I said some harsh words of the Orthodox church, and on further reflection, I think that that was a mistake in some ways. I learned a lot from Orthodoxy early on, as I have learned from many of the traditions and those sole individuals that I have studied under for the past 20+ years in my search for Truth.
I left a summary of Robert Greene’s books towards the end of the post I am referring to, listing out the principles of creating a cult, alluding to the idea that maybe the Orthodox church is of the same cut of cloth as that of a cult.
Whether that’s an objective truth or not, I can’t say, and so I will retract that claim if it was, in fact, made.
However, I can claim and stand present in knowing that I learned many useful and beneficial ideas from the Orthodox tradition.
Personally, I didn’t want to be a “member” and, by that, become “married” to a specific school of thought as I hold that “All Truth comes from God,” no matter the source or tradition.
I merely, in my weakness and lack of holding Love for “my” Creator above all, fell into peer pressure and did something ultimately didn’t want to do, regretted, and thus sacrificed my integrity for the approval of others.
In the end, my excommunication was actually a blessing, one of which I’m very thankful and grateful for because I had fallen asleep and lost my identity in the process of my “conversion.”
I reflect now and see the cult-like thing is just a necessary element within all successful organizations.
Is this right, or is this wrong?
These are the wrong questions to ask.
Instead, we should ask, “Is it necessary?”
And, I would suggest that yes, in fact, it is necessary, very necessary.
It’s very necessary to have cult-like qualities if you desire to have a successful organization or community, no matter what type of collective that may be.
Whether it be a mere group of friends, a clique, a nation-state, or a billion+ dollar a year Fortune 500 company, which I have also worked for and have witnessed many of these same cult-like qualities that you’d find in any other “successful” organization.
It’s merely a necessary element that has been given a bad rap by a handful of bad actors.
And I don’t see the Orthodox Tradition to be a bad actor, it has many great qualities and great teachings.
However, it was not for me to be a “member,” and it never was. I can remember during my initial confession, I tried to express some of my experiences which I was quickly invalidated as symptoms of possible mental illness.
For example, I’ve never been able to rid myself of my witness to the phenomenon of reincarnation and always felt like a fraud when the subject matter came up because I would hide my understanding for fear of disapproval.
I’ve had plenty of experiences in my quest for Truth, and it may bring comfort to those softer souls to label them as a mere mental illness because the Truth is too difficult to swallow.
But I stand firm that this reality is but a reflection of something so much greater. As Plato described in his allegory of the cave, the concept that people are merely seeing shadows on the wall would, in fact, be “somewhat” closer to Truth than many realize when it comes to the essence of what this version of reality entails.
From having sexual intercourse in “this physical reality” with perceived gods of the Hindu tradition to evoking entities from other planes of existence/dimensions to witnessing the stopping or the mere absence of time on the physical plane to feeling the presence of God Almighty, which is super beyond spooky by the way… just so you know; and many things and experiences far and in between.
Yet, no matter how deep I go, every new answer evokes yet a new question, greater than the last.
This cycle is endless and neverending, and sometimes I wish to just simply “let it be,” but the itch remains constant. I must know more, and this quest is neverending, with each new witness of something new being then greater and more fulfilling than the last.
I think of many ideas from my existence and during my meditations, my exercises, and my practices, learned from times of old or cultivated by my own expression.
Remembrance of things like when Jesus spoke, saying, “He would come like a thief in the night.” And then thinking how when someone gets frightened by something unexpected, what do they say? simply…
“Jesus Christ… you F’n scared me!”
So… I ask… what’s that all about?
What’s this really and truly about?
Seriously?
I operate from a paradoxical stance at ALL times… holding in mind two opposite perspectives from two completely different points of view simultaneously.
We’re either separate sentient and autonomous entities governed by Universal Law, or we are, in fact, merely one universal entity moving in uniform motion pretending to be separate, and all of this is literally a giant play like William Shakespeare said so many years ago.
Is the world waiting on me, or am I waiting on the world, or is it somewhere in between?
This I have yet to determine.
Am I making you up, or are you making me and all the rest of us up in your own imagination, this being all a dream of your own creation distracting you from the fact that you are really all alone?
That’s the question I leave for you.
To see outside that, to believe in “Actual” separation, and that this universe is, in fact, merely random events created by the random fears and desires of “other” personalities, this belief, though many appear and seem to believe just that, takes a tremendous amount of “blind” faith.
And “blind” faith is not for me.
Now, go have a good day.
– just so you know. #bonafideAsshole
