A monologue distinguishing two forms of religion: (1) mythic, dogmatic narrative religion (fundamentalist, literal beliefs) and (2) contemplative 'psychotechnology' focused on changing consciousness and self-realization. The speaker argues Western culture conflates religion with the former, overlooking contemplative practices that can lead to liberation, reduced fear and addiction, and realization of unity with the divine or 'Godhead'.
Chapters
These two types of religion, one the mythic, dogmatic, narrative form, and one a psychotechnology of changing consciousness actually waking up through doing internal scientific experiments on your own mind. Western culture knows almost nothing of the contemplative form. And so as soon as you talk religion at all, it's assumed that it's all of this one type, fundamentalistic. The Bible is the literal, concrete truth of God. You have to believe that if you believe that, you go to heaven. If you don't, you go to hell. And that's still our general understanding of what spirituality is, which is a disaster, because that first form is really based on modes of knowing that. Frankly, and no offense to our brothers in fundamentalist religions, but it's common from age 7 to 11 in today's world. That's when those types of beliefs are spontaneously part of the mind. And so that still just helps reinforce the media's notion that, oh, if I see this sort of fundamentalist kind of belief, or therefore any religion, it's infantile, it's childish, it's Freud's future of an illusion. And that is, I think, just a true disaster for our culture. Because this one other form, this psychotechnology of changing consciousness, is a way to literally wake up, to literally find out your true self, to find one spirit. And that is all of the contemplative traditions maintain an alleviation of human suffering. When you find out that you are one with everything that's arising. First of all, there's nothing outside of you that can hurt you or threaten you. Fear drops off enormously. There's nothing outside of you that you are thirsty for or can't wait to get. Addictions die down. These paths are known as the paths of liberation. And the great liberation is the realization, the understanding that at the deepest part of yourself is the self of the universe. Put in more graphic terms, your true self is Godhead. You and Godhead are fundamentally one. And that, again, is not a belief. It's an actual realization that you have upon practicing the contemplative injunctions and exemplars. And like I say, I have yet to see an educated master's or doctorate person go through that training, have a satori, and then say, oh, that's nothing. It's just subjective, psychosomatic hooey. Every single one of them that I know goes, my God, this is reality.
