God (Part 3): As Self-evolution of Consciousness

[SIZE="4"]I've saved the best part of this contemplation of the God concept for last; however, it also is often the hardest to explain. In case you are worried about the length of this section, it is mostly due to a long list of supportive quotes and not the main body of my closing points. I offer the quotes in a second post right after this one in this thread.

But first, let me dutifully say, this is Part 3 of a three part series. I don't think this thread will make much sense unless you first read Parts 1 & 2, "Anti-God Reasoning Blunders" and "God Epistemology" found here:
http://www.philosophyforum.com/forum/philosophy-forums/branches-philosophy/philosophy-religion/3631-god-part-1-anti-god-reasoning-blunders.html
http://www.philosophyforum.com/forum/philosophy-forums/branches-philosophy/philosophy-religion/3632-god-part-2-god-epistemology.html

Imagine a modern human trying to explain to a Neanderthal neighbor what intellectual ability is like. Neanderthals seem to have learned mostly by trial and error, but modern humans were able to calculate. Every tip the modern human gives Neanderthal for using his brain to calculate, he starts up with trial and error to test it. Yet what really is called for is a new set of skills altogether, not trying to achieve calculation through old skills.

Similarly, union is not a skill of intellect and senses, but rather (hold on all you intellectuals, don't freak) it is a skill of feeling. Stick with me a little bit longer so I can explain how this sort of feeling is not emotions or anything that would diminish or is in conflict with one's intellectual ability.

Emotions obviously do involve feeling, but the feeling element of emotion is typically intensified or altered by hormones and a particular state of mind (romantic love or panic, as examples). I am talking about feeling unaffected by body chemistry or mind status. In other words, I'm using the term "feel" as a synonym for sensitivity. The potentials of sensitivity are significant because except for how consciousness is foundationally structured, sensitivity is more basic to conscious experience than any other single factor. I call this most fundamental aspect base sensitivity.

Not everyone would agree that any sensitivity is so basic. A possible reason for that opinion can be had by imagining that feeling is to consciousness what reflectivity is to a mirror. A mirror can display any sort of image, but reflectivity is involved in every bit of it. If humans were mirrors, we might become so mesmerized by all the interesting images, we'd never recognize how basic reflecting is. Similarly, we are so busy using consciousness for the activities of life most of us don't take the time, or necessarily think it's worthwhile, to examine the base conditions underlying our personal conscious existence. Consequently, we know consciousness mostly by what we do with it and not for what it is.

One of the potentials of working with one's base sensitivity is that of increasing overall conscious sensitivity. A situation that demonstrates this potential is a man on a rainy day who wants to know how frequently his leaky roof drips. Since it's leaking right over where water is boiling in a pan on the stove, he decides to watch the pan for drips. Is there any way to make it more likely he will observe the leak? Since churning water will obscure any less-subtle transmission, stopping the water from boiling will allow it to settle into a still surface and display the arrival of the tiniest wisp of water. Consciousness is similarly more sensitive when still.

But how does one still the mind? Most people try first to stop the mind with the mind itself, but that's as impossible as lifting oneself by one's own bootstraps. Others learn about calming oneself or breathing regularly, etc. But in the practice of union I described in the last section, something else is counted on altogether.

In the practice of union, one learns to find something inside oneself that is already still and already one. Through a series of steps, one learns to sort of surrender to this simple core of peace and oneness, and that is when absorption can occur. When absorbed into this plane or realm, its stillness and oneness will make consciousness that way effortlessly. Practicing from there onward is learning how to "ride" with this very, very powerful but very, very subtle wave.

Now, why have I spoke of God epistemology "As Self-evolution of Consciousness"? For two reasons.

The first is, union practice really does open up awareness of reality in a way that isn't there in the "fragmented" condition (recall I said that union resulted in an experience of oneness--two types of oneness really--the first is the oneness of integrating all of the practitioner's energies, and the second is experiencing becoming one with something vast). The compartmentalizing achieved by the intellect and fed information by the senses, is most valuable to thinking about the complex details of reality. Physical reality, for example, is utterly multifaceted and operating with incredible regularity, so being able to fashion an aspect of consciousness to match that, and then use it to calculate and predict and plan and create, etc. is useful.

But all that expert fragmentation the intellect achieves tends to cause us to miss the whole, and oneness adds that naturally to one's perspective. Now rather than trying to synthesize parts and guess where it fits with other stuff, one sees the whole too and therefore where a part fits into the whole, a tremendous advantage to understanding. So, I am saying that as an expansion of consciousness that we have the potential to develop, that is evolutive.

The second way union is evolution is even more powerful in my opinion. No matter how smart or successful we become, it doesn't seem to equate to happiness. You can be rich or a genius and still be miserable, hurt others, start wars, be selfish, and so on. If you think about it, all of it is due to seeking fulfillment of one sort or another. The unfulfilled person is the source of virtually all misery on this planet (except for natural disasters); even perverse evil acts are what some seem to think satisfies.

A theory of union practitioners has long been that people don't know their own "heart" (i.e., that still core the union practitioner finds inside to become one with), and this lack of self-knowledge creates a longing. Because we attempt to fulfill the longing by external means, we fail, and that in turn leads to frustration, unhappiness, anger, fruitless pursuits, and then the venting of all that lack of fulfillment on others and the world. So even if we become the geniuses of the universe, why should we assume it will translate into happiness, contentment, love, and peace?

How cool would it be to be able to feel love, happiness, and at peace without being dependent on things outside ourselves? The ups and downs of the external world sends our moods up and down right with it because of our dependence on things being "a certain way." Things go well, and we are happy; things go poorly, and we are upset. But when a person can rely on something inside for happiness, that separates it from the incessant fluctuations of the external world and so gives us a means for constancy.


In conclusion, union experience is self-directed evolution because it takes advantage of a fundamental aspect of consciousness, base sensitivity, to both enhance our intelligence (by adding the wisdom of the "whole-view"), and provide us with a means for making our experience of fulfillment independent of external circumstances.

Also, there is no need for religion to practice oneness, and neither is there reason to believe or disbelieve in God to practice. However, there is also no reason why someone can't practice religion and union experience together either. It really doesn't matter if one has the actual experience available. But if, as I propose, the most credible claims of a conscious universe have stemmed from union experience, then it may be that the only way we can decide the God issue is to become proficient in that practice and discover the truth for ourselves.

The next post finishes up this thread.
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