I believe we are spirits having a human experience. We are embodied for a purpose, which is to “educate” us. Embodiment has several results. We are rendered “numb and dumb” – our perceptions and our knowing become sharply limited by our bodies. We are placed into time and space – we now have a location, and our biological processes give us the sense of time. The main feature is limitation – we are now limited in many ways, unable to do much of what we could do while not embodied.
We become conditioned by our bodies – our thoughts, reflexes, instincts, etc. are based upon our perceptions and our bodily needs and urgings. If we remember our unencumbered state at all, it is only in dreams and brief flashes of inspiration. Since we do not clearly remember this state, we learn through our physical experiences, as our bodies grow and mature. This becomes our reality, our only reality until circumstances compel us to consider other possibilities.
We also become identified with our bodies – we come to believe that we are our bodies. Even though many cultures teach that humans have souls, we begin with only a hazy notion of this concept, or reject it out of hand. Such an idea seems abstract to us, a possible comfort when we must face death, but having little practical use otherwise.
As children we are fully engaged in the business of learning how the physical world works, learning to use our bodies to get around and to do things, chasing after our various whims and urges. At this time we are still close to the Light, which shines so clearly in children. Over time this Light dims until at last it is buried too deeply to see.
Being in time and space creates limitation. What is here cannot be elsewhere. Something that has taken place is not now happening. So obvious – but not how Spirit operates. We see things this way because of our embodiment. In Spirit there is neither time nor space.
In the physical world one important result of time and space is limitation, and from limitation comes the concept of lack. Physical processes create various needs and urges. Our bodies require food, water, air, movement, in order to survive and to function properly. Over time these needs become more urgent, growing from a faint urge to a strong appetite to a raging hunger. Withhold any of the necessities and the person will become increasingly uncomfortable, then suffer, and eventually die.
At the same time, the things that we need are in limited supply. If I give something away, then I won’t have it any more. Again, so obvious as to seem ridiculous to mention – but again, not how Spirit operates. However, in the physical world we learn from painful experience that when we give something, we no longer have it.
We learn this, and it affects our behavior. We grow to believe in lack, that it is possible for us not to have what we need. Quite often our physical needs are not adequately met and we can suffer, languish, and even die. This instills fear into us, that we will suffer – there won’t be enough for us.
The sense of lack clouds our lives, causing much of the suffering in the world. People become greedy, hoarding whatever they feel will protect them from lack. Often this is money. Sometimes it is food or land. It may be anything they believe will protect them. Unfortunately, no matter how much they’ve accumulated, they never feel safe, so they continue to hoard even more. They are miserable themselves, and their hoarding creates misery for others as well. Their fear of lack creates actual lack. In the physical world, they can hoard only at the expense of other people not having enough.
I have said that embodiment makes us “numb and dumb” – we cannot feel many things we would sense were we in Spirit; and we do not know things that we know when in Spirit. This insensibility leaves us without the feedback we would ordinarily have when in Spirit.
Most cultures have a spiritual tradition of some sort, often a set of rules backed up with punishments for infractions, rewards for obedience. These may range from threats of eternal damnation, or karmic repercussions, or some other negative result for violating rules. All of the traditions have a kernel of truth behind them. Unfortunately, over time the rules tend to become more elaborate and restrictive, the punishments more severe. The essence is lost among the elaborations until it is almost impossible to discern. Religion becomes more important than Spirit. Many rules are created that only reflect the cultural habits of the region, and that do not have anything to do with Spirit.
The essence is not difficult. Spirit informs us of how things work, through the teachings of inspired people. Certain activities lead ultimately to greater pain. Other activities lead to greater joy. Quite often the results of our activities is contrary to what we expect, based on our physical understanding, the conditioned knowledge we acquire through our bodies. We are warned about the dangers of certain actions. When we ignore the warnings, we suffer. To some, this appears to be the workings of an angry deity who punishes us for disobedience. It is not. It is the result of ignoring the warnings of a concerned, nurturing parent or friend.
We need these warnings because when embodied we are numb to the effects of our actions. We cannot feel the pain they are causing – our bodies block it. This only lasts as long as we are embodied, of course. Once we leave our bodies, we are once more able to sense the effects of our actions, and then we do feel their results. To someone who has spent a lifetime disregarding the warnings, who has repeatedly done painful things, the result may well feel like the hell that some religions threaten. It is not punishment, however, but simply the result of doing things that hurt.
You may have experienced something like this if you ever had dental work requiring your mouth to be numbed. The dentist may have warned you not to eat for a few hours afterwards. If you ignored his warning, you may have bitten your tongue or cheek unknowingly, since you couldn’t feel it at the time. When the anesthetic wears off, though, you notice that you’ve hurt yourself. The pain is not the dentist punishing you for disobedience, but only the reason he warned you in the first place.
Much the same applies to how things work spiritually. We are numb to the effects of most of our actions, so we are given some warnings. We disregard those warnings at our peril – we may experience pain if we do certain things. The pain is not immediate, which often leads us to conclude that the warnings are invalid. Confusing the issue, most of the time the legitimate warnings are lost among spurious additions by well-meaning but misguided people. Also, the explanation for the warnings is often based on fear, rather than on the efforts of a nurturing Spirit to spare us unnecessary suffering.