn't that experience be frightening? No change except the new thoughts you could generate. Nothing new to spur new ideas. Nothing unexpected to surprise you. Nothing deviating from your plan to challenge you. Nothing to do except exist. If you were all that was and there was nothing you are then essentially nothing. You are an awareness with nothing to experience.
Change, not stasis, is what is important. Change implies adaptability. But even surrendering to an existing situation can imply change and adaptability. It is a difference of one state(conflict) to another(acceptance). And as long as we exist in a material world of time and duality, I think we can be certain of change instead of stasis. As long as we are aware of a previous from a present, we can be certain of change. It is up to us to choose how we perceive that awareness. And inner peace within that experience is what is important. If we are not at peace, that means we are not at love with ourselves. If that is true, then we cannot love the outer world. Peace leads to love and love leads to peace. Order within disorder. Because change implies that disorder will be an ever-present aspect of life.
A world of eternal peace could only truly exist on one level: Eternal peace solely in the material world. Eternal peace in the inner world may be considered heaven by some but, in truth, would be death of the mind and free will. Maybe some point far in the future we will, using technology and co-operation, create a world where all mankind can experience an existence free of poverty, disease, famine and where all physical needs are met. I don't think we will ever have a perfect world since perfection means it doesn't need to change. But I do believe we can have a world that shows love even when it is not shown love. Order within disorder.
If we aren't grateful for what we already have, how can we be happy with more? Be grateful for our current existence, then for good elements of our life, then for good elements of others' life. Don't focus on the negative. One might say what of the people born into what we might call a hellish existence? How can those people see good elements in their existence if their basic existence has become a hell. For example, the babies born with a serious disability(e.g. Loss of multiple limbs) of some kind. We might see that existence as hellish because we see a loss of something we cannot imagine living without. It seems to me that most children born with a disability, adapt to that loss and live generally peaceful lives with the support of family and friends. It is much harder for those who gain a disability later in life. Because they know what they are losing unlike the ones who never had it. But it can stop being a point of suffering and overcome if they still experience love in their life. Once again, love for oneself and love from others triumphs.
Hate can always propagate in the absence of love. But I don't think hate can propagate in the presence of love. An example might be where a cruel act done on one person may lead that person to commit a cruel act on another. But, alternatively, if you are a charity worker always being cursed by the people you are trying to help, if true love was your motivation, you would not respond with hate. At worst, you would accept that your help was unwanted and move on.
Does it matter whether we know God or even believe he exists? Even if he does, it is most likely in a dimension separate from the one we exist in. What matters is that in our dimension we try to make a better existence for ourselves and our fellow Man. Maybe there is a God guiding this process, maybe there isn't. Certainly the concept of God brings peace to the majority in this existence and that is important. It leads to love, kindness and compassion for our fellow man. Am I saying that only believers of God show this aspect? We know that is not true.
There are 3 main states of religious belief in this world: Belief in a existing God, don't know what to believe, and belief that no God exists. Please keep in mind I am talking about belief, not knowledge. Most of existing current atheists will claim they belong to the central group, calling themselves 'agnostic atheists'. But that may be an oxymoron. The truth is that very few are lying with their back straight on the fence. Most people, even if they claim to be agnostics, have their feet placed on one side of the fence. Either belief in yes or no. I have heard of strong atheism but I doubt any atheist claims to know about the truth of God's existence. Just like the believers, they have no objective evidence anyway. However, if pushed, most atheists do not truly believe “It could be either way, I don't think about it”. It's more like “I don't know but I lean towards non-belief”. If they truly didn't think about it, we wouldn't see so many of them in public and Internet forums stating their ideas.
Of the two extreme states of religious belief: theist or atheist, there are basically two types. One who accepts the other's beliefs as valid even if they disagree with them, or, one who thinks the other's belief must be extinguished from this Earth. I don't know if either type will gain complete mastery in this world but I do think the side that wants to extinguish the other is mistaken because that way lies conflict and hatred. The side that tolerates the other is showing the face of love. People should be free to believe what they want even if it is harmful. What is more worrying is how their belief lead them to act.
I think one of the greatest myths that society has propagated upon the individual is that you need a purpose to be happy. A dream. A goal. But if this purpose exists in the outer world, it may never be reached. And then you may never be happy. I don't think anyone needs a greater purpose than understanding themselves as they are and finding that they can love themselves unconditionally. If you can do that, I think you can love the whole world as well. This doesn't mean that the world will always love you back. But I believe you can still find peace even when it doesn't.
Many times I wonder if unconditional love will ever be truly possible. And I really don't know. What does unconditional love mean anyway? That we accept a person as they are, no matter what? Yes, that is unconditional love. But can humans achieve that? I don't think that is possible currently. We show hate when hate is shown towards us. To bullies, criminals, terrorists, pedophiles. But aren't these people generally the way they are because hate has been shown extensively towards them? A child bully probably has seen an abusive father being aggressive towards them or other members of the family and learns this is one way to get what you want. Adult criminals probably experienced abusive parents during their lives. Adult pedophiles were commonly abused sexually as children. Hate propagates hate.
Criminal laws make someone a criminal. Laws are in place to protect society. When someone is branded a criminal, it can be very difficult for them to reintegrate into society even if they have stopped committing crimes. But someone can also be branded a criminal for victimless crimes like prostitution, gambling and drug use. In some countries, trying to promote virtuous activities like free speech can make you a criminal. Making an action illegal never stopped that activity; it only made those who do it criminals, especially in the case of victimless crimes.
I believe there is a balance in life. We can never completely eliminate negative experiences. Negative behavior is a part of our nature. But we can choose to respond to a lot of it with love instead of more negative behavior. Not always, but certainly more than we do currently. And the important thing is to love yourself unconditionally first. Try to improve weaknesses if you think you need to. But if you can't then learn to accept yourself as you are. You need love within before you can spread love without. Am I being too idealistic? Perhaps. But I do know mankind is capable of choosing how to react to its experiences in life and would like to believe mankind would want to show more love than hate. If you wish to discuss these ideas further I have placed my email on the first page. Thank you for reading this.
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