On Chaste-ness

I'm sitting alone on Christmas Eve writing my blog. So what subject should come to mind but Chaste-ness?

I use the term "Chaste-ness" because the correct term "chastity" is fraught with heavy baggage that includes medieval apparatus designed for its bodily enforcement (see photo; that doesn't look comfortable). But chaste-ness has nothing to do with the body. It's all about the mind.

For any of you who know me well (make that very well, and there are only a few), I will strike you as one of the least chaste people you've ever known. Well, things change.

Chaste-ness has not only to do with sexuality. It pertains to all aspects of life. But for the moment, let's stick with its most well-known benefactor. Believe it or not, your sex drive offers you a unique opportunity for transcendence, one you're wise not to pass up.

A Cure for Anxiety - Part 3

If anxiety is a purely physical phenomenon (see Part 1), so is joy. Joy displaces anxiety.

Your soul already knows joy. Your soul is joy because your soul is one with the unmanifested. It's one with God. To experience that oneness in our physical bodies is joy.

So how do we do that?

By taking our awareness more deeply into our physical bodies and thereby sensing our inner bodies, which is the "life that animates" us.

A Cure for Anxiety - Part 2

Remember, anxiety is the hook but enlightenment is the goal. If we deal with the symptoms of anxiety by simply practicing certain techniques or by taking a pill, we're dealing with the problem on a purely physical level.

If we go to a psychologist or psychiatrist, we begin to include the mind in the solution.

But there's also a third level. That's the level of the spirit or soul. If we don't tap into this aspect of our being, we lack the leverage necessary to make lasting change. It's like trying to lift something that you're standing on.

Let me try to show you what I mean with a little experiment. At the end of this paragraph, stop reading and listen to the voice in your head. Almost everyone has an internal monologue going in their head all the time. Take a moment and listen to it.

The Alchemy of Happiness

Jesus (upon whom be peace!) saw the world revealed in the form of an ugly hag. He asked her how many husbands she had possessed; she replied that they were countless. He asked whether they had died or been divorced; she said that she had slain them all. "I marvel," he said, "at the fools who see what you have done to others and still desire you.

Mohammed Al-Ghazali

The Alchemy of Happiness

For those of us familiar with the parables of Jesus from the Christian tradition, this one ain't in there, it's not in the Bible. Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (1058-1111; that's him on the right) was a scholar of the Islamic tradition. This comes from his book The Alchemy of Happiness. The parable isn't in the Koran either. I haven't located its source other than al-Ghazali.

The phrase "upon whome be peace!" is usually included whenever Jesus' name is mentioned in Islamic texts. The world of Islam views Jesus as a major prophet and the teachings of Mohammed and Jesus overlap quite a bit in many areas.

Technically, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians are not considered infidels in Islam (kafir in Arabic), but rather "People of the Book." According to Wikipedia, it's even an offense against Islamic law to use the term in reference to followers of these three religions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel).

Regardless of its source, the parable is a profound commentary on the perishable nature of existence.

For more on al-Ghazali and The Alchemy of Happiness check out this website: http://www.butler-bowdon.com/the-alchemy-of-happiness.html

As always, your comments are welcome. They will be helpful to others.