Monty Vonn
Bellingham WA USA
Questarians@aol.com
"The Questarian Society"
http://hometown.aol.com/questarians/tqs.html
1. How do you
describe your form of spirituality?
Distinguish it
from others.
I prefer the term essence since using
the word spirituality
leads to confusion and misinterpretation.
Essence is the message, the goal, direction,
information, form, experience,
without consideration to the material
substrate needed to hold on to it
(paper, brains, computer memory, magnetic
media, ad nauseam).
I do not believe essence can be separated
from the material world
but we can do that mentally to focus
our attention on "the spirit of the law."
To understand the concept of Memes,
we must understand essence.
There is something nonmaterial getting
itself copied
onto many forms of substrate, whether
it is brains or paper.
So essence (spirituality) is a cluster
of memes
that act on our physical universe
and gives it direction whether it is
for better or worse.
2. What does "spirituality" include and exclude from your point of view?
For this response, I will say it is
a special kind of essence,
one with direction and awareness with
a negative feedback loop,
that keeps its general direction despite
changes.
What it does not include is ineffective
random happenings
that do not have a directional effect
on the next action,
nor reactive essence that has a positive
"runaway" feedback loop
that run their course to annihilation
or total consumption,
and is not open to correction.
3. For example,
how does a "spiritual experience"
differ from an emotional response?
On this question, what differs is a
loss of self orientation,
which gives the emotional experience
the illusion of "Cosmic" significance
and ownership being assigned to something
"out there"
rather than properly retain ownership
to the subjective self.
4. Does your form
of spirituality
involve a world-view
or metaphysical system?
Out of our chaotic sea of replicators
(genes & memes)
a larger form of consciousness is emerging,
closed eyes that are beginning to open
and see,
that given a chance, will begin to
direct
evolution of culture, genes, and the
Cosmos into a unified direction.
Systems that cannot pass the 'shared
common experience'
(another term for the scientific method)
will not survive in the public arena
and will remain as private hubris.
5. Does your spirituality
involve any supernatural (or non-obvious)
beings, entities, forces, influences, or tendencies?
No.
Only when they make themselves known
through 'the common experience' on
a consistent basis,
such as my experience with the light
switch.
Otherwise, non-replicable experiences,
though interesting to the experiencer,
is of little use to the rest of the
commons and is of no value
for guiding a group of conscious beings
into a common future.
6. What are the benefits of your form of spirituality?
Common sense. Consistent and beneficial
results.
Real solutions. Fresh drinking
water. Warm home.
Plenty of food to eat. Peace
of mind. No Boogy men.
No God to blame for what is wrong with
the world.
7. How does your form of spirituality deal with death?
The eternal flame.
We are like the phase change of a gas
molecule,
that briefly ignites and glows for
a time,
then withers into the cold air above.
But for the brief time of our existence,
we contribute to the eternal flame.
To pass in peace, knowing we have contributed
to existence
and that it is a better place due to
our temporary presence.
In a way, we live on forever through
the effects we have
on the direction of the Cosmos through
our brief life.
8. Does your form
of spirituality
involve any ritual
practices or spiritual exercises?
To be in the present, to silence the
nonsense
in our chaotic sea of memetic noise
in our brains,
to see what is really there and not
jump to conclusions.
To take care of real and basic concerns.
To realize what goes on in our heads
is of little importance other than
personal entertainment.
It is what we do,
the effects we have on others that
really matters.
Our concern with the subjective boundary
of our skull
is to minimize our personal suffering,
and perhaps increase our internal pleasure.
And that we do not interfere with other
beings
the full freedom to control their subjective
experience.
It is their external actions that may
have limits.
9. What do critics
of your form of spirituality say
---and how do you answer them?
Others may ask, "But what of God and
the nonmaterial?"
I will say, prove it!
No concept has a right in the Common
Arena
unless it can be physically verified
by every conscious being.
If their metaphysics has no effect
on my world,
then it should not concern me or trouble
any one else!
We have too many real issues 'in our
face' to deal with
than to waste our time with creative
nonsense chasing dubious shadows.
These mythologies only waste our precious
resource
of time and energy and divert them
away from making a better life for
ourselves, our offspring and all other
living beings of this world.
On the other hand, if these cute mythologies'
mission
is to reduce subjective suffering and
increase their subjective pleasures
without making claims to objective
truth, have at it!
It would be more of a mental medicine
to help us get through life.
But they should never be part of our
common rules
or in our common sayings (pledge of
allegiance,
civil functions, Government laws and
operations, common education)
unless they pass the test of the 'common
experience'
and the results are reliably repeatable
to all who wish to question or test
them at any time.
10. If your spiritual
path were mistaken or distorted in some way,
how would you uncover the errors or recognize the distortions?
Best question of all! The eternal
'common experience'
(scientific method or super common
sense) is eternally self correcting
with the famous negative feedback loop
to keep us real.
If an idea, concept, or material creation
does not have the consistent desired
result,
it is to be discarded or modified.
There is no point in time where it
is cast in cement to never change.
Self correction, and openness to future
correction
is a primary foundation of my philosophy
(spirituality).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Monty Vonn
Bellingham WA USA
Questarians@aol.com
"The Questarian Society"
http://hometown.aol.com/questarians/tqs.html