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Thursday, September 21, 2006

Material vs. Spiritual

Among the reasons for fundamental Islamic terror is the ascension of material desire in the Judeo Christian world, which allegedly relegates G-d to secondary status. Ancient cultures where the material (physical) world was distinguished from the holy spiritual world, were synergistic only when the latter dominated the former.

The worlds emerging macro trends are clear. Wealth is rapidly accumulating in the hands of more people dramatically improving material existence for billions worldwide. This brings with it significant shifts in the way societies, impacted by this economic prerogative, manage their daily affairs . Unable to reverse the march of time, we move forward altering destiny for the betterment of all people, or so we hope. Yet, billions lag behind.

Increased wealth enables more people to devote time to issues of their choice rather than those they are compelled to choose. For now, most of our lives are consumed by fast cars, quicker connections and modern media. Television, Internet, Video, Audio, Theater, Newspaper Radio, Fashion, Sport, Food, Entertainment and Learning all shape our past, current and future view of the world. Our desire to be independent, secure and productive continues to sharpen our focus on material success consuming much of our thinking time.

At the time of our Biblical forefathers, prophets and sages, people were inspired by and dedicated their intellect to spiritual matters of the soul. Materiality was not a demand of culture or society because you were either born into the wealthy aristocracy or you were embraced by or supported by them. Acquiring significant wealth was unlikely other than through spiritual devotion through which your being would be elevated to a heightened and more purified state. This would earn a person respect and regard leading to increased material comfort as a consequence. Elevation of the soul, in life, through deep knowledge of the spiritual dimension was life's conscious purpose so that, after death, the soul would pass to a higher world in a more purified and elevated state. This was the societal objective of the time.

Since the time of Adam unquestioning commitment to the soul, as the purpose of life, prevailed in the minds of people. After the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem, levels of devotion to this purpose began a long slide in shifting consciousness, from a world of intense spirituality toward today's world of the intense materiality. Spiritual Jewish leaders, who were at the center of world events were overwhelmed by this rising focus on the material. First it was the Babylonians, then the Greeks, the Romans, the Spanish, the Russians and the Germans, the French, the English and the Americans, each progressively shifting the prevailing view of the mainstream toward the intellectual 'noise' of materialism.

The Jewish mainstream, who were once intensely devoted to their sense of holiness, bowed to judgment, their dominant soul force (of the left), encouraged by the political agendas of the powers that be. Individuals were easily captured by the lure of material desire as money's purpose became the 'prize' and spiritual disciplines and devotions gave way to the apparent freedoms and privileges available only to the rich. Distracted, people compromised their holy objectives and with that, they lost awareness and knowledge of their deep holy culture.

It is said that 'money is the root of all evil' however, money can equally be the root of all good. To achieve this we have to dig deep, learning to achieve, finding renewed faith, because without faith there is only fear for the loss of 'that' upon which your comfort and security is based. Materiality, being a desire of the left (evil) and spirituality, being the side of the right (good), establishes a perfect relationship such that money can be elevated to serve its true purpose. Applied to the right causes and through the right process, money is being turned into 'a root of good' by a public who are more intently focused on this positive social and spiritual path and who are resolved to orderly thinking so that the pursuit of holiness in the application of global economics becomes the prevailing objective of the worlds' modern societies.

If we had a homogeneous 'desire' to meditate on subjects of holiness and if the desire dominated our thinking, we would focus less on the objects of desire and more on desires' source. This would inevitably lead us to the discovery of truth and the connection to the forces of good and evil that influence our souls. Then our minds would continuously witness the wonders of G-d's works because we would learn to identify that the thoughts we have, the things we say and the actions that occur in our lives have greater meaning and purpose. We would understand reasoning, we would identify the common ground that unites us and we would respond with wisdom in ways that are universally synchronized. This would ultimately lead to the redemption of man from our current predicament allowing us all to ascend to the highest levels of our souls, an objective to which all mainstream religions subscribe.

This fundamental cultural difference is the antithesis of today's materialistic world. It is impossible for us to return to a society that once existed, but that is clearly not our goal. The goal prescribed by Kabbalah, Chasidus and Torah is one, which in our modern world of intensified awareness and rapid accumulation of knowledge, enables society to become increasingly tuned to the holistic and mystical paths that lead us toward a better understanding of life's purpose.

Dedication to 'soul' by acting to achieve enlightenment peace and happiness, is the path toward the completion of life's cycle, the purpose of man, for each and every one of us, in the higher world of our souls. Those who heighten their awareness of spirituality and who strive to remain connected to their constant state of holiness are able to recognize the extent to which their soul is in command. Reading your soul, your life compass, is a skill we no longer instinctively possess, most of us lost this skill a few thousand years ago, but re-connecting is not as difficult as one may think.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Holy Being, I am impressed with your knowledge.

"Unable to reverse the march of time, we move forward altering destiny for the betterment of all people, or so we hope."

Nature balances itself, who, or what, could and would balance mankind with nature; i.e. the only world we know of where we are in the flesh.
Paradise is on earth. We as a species are just finding this out.

But if all the death that has been done in G_D's name hadn't been done, thier would be billions more on this rock. This island of the Creator.
So in my view the Creator must be the destroyer until we can, as a whole, keep our balance with the only physical resource that truly is at our disposal.

Now think of our record with supply and demand. An enormous supply of flesh would really undercut our own value. How cheaply we would be looked at by the brute of our human race.
Over the thousands of years had the flock not been thinned, billions more would inhabit the earth.

The Dougman

Kevin Bermeister said...

"Nature balances itself, who, or what, could and would balance mankind with nature"

In Hebrew the numerical value of 'G-d' is equal to 'nature'

The rising pace of consumption makes balance a daunting thought.

We will have to make big adjustments including to our heightened states of holiness, which will allow us to accomplish many things including the resolution of man's struggle with the physical.

In the era we are about to enter, our minds will reconnect to the mystical knowledge we once had and we will all realize (once again)that our transient journey on earth is to benefit G-d.