Article
The Soteriology of Natural Spirituality
Different from the ground up
Natural Spirituality is based on a philosophy, not the revelations of a guru, or a story or scripture. It has no story of aliens or other-dimensional beings, and their relationship with humanity and the human world. Natural Spirituality posits that human organisms use a model of the human experience to construct their experience of life. The architecture of this model is not genetic. It is Memetic (transmitted). This model is copied from one human being to another. The model was not created, it naturally evolved through a cultural interpretation of the experience of life. Religion is the architect of this model. Whether you accept this or not does not change the fact. The predominant model of today, in the western world, is a hack, a set of beliefs picked up from books, movies, parents, teachers, friends, family, television, etc. It is this hack that we use to run our lives and guide our actions. Natural Spirituality posits that instead of being stuck with the models we inherited from our ancestors. We are at a point in human development where, those who choose to, can make a conscious choice about which model they will define themselves by. We are at a unique point in human development where, for some of us, we can choose how we are to live.
The theology of Natural Spirituality, in regard to the problem of the human condition, is that ignorance is the problem and an education that works is the cure. It’s not the kind of education you get to secure a better job, it’s the kind of education you get to live a better life and leave behind a better world. This means, from Natural Spirituality's perspective, there is nothing inherently wrong with man. He is not born bad, wronged, in sin, or has somehow fallen from grace. Man is not in need of saving as there is nothing to condemn him. Man's destiny, so to speak, is a question of choice. It is about what he chooses to know and how he chooses to live. Each person, beyond the age of reason, that is capable of making a choice about who they are and how they are to live, possesses the means to their own fulfillment. What such a person needs to know is "how” to realize this for his or her self. It is about taking responsibility for the quality of your thinking, making the effort to learn to see the world differently, and accepting the challenge of changing your behavior for yourself. The individual who is serious about doing that needs to know “how”. Teaching "how" is, therefore, the function of Natural Spirituality, as a religion. Most religions are about why. Natural Spirituality is about “how”.
Natural Spirituality is based on a philosophy called Quantumism and not on the revelations of a guru or ancient scripture. Quantumism (Dhryl Anton 1999) is a philosophy derived from the Meta-Transition Theory (Valentin Turchin 1970) and uses a systems approach to the Binding Problem of Consciousness (David Chalmers 1995). Quantumism presents a framework for building a practical body of knowledge around consciousness. Natural Spirituality is therefore drawn from a connected body of rational precepts that are systemically classified under a framework of models. It is an body of knowledge, not a story book to be believed. And as such, it is based on easily observable precepts that can be reached by any rational person. Conventional Religions are about answering the question of soul. Whatever the term one uses for soul, the questions remain the same: what is it, how did it come to be and what is it's true nature? Religious knowledge and even some Psychology (the study of soul using reason), revolve around the mind-body-soul problem. Natural Spirituality abandons the mind-body-soul or Trinity model of the human experience, which frames the context of most of these bodies of knowledge. Natural Spirituality is therefore different from the ground up.
We live in a world where there is a struggle between science and religion. Conventional Religion is a culture of belief. It provides a story and a reason to believe it. It uses faith to make sense of the experience of life. Natural Spirituality is a religion of disbelief. Natural Spirituality has nothing old or new to believe in. Natural Spirituality uses reason. Consequently Natural Spirituality has no such conflict. We accept science as a means to understand the universe. We accept a model of the human experience, as a means to make sense of our experience of life. We believe in evolution. We accept Autopoiesis as a valid model of processes in the natural world, until there is something better. This means we reject the reductionist view of the world and thus abandon humanism. Science is in the midst of the materials revolution, where we realize that if you change the materials a process uses you can dramatically impact the result. Quantumism makes a quantum leap forward and goes even further, it asserts that it is the Organa (organization) of a thing that makes it a thing. If you affect the organization then you change a things potentiality. Nowhere is this more evident than in human cognition. This is not a revaltion but an observation based on insights in systems theory. We do not "believe" in creation, the theory that aliens created humans, earth or the universe, nor for that matter do we accept the genesis principle (big bang version or alien god version). The universe is and has always been. It is expanding not because it had a starting point but because that is just what it does. Humans in order to form knowledge must have a beginning. This is a property of the observer not the observed. We do not believe that there is any supernatural dimension to human experience. These ideas are all variations on what is merely a primitive explanation our ancestors used to make sense of a world because their model was ill-equipped to comprehend the complexity of reality as it is. As Que we have a different philosophy and thus use a different approach to how we understand our experience. We are different not better than. We see the world differently; consequently the old categorizations and conflicts do not apply. We accept science as a means to understand our world. We accept religion as a cultural understanding of the human experience. Each has their place in our lives. We cannot evolve without both.
Natural Spirituality is a religion. It is not a label most people like but to say otherwise is deceptive. We are not here to please people. We are trying to live a better life and leave behind a better world, whcih we consider to be more important than a label. The Church of Natural Spirituality consists of an educational institution (UniQue) and a sacred sanctuary (CliQue), which is member supported. Natural Spirituality is a sacrament for living therefore it has no concept of or a belief in, an after-life, resurrection, reincarnation, regeneration or anything supernatural. The Church of Natural Spirituality is not a political institution. As a religion, Natural Spirituality has no ethical authority therefore it can have no political stance, no opinion, and no "official" position on anything. The Church does not do weddings. Marriage is a personal social contract between adults therefore you do not need our approval, blessing or recognition. The Religion is the repository for a teaching. The practice is a self-educational process. The Church is a place to learn that teaching. The physical church is a sacred place to meditate and practice. It is space for cognitive care not a community center.
The mission of Natural Spirituality is to fill a crucial void in our current educational system by shedding light on the non-physical facets of human experience. This journey isn't about adhering to a set of beliefs; it's about embarking on a path of learning and discovery. Understanding the intricacies of one's own cognition is not just an academic exercise; it's a transformative experience that elevates the quality of life. Natural Spirituality is a body of knowledge that makes a practical contribution to the quality of your life. While there is an inherent cost to education, our commitment is to keep this journey accessible and affordable, so that this vital knowledge can touch as many lives as possible. The Church is not anyone's means to material wealth. No one is getting rich by doing this. The Church is purely a non-profit organization. This is not a charity. The singular purpose of the Church of Natural Spirituality is to provide The Teaching and to establish sanctuaries - serene havens where individuals can immerse themselves in their spiritual practice. Natural Spirituality is not just an institution; it's a sanctuary for the mind and soul, akin to a gym for cognitive and spiritual fitness. It's a place where you can cultivate your inner self, away from the noise of the world, focusing solely on nurturing your cognitive wellbeing. This is our mission, our passion, and our gift to humanity.
Natural Spirituality was forged for the love of human liberty. It's core belief is that ignorance is the problem and self education is the cure. The purpose of the Religion is to offer rational people a choice, that they may
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by MaiJai Doshi
Trying to explain the difference between Natural Spirituality and conventional religion is like explaining the difference between physics and tennis. You cannot learn Natural Spirituality from reading a website. This article will attempt to establish some of the core distinctions of Natural Spiritualiy. It is not short as some things cannot be simplified into sound bytes. Suffice it to say that Natural Spirituality is separate and distinct from all other religions. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the read.
Jan 12, 2017
