I Think, Therefore I am... What?

Whenever I think of people trying to understand what God is and then when they try to explain it; the unexplainable, the inexplicable and the incomprehensible, I always think of Steven Hawkings explaining how the universe works. I realize this might be in poor taste but it’s honestly what I think of. I think of someone who has become all bent out of shape trying to grasp something that cannot be grasped.

I realize that Hawkings has a disability but the irony of his condition and his occupation always present themselves as a metaphor to me.

I think therefore I am. Before I thought, what was I? What rests behind that and that and that? When you think into the unknown, what is beyond that and that and that? How far out does the universe go before it is once again inside the tiny point of its origin? How do you measure something against itself? Where is the yardstick for something that doesn’t end? If it’s a circle then what is its diameter? If something contains everything then what rests outside of it and outside of that and that and that?

Physicists have proven the existence of ether which penetrates everything, no matter how dense. Doesn’t it serve that something penetrates ether? What penetrates that? Physicists have proven that the universe is thought born so it stands to reason that God thinks therefore I am. Now, if I think- then all of my thoughts are my creation and that makes me God too. There’s a difference though.

This God, whatever it is, operates according to a perfect law, so that everything God creates is perfect, whether perceived so or not. I know that everything I create is not perfect but it is subject to a perfect law so that perfection may well exist in the destiny of every thing in the process of outworking the perfection within. I also know, though many people do not, that all of the thoughts in my mind are not my thoughts. The mind is like an airport and thoughts leave and arrive all the time. They might become my thoughts if I think along with them; identify with them. It appears that wisdom has something to do with casting out thought until the essential appears.

Out here in the wide world of time we have books that stand as records of the words and actions of those deemed to be representations of God in human form. Given what we know about humanity and history, it would seem clear that none of these texts remains unaltered from the time the events and words that they record occurred.

I’ve read a lot of different versions of The Bhagavad-Gita and I think I’ve come across over 20 versions of The Tao Te Ch’ing. They vary widely. Yes, the basic idea is there but along with the basic idea is this coloring that changes certain elements when you compare one version against another. What has happened is that I have found a version of most such texts that satisfies me more than the others. I would not assume that the versions that satisfy me would satisfy everyone. Most people wouldn’t read any version of these books to begin with.

Now, if I met Krishna or Lao Tzu I do believe that the texts would suddenly become a flame alphabet inscribed upon my heart and that would be the true version. This is what I believe about The Bible and The Koran. I believe that the actual text is written in the human heart and that contact with the author causes the letters to flame and speak. This is what I believe. This is not what others believe. In fact, I have never encountered another human being who has expressed this concept to me. I don’t know where it came from. It is simply something that I believe. I believe that whatever God may be that that which is God is a living presence and that it is closer to me than anything else. I believe that it holds me in place and that the only purpose of my life is to recognize this force as deeply as it is possible to do so.

Others have variations on this theme. Fundamentalists in every creed, which make up the majority of those who believe there is a God, have a literal take on the subject. They believe that a particular book is the inviolable absolute regarding divinity; no matter how absurd might be some of the contents or, in the case of The Old Testament, often no more than a record of genealogy. Although there is ample proof, by way of demonstration, they are also mostly unaware that The Old Testament is a book of Gematria written in code.

Meanwhile, these texts have been in the hands of religions that have, over time, proven themselves every bit as venal as the most pathological politician. How unlikely is it that they have remained unchanged? I note that the powerful phrase, “Be not deceived, even the devil is transformed into an angel of light at the given moment.” has been warped out of all recognition and that quite recently. These things are changed for your own good by your betters who do it so that you won’t have to think about certain things that might make you think. They also do it in order to enforce control through dogma because that is what religions do. It’s one reason that the adherents are often responsible for murdering those who most strongly possess the attributes of the founder.

I’m not saying that powerful inspiration does not flow from these texts; ALL OF THEM. I assure you that it does. Millions of lives have been transformed for the better by contact with the timeless truths therein. Millions of lives have also been ruined as a result of interpretations of religious texts by those of material intent out for personal gain. It is the same as it ever was.

Sex, money and temporal power are religion’s biggest problems. We’ve seen what has come to light in the Catholic Church in recent times. We see how the fundamentalist Muslim religion treats the female side. Sex is that power which both enslaves and liberates and it takes a canny mind indeed to understand the channeling of that force. One might say that the fire the sinner’s burn in is the very fire in which the saints rejoice.

Christ had one message for the common population and another for his disciples. The text says so. This is the case with all of the religions. There is lined paper for the common population whose interests are, at the moment pedestrian- and there is unlined paper for the initiates. In the one case the paper is already written on and in the other case the words write themselves upon whatever may be the parchment. Everyone, so I have been told and so I believe, comes to the various doors or veils as they proceed. Life being a spiral staircase into infinity, it behooves one not to piss over the railing; while “seeing through a glass darkly”.

It is pointless to proselytize but people will. War and the aggressive pursuit of gain are also pointless but people will do. Whatever this God may be- being all powerful- it is safe to assume that the whole thing is under control. It may look otherwise to those who have not attained a particular degree of surrender and watchfulness but that doesn’t make the Sun revolve around the Earth. It doesn’t make the Earth flat. Truth is... regardless of belief in it. Here we are not concerned about trees falling unheard in empty forests.

I think therefore I am but what I am... that’s the question. Whatever I think of myself I must necessarily think of others too. Whatever my motives, it stands to reason that I attribute them to others too. If I’m after the treasure of Sierra Madre, I can expect the usual players. It all leads to Samara and in some cases, Shambhala too.

“There is a road, steep and thorny, beset with perils of every kind, but yet a road, and it leads to the very heart of the Universe: I can tell you how to find those who will show you the secret gateway that opens inward only, and closes fast behind the neophyte for evermore. There is no danger that dauntless courage cannot conquer; there is no trial that spotless purity cannot pass through; there is no difficulty that strong intellect cannot surmount. For those who win onwards there is reward past all telling—the power to bless and save humanity; for those who fail, there are other lives in which success may come.” H.P.B.

Visible sings: ♫ It Must Be Love ♫
'It Must Be Love' is track no. 8 of 12 on Visible's 2007 album 'Color Ball'