Since some on this forum seem to have funny ideas about what exactly I believe, I thought I'd take advantage of a work holiday to rap about it, from my point of view. What follows is just a rap, One Man's Opinion. I make no attempt to claim it's true, let alone Truth. It's just how I see things, based on my subjective experiences and intuition following a somewhat spiritual path for over 50 years. It does not affect you and what you believe in any way *unless you allow it to*.
As for the nature of the universe, I believe that it is eternal, and was never created. That elimin- ates the need for me to ponder a Creator, or God. None appears necessary, given my perception of the world around me, so given the principles of Occam's Razor I postulate that none exists. As for whether the universe is real or "Maya," I have no clue, and don't much care. It's real *to me* in certain states of attention, less real in others. Big whoop. It's a given that one's state of attention is the "filter" through which we experience the world around us, so *of course* that's going to affect our perceptions. What, after all, is "real?" In the dream plane (because I studied lucid dreaming for some time, and got pretty good at it), I am definitely a "co-creator" of that reality. I can cause whole worlds to manifest and then play in them. In waking state...uh...not so much. :-) However, what I honestly believe is that the universe is "co-created," and was not Created by some entity called God or the Laws Of Nature. The universe, whether "real" or a Maya-like hologram, is IMO co-created by the collective thoughts and actions of all the sentient beings that inhabit it. It is the *sum* of all of these sentient beings' thoughts and actions. IMO, no one has inherently more power or value in that co-creation process than another. Enlightened, schmit- ened...if they can't remake the world around them *on demand*, in such a way that other sentient beings perceive it as changed, then they ain't got no more "creator" status than I have. I think it's a group effort. That said, IMO *all* members of the group have total free will, and the ability to make their own decisions. If you think about it, the idea of karma *can't work* if there is no free will. Karma merely produces a set of influences, based on past thoughts and actions. But those influences are not binding. People *can* change, as the result of their own intent and will. If that will did not exist, there would be only predestination, and that is not how I perceive the world, or even how most people perceive it. As for enlightenment, and its possible value, I feel that while it may be a neat thing for an individual, subjectively, it has absolutely zero objective value, and I have seen no evidence that it has any value for anyone else other than the person experiencing it. In a very real sense, enlightenment is the most selfish act a sentient being could perform. It's all about what *they* feel and think and experience. Subjectively, I have experience this state from time to time. Big whoop. While it was fun at the time, 50 years on the path have convinced me that it was no more fun, and certainly no more valuable to others, than any other state of attention I have experienced. I no longer seek enlightenment, and wouldn't cross the street if it were being sold for a quarter at a hot dog stand. I am content with experiencing the fleeting states of attention that come and go for me on a daily basis, and seek no state of attention in particular. That said, there is still the element of focus or attention. Although I live in a co-created universe, and experience things that were Not Of My Doing, some of them...uh...less than positive, I don't have to focus on them to the exclusion of the more positive things. I have free will. I can *choose* what to focus my attention on. And so I choose to focus it on shinier, happier mind- states, and on actions that seem to have a more beneficial effect on the other sentient beings around me than they do a negative one. And that's it...all I can think of for this particular rap. It was written in one quick typing spurt, in about ten minutes, sitting in a Dutch cafe over coffee, with no editing and no pauses. As I said at the beginning of the rap, what I say does not affect you and what *you* believe in any way, *unless you allow it to*. It's just a rap, One Man's Opinion. That man believes that you have the right to your own opinion, and is in no way trying to sell you his or declare his as superior or "right" or "true" or "Truth." It's just opinion. Live with it. Or not. Your call.
