21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

Our efforts towards ‘spirituality’ then will be seen to be somewhat void. In truth, there is already a ‘spiritual’ life, and everyone is on it! It is simply an attitude — seeing each moment as it really is and welcoming it. It is beyond our physical desires, our mental constructs and beyond even our notions about having a ‘life of the soul’.

It could be asked if all of this is really such a clear-cut option which some adopt and others discard. Everyone is embarked on this quest in some shape or form — the distinction between a ‘believer’ and a non-believer’ is not such an obvious one. Granted that many will describe themselves as unbelievers when comparing their views to formal doctrines of a religion. Still, it does others a disservice to categorise people just because they don’t seem to show any interest in ‘spiritual’ things. Perhaps only theological descriptions are being added and the experience of growth as lived is a common inheritance. The spiritual and the sacred are in the same boat as morality and aesthetics in this respect. It can be seen how they can be subjective (and hence the contingency) but when there is an attempt to ascribe them to a higher power then this only succeeds in pushing the difficulty of correct discernment back a level.

Returning to a more religious understanding of soul and soulfulness, let’s now consider worship and sacrifice. These may not be words with very much appeal! Concerns over such matters can sometimes seem like a distraction from the substantial problems that afflict our world. If what people are worshipping is some other-

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