It's Existential, Baby....

Raylene seems to think I am using the term "existential" a lot these days.

The spiritual quest, at the very core, is an existential quest. Whether or not we bring God into the equation really is optional. Buddhism, in its many different expressions, operates quite well without introducing the concept of God. In fact, the concept of God and its many, narrow-minded, ego-based interpretations among the different religions is responsible for the death of innumerable millions of people over time. Undoubtedly, the planet would have been much better off without the various concepts of God used by egos as excuse to vent their killing urges.

Christianity, Islam and Hinduisms all proved quite capable of killing if faced with disagreeing or disbelieving in their brand and particular concept of God.

The flaming irony is that the common denominator among all the warring parties is the complete lack of the Divine Experience. They were attached and identified with a system of thoughts and concepts (that defined the Divine) and by doing so merely operating on the most superficial level of the intellect. Simultaneously, this simplistic mode of intellectual processing was and is then tied into an emotional mode of processing that is simply barbarious in nature. (As said, religious disagreement is then used as excuse to set free and unleash the hidden killing urges. I call this the ego's search for the justified cause that enables it to engage in killing.)

It is safe to say that even though our planet is becoming technologically advanced, emotionally we are still quite retarded. We exist on the level of the caveman. These are just the facts.

Indeed, the spiritual quest for me is existential. We exist, yet we feel incomplete. We can see a huge Universe out there, clearly functioning entirely without our opinions and decisions. There is a huge, profound Intelligence at work and we do not feel in contact with It.

35 years ago I reflected like this. Even then I thought it would be really great to have a more intimate contact with the Intelligence capable of creating the planets, the stars and galaxies. This reflections came along with a very deep longing, a longing that effortlessly transcended any religious, spiritual sentiment, regardless of how a religious, spiritual sentiment might be defined.

Truly, this was the beginning of my journey and God sort of just came in as an afterthought

Imagine, the simple process of breathing ... of having a beating heart ... this is a magical, utterly mysterious event. How could we not want to burst forth into the burning desire of wanting to know ... what is causing my breath, what is it that deep down make my heart beat? Here is my body, my mind, my emotions ... What is the existential source of it?

Wanting to have answers to these questions - the deepest answers possible, the ones I can feel in my marrow - strikes me as basic.

Upon being touched by this longing, to go to the roots of our existence, the sleeper has begun to stir in his sleep. The beginning of awakening may be near.