Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Have you Leaned to Think for Yourself: By Isidro Sid Martinez

To many of us a spiritual path requires obedience and following religious rules and rituals in order to gain some favor with God or the Universe of maybe some great reward here or in the afterlife. Maybe some reward here in now time or maybe some future reward or maybe even Heaven! So now we are attached to some reward, to some technique, to some ritual, to some belief, to some path. Think on this because if we really are honest and sincere with our thoughts and motives we will find some attachment. Are we worshiping because of the fear of retribution, or some attachment to rewards. It might be as overt as a rigid thought that my way or religion is best, or subtle as an attachment to daily ritual. It is not the ritual or that thoughts that are the concern. It is the attachment to something we have not truly evaluated for what it really is. Doing what is right because it is right to do, not because of some desire for gain or some fear of retribution is also part of thinking for yourself. You know what is right, from down in your depths, you have a built in compass we just have to learn to connect with it a let it guide us. Thinking and acting are intimately related to freedom.

We can go to a teacher or minister and he will say, I have a technique for freedom. We say, I want freedom, I must know this technique. So he says do all these things and freedom will come. I say to you, think, what is freedom? Define freedom. Are you attached to the idea and quest for freedom. Does that whole concept somehow contradict itself. How can you be attached and free at the same time? Think on this. Circular thinking is going in circles. Dogs chasing tails. Do you need a teacher or minister or guru to tell you what to do? Do you need a book to direct your life. Think! Who wrote this book? The teacher or minister or guru is a person like you. The author is a person like you. Think! What gives them the authority to tell you how to get to heaven. Has anyone been there who knows the way and has come to show you the way.

I am not against technique and ritual and/or religion. I am concerned how so many blindly do it with no real thinking. They think that for their much doing there is some reward. They are acting for the reward! Ok, so what is wrong with that. I say to you again, attachment to the reward conflicts with freedom. If we really look we see that attachment brings with it jealousy, being superior, fear, isolation, arrogance, insecurity and many other conflicts to freedom. I propose to you that spirituality in its purest form is freedom! Think about it. Let me know what you think.