Transcendental or Spiritual Coaching

Spiritual Life Coaching

Spiritual Awareness

A Look at How Humans Relate to "God"^(*)

^{(*) Change the word "God" with something you feel comfortable with. After all it 's just a word.}

Spiritual beliefs (or the lack of them) provide the fundamental human context, the foundation upon which all human behaviour is based.

Spiritual beliefs provide the context, within which we each hold our beliefs about what life is, about God and religion, about government and social behaviour, about sex and marriage, about personal and business relationships, etc.

And of course, you and I both know that our religion is the one and only true religion. But wait a minute! We hold different religious beliefs. We can't both be completely right. How do we account for and how do we deal with our differences? The text below offers one possible answer to those questions.

Spiritual Awareness

Joseph Campbell was probably the greatest scholar of myth and comparative religions in the twentieth century. The following quotation is from page 48 of his book, The Power of Myth.

'God' is an ambiguous word in our language because it appears to refer to something that is known. But the transcendent is unknown and unknowable. . . We want to think about God. God is a thought. God is a name. God is an idea but its reference is to something that transcends thinking. The ultimate mystery of being is beyond all thought. As Kant said, the thing in itself is no thing. It transcends thingness, it goes past anything that could be thought. The best things can't be told because they transcend thought. The second best are misunderstood because those are the thoughts that are supposed to refer to that which can't be thought about. The third best are what we talk about. And myth is that field of reference to what is absolutely transcendent.

Q: So what is Mr. Campbell telling us?

Ross: If you want an interpretation, there are several, and all of them are simply someone's opinion. Think of a meaning you like, and that’s what it will mean for you.

Q: Well, if the ultimate mystery that we call God is beyond all thought, then myth and religion must both be focused on that which is impossible to know?

R: Although some people will disagree with you, that does seems to be a reasonable conclusion.

Q: Why do you say it's reasonable?

R: Because the overwhelming evidence points to the conclusion that what we call God is unknown and unknowable. For centuries, major religious scholars have given us the same answer: "God" is the ultimate mystery! Even the Roman Catholic encyclopaedia says that they have no idea what life is, what its origin is, or how it functions.

Q: Wait a minute. You said God was the ultimate mystery. Where does life and the Catholic Church come into this?

R: Humans have taken all of the deepest and most unanswerable questions about life and placed them neatly into a single package called God. The uncertainty about what life is, is one of the questions in the "God" package.

As you well know, humans who want to be in charge of things are quite reluctant to admit that there is something they don't know. So back in antiquity, when an unanswerable question came up, they played victim and said God or the devil caused it. This evolved into a whole set of rituals to appeal to God for favours and to stop that evil devil from harming them. The ritual process further evolved into what we now call organized religions. The Catholic Church is one of several organized ritual makers and answer givers.

Today, each religious organization has its own set of rituals and its own set of answers to the ultimate mysteries of life. Believers call their answer doctrine or theology; non-believers call it dogma. Each religion claims that its doctrine provides the one and only set of correct answers. Thus today, we have numerous sets of conflicting answers to religious questions.

Q: Then what are the religions telling us about God?

R: Nothing! What they are actually telling us is their beliefs -  their beliefs about that unknown, unknowable mystery we commonly refer to as God.

Q: So are you telling me that there's a difference between reality and what
someone believes about reality?

R: Do you really need me to answer that? Is there a difference between believing the Earth is flat and what the evidence tells us about the shape of the Earth?

Q: That's not a fair question. Nobody still believes the Earth is flat.

R: But there was a time when that was the common belief. Did it make the Earth flat? Religions are still filled with this type of non-logical, evidence-contradicting beliefs. Questions like "What is life? What is its origin? and How does life function?" are all part of that ultimate mystery. Answers to this type of question are beliefs not provable facts. There are dozens of additional and equally unanswerable questions wrapped in that same package. Just think about it for a moment and you'll know what I mean.

Q: Yes, like where we come from? What happens after we die? Why are we here on Earth?

R: And the list goes on. Saying, "God did it that way," is simply a human method of coping with the fear, the wonder, the joy and the mystery of the unknown.

Q: Please give me another specific authority who said God is unknowable?

R: In addition to Joseph Campbell, there are hundreds of them. Here's one right from the heart of Christianity itself - from none other than Saint Augustine, the great Catholic Saint who, at about 400 ce/ad, penned the basic Roman Catholic doctrine which is still the foundations of Christianity today. Even Saint Augustine said God is unknowable.

But stop looking outside yourself. Stop looking for someone else to make your decisions for you. Just for a moment, think for your self. What do you think is the truth in this matter?

Q: That humans can’t know God. But I've heard hundreds of religious preachers who talk like they can know God.

R: Perhaps they can. That's not for me to say, but if a human says he knows God, how can he be certain that what he believes to be God actually is God? Anyone who has studied history knows that humans have proven themselves to be incredibly easy to fool, scam, con, manipulate, and deceive.

So how would a human know that what he thinks is God is not something else or someone else pretending to be God? He wouldn’t! For example, if there really were beings from other planets visiting Earth in the days of our ancestors, they would have been considered by the people of the era to be gods. Just imagine for a moment what a make-believe God could get away with on a planet of sleepwalking sheep?

Q: What about evil people pretending to be good guys?

R: A clever atheist pretending to be a messenger for God could get away with absolutely anything.

Q: You mean like the devil pretending to be a good guy? devil

R: Well, sort of. Nobody can prove with absolute certainty whether or not there is an evil being called "The Devil," but if there were and if we got him to describe himself, here's what he'd probably tell you:

Let me assure you that any preconceived notions you may have about who or what I am-  about how I might look or act are totally false. I am the greatest master of disguises, lies, illusions, cons, and manipulations your world has ever seen. I am an actor extraordinaire. I could win Academy Awards Oscars for best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress all at the same time, and never break a sweat.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, expects me to be who I am. Nobody expects me to look as I look. Nobody expects me to act as I do. Humans are incredibly easy to scam because they rarely ever think for themselves and because they have a ridiculous, cartoon-character image of me as an idiot with horns and a pitchfork. So long as I don’t look like that cartoon character, or look otherwise grotesque, most humans never see me coming, and here's why.

Lies, deception, and cons are my games. Depravity, Sleaze, and Corruption, are my middle names. Trickery, fraud, and hoaxes are my calls to fame. I could sell snake oil to a snake oil salesmen, so don’t try to second-guess me or put any expectations between us. I guarantee that, if you do, you’ll not only be wrong, you’ll also miss the essence of what I have to offer you.

If you'll think for just one moment, it will become obvious to you that no devil worth his salt would ever come out as an evil one. All I have to do to create havoc and destruction here on Earth is to disguise myself as a promoter of what seems like a good cause.

I simply gather together a flock of mindless Would-Be Do-Gooders, and then, from a sacred place of trust and power and in the name of righteousness or some other illusion, I shower evil upon all mankind.

I've pulled this trick off thousands of times in the past, and at this very moment, I'm doing it right now, in dozens of different ways, right under your noses, and the vast majority of humans simply don't see it.

I'll give you a hint. Look into the concentrations of power. Look into your governments, your multi-national corporations, and your religious institutions. Look at what they are attempting to sell you. Look at what they are attempting to get you to believe, and follow this maxim: "By their fruits shall you know them." Look under the surface facade and see what things like: religious fanaticism --The Patriot Act – The  Federal Reserve – The  Anti-abortion War, and several other strongly supported causes are actually bringing to humanity.

Q: Are you saying the devil is active here on Earth today?

R: I can't say there is or isn't a devil, but it's obvious that there are an abundance of human beings doing incredibly evil things. What or who is behind their actions is anybody's guess. As you look around, what does the evidence tell you?

Q: That something strange is going on; that many things are not what they appear to be; that we are being conned, manipulated and lied to; and that many things are not what human beings think they are.

R: I would guess that almost nothing is what it appears to be.

Q: In the face of all that misinformation, do you have any suggestions to offer?

R: I suggest you play an imagination game - a game designed to inspire you to think for yourself.

Q: How do I do that?

R: Take just a moment or two, look at the happenings on planet Earth today and then THINK FOR YOURSELF! Don't simply listen to others. Draw your own conclusions about what you see.

Things are way out of kilter on this planet, and I’m inviting you to open your eyes, notice what's happening, and then to consider some previously unconsidered possibilities.

Q: What kind of possibilities?

R: Perhaps human beliefs about reality don’t accurately represent all of reality. Is it possible that there are still some vital pieces missing?

There was a time when people believed the Earth was flat, like a three-layered cake with heaven above the clouds and hell beneath the Earth’s surface; a time when the paranoid clerics burned their fellow humans as witches; a time when humans considered themselves to be victims of an unknown reality that was completely controlled by God or the Devil.

Given the overwhelming evidence that there are vast areas of reality that we know little or nothing about, is it possible that there are things humans still don't know about the nature and purpose of human life? With pieces missing, is it possible that humans have come to some erroneous conclusions?

Q: It's not only possible, is almost certain that we don't know everything.

R: Then let me ask you this: Have you ever been wrong?

Q: Of course!

R: While you were being wrong, did you know you were wrong?

Q: Of course not! That's the essence of being wrong.

R: Is it possible that you are wrong right something, now about ? Is it possible that something you think is true is actually false and/or something you believe is false is actually true?

Q: That's certainly possible.

R: Then the next time you think you have THE ONE AND ONLY correct answer about anything, stop for a minute and consider the possibility that you just might be wrong.

Q: Obviously there are some missing pieces and humans have drawn some false conclusions. What do you think is missing or erroneous?

R: One example is an answer to this question, "What is appropriate human behaviour?" We have people killing each other and blindly destroying our environment based on fairytale-level beliefs about God and about the nature of Earth-plane reality. Billions of people believe in religious one-life-ism; billions more believe in reincarnation. And based on their behaviour, it would appear that millions more must believe in atheism.

These three beliefs are mutually exclusive, so two of them must contain serious misrepresentation of reality. This means that billions of humans are living their lives based on a belief in something that's simply not true. And as a result, some incredibly destructive decisions are being made - decisions that are creating irreversible, long-term, disastrous consequences.

Q: Most people are kind and loving and would not intentionally harm anyone, so who is making these destructive decisions?

R: The people who run the world. They're making decisions that will affect humanity for decades, for centuries, and, in all-too-many cases, for the entire remainder of Earth's existence. When you make a decision with consequences of that magnitude, you'd best be basing that decision on something more than a fairytale belief about what "God" is or isn't.

Q: Can you offer some examples?

R: Of course. Who but a religious fanatic or the criminally insane would promote, support, and/or stand by and allow mass murder such as that which occurred in New York on September 11, 2001? How could those making big bucks from the sale of heroin and cocaine be anything but atheists? Politicians and corporate leaders regularly take actions that produce personal, short-term profits for themselves and, at the same time, leave the rest of humanity with a legacy of irreversible, long-term, environmental destruction.

Q: What kind of destruction?

R. Every day, the nuclear industry is producing additional tons of radioactive, toxic waste - waste  that will still be dangerous and deadly 50,000 years for today. Whaling ships are right now roaming the oceans, killing the last remaining whales, and, with less than three percent of America's virgin forests left, the chain saws are still running.

Q: Are you saying religious/spiritual beliefs dictate behaviour?

R: Yes! Spiritual beliefs or the lack of them definitely do dictate human behaviour. Spiritual belief are the fundamental human context, the foundation upon which ALL behaviour is based. The problem is that decisions based on false beliefs about the nature of life often take us down dangerous, destructive, and/or dead-end pathways.

Q: OK, what do we know for sure about God?

R: The only thing humans can know for certain about whatever it is or isn’t that they refer to as God is that the thought, the belief, the very idea of God has a profound effect on human life. The transcendent unknown that we refer to with words such as "God" is the ultimate and most profound mystery of life. It is possible to approached that transcendent unknown only by way of what is commonly referred to as "A leap of faith."

 

Q: What's a leap of faith?

R: A leap of faith means that you believe something with no proof at all. If you are talking about “God,” that’s all there is. Take it or leave it. There’s nothing else.

Q: My Christian friends say, "I know because the Bible tells me so." How would you respond to that statement?

R: These people have simply moved their leap of faith onto a sacred book. There are two questions I would ask them.

First, how do you know your religion has exclusive access to God? And second, with all the different interpretations of a book that was written many years after Jesus walked the Earth and a book that was significantly edited in its early years, and considering the vast amount of unethical and criminal behaviour that historians are uncovering about the early church leaders who determined the content of that book, how do you know the Bible, as presented today, is complete and perfectly accurate, and how do you know that your literal interpretation is of it is the one and only correct interpretation?

Q: That sounds like Christian bashing.

R: It certainly is not. One needs to distinguish between the religious writings themselves and those who attempt to tell you what those words means. Christianity, in its pure form, is a great religion, the Bible is a wonderful book and, like anything else in life, what that book means has more to do with the person stating the meaning than it has to do with the book itself. One needs to step outside of the social structures that attempt to tell you what the Bible, the Koran, or any other sacred text means, and THINK FOR YOURSELF!

You could also look at the Christian Bible as a historical document and focus on the teaching of Jesus. In that context the Bible comes alive and offers numerous wonderful and inspiring guidelines for living your life. For example, remember these lines, "Know the truth and the truth shall set you free." "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Q: So we're back to the leap of faith. Are you suggesting I believe with
no proof at all.

R: If you are talking about “God,” that’s all there is. Take it or leave it.

Q: There’ nothing else?

R: Well, actually, there’s another possibility to consider. Circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly supports the theory that humans are far more than physical bodies living temporarily on Earth. Since the beginning of recorded history, every culture that has ever existed has consistently believed two things — that the source of life is in the invisible and that each and every human being is intimately connected to that source.

Q: Is that proof?

R: In and of itself, certainly not. It’s simply one more piece in a vast sea of circumstantial evidence. Please also consider the fact that since the beginning of recorded history, the master spiritual teachers have consistently spoken the same message.

 

Q: And what’s the message?

R: That each person is part of God, a part of “The Creation Process” — and that within the context of their own, personal, human lives, each person is, for him or herself, a great creator. If that is actually true, it leads us to two profound conclusions: 1) A human being is something far more than just a lump of intelligent dust. 2) We are eternal beings who co-create with Divine Source and, in so doing, produce our own, personal, earthly experiences.

Q: Amen, So be it!

R: Not quite. Here's three more things to consider:

u Perhaps God actually is too big to fit inside of just one religion.

u In a context in which "God" is considered to be "The Sum Total of All that Is and Isn't," you and I, and every one else are "pieces" of God. Perhaps, one way to know at least a tiny piece of that source is to study, know, accept, face, and deal with the truth about ourselves.

u In a closed mind, the truth is no match for a good fantasy. In an open mind, even the grandest fantasy is no match for the truth.

 

Spiritual Awareness

OK, Now What? When you become one of our coaching clients, we'll take the life coaching exercises and the concepts described on our websites to their next level. We'll help you to determine which of them are for you, and then we'll show you how, when, and where to make the best use of them. We'll also expand each of the chosen topics and concepts to their logical conclusions.

Free Session: We have found that the best way for you to get a clear sense of what we have to offer is for you to experience a coaching session. Then, by personal experience, you'll know what we can do for you and what you can expect to gain from coaching. The introductory consultation is a free, personal, private, one-on-one session.

Your Choice: In addition to the examples included on our website, there are literally dozens of additional ways we can assist you. You tell us about your specific goals, needs, and desires, and then, based on your own heart and on our advice, you can decide what is the next best step for you.

The N.V.P. Team's Invitation:

Do you feel that you are one of: The Kicked-out -- The Left-out -- The Walked-out - The  talked on – or The Disenfranchised? Have you been successful at your career, but still feel something still missing in your life? Are you a person who could be thought of as "one of the less fortunate of our brothers and sisters?" Do you have a dream or a vision for our self that you've never manifested?

If any of these descriptions fit you, you are invited to join with us in re-building a structure that honours: 1) the latest scientific evidence about the nature of reality and human life, 2) the commonly accepted theories about life offered over the centuries by the world's most renowned philosophers, and 3) the previously ignored teachings of Jesus and the Christian Bible. (i.e. Christianity without the dogma and the fairytales.)

The Reasonable Project will show you how, without asking permission from anybody and from the ground up, the project's participants are re-creating their own lives and filling their lives with joy, abundance, cooperation, love, and freedom. You are invited into the project, and when you accept this invitation, The N.V.P. Team members will show you and assist you in doing the same for yourself. (Please note that the N.V.P. Team does not have any magic bullets or instant cures, and the team won't play the game of life for you.)

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Ross Galan, NLP Spiritual Life Coach