I hope that these questions will inspire you to begin an exciting journey of exploration and discovery, if you haven’t done so already.
1. Who am I?
2. How did I get here?
3. Why am I here?
4. What is my purpose?
Four BIG questions that every religion tries to answer but very few people actually contemplate.
Why are these questions important?
As you contemplate these questions please keep in mind that …
What you believe is more important than the truth.
This is true because your beliefs will define your every thought, feeling and action; in short, your beliefs create your personal reality.
Asking these BIG questions helps us to align our beliefs as closely to actual truth as possible.
Most people never bother to ask these questions; the result is ignorance and needless suffering.
Congratulations for being one of the few!
Let’s begin with the first question.
Question 1. Who am I?
When asked the question, ‘Who are you?”, most people reply with their name and might add some context about their family, career or nationality. This is who I am!
If we dig a little deeper, an atheist might say “I am a material being; flesh and blood”, while a Buddhist could say “I am soulless energy” and a theist “I am spiritual being in a material body”.
Who are YOU, really?
Let’s look a little deeper.
Below is a recording of a 4-minute self-awareness exercise called “Where am I?”.
If we can work out where we are, our seat of consciousness, we might have a better idea of who we really are. The result might surprise you!
Is it possible, that the real You is not a single atom of your material body?
Could it be that each one of us is simply a pixel of consciousness in a vast field of consciousness that some people call God?
I encourage you to do this exercise as a meditation; observe more parts of your body and the world around you, honing your sense of awareness.
At the very least, the meditation may help you to feel calmer and more peaceful.
The Seat of Consciousness.
The Pineal Gland, a small organ about the size of a pine nut located between the two hemispheres of the brain, has been recognised as “the seat of consciousness” since the dawn of time.
Shaped like a pine cone, the Pineal Gland is filled with tiny crystals and it’s main, physical function is the secretion of melatonin which regulates our day/night rhythms.
But as you may have experienced during the self-awareness exercise, the Pineal Gland also has a metaphysical function as the seat of consciousness; the driver’s seat of the body. It is like a tiny crystal cathedral, the point from which we observe the world around us.
The pine cone motif is found throughout ancient mythology
- In Egyptian mythology it is found on the the Staff of Osiris and in the Eye of Horus.
- In Greek and Roman mythology it is found on the Caduceus, the symbol of Hermes and Mercury, and the symbol of modern, allopathic medicine.
- In Buddhism you will find it on the Buddha’s headdress as well as many Buddhist temples and shrines.
- In the Hindu religion it is recognised as the third eye, represented by the red dot on the forehead. It is also found in many temples and shrines.
- In Christianity you will find an interesting reference in the Bible as well as a pine cone on the pope’s staff.
You may not be, who you have always thought, you were!
Question 2. How did I get here?
An atheist asserts that we are the end result of random evolution; nothing more than flesh and blood.
A Buddhist and Hindu will assert that we are trapped in a never-ending cycle of birth and rebirth; our present life the karmic outcome of past lives.
A New Age adherent may believe that we co-create ourselves, that we chose our parents and maybe even the major events of our lives.
A monotheist asserts that God created us.
Examine the evidence and work out which of these propositions make sense to you.
Question 3. Why am I here?
An atheist claims that there is no reason for our existence; we live, we die, then nothing.
A Buddhist or Hindu claims that we are here to gain enlightenment, escape the endless cycle of birth and rebirth and attain Nirvana.
A Christian claims that a loving God created us for a loving relationship with him and each other.
Why are YOU here?
Question 4. What is my purpose?
If I believe that I am just a material being, the product of random evolution, then I can design whatever purpose I choose; I am the captain of my ship.
If I believe that I am trapped in an endless cycle of lifetimes, then my purpose is to learn how to become enlightened and attain Nirvana.
If I believe that I am a co-created being, I am likely to develop my purpose through spiritual growth; seeking to discover my highest good.
If I believe that I am a divinely created being, I will discover my purpose by seeking God’s guidance and direction.
What does your exploration lead you to believe?
What you believe is more important than the truth!
Before we close I would like to revisit the distinction between Truth and Belief because ‘what we believe is more important than the truth’.
Firstly, Truth is absolute. We may not know the truth but we can be sure that absolute Truth exists.
Secondly, beliefs are changeable; new information can influence our beliefs.
In practice, beliefs are more important than the truth because beliefs determine how we experience the world and how the world experiences us. Our beliefs directly influence our thoughts, actions and feelings, our personality; how we show up in the world. And, as Dr Joe Dispenza so eloquently states,
Your personality creates your personal reality.
If you want to change your personal reality, start by changing your beliefs!
Unfortunately, many unhelpful beliefs have become so deeply entrenched that they have become hardwired networks in the brain, the result of Hebbs Law;
“What fires together, wires together”.
That’s why changing destructive beliefs and habits can be so difficult … but not impossible!
A quest for truth.
I believe that our primary quest in life is to discover Truth, so I encourage you
Don’t speculate, validate.
Don’t guess about these BIG questions, find out.
Don’t follow the crowd, think for yourself!
Henry Ford said
“Thinking is the hardest work in the world, maybe that’s why so few people engage in it!”
Listen and learn but do your own thinking!
Buddha said that ignorance is the root cause of suffering.
Jesus Christ said,
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.
As I see it,
The closer our beliefs align with Truth, the freer we become and the less we suffer.
It’s that simple.
A Final Thought, Created to Love.
Consider the fact that every human being has a deep longing to be loved and accepted; every human being, no matter how depraved they might be, wants to be loved and accepted.
Love is our deepest hunger and yet most of us are starved of love.
We feel this hunger in our hearts if we quieten our minds and listen to our heart.
Did you know that a baby’s heart begins to beat two to three weeks before the first synapse fires in the brain? The first signs of life begin in the heart, not the brain. Is that significant?
We feel love in our heart but we have to think before we feel fear!
Love may be the key to unlock the answers.
Continue the Conversation.
If you enjoyed this exercise, please check out my other set of BIG questions …
Five Big Questions Every Spiritual Seeker Should Settle.
1. Does God exist?
2. What is God like?
3. Why did God create us?
4. Why did God give us freewill?
5. What is God’s plan for humanity?
I hope you feel inspired to continue your exploration.
