New Thinking for the New Age: Part I

Who Are We? Why Are We Here?

Who are we? We are God. I know that may sound overwhelming, but it’s true. There is absolutely no separation between us and God. Our consciousness is a part of God's consciousness. This fact makes us eternal, perfect, and divine.

The meaning of life is to expand our consciousness, which we do through experience. In other words, the reason we are here is to experience.

As our consciousness expands, we become aware of God. Slowly, through many incarnations, we become enlightened--consciously aware that we are God.

God is All That Is. Nothing that exists is separate from God. Everything is connected through an interrelated web of consciousness. God is not a being, but is consciousness itself. God is consciousness, an integrated consciousness. This is possible because everything that exists was created by God from God. In other words, God can only create from itself. We are a piece of God that was spawned from the essence of God, as were all things. When an essence is spawned, it still remains part of the whole, part of God’s consciousness. This is where our conscience comes from, and our instinctive desire for spirituality.

Life on the physical plane allows God to experience the infinite. God is interested in all experiences. One experience may be negative, another positive, but both are of God. Thus, all experiences are valid. There is no right or wrong, good or bad applied to any experience. God does not judge or place value judgments on experience. Judgment is not possible because God is All That Is . . . and God does not judge itself.

Experiences can have a positive or negative outcome. This is where free will comes in. We get to choose our experiences. We can choose positive or negative. The consequences of our choices are quite real. The consequences, or effects, are called karma, which is an imbalance of energy that must be re-balanced. Most of us add karma with our negative actions, then redress the imbalance with positive actions. Some souls get so out of balance that they regress spiritually, although this is rare.

God uses the law of karma to experience the infinite. We all choose negative experiences with our free will. There is not a saint among us. Maybe we have been good in this life, but not in every life. We all have dirty laundry. Show me a saint in this lifetime and I will show you that person’s counterpart in another lifetime.

We are in school. In fact, on the higher planes of existence, earth is called a school. Moreover, earth is considered a very challenging school, one of the most challenging in the universe. Souls who incarnate on earth are highly respected in heaven--the spiritual plane.

The reason it’s so challenging on earth is because we experience limitation in an environment of negativity. Our awareness of God--who we are--is severely limited. Yet this provides an ideal environment in which to learn. If it weren’t for the limitations, we wouldn’t be able to have such a wide diversity of experiences. The duality of good and bad--positive and negative--could not occur without limitation.

There is a saying that the greatest trick Satan plays is to convince us he does not exist. Well, God has played a bigger trick. God gave us amnesia so we wouldn’t remember that we are one. That is how God created duality, because once we realize who we are the illusion is shattered and duality loses its hold.

Where we come from is not the physical universe, or what is called the physical plane. The physical plane is the lowest level of existence. It is a place, as previously mentioned, that was created for God to experience the infinite and the expansion of our consciousness. When we incarnate, we leave Home--the spiritual plane--and venture on a journey into the physical plane. We do this with one goal in mind: to expand our consciousness. As we become more aware of our oneness with God, our God-like creative abilities increase. We literally become God-like.

We are not physical. We are spirit. Our physical body is used to house our soul during this journey. The body is temporary, whereas the soul is immortal and indestructible, pure energy. Our body is nothing more than a costume and is to the soul as a piece of clothing is to us: something to wear for a short period of time.

Our true self--our soul--is much more than what is usually perceived. It is this lack of awareness that creates our experiences. Thus, limited awareness is not necessarily a bad thing. It allows us to experience emotions we otherwise would not. If everyone’s awareness were like that of Jesus, the world would be a much different place. Indeed, he understood his divinity. Such a realization about ourselves will create a very different world. 

Life is about remembering--or re‑acquiring--the consciousness we already have. Thus, we are already perfect and there is nothing to achieve. Moreover, as Buddha came to realize, there is nothing to do. We are here to experience and that’s all. Through experience, we naturally expand our consciousness. Effort is not even required. It’s a natural process. Yes, we can speed up the process with effort, but just living is enough to grow spiritually. We are all growing--except the rare soul who takes the road of negativity to the extreme, lifetime after lifetime.

Am I saying life is meaningless? Quite the contrary. I am saying meaning is the by-product of experience. Thus, any experience, positive or negative, ignites growth (expansion of consciousness). Life itself is the meaning. It doesn’t matter what experiences we have, we still grow. This is why life is so precious.

Today, western civilization focuses on achievement. Moreover, we view non‑ technological cultures, such as the Native Americans or Aborigines, as primitive. But is one culture better than another? Is one life lived in one culture more conducive to enlightenment than another? No. Every experience leads to expansion of consciousness.

Each culture chooses the experiences they want, which provides an array of experiences for souls who are looking for particular experiences as a group. One culture is not better than another. Each provides unique situations.

We are God, and we are on earth to experience the infinite. From this experience, our consciousness expands. For most of us, the expansion is very slight, one more step toward enlightenment. A few souls have an epiphany and make great strides toward enlightenment. That could be you. I do know this: the consciousness we attain in this lifetime carries over to the spiritual plane. We don’t get to clear the slate once we arrive in heaven, and feel everlasting bliss. This life counts more than you know.

Beliefs

Beliefs are the most important facet of our lives--because they literally create our experiences. Life does not happen to us. We create it. Not one thing happens in life that is not the result of our beliefs, everything from an accident to the people we attract into our lives. Given this importance, you would think we would be concerned about what we believe. On the contrary, most people take their beliefs for granted and rarely analyze them.

How significant are beliefs? Well, if we each create our lives through our beliefs, then what could be more significant? Everything that happens in our lives is from the manifestation of a belief.

Let me try to explain how life really works. Each of us is vibrating at a certain rate. This vibration reflects our level of spiritual awareness, our current beliefs, and the moment we took our first breath. From this combination, our life unfolds. Our horoscope and level of spiritual awareness also play an important role, but it is our beliefs that put everything into motion.

Our beliefs determine the extent to which we feel emotions such as fear, anxiety, and joy. Thus, we create these emotions. Everyone is a creator, creating his or her own life through their beliefs. Conversely, if we change our beliefs, we change our lives.

Most people don’t realize that their beliefs are creating their reality. Conversely, they don’t believe they can change their lives or that they are in charge. Even as you are reading this book, you probably don’t believe me. You probably believe that life is happening to you. However, if you change that belief, you can change your life.

Many people believe that everything is happening by chance, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Our beliefs create a vibration, and this vibration attracts accordingly. One of the laws of the universe is that like attracts like. We cannot have any experience that does not match our vibration. It is impossible.

For instance, if you walk into a room of 100 people and there is someone in the room with a similar vibration, you will probably notice that person. You might not talk with him or her, but you easily could if the opportunity presented itself. Life, in many respects, is like this room of people. We attract and are attracted. We are like magnets attracting events into our lives. And it is our beliefs, horoscope, and level of spiritual awareness that affect the magnet.

The ideas presented in this book are generally understood only by old souls. However, this knowledge has expanded tremendously over the last few decades. In the 1980s, if you told people their beliefs created every event in their lives, they questioned your sanity. Now, in the new millennium, many people accept this concept and incorporate it into their lives.

Beliefs divide people. This is why there is so much antagonism and conflict in the world. Beliefs literally create conflict. This is why we need to replace group-based spirituality with individual-based spirituality. Group-based spirituality never works and is why all religions are in their final days.

Beliefs must be personal and have no place in the organization of society. We must base society on what we know, not on what we believe. The positive traits of humanity--peace, love, freedom, equality, caring, compassion, understanding, friendship, family--are not beliefs but can easily be the basis for the organization of society. We can create a secular society where spirituality is individual-based and without religion. Spirituality can be a personal matter, with spiritual beliefs having nothing to do with the organization of society. We can create a society based on what we know.

I expect to witness the birth of this new society, and I believe this will occur as we come to recognize the fallacy of our ingrained beliefs, such as: “We are separate from God,” and “This is our first lifetime.” Once enough people know we are not separate from God and that this is not their first lifetime, society will change. This critical mass point is not that far away.

Besides the fact that belief creates conflict, there is an even better reason to drop our group beliefs: Beliefs clog the mind and act as a barrier. Beliefs stop us from knowing the truth. Truth is found in the present moment, with an uncluttered mind. We cannot find the truth from the past, only now. Focusing on old religions will not help us find the truth.

All the great spiritual teachers have told us to know ourselves. Dropping our group beliefs is the beginning of knowing the truth. Once we focus on humanity’s needs from a clear vantage point, instead of being hindered by group beliefs based on the past, we can create a better world.

Freedom is also prevented by beliefs. Freedom can be found only in the present moment. Freedom is not something given to us. It is an awareness that we are free. Freedom is not an idea. It is inherent in our soul. Following a system, such as the United States Constitution, will never provide true freedom. Believing that a system can provide freedom only creates a barrier to freedom. True freedom is the freedom to discover each moment anew--without beliefs hindering that discovery.

Beliefs have so many negative effects, yet we are tethered to them. Beliefs isolate us from each other. They create conditions for war. They hide us from the truth. They prevent us from knowing ourselves. They hold us back from being truly free.

You may be wondering, how can we drop our group beliefs? How can we drop our dependence on religion and interpreting God’s will of what is right and wrong?
First, we have to change ourselves--our personal beliefs. For we have to change ourselves before we can change society. This change is already occurring as more and more people expose themselves to metaphysics. It is inevitable that millions of people will change their spiritual beliefs and expand their definition of God and what it means to be human. That change is occurring today on a small scale, but it is quickly reaching critical mass where the impact will transform society. In many respects, humanity is on a spiritual quest to find the truth, one person at a time.    

Christianity Is Based on Fallacy

One time a Christian asked me who I thought God was. I replied, “Me and you.” You should have seen his eyes. He thought he was talking to Satan. All he could say was, “The occult is very dangerous. You should be careful with what you read.”

In 1989, I read a book that changed my life. In that book, Nostradamus stated that Christianity would not last much longer, that Christianity was in its “sunset”. He further stated that the New Age movement would be the basis for what would replace Christianity. At that time, I was a Christian who believed that the Bible was essentially correct. Today, I identify with the New Age movement and believe the Bible is essentially false.

Christianity is based on three major beliefs. The first is the duality of two forces: good and evil. The second is the belief that God is separate from us. The third is that Jesus is the son of God. I do not deny this last belief, but we are also sons and daughters of God. The first two beliefs will be revealed to be false and will be replaced by beliefs held by the New Age movement. Good and evil and separation will be replaced by the concept of oneness. People will recognize that we are all interconnected and, in essence, one.

I do not deny that good and evil both exist. I do deny that one is right and the other is wrong, or that one is God and the other is Satan. From a metaphysical standpoint, there is no such thing as right and wrong, because God is all. In other words, God is Satan and God is us. God was Hitler as well as John Paul II.

Christianity took the belief in the duality of good and evil and concluded that good is right and evil is wrong. The outcome was our Western civilization, which is collapsing because of this fallacy. Many want to blame the degradation on Satan, but it is our beliefs.

Look at the result of this belief. Today everyone lives under a microscope, constantly being judged by other people. We cannot so much as get dressed without other people questioning what we wear. Everyone is expected to conform and do the right thing. Those who conform and do the right thing are the good guys. 
Those who do not are the bad guys. We are all given labels to determine where we reside along the continuum of good versus evil.

In essence, the belief in duality has created a judgmental civilization. No one is allowed to do what they want unless it is sanctioned by society. Thus, everything is conditional on what is accepted as proper (i.e. good). There is so much judgment going on that our spirits are blocked from finding the truth.

Not only is society judgmental, it is not free. The ultimate freedom is to be able to do what we want without judgment. Moreover, freedom and unconditional love go hand-in-hand. Now you know why unconditional love is so rare today. If we truly love someone unconditionally, we allow them their freedom to live as they want. Remember Sting's song, “If you love somebody, set them free . . .”?

Today, love is conditional because of our judgmental civilization. People are loved according to their ability to adhere to what is accepted. Those who fit in are loved. Those who go against the grain are deprived of love. The concept of equality has no meaning. We love our heroes and denigrate our criminals. We don’t treat each other equally, not even close.

How can we judge people as losers unless we that believe God wants us to judge? Christianity took the belief of duality and created a civilization that perceives that God loves by degree. The result has been a perception that those who are good deserve to be loved more that those who are bad. According to this belief, God is good and God punishes those who are bad.

The second belief, that God is separate from us, is related to the belief in good and evil. If God is good and humankind is evil, then we must be separate from God. But is this belief correct? Take a closer look.

People today are prevented from loving strangers because the belief in separation is so strong. Children are taught not to talk to strangers. We are conditioned as kids that everyone is different and that strangers are not to be trusted. Our parents tell us to stay away from bad people. We are conditioned to think in terms of good and bad. For instance, drugs are bad, not doing homework is bad, getting in trouble is bad, not eating dinner is bad. The list is endless. Children are rewarded with love only for being good.

The movie Dead Poets Society exploited how we condition our children. In this story about an elite prep school for high school boys, one student kills himself because his father won’t allow him to make his own decisions. How many children have had to endure the tyranny of their parents and society?

I have personal knowledge of one such case. Billy shot himself in the head in 1975. He killed himself after he was rejected from attending a military academy. He had felt the pressure to be good and couldn’t handle not being good enough. He was a popular kid and good student. He never swore, and he went out of his way to be nice to people. He killed himself because of pressure from society. We killed Billy, just as we kill thousands like him every year.

The conditioning continues after high school. We are expected to get a job and pressured into being a productive member of society. Those who are productive are rewarded and respected and those who are not are ridiculed.

Why the pressure to be productive and achievement oriented? Because of the belief in separation. We perceive ourselves to be individuals. So what else is there to do but differentiate ourselves through achievement? In addition to our belief in separation, there are Biblical references to prospering. The Christian value “God wants us to prosper” is a strong determinant in Western culture.

The belief in separation is the reason we reward productive people and judge the nonproductive. This is also the reason the homeless problem has been largely ignored. People do not feel an affinity with the homeless because they are not productive and, thus, deserve the wrath of God.

Most people believe they are separate from God. From this perception came the belief that people are also separate from one another. The ramifications of this belief led to a civilization based on judgment.

Most people also believe that evil is a separate force. Thus, evil is perceived as separate from us as well as separate from God. We’ve isolated evil, and we contend it has nothing to do with us or God, that it is a force to be secluded. Moreover, most of us believe that God will only accept people who reject evil. On one hand, we have good (God). On the other, we have evil (Satan). This is the basis for the current duality of right and wrong. I contend that this duality is a fallacy.

Politicians spend an inordinate amount of time making laws to fight evil. Many believe that God needs our help to fight evil and that it is our duty. President Ronald Reagan called Russia the Evil Empire. President George W. Bush has called Iraq, Iran, and North Korea the Axis of Evil. Christians are the biggest supporters of the fight against evil. The Christian God is usually mentioned when the word evil is used in a speech by politicians. The main objective for involvement in politics by Christians is to fight evil. The morality of abortion has inflamed many Christians to wage a political struggle against current legalization. Today, as I write this, a fundamentalist Christian killed two receptionists at abortion clinics in Massachusetts.

Did Jesus not say to love our enemies? How can we love our enemies if we fight them? I submit that Christianity in its present form is nothing more than a political institution. Christians are waging a political fight against people whose beliefs are different from theirs.

Politics in America has turned into a religious battle. Christians are lined up against so‑called evil. Abortion, homosexuals, single parents, drug users, criminals, illegal aliens, and welfare recipients are considered evil elements in society.

Most people in the New Age movement are aware that duality is an illusion, that duality cannot exist because everything is one. Thus, evil is part of us all and a reflection of us all. Evil is a reflection of the state of consciousness of the planet as a whole. If someone decides to be evil, there must be a reason for it to manifest. 

Moreover, society--we--must have created that reason. Thus, if we want to reduce evil in society, we must change ourselves first and not blame the so-called evil person.

Christians have a strong belief that God will judge everyone’s behavior. Many Christians believe that if we live by wrong values, we will be condemned to hell. This has led to a pervasive fear, which has created a subtle undertone for the entire Christian faith. In essence, Christians are afraid of God. They are afraid God will not judge them as good. Again, another fallacy. We are God. Thus, they are afraid of themselves.

As far as spirituality goes, Christianity is lacking. Currently, Christians do not recognize their divinity. Instead, they perceive themselves to be a creation of a fickle God, one who has the power to grant either eternal life in heaven, or to forsake them to hell. This has led to a religion based on fear, as well as a religion based on judgment and a preoccupation with morality, especially the morality of others.

Today, Christians are experts at discerning (judging) evil. Thus, instead of loving everyone, they point at everyone who is not living up to Christian ideals. This will be the reason for the demise of Christianity in its current form.

Christians have been conditioned to believe that God does not like evil. The concept that God is evil is anathema to Christians. If you confront Christians with this idea, they become defensive and angry. Where does this anger come from? Fear. Christians are afraid of God. This might not be apparent on the surface, but Christian beliefs do instill a sense of fear. They are conditioned--by accepting church dogma--to believe that God is separate from us and that He is a fickle, judgmental God.

Yes, many Christians believe that God loves them, but even they are compelled by fear . . . if not for themselves, then for their loved ones, families and friends. Christians are anxious that God might not love others as much as them. Thus, a pervasive anxiety envelops Christians.

The foundation of Christianity was based on the belief that God is separate from us. This is where the concept of judgment came from, as well as the belief that God is going to judge us. It is quite common to hear Christians proudly state that they have a healthy fear of God.

The foundation for the next global civilization will be based on the concept of oneness. This will result in societies based on love. Doesn’t that sound better? It will be easy for people to accept a new spirituality based on love. People will begin to realize that the Bible has led them astray and away from God. Not only has the Bible led people astray, but society as well.

As stated, Western civilization is based on Christian values. Look at our current civilization. How does society currently perceive crime? Christians believe that crime is caused by evil people who have forsaken God and should be punished harshly. There is little compassion for criminals. 

To New Agers, people who commit crimes are not perceived as evil but as reflections of society, as people who are catalysts for change. For instance, if someone is a thief, it is a reflection that he or she is not being provided for by society.

Granted, this is a hard concept to grasp. It is hard to believe that criminals are equal to other members of society. We are so conditioned to believe in right and wrong that any concept alien to this is quickly rejected by the mainstream. The only recourse is for these ideas to be relegated to the fringe of society.

In the New Age, a criminal will be perceived as someone who needs help, not someone who needs punishment. People will understand that we all have to live together. If one person needs help, that person will have help. What is a criminal other than someone who needs help?

As stated earlier, Christians judge criminals harshly because of their belief in separation. Laws that decide the fate of criminals are often a reflection of a Christian dominated society. Society currently does not believe in rehabilitation. Thus, rehabilitation does not exist.

I do not believe in political answers to our current problems. It’s pointless to join political institutions and attempt change. Until society has transformed spiritually, our institutions and culture will not improve. They will, in fact, decay. I believe our institutions will continue to decay until they implode. I recommend that we all refuse to be involved in politics of any kind, that we sit back and watch society collapse. Then we can start over.

Most people don’t like to think too deeply about the foundations of society. For instance, the relationship between schools and Christian values is largely ignored. When I bring this up, people don’t want to talk about it. “What’s your point?” they ask. My point is that society is based on fallacies and schools are the starting point for the continuation of these fallacies. What children are taught, and how they are conditioned, determines how a society will evolve.

School boards are locally elected and put in charge of educating our children. From my perspective, their role is to maintain and preserve the current system. The school boards are mainly made up of Christians, which is inevitable since America is at least seventy percent Christian. Christian values are the main criteria for the curriculum of our nation’s schools, again reflecting pervasive societal values.

Look at the school system. When children first arrive in school at the tender age of five, they are conditioned to achieve and conform. There are no alternatives, except home schooling. Children must go to school and compete.

If they don’t want to learn what is being taught, they are in for a rough time. From this early age, they are taught that if they conform and achieve, they will be happy. Conversely, if they rebel against the expectations, happiness will be withheld. They are taught to achieve or else be ostracized. They are not given a choice. They are taught that only their achievements matter. If they do not accept this rule, they will be kicked out or disciplined. One reward for achieving is the ubiquitous “Student of the Month” bumper stickers that proclaim the accomplishments of students.

Another enticement to achievement is the opportunity to become involved in a school activity, such as a dramatic play or a sports team. Teachers make sure these “special” students feel happy about their achievements. It isn’t long before the students who are achievers begin to assert peer pressure on the non-achievers.

The rules are put into place at the school board level and are ironclad. Children who achieve and conform are rewarded with good grades and the possibility of college. Those who refuse to achieve and conform are shuffled along, then pushed out into society ill‑prepared.

When I say pushed out, I’m talking about those who either drop out or graduate with a poor education. Hundreds of children and young adults drop out of school every day. What is the response of the school boards? They claim it is not their responsibility, that the students were given a chance to achieve.

We treat the homeless and high school dropouts the same. We take away their dignity and place the blame on them. We often do the same thing to six-year-old children with their first report card. “Achieve or else,” seems to be the motto of our society.

Do Christian values have anything to do with it? I think so. I think Christian values and Western civilization go hand-in-hand. Thus, when one falls, the other shall fall.

The school boards create this system of achievement based on current Western values. Is there really much difference between Christian values and Western values? I think there are very few differences between them. Some of my cousins went to a parochial school, and I went to a public school. Did we really have a different education? I don’t think so.

Look deeper. The school system is very important to our society. Because of this importance, people with power have made sure that the school system meets society's needs. Thus, the school boards--and political institutions--are accountable to the power brokers. The elite make sure the school system is run a certain way. 
Political power is exerted to maintain the school system. School systems across the nation are pretty much the same because the same Western values dominate. You can ask people who have attended schools across the country what their schools were like and find little difference.

It’s interesting that schools are run at the local level, yet are nearly uniform across the nation. What causes this uniformity? The answer, in my opinion, is Christian values.

We live in an achievement culture, and this culture is reinforced at an early age. The conditioning begins as early as three years old. Then grading in elementary school reinforces the conditioning of achievement. Is grading really necessary? Why can’t kids just go to school and enjoy life? I find it amazing that the practice of grading is used so extensively, especially for young children. Does anyone realize the message being sent? Children who receive poor grades are denigrated. The message is that they are inferior.

Why talk about education? To make the point that Christian values are lacking. More than that, that Christianity is the major reason why most of our institutions are failing.

Our current civilization must fall before the new civilization can take its place. If that’s the case, we should understand why it’s going to fail. This understanding will help us make the transition more smoothly. If you see something coming, it’s easier to prepare. 

I feel kind of guilty writing so negatively about Christianity. Jesus was probably the greatest spiritual teacher ever on earth, and he is closely identified with Christianity. But his message was not what Christianity evolved into. His message was love, not judgment.

The foundation of Christianity is based on a false premise: separation. This false premise actually caused the darkness that is now upon the planet. How? Judgment leads to resentment, and resentment leads to judgment. We are locked into this vicious cycle. To break the cycle, we have to stop judging and begin allowing. Allowing leads to love, and love leads to harmony.

In the near future, people will begin to recognize the fallacy of separation. Soon our institutions will start to break down. The first to go will be the economic system. Next, the political system. Finally, the social system. Once this occurs, we will reflect on our beliefs and begin to make changes.

Society is headed toward simpler times, not a more complex society where everyone is competing (achieving). Technology will continue to advance, but people will no longer feel compelled to focus on economic and material growth. Instead, the quest for economic advancement will slow and a focus on human spiritual growth will expand. People will become more concerned with their spirituality than their achievements. Our achievement obsession will decline as spirituality ascends in importance.