Part of my Pantheist belief is that we are all the Universe and the Universe is all there is. The boundaries between me and the bed, the keyboard, the oak trees, sky, you, that rock over there, are only my perceptions. We are all energy, vibrations. The cells of the average human completely change out seven times in that human's life. I am what I eat. To dust I shall return. So bits of me probably used to be bits of a tree, a rock, a star, other people, sea kelp, etc.
So that means the differences between you and me aren't very great. At least they can't be all that important, can they? Isn't it more likely that this thing we have in common - being a part of the same Universe - is more important?
How can I decide I am more or less significant than you? Why would I do anything but encourage you? Why would I ever want to hurt you?
I think I might be starting to sound like a Culture Club song, and I'm not sure I'm being clear.
Of course there is that ego thing. That part of me (perhaps retained in the calluses of my feet, perhaps in the neurons of my brain, perhaps only in my feeble perceptions) that pushes and pushes and screams to be heard above the truth that I am not separate from the sand and the stars. It clouds the issues. It keeps me from hearing you and the rest of the Universe.
It is that ego thing that makes me think I am so different. It makes me think that my tribe/country/religion/color/gender/species is right and the rest of you are hopelessly doomed. It's like the pot calling the kettle stainless steel. It's like cutting off my nose to spite my face. To use a psychological term, it just ain't right.
It's back again to that Golden Rule. Because when we do unto others, we are doing unto ourselves. So let's be gentle, ok? Let's be loving.
Very nice, I am quite sure I fit the pantheist category too. I liked that.
ReplyDeleteit is nice to read your posts first thing in the morning...it's like getting started on the right foot with a fresh breath of air.
ReplyDeleteThe "ego thing" is what the religionists call the "soul." I don't buy it. We humans have two brains: the first, the limbic system, we share with all other creatures--fight or flight, nourishment, and replication of the species. It is the unique human brain--cerebrum, cerebellum, and medula oblongata--that gives us self-awareness and the ability to think.
ReplyDeleteIt is the thinking that gets us into trouble--trouble that manifests intself as anger, resentment, and hatred. Animals don't do that (unless their territory is invaded). They are totally selfish, if watching my dogs over the years is any indication. To them, everything is all about me, consistent with the limbic brain. There is no such thing as the Golden Rule to a pack of dogs or a pride of lions.
But humans have the ability to think themselves into a frenzy--sometimes right, oftentimes not. Because of human selfishness we have the controllers, the oppressors, the power hungry, etc. That blows the Golden Rule right out the window.