Author: Firoozeh

Shedding Death’s Bear Suit

Shedding Death’s Bear Suit

Walk

John Hatcher  •     •
SPIRITUALITYPART 8 IN SERIES: UNDERSTANDING DEATH–THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF YOUR LIFE

The Baha’i writings affirm that we, in this second stage of our lives, should focus on preparation for our third birth, our entrance into the spiritual world.

Delmore-Schwartz

Delmore Schwartz

Put more accurately, even as we gradually become accustomed to doing well in our human suit, we should gradually become more intent on preparing to disrobe and cast it aside. Because this is a grand illusion—that we are essentially physical beings—in truth, we are essentially spiritual beings associating for a brief span with physical reality by means of the intermediary of our “bear suit.”

The “bear suit” is an allusion to my most favorite poem about the body-soul duality, “The Heavy Bear” by Delmore Schwartz. His analogy between the body and a clumsy sort of circus bear gives such a fine insight into our life-long (at least during our physical life) struggle between our spiritual/intellectual aspirations and our sensual/physical drives. One part of the poem presents the idea axiomatically as follows:

That inescapable animal walks with me,
Has followed me since the black womb held,
Moves where I move, distorting my gesture,
A caricature, a swollen shadow,
A stupid clown of the spirit’s motive…

We can train the bear, restrain the bear, dress him in his “dress-suit,” but he will always screw up most of our vain attempts to be eloquent, elegant, and refined:

—The strutting show-off is terrified,
Dressed in his dress-suit, bulging his pants,
Trembles to think that his quivering meat
Must finally wince to nothing at all.

As regards to Swartz’s observation that he (we) will indeed “finally wince to nothing at all,” I now notice in the mirror that daily more and more of my own bear suit has winced, drooped, wrinkled, or gone grey.

In other words, in the same way (though unwittingly and through no inherent virtue or will) we developed the essential tools for this life while in our mother’s womb rather than simply enjoying the floating warmth, the reassuring heartbeat, and the sometimes audible coos outside. So it is now, that we are exhorted to recognize and develop, only this time through our own free will, those spiritual faculties and capacities that will enable us to be successful both in this life and, even more particularly, in that stage of our existence we endure after we and our “heavy bear” go our separate ways.

It is precisely in this context that Baha’u’llah states ironically—he frequently employs irony and humor to emphasize a point—that if our sole purpose and desire was be a success in this second stage of our life, if this is what we wanted to aspire to or look forward to, then we should have done it while we were living in the first stage of our existence in our mother’s womb. During that stage of our existence our physical life really represented the future. But as soon as we are born, Baha’u’llah points out, we start to recede from this life:

If ye be seekers after this life and the vanities thereof, ye should have sought them while ye were still enclosed in your mothers’ wombs, for at that time ye were continually approaching them, could ye but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand, ever since ye were born and attained maturity, been all the while receding from the world and drawing closer to dust. Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing the treasures of the earth, when your days are numbered and your chance is well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless ones, shake off your slumber? – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 127.

We need not be believers in the Baha’i Faith to recognize the unassailable logic of this axiom—that as soon as we are born, we begin dying, that no matter what we aspire to become or to acquire, we are as ordinary human beings destined from the beginning to see ourselves depart this mortal coil and become bereft of all the material wealth and power and prestige we may have amassed.

True, we may leave behind a park bench or a road or a building that for a while may bear our name. Hopefully we will leave behind progeny who will recall us with affection and respect. Possibly we may live a life so spectacular it will be recounted for decades or centuries, whether we become a saint or a tyrant. But in time our life and our deeds will be forgotten on earth, and all our energy invested in trying to leave a lasting impression is futile in terms of physical reality, other than the infinite ripple of our spiritual actions on the lives of others.

Does it not make perfect sense, the Baha’i writings argue, that we should spend a decent amount of time in this life considering what will become of us afterward, especially if that life really is infinite? Indeed, does it not make sense that we should not delay in this focused reflection about our continuity beyond this life. After all, here I am doing it at sixty-eight, though obviously I have thought about all this before, and so have you. Heck, if we are honest about it, we’ve been aware of the elephant almost our entire lives!

So let us go then, you and I, on this fearless mental and spiritual excursion, this adventurous exploration. In fact, let us begin without delay since we both know that the old MTE may whack us down from behind well before we get to the next milestone.

The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BahaiTeachings.org or any institution of the Baha’i Faith.

WRITTEN BY

John S. Hatcher
http://bahaiteachings.org/

The Spiritual Wisdom of Albert Einstein

The Spiritual Wisdom of Albert Einstein

By UPLIFT on Wednesday December 16th, 2015

The spiritual wisdom of Albert Einstein

Pondering the unknown with the world’s most famous scientist

Though he was the most famous scientist of his time, Albert Einstein knew we could never fully understand the workings of the world within the limitations of the human mind. Experiencing the universe as a harmonious whole, he encouraged the use of intuition to solve problems, marvelled at the the mystery of God in nature, and applauded the ideals of great spiritual teachers such as Buddha and Jesus.

In Search of the Cosmic Man

The following is an excerpt of his writings that explore the meeting place between science and spirituality, giving us a fascinating glimpse into how Einstein saw the world:

“School failed me, and I failed the school. It bored me. The teachers behaved like Feldwebel (sergeants). I wanted to learn what I wanted to know, but they wanted me to learn for the exam. What I hated most was the competitive system there, and especially sports. Because of this, I wasn’t worth anything, and several times they suggested I leave.

This was a Catholic School in Munich. I felt that my thirst for knowledge was being strangled by my teachers; grades were their only measurement. How can a teacher understand youth with such a system?

Alt text hereEinstein felt strangled by his grade-driven teachers at school

Order in the Universe, Disorder in the Human Mind

From the age of twelve I began to suspect authority and distrust teachers. I learned mostly at home, first from my uncle and then from a student who came to eat with us once a week. He would give me books on physics and astronomy.

The more I read, the more puzzled I was by the order of the universe and the disorder of the human mind, by the scientists who didn’t agree on the how, the when, or the why of creation.

Then one day this student brought me Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Reading Kant, I began to suspect everything I was taught. I no longer believed in the known God of the Bible, but rather in the mysterious God expressed in nature.

The basic laws of the universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a pattern in creation.

If we look at this tree outside whose roots search beneath the pavement for water, or a flower which sends its sweet smell to the pollinating bees, or even our own selves and the inner forces that drive us to act, we can see that we all dance to a mysterious tune, and the piper who plays this melody from an inscrutable distance—whatever name we give him—Creative Force, or God—escapes all book knowledge.

Science is never finished because the human mind only uses a small portion of its capacity, and man’s exploration of his world is also limited.

Einstein violinA musical Einstein believed we all danced to a mysterious tune within

Experiencing the Universe as a Harmonious Whole

Creation may be spiritual in origin, but that doesn’t mean that everything created is spiritual. How can I explain such things to you? Let us accept the world is a mystery. Nature is neither solely material nor entirely spiritual.

Man, too, is more than flesh and blood; otherwise, no religions would have been possible. Behind each cause is still another cause; the end or the beginning of all causes has yet to be found.

Yet, only one thing must be remembered: there is no effect without a cause, and there is no lawlessness in creation.

If I hadn’t an absolute faith in the harmony of creation, I wouldn’t have tried for thirty years to express it in a mathematical formula. It is only man’s consciousness of what he does with his mind that elevates him above the animals, and enables him to become aware of himself and his relationship to the universe.

I believe that I have cosmic religious feelings. I never could grasp how one could satisfy these feelings by praying to limited objects. The tree outside is life, a statue is dead. The whole of nature is life, and life, as I observe it, rejects a God resembling man.

Man has infinite dimensions and finds God in his conscience. [A cosmic religion] has no dogma other than teaching man that the universe is rational and that his highest destiny is to ponder it and co-create with its laws.

Einstein and TagoreEinstein discussing Science and God with Indian spiritual teacher Tagore

Unveiling the Magnificence of Creation

I like to experience the universe as one harmonious whole. Every cell has life. Matter, too, has life; it is energy solidified. Our bodies are like prisons, and I look forward to be free, but I don’t speculate on what will happen to me.

I live here now, and my responsibility is in this world now. I deal with natural laws. This is my work here on earth.

The world needs new moral impulses which, I’m afraid, won’t come from the churches, heavily compromised as they have been throughout the centuries.

Perhaps those impulses must come from scientists in the tradition of Galileo, Kepler and Newton. In spite of failures and persecutions, these men devoted their lives to proving that the universe is a single entity, in which, I believe, a humanized God has no place.

The genuine scientist is not moved by praise or blame, nor does he preach. He unveils the universe and people come eagerly, without being pushed, to behold a new revelation: the order, the harmony, the magnificence of creation!

And as man becomes conscious of the stupendous laws that govern the universe in perfect harmony, he begins to realize how small he is. He sees the pettiness of human existence, with its ambitions and intrigues, its ‘I am better than thou’ creed.

This is the beginning of cosmic religion within him; fellowship and human service become his moral code. Without such moral foundations, we are hopelessly doomed.

Einstein faithEinstein believed that the real scientist has faith

Improving the World with Ideals, not Scientific Knowledge

If we want to improve the world we cannot do it with scientific knowledge but with ideals. Confucius, Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi have done more for humanity than science has done.

We must begin with the heart of man—with his conscience—and the values of conscience can only be manifested by selfless service to mankind.

Religion and science go together. As I’ve said before, science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. They are interdependent and have a common goal—the search for truth.

Hence it is absurd for religion to proscribe Galileo or Darwin or other scientists. And it is equally absurd when scientists say that there is no God. The real scientist has faith, which does not mean that he must subscribe to a creed.

Without religion there is no charity. The soul given to each of us is moved by the same living spirit that moves the universe.

I am not a mystic. Trying to find out the laws of nature has nothing to do with mysticism, though in the face of creation I feel very humble. It is as if a spirit is manifest infinitely superior to man’s spirit. Through my pursuit in science I have known cosmic religious feelings. But I don’t care to be called a mystic.

I believe that we don’t need to worry about what happens after this life, as long as we do our duty here—to love and to serve.

I have faith in the universe, for it is rational. Law underlies each happening. And I have faith in my purpose here on earth. I have faith in my intuition, the language of my conscience, but I have no faith in speculation about Heaven and Hell. I’m concerned with this time—here and now.

Einstein intuitive mind quoteThe intuitive mind is a sacred gift

It is Intuition which Advances Humanity

Many people think that the progress of the human race is based on experiences of an empirical, critical nature, but I say that true knowledge is to be had only through a philosophy of deduction. For it is intuition that improves the world, not just following a trodden path of thought.

Intuition makes us look at unrelated facts and then think about them until they can all be brought under one law. To look for related facts means holding onto what one has instead of searching for new facts.

Intuition is the father of new knowledge, while empiricism is nothing but an accumulation of old knowledge. Intuition, not intellect, is the ‘open sesame’ of yourself.

Indeed, it is not intellect, but intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his purpose in this life.

I do not need any promise of eternity to be happy. My eternity is now. I have only one interest: to fulfill my purpose here where I am.

This purpose is not given me by my parents or my surroundings. It is induced by some unknown factors. These factors make me a part of eternity.”

~ Albert Einstein

Text Source: Einstein and the Poet: In Search of the Cosmic Man (1983). From a series of meetings William Hermanns had with Einstein in 1930, 1943, 1948, and 1954

How Your Thoughts Change Your Brain, Cells, And Genes

How Your Thoughts Change Your Brain, Cells, And Genes

Every minute of every day, your body is literally changing its brain, cells, and genes in response to the thoughts that run through your mind.Every minute of every day, your body is physically reacting, literally changing, in response to the thoughts that run through your mind.

It’s been proven over and over again that just thinking about something causes your brain to release neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that allow it to communicate with parts of itself and your nervous system. Neurotransmitters control virtually all of your body’s functions, from hormones to digestion to feeling happy, sad, or stressed.

Studies have shown that thoughts alone can improve vision, fitness, and strength. The placebo effect, as observed with fake operations and sham drugs for example, works because of the power of thought. Expectancies and learned associations have been shown to change brain chemistry and circuitry which results in real physiological and cognitive outcomes, such as less fatigue, lower immune system reaction, elevated hormone levels, and reduced anxiety.

In The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World, Lynne McTaggart writes:

A sizable body of research exploring the nature of consciousness, carried on for more than thirty years in prestigious scientific institutions around the world, shows that thoughts are capable of affecting everything from the simplest machines to the most complex living beings.  This evidence suggests that human thoughts and intentions are an actual physical “something” with astonishing power to change our world. Every thought we have is tangible energy with the power to transform. A thought is not only a thing; a thought is a thing that influences other things. (Read more)

Your Thoughts Sculpt Your Brain

Every thought you have causes neurochemical changes, some temporary and some lasting. For instance, when people consciously practice gratitude, they get a surge of rewarding neurotransmitters, like dopamine, and experience a general alerting and brightening of the mind, probably correlated with more of the neurochemical norepinephrine.

In one study, college students deeply in love were shown pictures of their sweeties, and their brains become more active in the caudate nucleus, a reward center, giving them that in-love swoon. When they stopped looking at the pictures, their reward centers went back to sleep.

What flows through your mind also sculpts your brain in permanent ways. Think of your mind as the movement of information through your nervous system, which on a physical level is all the electrical signals running back and forth, most of which is happening below your conscious awareness. As a thought travels through your brain, neurons fire together in distinctive ways based on the specific information being handled, and those patterns of neural activity actually change your neural structure.

Busy regions of the brain start making new connections with each other, and existing synapses, the connections between neurons, that experience more activity get stronger, increasingly sensitive, and start building more receptors. New synapses are also formed.

One example of this is the well-known London cab driver studies which showed that the longer someone had been driving a taxi, the larger their hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in visual-spatial memory. Their brains literally expanded to accommodate the cognitive demands of navigating London’s tangle of streets. Research has also proven the numerous benefits of meditation for your brain and shown that meditation produces measurable results, from changes in grey matter volume to reduced activity in the “me” centers of the brain to enhanced connectivity between brain regions.

Take care of your mind, your body will thank you. Take care of your body, your mind will thank you.

CLICK TO TWEET

Your Thoughts Program Your Cells

A thought is an electrochemical event taking place in your nerve cells producing a cascade of physiological changes. The article, How Your Thoughts Program Your Cells, explains it this way:

There are thousands upon thousands of receptors on each cell in our body. Each receptor is specific to one peptide, or protein. When we have feelings of anger, sadness, guilt, excitement, happiness or nervousness, each separate emotion releases its own flurry of neuropeptides. Those peptides surge through the body and connect with those receptors which change the structure of each cell as a whole. Where this gets interesting is when the cells actually divide. If a cell has been exposed to a certain peptide more than others, the new cell that is produced through its division will have more of the receptor that matches with that specific peptide. Likewise, the cell will also have less receptors for peptides that its mother/sister cell was not exposed to as often.

So, if you have been bombarding your cells with peptides from negative thoughts, you are literally programming your cells to receive more of the same negative peptides in the future. What’s even worse is that you’re lessening the number of receptors of positive peptides on the cells, making yourself more inclined towards negativity.

Every cell in your body is replaced about every two months. So, the good news is, you can reprogram your pessimistic cells to be more optimistic by adopting positive thinking practices, like mindfulness and gratitude, for permanent results.

Your Thoughts Activate Your Genes

You are speaking to your genes with every thought you have. The fast growing field of epigenetics is proving that who you are is the product of the things that happen to you in your life, which change the way your genes operate. Genes are actually switched on or off depending on your life experiences, and your genes and lifestyle form a feedback loop. Your life doesn’t alter the genes you were born with. What changes is your genetic activity, meaning the hundreds of proteins, enzymes, and other chemicals that regulate your cells.

Only about five percent of gene mutations are thought to be the direct cause of health issues. That leaves 95 percent of genes linked to disorders acting as an influencers, which can be influenced one way or another, depending on life factors. Of course, many of these are beyond your control, like childhood events, but some are entirely within your control, such as diet, exercise, stress management, and emotional states. The last two factors are directly dependant on your thoughts.

Your biology doesn’t spell your destiny, and you aren’t controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic activity is largely determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions. Epigenetics is proving that your perceptions and thoughts control your biology, which places you in the driver’s seat. By changing your thoughts, you can influence and shape your own genetic readout.

You have a choice in determining what input your genes receive. The more positive the input, the more positive the output of your genes. Epigenetics is allowing lifestyle choices to be directly traced to the genetic level and is proving the mind-body connection irrefutable. At the same time, research into epigenetics is also emphasizing how important positive mental self-care practices are because they directly impact our physical health.

Meditation and mindfulness put you in contact with the source of the mind-body system, giving your thoughts direct access to beneficial genetic activity which also affects how well your cells function, via the genetic activity inside the cells.

Use Your Thoughts For You

You have much more power than ever believed to influence your physical and mental realities. Your mindset is recognized by your body – right down to the genetic level, and the more you improve your mental habits, the more beneficial response you’ll get from your body. You can’t control what has happened in the past, which shaped the brain you have today, programmed your cells, and caused certain genes to switch on.

However, you do have the power in this moment and going forward to choose your perspective and behavior, which will change your brain, cells, and genes.

http://www.thebestbrainpossible.com/