Old cats are excellent meditation teachers. They know the art of just sitting there, being. In that state of 'no mind', they don't bother whether life has meaning or not, whether there is a God, or if consciousness is a construct by the brain. They don't wonder if there is an afterlife.
Logic, scientific explanations, philosophical and religious explanations, or simply everyday nonsense, are all mental constructs made of words. And words are only a tiny part of a human being.
Do you believe in God?
What do you mean by God?
I mean a higher power, much more powerful than humankind.
Do you mean electricity of sorts?
What an idiot you are! Do you believe that we have a father who cares about us?
Do you mean someone like Donald Trump or Homer Simpson?
Something is seriously wrong with you. Do you believe in Jesus?
Yes, I believe in Jesus. But who was he? Was he God? I believe that he was a Jewish preacher who taught that the end times were near and that God would overthrow the evil forces and create a new kingdom on earth. But the evil forces grew tired of him and killed him.
So, you are an atheist?
No, I'm not an atheist. I believe that there is a God, but he is oppressed. The dark forces are so much stronger. The Devil is a malignant Narcissist, a powerful authoritarian. What is your God like?
God is like Jesus.
Ok, but how do you explain that all the different churches have always sided with the rich, with all the war crazy kings and presidents? How do you explain the witch hunts, the inquisition trials, and all the horrible religious wars? How do you explain that he never helps the poor and downtrodden, no matter how sincere they are in their faith and prayers? Why is he only helping the wealthy and successful?
The inner world and the outer world are, in fact, the same world. There are not two separate worlds.
13,8 billion years ago, the universe was just a tiny, tiny little dot. This mysterious little dot exploded, and enormous heat was released. After some time, the heat cooled down, and galaxies and stars formed. Ten billion years later, life arose, simple forms of bacteria. Then came multicellular organisms, love and hate, right and wrong, words, fantasies, and delusions.
And now you are here, right here, reading this.
You are an idiot.
Throughout history, people have held beliefs and convictions that later turned out to be wrong: the Earth was not flat, the sun did not circle the Earth, the world was not created 6000 years ago, and witches and gnomes did not exist. The Germans are not a superior race, and sins do not cause cancer.
What if your convictions and beliefs also turn out to be wrong? What if also your ideas about God and how life must be lived are delusions? What if your firm conviction that spirituality is pure nonsense is simply small-mindedness? What if there actually is a God somewhere, but all religions have it completely wrong? What if all religions are created by human authorities as a cover or a way to make you obey them?
You are only aware of a small part of yourself and a tiny part of the world.
Sometimes I am an atheist, other times I am an agnostic. Sometimes I am deeply religious, but it is a religion of my own invention, not someone else's. Sometimes I believe there is an afterlife, other times I don't. Sometimes I am convinced that it is important how we live our lives; other times I believe it doesn't make any difference: we simply die one day and that's it. There is nothing more to it. Sometimes I have a naturalistic worldview; other times, I think there is also a spiritual dimension.
There are approximately 4,000 different religions on the planet. Moreover, there are thousands of different kinds of Christianity, thousands of different kinds of Hinduism, different kinds of Islam, and different kinds of Buddhism. There are thousands of different creation stories and beliefs about the nature of God.
This implies that you can also invent a creation story and an idea about God. Your story is as valid as anyone else's. In fact, it is essential that you develop your own belief system rather than simply adopting someone else's. It can be dangerous to let someone else take over your mind. You must be cautious to avoid downloading malicious software.
But it is also essential to question your story as thoroughly as you question others. Your mind can also cook up crazy stuff. You must ask yourself, "Does this make any sense?"
We may have free will, but we can seldom use it. Throughout history, people have been forced to do things they hate. They have been slaves, serfs, and cannon fodder. Today, most people have to work doing things they don't want to do in order to make a living. Some people are trapped in a marriage because they don't have the funds to leave. Some are trapped in a belief system; they are stuck in a labyrinth where they can't find the exit. Some are addicted to alcohol and drugs. They want to stop drinking and drugging, but they can't.
Brain scientists and philosophers can debate if free will exists until they get blue in the face, but who cares? Free will is irrelevant to most of us.
