“The human mind can think and ponder. A plant, if it had a mind, would probably consider thinking as superfluous and stupid. Every entity that lives loves its existence, not because it has emotionality, but because the joy of  awareness is intrinsic to life and all existence. ” – David Hawkins, from his book  The Eye of the I

My wife mentioned to me awhile back how newborns come into the world with no language. That started me thinking.  From the moment of conception until well after it is born into this world, the fetus (and then baby) has no words with which to describe its experience. Does that mean they don’t have thoughts?  Do they have feelings?

We know a fetus has needs.  In the womb everything the fetus needs is provided by the mother, more or less on instant demand. Nutrition and waste elimination are not a conscious concern for the fetus. From all outward appearances, unless the mother’s own health is in jeopardy or there  is some kind of genetic flaw or the umbilical cord somehow gets tangled around the babies neck, (for example) the fetus is incubated in a “vacuum” of sorts. What stimulus does a fetus experience in its black world except for warmth and the beating of both its own and its mother’s heart. Perhaps the muffled sounds coming from outside the womb. To imagine such an existence now, as an adult, would no doubt trigger more than a few claustrophobic fears in most of us. It would appear that it’s a good thing that the fetus has no knowledge of the world beyond and what’s to come. The brain’s cognitive skills evolve over time. Even the most simplistic brain, in the beginning, serves some basic functions and then, if all goes according to plan it  grows in it’s ability to tackle the more complex tasks that confront it after birth .

I believe it’s entirely possible that a human enters into this world with a clean slate, a blank canvas on which to paint one’s life. We could (at this point) enter a discussion about when consciousness (or some might say the soul) enters the body.  Is it when the sperm meets the ovum? Is a woman’s uterus an “assembly line” specifically designed to create and build the container the soul will inhabit?  Which then begs the question – at what point does the soul enter the body? Is it at the moment of conception or could it happen later on? Some have suggested that the soul chooses when to incarnate and some may wait until the last minute to come into the body. Seth, the channeled entity in the Jane Roberts books says it will vary, that soul’s eager to be born will take it’s place within the body early on.  That’s not something we may ever be able to prove.

On this very important point lies much of the debate over the ethical question of abortion. However that is not the direction that I’m taking this. One must also consider whether or not the brain (the organ itself)  has anything to do with consciousness or if so, to what degree.

Unless the soul brings with it an agenda that will bear on the future of the individual, unless there is something in the DNA that is time-released, we could be looking at the fetus as the purest state of being we will ever experience in human form. If I use the metaphor of the  fetus as being an “empty jar,” it is fascinating to consider what that “jar” fills up with, both in utero and in the  formative years of an infant’s life.

We appear to be helpless to determine the environment we are born into. (Though some will argue that we choose some of our life-circumstances before incarnating. It’s certainly an intriguing theory.) I would point out  that, if you’re a Christian, you essentially believe that God (or Jesus himself)  predetermined (predestined?) his own  life circumstances and events. Of course that doesn’t mean such a thing happens to every person born …  or does it?  Another blog for another time I always say.

One is conceived into one reality or dimension (the world of the fetus)  and then the baby is birthed, some nine months later into an entirely different one.  To go from the womb into the external world is arguably just as dramatic a transition as to go from this body to the reality that (may or may not) lie beyond this one,  upon our physical death. There is at least one culture of what we call more “primitive” people who mourn the births and celebrated deaths in their community. A very different perspective for sure but I can certainly understand that thinking.  Indeed, that’s all there are – positionalities and opinions, all of which are derived at by a great many determining factors, some of which may have origins going back to the beginnings of human history, many of which are perpetuated by our great myths.

I see an analogy between the primitive man of thousands of years ago and the newborn infant’s arrival into this world. The difference however is that original man was on his own in figuring out what “things” were for and what they meant. For the sake of argument and as a matter of convenience, let’s pretend that mankind’s first couple, “Adam and Eve,” have been miraculously created and brought into this world as fully grown young adults. Now, for the sake of argument let’s say that they awaken (become fully conscious)  into their bodies totally unaware of any  ‘creator,’  thrust into a new world, dimension or reality which they immediately perceive with their five senses but have no words or language to express themselves.

I like to also imagine the possibility that in this scenario, these two new beings have an innate awareness of other senses (six and seven or more) that we have since forgotten, that have perhaps gone dormant from a lack of use. Senses that we took for granted and used regularly in the beginning. If that is the case, Adam and Eve may have “sensed” that they were not alone on this earth or even in the universe. We can only speculate.

What we do know is that there (in all likelihood) would be no pre-conceived ideas of what is “right” and “wrong” and such ideas would develop over time. This of course gets very complicated very quickly but I want to give a couple of examples of how things might have been very different then than now, keeping in mind that essentially a newborn infant, in many respects, is that same “sponge” that will soak up whatever is presented to it. How many hundreds or thousands of years did it take us to develop our moral and ethical codes and paradigms.  At what point did we begin to tell others how they should be and what they should experience? One can only imagine that this happened rapidly, if for no other reason than it in some ways would determine whether a child would survive in a very inhospitable world.  One thing for sure, babies today are not allowed to determine for themselves what is, rather it is told what is and what to believe.

Humans probably didn’t get their start from one, original, “mythical” couple (our Adam and Eve) and in fact there were small tribes of “primitive” (don’t really like that word) humans scattered throughout several locations on our planet earth that  supported their existence. That would certainly help explain why so many cultures and races have so very different fundamental beliefs, behaviors, morals and ethics and even food preferences.  What many seem inconceivable for one culture today is a matter-of-fact for another.  An example of this would be a culture of people today on the continent of Africa where, once a year, infidelity is not only allowed encouraged for couples and the practice is thought to be perfectly permissible.

If our beginnings were as we believe that might well have been, then early man might appear as aliens to our society today. How many years did it take for us to create a belief system that says that normal body functions like sex for pleasure and procreation and bodily waste elimination should be hidden (as if shameful) from others? Surely in early civilizations procreation between family members was the norm. Like it or not, that would have to be how Adam and Eve (if the story is to be taken literally) begat the human race. Of course as the generations expanded and grew across the earth,  the suggestion of incest would slowly disappear into the distant past.

The whole idea of “shame” is an interesting one and the bible says that Adam and Eve originally knew no shame  until they ate from the “tree of knowledge.”  So the biblical myth of the “Garden of Eden” does address this issue, though it may fall short of satisfactorily explaining it for many modern day people.  Adam and Even became ashamed. That may mean that they began to see themselves as separate from God.  This is a subject that has been addressed my many theologians and authors for hundreds of years and I’m not going to attempt my own interpretation here.

Needless to say, a newborn baby is born into his or her very own “Garden of Eden” or paradise. But “reality” sets in rather quickly depending on a multitude of situational circumstances that include the very environment the baby is born into. After that, circumstances such as:  the parent’s belief system,  how well off the parents are, the culture they live in, the climate, the religion, the baby’s siblings and so on, ultimately contribute to what is emptied into that vessel we call the newborn.

In the early days of computers we all heard the expression, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It seems the same expression is applicable to the  human condition. We are indoctrinated from the get-go by a myriad of things, some good, some not so good. It is our nature (as newborns) to believe what we are told, first by our parents but secondly by our teachers, our government and our religious leaders (if our parents or the culture we are born into are of a religious persuasion), the books we read, the media, etc.

What molds us into who we are, including the genes we were born with,  is, in short, mind boggling. In the most formative years of our lives we are involuntarily exposed to thoughts and ideas that will either help us or hurt us as we go about growing and living our lives, following us well into our adult lives, determining our perspectives unto death. That is,  unless somewhere along the line we decide that we can change our minds and that our thoughts (that may not always be “our” thoughts) create our reality.  Notice here I say, our, reality because clearly in so many cases, your reality and mine are not always the same. Some, through grace or luck or fortunate circumstances will figure this indoctrination thing out early-on in life while others may never come to this conclusion.

The case could be argued (and feel free to do so with me if you like) that no one, in all of history, that we label as “evil” ever had a turning point in their lives when they chose to be “evil,”  given their life circumstances and their model of the world, one in which they were molded from birth. If that’s the case, as heinous as some crimes against mankind may be, I can personally rationalize how they may not be condemned to an eternity in some place called “hell”  for their sins.

It may be easy for me to say, not having been effected by such monsters or not having known anyone who was, but the fact of the matter is that most “bad” people are what they are because of their environment and circumstances beyond their control. I know this appears to give them an excuse. But if you take what some would consider the “worst” example – Hitler, I don’t look at his life and think, “How wonderfully happy his life was.”  He suffered from his choices most all of his life, maybe not as horrendously as the inmates in Auschwitz. But to say that some “devil” made him do it is only to point at his unfortunate circumstances. If viewed in the proper perspective, how is it that we fail to see people like Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer as “victims” as well?

Of course Hitler couldn’t have done what he did without thousands of people being complicit. Alone he was powerless. So it is then that you being to see how inter-connected we all are, how that butterfly’s flapping wings ultimately create the hurricane on the other side of the globe. More and more, as we learn about Quantum physics and as the frontiers of that understanding are being expanded, we are learning the profound effects of being One.

The results of what are likely thousands of years of teaching and reinforced incorrect thought systems can only result in an increasingly dysfunctional society. It’s even arguable that this becomes a part of our DNA that gets passed from generation to generation.  The purpose of Buddhism, Eastern and Middle Eastern religions and a few other esoteric teachings seem to me to be an effort to return us to the empty “vessel,” with which we came into this world,  a pure state of uncluttered thinking.  A Course In Miracles is an effort to disengage the mind from thought patterns that do not serve it and instead serve to promote illusions and misunderstandings. The writings of people like Don Miguel Ruiz, with  his understanding of Toltec wisdom are invaluable in helping us to see the illusions we are held in check by. The shared understanding of the mystics and sages and gurus in India seek to do the same. Sadly, it is an issue that I think that most traditional religions, in particular Christianity fail to address at all. The illusions are so deeply ingrained in most every single one of us and we are often so far along in this life before we begin to recognize the deceit that is rampant and it is very difficult to adjust one’s thinking.

Those who’ve had the experience, if only briefly of “nirvana” or “bliss,” or what is sometimes called the “ecstasy of unity” know that there are no words adequate to describe the feeling.  While some poets and writers have attempted to use words to describe the experience, they are often the first to admit that words do not do the experience justice. So we go back to the pure soul state of the infant and realize that language and words aren’t necessary and may even hinder the experience. David Hawkins, author of The Eye of the I, states that in the purest state of Oneness there is no longer any thinking,  just an Is-ness.

I’m not suggesting that this experience we call life is a sham or some form of cruel punishment inflicted upon us by some angry vengeful ‘god.’  Instead I am suggesting that the human race has drifted so far off course, like a ship without a rudder, as to have totally forgotten why it is we’re here in the first place. We misuse our innate talents and gifts and have allowed some abilities we were all born with to shrivel up and disengage from a lack of use. We misunderstand the opportunities placed before us. We imagine ourselves to be less than we are. We have lost our purpose. We believe in the illusions (such as separateness) that we alone have created. This experience we call life was, in my opinion, meant to be blissful, an experience  in a dimension/reality like no other. However the very skills of imagination and creation that we were given, hand-in-hand, not used as intended, have the potential to turn our heaven into a hell as is sometimes the case.

To quote a lyric from an old pop song, “we’ve got to get back to the garden.”  But, as if to reinforce my point in this particular blog,  that idea only reinforces the thought that we ever actually left the garden in the first place. As the religious are wont to say, it is we who’ve forgotten God, not he who has forgotten us.

If you wish to listen to a bit of soothing music as you read you can click this link. 09 – Last Lullaby (Thomas’ Song)

After staying inside for a month trying to avoid tree pollen, which was giving me real fits, I ventured outside, back to my walk along the Arkansas River in Wichita. It was an exceptional morning as the temperature had dropped into the upper 50′s and the ever-present Kansas wind was held somewhat  in check by a cold front having  passed through over night settling the atmosphere and bringing  much needed rain. It was a cloudless morning and while not exactly the crack of dawn, the light still had a bit of the lingering “magic”  that photographers want in their photos. The good new is, I had no camera, allowing me to be more fully present.

Readily apparent, close by in the water, were geese with goslings and ducks with ducklings. The parents kept a watchful eye on me while their young, apparently oblivious to any potential danger, ducked their heads under the water looking for food.

Two white egrets (or white herons – they look nearly identical and both frequent the river) entertained anyone  fortunate enough to be watching with a graceful, tandem ballet, riding the gentle breeze over the water. On two different occasions one flew with a small fish in it’s beak, apparently looking for a place to stop and gulp. (What a great name for a chain of Quick Shops, now that I think of it.)  I saw these same  “love birds” landing in trees and bushes near the river. I also witnessed one lift, mid river off the water, no small feat to extend itself high enough out of the water to get those great wings flapping. It needed considerably less “runway” to lift off than do the ducks and Canadian geese. It was also interesting to watch one of  the egrets “soar,” not unlike the turkey buzzards and red tail hawks do in Kansas, using the wind only to stay aloft, something I’d not seen that bird do before. It amazes me how their long, “S”-like necks, so necessary to catching fish, can retract in flight to be more aerodynamic.

Further along I saw a very large turtle, his/her shell measuring  well over a foot from front to back, head out, sunning itself a safe dashing distance from the water.

At one point, I turned to look over my shoulder after hearing an odd bird-like sound, only to see a swooping hawk had just snatched a smaller bird, mid-flight from the sky. The sounds that alerted me were that of the hapless victim, wrapped tightly in the raptor’s claws as it continued its path across the river, weighed down like a jet with a pay-load secured underneath. I wondered if it was a Peregrine falcon.  Even in life, there is death and, in truth it came to me that they are the same. Death for one, is life for another. The indigenous people realize this and know the sacredness of all things. For them, as it should be for us, death and life are revered equally.

I had intended to blog on the subject of death and dying today, even saving some thoughts I’d recorded over the long  weekend into my cell phone for later use. To some who’ve seen my postings and blogs and videos over the past year, that I’ve been obsessed with death comes as no surprise. And perhaps some day I will blog about it but today I had the wisdom to understand that life is about living fully in the present moment and to appreciate every little detail.

Someone once asked a friend (or relative) whose days were numbered because of a terminal illness, “How do you rise each morning and face the reality that you’re dying?”  The answer he got was, “How do you wake up each day and act as if you’re not?”

My wife and I started to watch a DVD  last night when we noticed a small winged bug on the TV screen. It was dwarfed by the monitor, so much so that we didn’t bother to get up and shoo the bug away. To put this into the bug’s perspective, imagine if you went to an IMAX movie theatre and watched the entire movie with your nose 4 inches from the screen.

The bug was seeing something very different than we were from our perspective on the couch. The bug, probably drawn by the light, was witnessing only flashes of colors, (red, now green, now blue) but no recognizable images and  no apparent “rhyme or reason” to the lights.  What was going through the bug’s mind we can never know. Perhaps it wondered when the light was going to provide the warmth it was seeking. Perhaps it was mesmerized in some hypnotic way that kept it from flying away.

I knew, (at that moment of awakening)  that I am the bug on the screen, unable to see the  big picture, unable to piece together any logic or answer any whys. What appears random and chaotic to the bug, in fact, has a design, an intention and a purpose that only what some call God can comprehend or fully appreciate because this God is the imagination behind  it. Like any producer or director, God reserves the best seat in the house.

Was the bug’s reality any less real than my own? Yes … and … No, depending on your perspective.  It was an entirely different reality than what the sentient beings were experiencing from the couch, a mere eight feet away. So in fact, what we  (any one of us) witness or observe or even experience, is only partial truth, as a cup of water drawn from the sea remembers not the vastness from which it came.

As the “camera” zooms out, what we humans see from our couch  is not what God “sees” or perceives at all. God is, after-all, a big “Know it all.”  We think ourselves to be separate from the bug and imagine ourselves as Gods, that is, until we feel a gentle tap on our shoulder.

Be patient, I don’t get to the title point until much later in this blog.

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that there is a “God.”  I’m not saying there is or there isn’t but I’m inclined to believe there is some kind of intelligent creator behind all that we can see and can’t see. That presence I call “God” is  felt as love and it can be reflected in many manifestations from a child at play to a beautiful sunset.  I must say though that I believe the “real” God we long to know, is, for the most part, nothing like what we are led to believe from the holy scriptures,  preachers, rabbis and Sunday school teachers.

I was indoctrinated from the earliest age by the church (in my case protestant), as were my parents before me and their parents before them, etc. For me to question what I was taught in church would have been like questioning whether or not the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. I never, ever recall hearing my parents express any doubt about their faith or the bible, though surely some thoughts of that nature must have crossed their minds. Perhaps they discussed such things in private. If they had doubts and questions they certainly never let on to their children.

My own  religious beliefs might be quite different today if I’d have attended a church where we were encouraged to ask questions and debate the scriptures without fear of reprisal or rejection. There might have been far fewer boring family dinner conversations if we were encouraged by our parents to ask probing questions about our faith and God.  Are there such churches? I know there are such families.

It wasn’t until my mid twenties that I began to read books that were asking pertinent questions about the origins or our faith and what we were being taught. Some logical and rational questions were being asked by various authors. Alan Watts is an example that comes to mind.  It was my first time ever being exposed to such controversial thinking.  It was a revelation to me. Oh my gosh, (I thought) “What if we were taught (by the church) some things that aren’t at all true?”  Then when I began to see the effects of a possibly false thought system on masses of people, world-wide, I began to see that there were some serious issues to grapple with.

When push comes to shove or when feeling backed into a corner, even the most intelligent and ardent supporter of their religion will justify their faith by saying, “Because it’s right here in this book.” (indicating the Bible, Torah or the Koran, etc.) The implication being that these books are inherently true because the writers were inspired by their God. Yet to not be skeptical about some of these so-called “truths” seems to me to be blatantly irresponsible.

Anyone with much intelligence can see that there are numerous contradictions and ambiguities in these “holy” books. To believe that any book, regardless of their inspiration, is error-less is, in my opinion, foolish. But believers have too much at stake here. For them, it’s either all the truth or none of it is. There can, in their minds, be no in-between, no rights mixed in with wrongs.  Which is sad really, because I think anyone with intelligence can see that there are also some very well written and insightful passages  in most all of these “holy” books.

The problem, as I see it,  is that we assume that God would never let any falsehood be written in his “holy” word because it would surely mislead people. The assumption is that God ever intended for such a book to be written in the first place. It’s seems to me not at all unrealistic to expect that sometimes human agendas might be involved and that some writers of the books of the bible were in fact putting their own spin on things. Then there’s the whole debate over which writings would be included in the books of the bible. I can remember some brief discussion about the bible being inerrant in Sunday school when I was growing up a semi rebellious’ teenager. As I recall, we were told, God spoke directly to each person who contributed to the words we find today in the bible. This we were told to take “on faith.” So God’s anthropomorphized “hands” were not only on the author’s shoulders and his lips in their ears but the same for the selection committee as well, giving them absolute authority as to what was truth and what was not. That whole thing just seems terribly naive.

Why take it on faith? Because if these books are not absolute truth, then how are we to determine “truth” in a world where everyone has their own truth? It makes things much easier (doesn’t it?) when God’s truth is simply black and white with no shades of gray. Never mind the fact that God’s truth seems to vary with the country and it’s people.  The Rev. Billy Graham, in his daily advice column, always falls back on scriptures to explain why the religious faithful are to do things a certain way. The large and looming threat of course behind it all is that if we don’t take it “on faith,”  believe it to be so and act upon it thusly, then we will not receive salvation. That’s were fear enters in. That’s where the power of the church to control the individual lies and comes into play.

Are these divinely inspired books well meaning? For the most part, I believe so, though sometimes the messages are misguided and in some cases they may wander far from the truth. When these books are read as metaphor rather than “truth,” they can be beneficial in some respects. But let’s face it, who among us doesn’t “cherry-pick” the bible (and other religious texts) to support our particular agenda or belief system, while ignoring certain other passages?  It seems there’s always a ‘yes … but’ somewhere.

It’s always hard to talk about spiritual concepts and traditional religion without mentioning how we anthropomorphize God. (See other posts on my blog.) So one huge question we need to seriously consider is – Does God intervene in human affairs?  What are the ramifications if he/she does?  The idea (for most devoutly religious people) of even questioning this seems so foreign as to be considered ludicrous. Yet I would suggest the possibly it’s we who are being ludicrous when we believe that God steps in and intervenes in the world, even if it is silently, discretely and anonymously  in the background.

What kind of a God (you ask) would stand by and ignore the ardent prayers of parents whose son or daughter is dying of cancer? I would respond, the same God, who stood by and watched the evaporation of thousands of innocent civilians at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. We insist that God take sides. I’m not at all sure that’s a good thing. While we project that kind of human behavior onto God, that doesn’t make it so. It’s probably fair to say that in any war ever fought, each side thought that God (their God) was on their side. It gives me greater peace of mind to imagine  that God doesn’t take sides. A human life is a human life.

Ask yourself if you think God loved those who died in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor any more or less than God loved those who died when those two atomic bombs were dropped in Japan. Is it that the Japanese deserved their fate any more than the American soldiers?  (Mind you, this is just one of countless examples that could be raised.)

If that child dying of cancer doesn’t survive is it because the parents didn’t pray hard enough?  Were the parents not righteous enough? What if the parents of a child under similar circumstances, two rooms down the hall didn’t believe in God and therefore didn’t pray for their child to be saved and yet their child pulled through? What does all this say about God? Is God fickle? Does God have favorites?   We also have a way of rationalizing such things. Like saying,  “God needed another angel in heaven.” or “There must have been many people praying for that child for her to beat the odds.” The implication is that if we live right,  pray and believe hard enough we can evoke a miracle from God. I ask, what if the “miracle” we envisioned doesn’t happen … what then? Of course this happens all the time. Who are we to say that we know what the outcome should be and what is in the best interest of all the souls involved? We simply don’t see the big picture.

While on the surface, it might sound as if I’m belittling prayer and implying that God doesn’t care about us as individuals. I’m really not saying that. What I do think is going on here is that we misunderstand prayer and some of our expectations and attitudes about prayer may be incorrect. This is in direct correlation to believing that we are somehow separated from God and that we need God to “rescue” or “save” us. It feels better to believe that we are powerless and that we have an advocate that will come to our defense. This is, after-all, human nature. If God knows our thoughts, (hears our prayers, etc.) it’s because God experiences them along with us.

The simple truth is, that if we loved our neighbors as we loved ourselves, wars wouldn’t happen, nor most starvation, or poverty, etc. God isn’t choosing which “proper” and numerous prayers to respond to, in order to  determine the outcome of such things. It’s us who must take the weight and responsibility for so much of the suffering and injustice around the world. We (humans) create our own reality. That is perhaps our greatest gift from God. Creating through thought is the most important tool we’ve been given to work what we sometimes call “miracles.” However, God will not intervene on anyone’s behalf to prove who is “right” or who is “wrong,” or who has more or less faith, or who is wicked and who is righteous. When God looks at the world (as the astronauts do from space) he doesn’t see boundaries and divisions, geographical or otherwise.  We humans do. God knows we are one. It is we who view ourselves as separate from God, an illusion we’ve bought into. Sadly, in part, our religions, well meaning as they may be, are part of the problems we find in the world today and not part of the answer.If we must humanize God, then surely he watches us, hands on his hips,  thinking, “I gave them the tools to create and they determine what happens! When will they finally come to that realization?”  What would God’s purpose be in creating what we have here on earth, only to intervene? What is the purpose of our free will? Does God pick and choose when it’s okay to work a miracle or two? Just how is that determined?

Prayer means many things to many people and there is no question that it can be beneficial if it causes one to feel God’s presence in their life. It can be as simple as giving thanks for what is.  Prayer (or thoughtful centering) can give solace, peace-of-mind, hope, inspiration, creativity, self-forgiveness and a whole assortment of good things that can then effect our lives and those we interact with. When Self-love is expressed, starting with me, the effect ripples out and touches others who, in turn touch others in what we sometimes call the “domino effect.”

Ironically, the church has been preaching “the glass is half empty” for centuries, telling us that we are on a path to destruction that can only be diverted by God’s intervention. To be more specific, the return of Jesus. Many are still  awaiting the “second coming ” of Christ, convinced that we, as mere humans, are incapable of effecting a positive outcome for this planet. My feeling is that the second coming will arise within us. As long as we think it’s a blasphemy to believe that then, ironically, it can’t occur and in fact such thinking may only be sealing our certain fate. We will forever be waiting for God to “save” us. God created us in such a way that we are capable of helping ourselves. There is a spark of God in everyone. Some call it “Christ Consciousness.” That’s the power that Jesus tapped into while on earth. By finding that spark within us, and then fanning the flames, we can effect the change we want to see. Or as Gandhi put it,”Be the change you want to see.” But as long as we are waiting for someone, anyone, to come along and pull of us out of the mess we created ourselves we will continue to wait … and wait while things in all likelihood worsen.

I see nothing, other than the persistence and determination of man  finally recognizing his divine nature, that will alter our current path to self destruction. I think it is entirely possible for God to watch us implode if that is our choice and make no effort to protect us from ourselves. I think it’s happened before, many times, when enemies wiped each other out and when natural events such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes have occurred. God might have intervened in all those circumstances but didn’t.  Then we have the gall to say that he may have, in fact, caused those to occur.

God is all that is. What we call “good” and “bad” simply is. There is nothing outside of the mind of God or that could ever exist were it not for God. That includes both creative and destructive powers. Mankind creates it’s own illusions and misery. We have always had the power of choice to decide how we will deal with every challenging situation that has come along, whether it’s an ice age or how to use nuclear energy.

As Marianne Williamson put it so eloquently in her book A Return To Love:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Psalm 90:4  “For a thousand years in thy sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”

What is time?  Two hours seated in a dentist’s chair having a root canal is not the same as two hours spent with your new girlfriend.  All of us understand that time is a mystery and who cannot site various ways in our own lives that we’ve experienced the paradox I just described. Surely, before there were any clocks or sundials, early man grappled with primitive concepts of time.

Wikipedia says, about time: a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects.^[1] Time has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars. Ray Cummings, a science fiction writer once wrote, ” Time … what keeps everything from happening at once”

It’s not my intent here to analyze time and its meaning. Entire books have been written on the subject. This is a speculative piece. For my premise to work, you will have to conceive of the possibility that time is an illusion, that there is no such thing as time, that everything is happening at once, in the blink of God’s eye if you will. This is far from an original concept. Many great scientists (present and past) have believed this to be so and, I might add, so do a good many devoutly  religious people. I know it’s difficult to wrap one’s mind around such a premise, probably in part, because our brain is simply not able to conceive of how such a concept  could work. But for those who believe in God, this is not out of the realm of possibilities and might, in fact, explain a great deal of the mysteries we can’t comprehend.

The biblical quote that I opened with, while its intention is clear, still anthropomorphizes God (see my recent blog on the subject.) Whether it’s a second, a minute an hour or a millennium, all concepts of time are human attempts to explain that which cannot be explained. God’s understanding is beyond our own. Human’s concept of time is the result of  our observations of the sun, moon, the seasons, (where applicable) and in particular the rotation of the earth and the tilt of it’s axis as it effects the apparent placement of the stars and planets in our night skies. That is not to say that such logic and reasoning hasn’t served a very useful  purpose.  Time is a convenience, that when mutually agreed upon, allows us to keep important appointments.

For the purpose of this blog you must humor me, as certain subjects or ideas will come into play that are  debatable,  such as “heaven” and “souls”  for example. This is not the place or the time to debate them. Most humans who believe in heaven, believe that in heaven things are very different than on earth. It’s very difficult though not to anthropomorphize our thoughts about heaven as much as we do our concepts about God.

If there truly is no such thing as time, then when we leave this body at the moment of death we move into a dimension where there is no time/space. That means  for the soul crossing over there is no past or future, only the  now moment. So to simplify things, imagine that at the moment of death one passes through some “divine” portal to arrive at a timeless place (not space) called “heaven.”

The assumption is that we left something or someone behind us on earth and that those who passed-over before us (grandparents and such) are already on the other side of that portal awaiting us.  The portal could easily be seen as a “time machine” in and out of which souls pass. On one side lies time/space as we know it, including the  future and the past. While on the other side there is no time/space. Whether or not this is some sort of metaphysical or technological “time portal” I cannot say.  But it seems ironic that man has dreamed of time travel and time machines for ages when in fact we already are time travelers but apparently we’ve forgotten. You see, time and memory go hand-in-hand. Perhaps you cannot have one without the other.

Those who return from “near death experiences” (N.D.E.) sometimes speak of seeing those who had passed through the portal before them (such as an aunt, a grandmother or a parent) who welcome them to the other side. Seeing someone we once knew, especially if we were close to them in life, would of course give us great comfort during those fearful and mysterious moments immediately following death. This all follows a logical outcome if we project time onto the other side. But what if time really doesn’t exist on the other side? Who can be waiting for us in heaven if there is no time?

It was Neale Walsch I think who said that God created all the souls that are ever going to exist in any universe and dimension anywhere, at once. Perhaps it was during what we call  the “big bang.”  But even the idea of creating gets complicated to the human mind because creation implies there’s a before and an after creation.  For the sake of argument, lets assume that there are countless souls, at this very moment, in a place we call heaven.

There are likely limitless possibilities for souls in heaven. Let’s assume that one option for a soul is to leave its heavenly home and to incarnate into a human body in order to have a human experience. (It should be noted here that this would be only one of many options the soul has, which includes existences in other universes, dimensions, various realities and inhabiting other kind of beings.)  These souls, before incarnating, understand that, once in human form on the earthly plane, they will be playing a kind of game, in a manner of speaking, and that the illusion of “time/space” is one of the rules of the game, including such things as birth, aging and death.

Having had some stage and theatrical experience, I like the analogy that our lives here on earth are something like a stage play. For our purposes, try thinking of all of life as one very big play taking place over centuries with a cast of billions. But wait, lets make it more personal.

It might help or simplify things to think of  it in terms of being your own personal “drama” with a relatively small community of actors who have agreed to play certain roles  before hand that will interact with your character (in this lifetime) and you with theirs.  Consider that collective pre-show agreements might be made in heaven,  a time-less place. With God as the soul’s co-writer, the script includes certain parameters and guidelines but there is ample room for improvisation and the play evolves as it goes along.  This sets it quite apart from the stage plays we humans construct for our own edification and amusement where, in most cases, everything is scripted.

I won’t pretend to know how any of this might work.  It may be, and some believe it, that there are “groups” of souls who like to act in each other’s plays together. In one play a soul might choose to be the  “bad” guy and in the next play, the “good” guy. One time the father, another the child and so on. Souls at the heavenly level know exactly what their particular “contract ” stipulates before putting on their make-up and costumes, that there are certain experiences and “lessons” (if you will) that are to be learned, certain outcomes that are hoped for but not guaranteed.  As the play evolves, characters come and go, written in or out of the play, as situations are fluid.

While doing a “read through,” you might learn that in this life you’ll die at childbirth, never to feed at your mother’s breast, so that the souls playing your parents can have an opportunity to learn things from that experience.  Never fear,  in the next incarnation, you might live to see many of your grandchildren. It all comes out in the wash.

One “Divine” aspect of this heavenly staged play is that all of the roles play a part in the development of the other characters in the play, they are all symbiotic relationships. Some characters enter only part-way through (your part of ) the play and exit before the play ends. Some have major roles and some have what are called “bit” parts. If you’re the king in this life, you might well be the pauper in the next, especially so that you could see life from both perspectives. It might even be possible that you are allowed to play the same character in more than one incarnation, however, like improvisational jazz, while there is some chord  structure, you will never create the exact same performance twice and, for that matter, why would you want to?  What would be the point? Who among us hasn’t said, on occasion, “I wish I had a shot at that again. I know some things I’d do differently.”? Technically speaking then, you do only live once (in the strictest sense)  and it’s my guess that most souls don’t want to be in a “sequel.”

If, in one play, you malign those who are overweight you might incarnate next as someone who is obese. This is what some call “Karma.” I see this as being  a kind of “hell.”  The difference is that a single lifetime isn’t forever. Hitler then, might very well have gone on (in his next life) to experience being gassed in prison camp or being forced to watch unspeakable horrors. However, in reality, it’s only another role the soul of Hitler would choose to play and it’s not a condemnation for eternity. Hitler’s soul was not evil, just that particular incarnation. But I digress.

I know that this sort of concept borders on pre-destination. What’s important here is God’s gift to us all. The gift of “free will.”  So it’s not unusual for earth-bound souls to be heard grumbling to themselves, “I didn’t see that coming!” or “Was that in the script?!” Further, it might explain why we can’t control sometimes what happens to us but we  do have some say about how  we will respond or re-act to it. I’ve purposely chosen those two words  for you to consider.

The script is pretty bare bones. The path of the drama is often dependent on the circumstances in which we choose to incarnate. (Yes, I said choose.) Choices such as – how large a family we are born into, how well off they are, what century we’ve chosen and what country and what our parents are like are just a few examples. Some aspects of the play, some believe, (based on some NDEs reported) are pre-determined by souls in heaven.

So it is, thanks to what the bible refers to as the “veil of forgetfulness,”  that we occasionally find ourselves thinking, “What the heck was I thinking when I chose that?” especially when things don’t play out the way we’d hoped for. Our soul in heaven  knows the rules of the game. After-all we helped create them and we know that, with the exception of love, everything else is an illusion. Yes, you’ll die, but it’s pretend in that there really is no “end.”  If we suddenly remembered that it’s all an illusion that rivals the best of Penn and Teller, then the play might lose it’s purpose. However, I think it’s important to note that when we do remember (like Jesus or Buddha) then the play takes a very different turn. You could even argue that that was the whole point of their earthy experience.  At the very least, perhaps all of us have the option to begin spotting the illusions as they arise before us each day so that we might make different choices having recognized them. We are, remember, writing this production as we go along.

Imagine a group of souls in heaven who’ve come together to discuss producing yet another grand performance. There are no new souls here. Every soul has had countless incarnation experiences but some are lacking experience in certain types of roles. Once the time, location, rules of engagement, guidelines and parameters are set and the cast of characters has been decided upon, there is one last prayer before a collective decision is made to step through the portal into the time/space illusion.

Keep in mind that there’s nothing already going on here on earth, no other plays in progress. This is the only play in town and it’s opening night. Let’s say a particular soul that I’ve interacted with in numerous other plays (in the world of time/space), has this time agreed to be my father. As we step through the portal into the world of time/space each of us, in our character,  incarnates. We are born at the proper time and under the exact circumstances that will bring the other character(s) into our lives and we into theirs. None will arrive one second too soon or too late but all according to the script. At the door before entering the time/space portal, I won’t be saying “Goodbye Dad. I’ll wait here (in heaven)  for twenty-five years before I make my appearance on earth as your son.”

Now fast forward to your moment of one’s death. Your character has fulfilled it’s role, met it’s requires or perhaps the time is simply up. Upon passing out of time/space back into the now moment of heaven we will see all the souls there that started the journey with us. So not only will my grandfather be there but so will my son be, who was (in time/space) a very healthy 22 years of age at the time of my departure.

Think about the ramifications of all of this if it is so. Once in heaven you can immediately  interact with everyone else who was in your play. There was no group bow but we can mingle and discuss in the green room. There is no time in which to miss those you appeared to be leaving behind. I won’t be waiting in heaven for my son to live out his life on earth before passing over. Life reviews, as some call them, are shared with the souls we interacted with and that allows us to see and feel not only the pain we caused but  the joy and love we created with them as well. There is no blame. There is no regret. No sadness or sorrow, only an experience of the celebration of life as we collectively increase our wisdom with our fellow souls. We once again remember that those souls we interacted with were never really our enemies but simply another me, having a different experience.

I’d like to think that we take what we learned in this life  into our next incarnation. I think that’s perhaps the idea behind the concept but sometimes we become so caught up in our roles (doing Oscar winning performances) that we totally forget what we learned in previous incarnations and lose track of what we came here for. However, to imply that there is a “next” implies a next “time” and so we’ve come full circle.

To further consider and to blow one’s mind – perhaps there is only one soul which individuates into countless other beings. So upon returning through the portal and arriving back in heaven we have essentially returned to God (the One soul.) After-all, some say there is only one of us here. I struggle with the concept of the need for multiple souls. The whole subject is intriguing. But we’ve already stretched our imaginations to their limits haven’t we?

I will end this as I began it, with a bible verse to consider:  Corinthians 15:52, “It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”

Charleston SC, 2009

Recently (January 2011) a provincial governor in Pakistan was assassinated by one of his own police bodyguards after he had campaigned to ease Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Religious groups threaten to kill others who question the blasphemy statute, designed to protect Islam and the Prophet Muhammad from insult. The killer was brought into custody under the shower of the rose petals his waiting lawyers threw over him while others in the crowd slapped his back and kissed his cheek.

Clearly some of the world’s people, and not just in third-world countries,  are still living in the dark ages, their religion not having evolved one wit in thousands of years, as if that is something to boast about in religious circles.  How is it that our knowledge and understanding in technology, the arts and sciences and virtually all other areas of life have advanced over the ages, except for, at least in many cases, religion?  The opening example may be extreme, but such acts can happen when people anthropomorphize God.

For the record, let me state here that I personally believe in some kind of supreme creator,  All That Is, First Source or whatever some choose to name it. It’s just that I’d rather not give it a name because labels carry with them projections and connotations that may or may not be true and finally, because words cannot express the ineffable.

Who, (I implore you) would want to believe in a “God” with supernatural powers but all too human characteristics to go along with them?  That a God who is responsible for life as we know it, consciousness, the universe, all of creation and our very being, could possibly be:  insulted,  jealous, angry, sad, spiteful, take sides or favor one people or nation over another, etc. simply confounds me!  So too am I amazed at anyone who would choose, having matured to adulthood,  to not recognize or admit to the “disconnect” here.  It only goes to show how powerful the grip is of religions that preach conditional love and eternal salvation or damnation. If suffering eternal damnation is the consequence for thinking for yourself, asking questions and even sometimes questioning authority (no matter who it is) , then it’s no wonder the religious faithful simply don’t “go there.”

In my opinion, it is past time that we moved beyond the old fashioned beliefs still prevalent in our fear-based religions that anthropomorphize “G-D.”  Synagogues, Mosque’s, congregations and Sunday school classrooms everywhere are filled with very intelligent people who have doubts and questions about their faith and perhaps its tenants.  However, these people are fearful to ask questions or mention their doubts before their peers. In some countries, at the minimum, questioning the religious status quo might mean being verbally ostracized, or booted from their place of worship.  At the worst it might set a sequence of events into motion which could lead to imprisonment and even death.

It is human nature to want to put a “face” on God and in doing so we tend to give God human characteristics. Then, following that  logic, we  make God a pronoun in an effort to personalize God, perhaps so that we can better relate to God, making “G-D” more approachable. Some folks might see this as a way to introduce a “G-D” concept to young children. Unfortunately we never eventually instruct our children that a human-like “G-D” is a myth, not unlike Santa Claus, as well meaning as that myth may be.  Some adults aren’t willing to (or can’t seem to) drop something when it no longer serves them and further, can’t recognize when this kind of thinking is a hindrance, actually creating unwanted issues in their life and even world-wide conflicts.  There are so many pitfalls to an anthropomorphized “G-D” that one could probably write a book on the subject.

While some would use the biblical quote that we are created in God’s image as “proof,” that God shares our human qualities, I would suggest (and I’m not alone in this) that it is we who have created a “G-D” in our own image. One could make the argument that, ironically, this thinking, may be the root of all “evil.”  Lest our God feel left out, we’ve also managed to create and anthropomorphize a “devil” so that we can blame someone more powerful than ourselves for our temptations and occasional lapses in faith or judgment.

A human-like “G-D”  allows us to justify vengeance, revenge, how punishment should be meted out and even fosters the diabolical concept of eternal punishment. Calling them “G-D’s” thoughts/words, instead of our own, we then use them to justifydeeds that include anything from intolerance and prejudice to killing in the name of our “G-D.”

I agree, were there no God, someone would have to invent one. I’m suggesting that’s exactly what our distant forefathers did or, at the very least, they misinterpreted what they were witnessing thousands of years ago. Collectively, we, until now,  the quiet minority, sitting in the back pews of various congregations, have been too frightened to consider, much less admit that our forefathers might have made some wrong assumptions about “God.”  To be clear, it’s understandable how and why they would. What’s not understandable is why we’ve been unable, over all these centuries, to evolve in our understanding, seeing the scriptures and “holy” writings  in a very different light now, or even rejecting some concepts as no longer rational, rather than clinging to them desperately. It is this fear of re-conceptualizing our spirituality that is in fact, holding us, as a people back and inhibiting the love that must be there if we are to share this ever shrinking world together in peace.

I’m hopeful that centuries old religious admonitions about the evils of doubt and expressing it are becoming a thing of the past.  Where would we be in this world if we had not questioned the motives and beliefs of those who went before us?  More often than not, such doubts were the driving force that caused us to seek further evidence and proof for ourselves and eventually we found new methods and ways, in a plethora of areas,  that served us better than the old ones.  I see more and more people, including pastors and people of all faiths, who are now willing to stand-up and question, if not outright renounce some of the old religious traditions and beliefs they used to adhere to. Some of these people are even loosing their jobs for it. Yet they are finding other new believers who were afraid to speak up as well and together they are creating new “churches” willing to evolve away from belief systems that no longer serve them. Old habits and in particular old traditions die hard. Stodgy old beliefs, held for thousands of years were what kept people from recognizing the truths of people like Jesus and Buddha who both broke the mold with their “radical” thinking. No surprise, they too were called blasphemers by some in their day.

All this doesn’t mean you have to give up every one of your long held, dear and precious beliefs, not, for example, that there is a God or was a Jesus or Muhammad or that “G-D” is love for example. Even the belief that  that there is no G-D will no longer seem threatening to those who believe in a “G-D.”  This will go a long ways toward bringing peace and understanding into the world. No, you don’t have to throw the “baby” out with the “bath water” but you must be able to bend and to open your mind. Just a crack of divine light coming through is enough to transform the planet.

There is growing resistance among those who cling to the old ways, to the changes now taking place. They feel threatened and as they find themselves increasingly in the minority their fears are expanding. Those who want a “black and white” world, with no areas of gray, and no need to think for themselves will have the most difficulty in making the adjustment in the coming shift of consciousness, which is already, thankfully, upon us.  For Christians who want to stay in the faith, I would heartily recommend reading any of John Shelby Spong’s books. He  is an intelligent, thoughtful and articulate Christian who won’t strip away your belief in God or Jesus but who also sees the long overdue need for substantial changes in Christian thinking. Likewise an unconditional loving message which some may find more inclusive of diverse thought, is being preached these days in the U.S. by a gentlemen named Ian Lawton. I would urge you to check him out and to read and/or listen to both men’s thoughts with your “heart” and minds open. What is required of all of us is a release, a letting go of  previously held notions about who and what God is.

Is what I’m suggesting simply creating yet another anthropomorphized version of “G-D?”  Perhaps, but I think we’ll trim out a lot of the “fat” and it’s foolish to think that  any one particular belief system currently being used is all sufficient, when clearly it is not addressing issues that need to be addressed. As with any individual and even corporations, we should be ever open to new ideas and ways to improve our “product.” This includes thinking outside the box and being open to constructive criticism. To be overly sensitive or easily offended are not the traits found in my “G-D” nor are they common (in my humble opinion) to people who live as One.

I’ve always wondered why there was no follow-up on Lazarus in the bible after Jesus brought him back from the dead. These are just some imaginings I’ve had about it.

If we agree that the greatest miracle the world has ever witnessed was the resurrection of Jesus, then surely, second only to that would be the resurrection of Lazarus. It has to be considered the greatest miracle Jesus performed on anyone. I think it is safe to say that, were such an event to occur today, one can only imagine the attention CNN would give it.

In all of known history and I underscore the word “known,” Lazarus is, I dare say, one of only a handful of individuals who supposedly were ever brought back to life from the dead. Most of those legends were probably what we commonly now call N.D.E.’s (Near Death Experiences.) It is interesting to note that there have been no other resurrections in … well, let’s just say a long time.

Were such an event to happen today, the world wide reaction would surely be quite similar to what must have been the local reaction to the raising of Lazarus at that time. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the joyously tearful family of Lazarus and friends rushing to his side. Nor does it take much imagination to know that there would be logical questions arising after such a miraculous event.

It is not my intent to take away from the credit Jesus deserves. Who among us could do such a thing? However, I would point out the disturbing lack of interest the bible authors appeared to have in what Lazarus must have experienced having been dead for four l-o-n-g days. Surely such an event would have spiritual significance worthy of being in the scriptures! While Jesus might well have been a celebrity in the days that followed, would not hundreds of people have wanted to know, from Lazarus himself, what “death” was like?

What a teachable moment that would have been for Jesus, because, after-all, the only thing more believable than Jesus talking about the “after-life” (something he seldom if ever did) would be to hear it coming from someone who’d just come back from “there.”

Now there is no point in my going on here if you believe:

1. Lazarus remembered nothing.
2. Jesus told Lazarus to keep those things to himself.
3. It’s just a legend anyway.

Perhaps the scenario immediately following the raising of Lazarus might have gone something like this:

Jesus quietly withdrew to the side under a low hanging tree, allowing family and friends to welcome their brother and husband Lazarus back. Jesus knew Lazarus would have questions for him, questions that only he might answer but now certainly wasn’t the time. Some family turned toward Jesus to thank him but upon seeing his radiant countenance they realized the holiness of that moment would be spoiled by superfluous thank yous. Words were not needed. Jesus understood.

Their attention quickly returned to Lazarus, gathering around and jostling a man who was yet finding his “sea legs.” Everyone was talking at once, that is everyone except Lazarus. Occasionally even laughter could be heard over the elated clamoring. Then, as if by some unspoken command, the commotion suddenly settled and the crowd around Lazarus dropped to their knees or took seats in the dirt at his feet looking up at him. They recognized only now, the same radiant countenance on Lazarus’s face which they had, only moments earlier, seen on Jesus.

Those lucky enough to be nearby could hear as Lazarus slowly began speaking in a rough, broken voice so quiet they had to strain to hear it. It was almost as if he’d forgotten how to form words because, where he’d just come from, words were not needed. How long had he been gone he wondered? My sister hasn’t aged he thought to himself. He searched but found words insufficient to describe what he’d seen and experienced beyond the “veil.”

Everyone present knew this to be a historical moment, the ramifications of which would never be completely absorbed. Their questions for Lazarus would come slowly at first but then built until once again, all were speaking at once. Lazarus remained calm, almost detached, answering as many questions as possible to the best of his ability. He couldn’t explain any of it really. Words often failing him, he could only shake his head. It would appear, he had been profoundly changed by the experience. Everyone said, even years later, that Lazarus returned a different man, a man at peace with himself and the world.

Jesus slipped away into the dusk; truthfully few even noticed he was gone. It was better that way. It was getting late. There was business at hand and miles to go on foot. As it turned-out, Lazarus never had that question and answer session with Jesus. Not so very long afterwards, when he heard of Jesus fate, Lazarus wasn’t gripped by the same grief his friends were feeling. He managed to calm those in a panic over Jesus death, after-all, if anyone understood it would be Lazarus and Lazarus told them not to fear.

In the days immediately following the Lazarus miracle, spoken words of a newly described “heaven” spread through the land like the wind before a rising storm. There were some witnesses to the event who, though they would find it impossible to forget, knew it best to get the words of Lazarus down in writing for safe keeping. Some hadn’t the education or the tools to do the writing themselves, others found the connections to get it done at their local synagogue.

It was there that the story got into the wrong hands. Rabbis, seeking permission to share the knowledge went to the Pharisees who found the writings to be, “Lunatic ravings.” Further, they knew it was a ploy to try to elevate this annoying Jesus to some sort of God status. “Put away for ‘safe’ keeping.”  That’s what the Pharisees said they did with the parchment on which was recorded Lazarus’ (not so) near death experience.

The vivid descriptions of a life beyond death were never used by the rabbis in teaching because they never saw them and it was not condoned by the Sadducees*.  A few individuals old enough to remember the actual event sometimes asked the rabbis and the Pharisees of the whereabouts of the writings but never got a straight answer. Within three generations it was nearly a legend to all but the closest family members and the details of that miraculous event were, incredibly, eventually forgotten.

[Sadducee - a member of an ancient Jewish group of priests and aristocrats who accepted the literal interpretation of the Torah but rejected Oral Law and belief in the afterlife.]