Introduction

Words and Traditions vs. Modern Thought

Religions often emphasize words and traditions, but instead here the focus is on the newest spirituality and finding greater deeper in meaning itself. Rather than relying solely on concepts based on ancient insights-- we can dig into how to have a more fulfilling understanding using insight from all over. Using insight based on Hindu and Buddhist cultures, we have discovered that we can observe our mind and emotions are doing, and in turn how they work.  By observing the mind, for example, without getting involved by stepping back and observing what is actually going on. The mind generates the inner voice that can drive us crazy, or give us great insight into what we are interested in. It turns out that we can train the mind to talk to us productively and produce high level of living by being more joyful, the ability for increased concentration and learning, which in turn can make our lives blossom in so many ways. .

Traditional religion is often based on fear, and punishment. If we sin, we are going to hell. This makes people conform, and to be controlled by authority. It keeps us from learning and thinking. It makes everything seem unknowable and mysterious. The old religions flourish where people are kept in the dark.  Not very much progress was accomplished during the dark ages. The answer is not to be just liberal and let people have fun and ultimately get into trouble either. The answer is being smart, brave and have a tremendous love of living no matter what is going on.

Young children live in a mysterious world with only a taste of education. Older people have wisdom, the result of years of education and experience. Older religions, established by a god that keeps the teachings the same, text that is never update produce people who resemble the people in ancient cultures In certain ways. Most very religious people do not know their history of their faith, and do not trust science.. Yet they might have a very complex cell phone in their pocket.  Or they go to the other extreme and and would not touch a cell phone or any else modern.  Even the agnostic and the atheistic are missing out, not believing in any religious experience.  If we say there is only one recipe to bake a cake and how it works is a mystery we have only the one kind of cake.  If we try different ingredients, understand cooking chemistry we can make a lot of cakes. Or with even more insight, we might not any cake as it has too much sugar.  Or better make a cake with no sugar.

There is room for genuine appreciation for what is truly mysterious and beautiful. The newest pictures from the Webb telescope see the universe as it was billions of years ago, so it is a time machine as well as a telescope. The web telescope show pictures of countless galaxies, and each galaxy is filled with countless stars most who have many planets orbiting around them.  Just think of the life forms out there and so far away that we will never be able reach them with our rockets.

Starting Over

The journey begins with starting over and aiming for self-understanding. As we get more experience we are in a better position to see what is going on inside us. The best tool for this is meditation. No only can we listen to the inner talk of the mind, we can also quit grasping what we need.  We have complete control over ourselves, and no control of the world, except for the stuff close to us.  We can wash dishes, but not stop a war.  More than that, we can change are attitudes and love ourselves. .

For example, lets say the holidays make you feel miserable. You have way too much stress trying to get everything perfect. You want everyone happy.  But you have no control over other people. Only when someone really wants to change, can you help the person change. But you can change yourself quite easily.  If you are stressed, just control your thinking. Talk to that mind inside you. If you feel sad, make a point to be happy all the time. Your soul has great power.  Your soul is the thing in you that experiences life. Some call it the true self. Its name does not matter. But it is the true you, the person in charge, the boss inside you. As you mediate you might ask yourself why are you sad and stressed? It might be that you learned this from your parents who wanted everything perfect. By contemplating this, you might realize that you will never make everyone happy. More fun and productive is to brightening up your own self. If you happy and fun, this is contagious and much easier to pull off.. 

Michael A. Singer

Much of this space is largely inspired by Michael A. Singer's transformative masterpieces, The Untethered Soul (2007) and Living Untethered (2022) These extraordinary works delve deep into the human experience, illuminating the nature of our thoughts, emotions, and the true essence of who we are. Singer’s words offer a profound invitation to move beyond the restless confines of the mind and step into the vast, boundless peace of our inner being. With clarity and grace, he addresses universal struggles—stress, fear, and the relentless inner chatter—offering a way to transcend them.

To make things clearer I am using the word "mind" to mean the mechanism that produces the voice in our heads.  This is how Singer defines the mind.  Futher, Singer believes that we can be a captive of this inner voice.

Singer gently gives the necessary tools to release the emotional and mental burdens that weigh us down. And also empowers us to let go of what no longer serves us. His wisdom, grounded in both practical advice and spiritual truth, reveals a clear path to inner freedom and happiness. By freeing ourselves from limitations and embracing the infinite flow of life, we awaken to a world of peace, joy, and boundless possibilities. This is the essence of The Untethered Soul and Living Untethered —a call to uncover the freedom and enjoyment that has always been within us..

George Norwood

Let me tell you a little about myself. As a child I lived in Petaluma, a beautiful town in Northern California. My mother brought me up as Catholic, and therefore attended mass and catechism classes. I really bought into it. I was a good Catholic kid. I cycled from being in the state of grace and all sins forgiven, back to the normal world of guilt  Any thought of sex was sinful, and standing up for what I thought was right was sinful too. I knew that science was right. It had the mathematical proof.  It did experiments. The teachings of the Catholicism were just written down a long time ago by somebody with supposed divine knowledge.  I did not know how I was set up, made to feel guilty then made to feel that my sins had been lifted.

As a teenager, I started to explore what other religions taught. I visited every church in town.  I read books about what I thought were exotic and strange religions, namely Buddhism, and Hinduism. I kept my faith as a Catholic, but was building other knowledge that challenged the dogma. When I was about twenty years old, I moved from home to New York City in order to go to RCA Institutes. Here I was studying calculus, physics, electronics and computers. I did not grasp what a computer was. I did not know how to study.  I was flunking.

Out of desperation is tried praying really hard to God.  It made things much worse. I got back to asking questions in school, getting some help and things picked up.

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General Semantics

I also started to thirst for a solution to the Catholic belief system of mine.  I finely got a good clue.  Also the Catholic teaching was built with words.  So I started to investigate the connection between words, truth and meaning.  This eventually lead me to a subject called General Semantics. 

One of the main truths of General Semantics was that words must have meaning or they can lead you into blind faith. Words have to point to something real.

Maps are constructed to much the same thing.  A map will show you how to get somewhere by translating the real world into symbols on a sheet of paper. The road becomes a line, the towns little rectangles, and so on.

If someone was telling you how to get somewhere, instead of lines and little boxes, words are used to substitute for objects along the path to where you are going.

One can easily draw a fake treasure map to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. One can also tell you a story that purports to do the same thing.  So to make sure the map or story is accurate, you have to go look at the territory. Walk the walk.

More About Me

So later on in life, I actually joined different faiths.  I went on retreats with a Ken Keys group, and another one with Swami Satchidananda followers. I became a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Baha'i, and a Unitarian.

They all had rituals and different stories about what was true and right.  But I want more, how things worked in me.  I wanted something that had some proof, other than just feeling good with blind faith.

More recently, I found some people who had some proof of what we experience in our inner life.  This happened in early 2024 after I started attending the Agape Spiritual Center in Frisco Texas. Many religions made me feel uplifted, but this one also gave me insight into how I worked inside.

I have been a technical write for about forty years.  Here I was asked to explain and how to use the most complex systems. I was good at it.  In wrote manuals and teaching materials.

Also I went to the University of Texas at Dallas part time and received a degree in Psychology  I knew how to figure out complex gadgets and knew how to write  and this really paid o I had close to an A average.

So I had the perfect storm, writing skills, wide religious background, and an education.  You are reading what happened. 

Current Cultural Problems

So much of our culture is devoid of science and thinking.  The stores are filled with food that over the long run is not healthy.  Eating the wrong foods have turned the United States into a country of large unfit people. Our religions are founded on ancient cultures and have never been updated.  Our psychology is uneven.  Freudian psychology is expensive, takes forever, and is kind of like a religion itself. The Id is like the devil, and the Super Ego is more God like.

So its no wonder that I lost my stepmother to suicide, my son to alcohol poisoning, and the effects of pill addiction and mental illness in one of my wives. Most crime is the result of mental and spiritual illness.

We need to deepen our minds, and find something that is believable, that actually works and uses common sense.

Agape Spiritual Center