Chapter 1 (Introduction)

Why am I writing this?

In what I intend to be a serious of posts, I don’t plan on saying much about myself. However, I think a reader needs to know a little about me in order to understand why I am writing this. I think that I have always had a fascination with what in the west would be called metaphysics, i.e. the nature of the world that goes beyond what we can immediately experience through out senses. What you could call the broader world as it really is, not just appears to be. I have spent much of my adult life studying western neuroscience and neurology. It wasn’t until somewhere in midlife, that I began to take metaphysical concerns more seriously. I started studying mostly eastern traditions, mainly Buddhism initially, but later became acquainted with Hindu thought. I have also been influenced by Daoism, Sufism, and among the western traditions, Plato and am familiar with some of the Christian mystics. I have investigated various forms of mediation which I have come to regard as central to advancing on the spiritual journey.

I don’t consider myself a scholar of comparative religion nor what I’m describing as novel or anything discovered by me. I would describe my approach as syncretic rather than original. The more I examine this subject, the more I think that all of the world’s mystical traditions say pretty much the same thing which can be reduced to three principles. These are: 1) see the world the way it is, 2) give up attachments and 3) return to the Source. What is “mystical” deserves its own discussion and I will turn to that in a later chapter.

My motivation for writing this, is in large part to force myself to organize my own thoughts and determine if I can make sense of them myself, but I hope that what I’ve discovered will be of interest to others. I will call the sections “chapters” because I consider that a more traditional designation although I regard them as summaries of my own set of notes as referred to in the title of this series.

I consider this a practical guide. I say “practical” in that my main interest is in practice. How does one apply this knowledge to our situation now. Metaphysics is interesting in its own sake but I’m mainly interested in how knowledge of the world the way it is, informs what we can do here and now. Finally, a comment on the style of the writing. I have tried to keep the writing style informal and explain things as I think about them. If at times the writing seems patronizing to the well-versed reader, I apologize. It is not intended that way.

What is the spiritual journey?

A dictionary definition of “spiritual” is usually something like relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to the material or physical world. I think spirituality more broadly can be defined as the sense that there is a realm beyond, what we can appreciate through our sense experience. Some might conceptualize this realm as involving a God or gods. Others might think of it as more of a force or a presence. However, one thinks of it, it cannot be directly appreciated by the five senses. Furthermore, it cannot be understood simply by reason, i.e. by thinking about it. It is a reality that is beyond where we are now and usually thought of as being better in that it is permanent, unchanging and not permeated by the suffering that exists in this world. I don’t like the term “ultimate reality” which is often used in definitions of metaphysics because I find that term vague and opaque but once you understand the concept it does make some sense as to why it might be called that. For purposes here, I will define the spiritual journey as understanding the relationship of the individual to that presence, that larger reality beyond the senses and then initiating a program that connects the individual to that state.