INTRODUCTION

I find it difficult to discuss philosophy and religion with most people. In the Southeastern U.S., where I live, most people are implicitly, if not explicitly, aligned with the Judeo-Christian doctrine. I am not. Others, while not Christian oriented, are simply non-religious. They may avow atheism, or perhaps they are agnostic, but basically they are not interested in religion.

My perspective is quite different from either of these. Some would call my position New Age, and this is partly true. But I dig deeper in terms of origin, structure, and purpose than do most New Agers. I am both speculative and analytical. I see the value of faith, but I can't just leave it at that.

My views have distilled and evolved over about three decades. Many writings and presentation from many diverse viewpoints have influenced me. Yet, the biggest influence has been my own experiences -- normal and paranormal -- and observations.

I went through a phase in my early twenties when I rebelled against my fundamentalist Christian upbringing. I became hostile and resentful toward the Christian church. But later, as my beliefs evolved and deepened, I mellowed. I no longer harbor any hostility or resentment toward the church, though I have some basic disagreements with Christian teachings.

WHAT I BELIEVE

So, what do I believe? Well, first I'll give a quick rundown, and then I'll expand on some of the points.

I believe in the existence of God, but my concept differs sharply from the Christian concept. I cannot agree with the Christian beliefs which place Jesus Christ on the same level with God, and I most certainly do not grant any special significance to his death and alleged resurrection.

I believe in the survival of the human mind after the death of the host body in this physical realm. Call this the soul if you wish. It's as good a term as any.

I believe in the existence of many levels of minds between the level of humans and the level of God. Another way of saying this is that while I believe in one overall God (capital G), I also believe in many lesser gods (small g).

I believe that we are all part of God. I believe that the reality that we ordinarily experience is a dream within a dream within a dream..... The "top level dreamer" is God. We only exist inside the dream of some lesser god. My theology is basically Pantheism. Not only people, animals, and plants -- those things we normally think of as alive -- but inanimate objects as well exist only within the dream, yet they are alive. We are all made of Godstuff.

I believe that in the beginning was God. He (or she or it) was alone, lonely, and bored. So he imagined. He dreamed. What did he want to do? Everything! So he split off a part of his own mind to function as a semi-autonomous entity. This sub-mind was placed in a "simulation", supplied with limited information and limited understanding. Its task was to experience and to report the experiences back to God. This is the only way God could experience the thrill of being surprised. But, remember, this sub-mind was made of Godstuff. So it, too, could dream. And it could spin off further levels of semi-autonomous sub-minds. And eventually, one (or more) of these sub-sub-sub-gods dreamed us. All of this exists in a loosely heirarchical structure, but the levels are not always sharply and clearly divided. Instead, there is more of a continuum, where one sub-god blends into another. Strange as this sounds, it feels perfectly natural to the entities involved. Examine your own mind. Are you always the same person? No. Every mind is in constant flux. "Who" you are depends on "where" you are, in a larger multi-dimensional sense. And minds are always moving around. That is the nature of conscious thought. Minds can move laterally with ease. When you dream, your mind moves down to lower levels. Moving up to higher levels is much more difficult, but it does happen. I have personally experienced this.

Even though these sub-gods are functionally semi-autonomous, they -- and we -- remain within the mind of God. God IS the Cosmos. All creation remains part of the creator.

I find parallels among the major religions, and also between them and my own belief system. For example, Heaven and Hell. Many religions, past and present, have some kind of concept of places of reward and punishment after physical death. My own spin is that any static Heaven would eventually turn into a Hell. I believe in reincarnation in a pretty broad sense. Reincarnation is simply the Larger Mind or Oversoul ending one "simulation" and starting another one. In fact, more than one "simulation" may be running at once. This means that you could possibly bump into your spritual "twin". In my belief, Heaven is simply returning to the Larger Mind. It is the time between incarnations, when you have access to Greater Knowledge. You *become* the Larger Mind, and experience things through that perspective. At some point, you may be cast into another "simulation", that is, another physical existence. Note that reincarnation is not limited to this insignificant planet. You may be spun off into many, many different realms, some beyond our imaginations at this level.

I see Hell as just an incarnation that is unpleasant to the entity experiencing it. I don't necessarily see Hell as punishment. Just contrast, for the benefit of the Larger Self. Remember, God wants to experience *EVERYTHING*. Life is not a joke, but it is a game.

Ultimately, I think Good and Evil are illusions. Oh, the concepts are valid, it is just that ultimately nothing is really damaged, no one dies forever, no harm is really done. That doesn't excuse bad behavior in this physical realm, but just means it doesn't seem so weighty when seen from the higher level. Everyone gets to play both the hero and the villian in various lives. Also, on a higher level, participation is voluntary anyway. No one is given Hell without their consent. Universal Love is real, but so is universal curiosity!

But hey, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, right? Deep inside, on an ancient primal level, you have the same access to this knowledge that I do.