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Who/What Are We?

We are not intrinsically evil

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – October6, 2021

Human beings are not intrinsically evil, but there's also a tendency in us to create suffering through our greed, anger, ignorance, and moral lapses. To free ourselves of suffering, the Lord Gautama Buddha offered us his Noble Eightfold Path, namely, right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

"Who Am I?": From the Perspective of Science, Religion, and Mysticism (SRM)

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – April 25, 2021

SRM always remind us of their teachings that the Cosmos consists basically of two layers, namely, the physical, which is the dense or solid part, and the metaphysical, which is the subtle or spirit part. And this is also true in the quantum realm.

We humans, according to SRM, share this duality in our earthly identity. We are both physical and metaphysical, secular and spiritual, animal-like and god-like. There is no in-between, although one may dominate the other, depending on one’s beliefs, time of Earthly appearance, and conditions surrounding oneself.

But at our most fundamental level, we are all energy, propelled and directed by its force, say SRM. We have to think of humanity and the universe then as energy because this is who or what we are.

Our body is merely the cloth we don on. A layer deeper, we are all bones and skeletons designed merely to support our skin and organs.

Still deeper, we are nothing, we are invisible, spaceless, timeless, and yet very much alive, conscious, and always on the go. In fact, according to SRM, it is this restless nothingness that makes our body, brain, and mind alive and conscious.

Call this living quantum nothingness, "Soul", "Spirit", "God", "Consciousness", it does not matter. But this is who and what we are: the Self, the I Am, or whatever name and label you want, sharing the power and attributes of the Great Cosmic Consciousness in a limited way.

To be neutral, I want to call this Great Cosmic Consciousness, "Energy" and, to me, it is energy that rules both the quantum and macro world. Everything behaves according to the laws of classical and quantum physics as well as the spiritual laws of the Cosmos. This Energy is the same in both realms, pure and unsoiled.

Moreover, these two worlds, while distinct and unique, are interconnected and co-existent, with their respective laws governing our bodily organs, our thoughts, emotions, dreams, aspirations, longings, visions, and behavior.

Whether it is the laws of physics or the laws of the spirit that govern us daily, is a question we can only answer individually. But we have to know which is dominant in us, otherwise, we become entities knowing not our nature, purpose, and destiny.

The ideal formula is to balance the two realms. But this begs a series of questions: "How and when do I know that I'm led by the material or the spiritual?" When do I know that I'm led by my atoms and molecules? When do I know that I'm led by my spirit? And, how can I balance the two worlds?

Only the reader can answer these questions. This usually entails a series of trial-and-error experiments daily, from moment to moment until one gets the feel of it.

But in doing this, one has to be fully conscious always, otherwise the experiment goes without end and eventually fails. When this happens, one does not know who is guiding and directing him or her. One does not know whether one is being led by matter or by the spirit.

Just some thoughts for personal reflection in times of solitude and silence.

I am not a humanist and never will be!

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - June 15, 2022

Humanism remains so controversial to this day; its proponents are unable to agree among themselves insofar as its meaning and purpose are concerned. Over the centuries, several interpretations have evolved in the field of religion, philosophy, psychology, arts, and science.

It started as a non-religious movement (atheism, in particular) focusing its doctrine on human freedom and economic progress. But its followers have competing interpretations of what these tenets are.

(1) One theory states that the human species is solely responsible for the exercise of its freedom, guided only by the methods of science when applying its teachings to society to replace dogma and God as the basis for moral actions and decision-making.

A branch of this belief is the so-called transhumanism, a form that lies between humanism and post humanism, which claims to offer a new epistemology that is not anthropocentric.

(2) Another interpretation relies more on revelation coming from a supernatural source since, according to this theory, the metaphysical realm is able to offer basic ethical norms and guides for action like goodness, benevolence, and compassion.

Thus, those who are guided by these tenets are the most highly humanized. And it is the trained humanist mind (teachers, philosophers, poets, and lawyers) that are best able to handle problems pestering societies.

(3) To put a seal on their parochial views, they contend that the gift of discernment is bestowed only on the human species alone, not the sub-humans. This could be the reason why the term “humanism” emerged.

(4) This ambivalent stance has only given rise to chaos and confusion, resulting in the acceptance of such equally double-edged concepts as cut-throat competition, survival of the fittest, laissez-faire capitalism, hegemony, among others.

Through the centuries several camps and movements emerged, further widening the divide among themselves.

(5) Science, especially Carl Sagan, is cautious in taking a stand. But it admonished all camps to consider science and empirical facts as one basis of their action and decision making.

WHERE DO I STAND?

(1) I cannot subscribe to all of their polemics against the cosmic scheme of things. I find all of them too anthropocentric, exclusivist, separatist, and isolationist. We are not the only inhabitants of the Cosmos.

(2) Anthropocentrism is destructive than constructive. It is life-aborting than life-promoting. And so is humanism. From the cosmic perspective, we need another paradigm to recognize their voice and promote their interests.

(3) Above all, we need a movement to institutionalize their aspirations in the various societal systems. The street activists would love shouting these slogans while marching towards Congress:

"Down with humanism! Down with anthropocentrism! Down with 'Up-Up-With-People'.”

(4) It’s more enthralling and enchanting for me to be cosmic, universal, and holistic!

We Are Co-Creators

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - April 13, 2022

Creation is handed down to us by our Creator. We continue God’s creation. God gave us the power, talent, and expertise to be Its co-creators or partners in creation. We owe to our Lord God Almighty the responsibility to protect the integrity of Its creation.

We are not privileged!

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - April 17, 2022

We are not the peak and summit of creation!

We are not the only inhabitants in the Cosmos. There are other species out there with much advanced intelligence, civilization, and technology.

Our Milky Way galaxy contains more than 50 billion Earth-like planets, spanning around 200 billion lightyears in diameter. There already existed billion trillion habitable planets (80^18) in the early Cosmos.

“What a waste of time, space, and resources” if we’re the only inhabitants on this vast universe!

There are other more evolved souls and beings out there with much advanced intelligence, civilization, and technology journeying towards a much higher dimension than ours.

Am I a Troll?

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - March 5, 2022

Trolls are spreading like wildfire as election nears but are giving us an opportunity to examine ourselves and reflect in silence and solitude.

The Google dictionary defines a troll to "denote someone who intentionally disrupts online communities." A person who trolls someone is "a person who intentionally antagonizes others online by posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments."

A troll also refers to somebody"who intentionally leaves provocative or offensive messages on the internet in order to get attention, cause trouble or upset someone".

There are so many trolls now inundating the social media that it's already hard to discern which is genuine and which is fake. But a more serious issue is something that concerns each of us.

Am I a troll in my daily FB posts to others? Trolls could be proliferating because we are posting trolls ourselves, that is, we are also trolls in the way we express our thoughts and feelings. Posting invectives, foul languages, fake news, or arguing ad hominem are just some examples.

Well, as it is said: "By their fruits, you shall know them." “The only way to know them is to eat them.” “The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

So, if you can eat them, then, it's fine. It’s the individual’s choice. It might be better to eat rotten and corrupted fruits than to have nothing to eat at all.

As the recent surveys say, votes now cost Php 3,500.00 per voter ($70.00), a far cry from the daily minimum wage earners’ pay of Php 400.00 ($12.50) among laborers who receive nothing if there’s no available work during the day.

So, I receive 3,500.00 for voting a President, 2,500.00 for VP, and 2,000.00 for every senatorial slate. Wow, that’s a whooping 30,000 all in all!

And WHAT IF every voting member in our family, the so-called millennials, are exposed to this kind of practices? Five of them would mean 180,000 given for the family in silver platter as an unearned reward for simply voting somebody.

Good or Bad?

Between hunger and morality, the most practical thing to do is to accept the corrupted fruits to feed the family. Anyway, one can always rationalize that it is not stolen money. My vote counts, but their money counts more to me.

Blessed are those who are able to resist eating the offered rotten food, as in the case of those who have a permanent job and receiving uninterrupted salaries every 15th and 30th of the month. For theirs is already the kingdom of wealth and abundance.

Sometimes though, one cannot underestimate the wiles and cunning ways of the devil. Jesus himself was offered the whole world by Satan while fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread (Matthew 4:1-11).

For the Devil can always up its price, even able to unconscionably say: “Name your price!” And many can succumb to the temptation and say in response: “Can I be in your Cabinet?”

The kind of world we're living in today is so muddled, chaotic, and confusing that it’s now hard to distinguish what is rotten and what is not, what is moral and what is immoral, what is ethical and what is unethical. The two are so intertwined and entangled with each other that they have become indistinguishable. The two have become one.

And people have learned to surreptitiously establish their own standards of morality just to justify their devious and unfettered behaviors.

Time to do some serious reflections. But remember it's the citizens who are voting, not God or the Devil, and both are not in the deep blue sea out there in the big ocean.

They’re deep inside you and me. And between them is you, the entity called Self or I Am. Our choice.

Trolls…Trolls…Trolls

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – November 27, 2021

Trolls are spreading like wildfire as election nears but the Advent season is giving us an opportunity to examine ourselves and reflect in silence and solitude.

Somebody "who intentionally leaves provocative or offensive messages on the internet in order to get attention, cause trouble or upset someone" is also a troll.

There are so many trolls now inundating the social media that it''s already hard to discern which is genuine and fake. But a more serious issue is something that concerns each of us.

Well, as it is said: "By their fruits, you shall know them." The only way to know them is eating them. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." If you can eat them, then, it's fine, otherwise you can throw them away.

Let's lay down our fruits as Advent wreaths on the table or hang them on our doors and see if people outside will eat them or throw them away.

The kind of world we're living in today is that good fruits and spoiled fruits exist and so intertwined that together they live in peace and harmony. They are so entangled that we may no longer be able to know the kind and quality of the fruits we are producing daily.

Time to do some serious reflections. The Advent season is just giving us this opportunity.

The Self and Its Attributes

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – December 3, 2021

Who am I? How do I know who I am? Am I the body or the mind? Neither. The body experiences. The mind comes and goes. Both the body and the mind die.They are impermanent. But there's an entity in us that does not experience, does not come and go, does not travel in space and time. It is the Self.

The Self is spaceless. It's unmovable and has nowhere to go because it is everywhere. It is omnipresent. It doesn't age with time because it is timeless and eternal. It is ever present all of the time anywhere. It is, it has always been, and will always be. It is eternity.

It does not need to know anything because there is nothing to know outside of itself. It is all knowing and omniscient. It does not desire anything because it does not need anything. Thus, it's not attached to anything and anybody. It is fullness itself, never wanting, never desiring, never expecting, never hoping.

It does not need life because it is life itself. On the contrary, it is able to create, nourish, sustain, and replicate life. It can create and destroy as well as destruct and construct. In all this, it is always alive anywhere, anytime, now and forever, as it was from the very beginning of time, space, and matter, and even before.

The Self is pure awareness of its own being in communion with itself. It's not affected by any external event because there's nothing outside itself. It wants nothing because there's nothing higher than itself. It is One, entire of itself, not two, three, or more, self-sustaining, self-sufficient, self-nourishing, and self-dependent.

Let's stop being fooled by our experiences, knowledge, and beliefs. Let our true Self shine before everybody and before our world.

Our Soul and Body

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – December 12, 2021

Each of us has a soul and body but, through delusion, we find ourselves mistaking the body from the soul. Thus, we often identify ourselves with the body.

But here's one common belief adhered to by science and many religious beliefs. The body moves and changes always, but the spirit is unmoved and never changes. The spirit is pure but the body is mired and stuck in dirt and mud.

The soul is everlasting, living in the fortress of omnipresence, impregnable, invulnerable to any effects of delusive vibratory change. But the body is often deceived by its senses. It is impermanent, never stationary and can never be alone in solitude and silence.

We are reminded that we are immortal, not open to any invasion of change or death even if it daily witnesses pains, sufferings, diseases, accidents, old age, and death.

We are also being reminded that we are made in the image and likeness of the Spirit and is thus ever calm, omnipresent, and eternal.

All of these distinctions become nought if we do not align ourselves with the laws and principles of the spirit. And this has been one of my fundamental concerns daily, as it has been in your case.

Dance of the Ego and the Self: The Born and Unborn

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – November 24, 2021

The ego is just the external manifestation, an add on. It manifests itself in those labels reflected in our curriculum vitae and we identify ourselves by these attributes like gender, education, income, age, social status, beliefs, whose synergistic effect hides the real identity of the Self.

It filters information coming from the external world, choosing only what it wants to enter within. It's judgemental and discerning, creating its own subjective world that doesn't mirror the outside reality at all. It chooses its own beliefs.

The more one feeds the ego, the more it hides the One that animates and watches the ego. The ego is impermanent. It dies with the body. But the One that watches and gives life lives on for eternity. The "One' I am referring to is the "Self" or "I am" . Anything you add to "I am" belongs to the ego.

Dissolve the ego and the Self manifests itself in its full effulgence, untainted by the capriciousness of the mind. No container can contain and hide the grandeur and glory of the Self. The Self is another dimension of life and existence.

What's in a Name

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - October 26, 2020

When a scientist sees subatomic particles popping up, it gives them a name. Thus, the names electrons, protons, neutrons, quarks, leptons, bosons, strings.

But before the scientists discovered those subatomic particles, they already existed and they had no name. There was nobody in fact to give them their names. Naming them after their discovery is mere convenience so scientists can differentiate one particle from the other.

You also bear a name to which you respond. But your body was not born with that name written on it, nor did your body say to anyone that it bore such and such a name and that you will answer by that name only.

Nonetheless, the name signifies something and it is not a mere fiction. A name has been given to you and you answer to that name because you have also identified yourself with that name.

Naming them does not mean that one particle is better than the other, more prestigious than the other, more dignified than the other, more powerful than the other, deserving of more respect than the other.

Names are just inconsequential and insignificant effects, although they are necessary to live in this four dimensional world of ours. They are our attempt to understand 5-dimensional creatures.

Shakespeare says: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet." But not so with science.

Being 4-D, our names are impermanent and temporary shells that we carry heavily everyday. They can be very discomfortable that they can cause so much pain and suffering, especially if we are born poor, illiterate, sick, homeless, and jobless.

While we are comforted by the fact that we will all die and will go to a state of existence where there are no names, we are already challenged to live by who we really are, even if we're still living in this 4-D world.

Society Plagiarized Our Childhood!

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. - October 25, 2020

Yes, society literally plagiarized our childhood. It copied someone else's identify, beliefs, and dreams and imposed them on us. We have learned to accept them in toto. But as we grow and mature, we begin to question ourselves. Who am I really? Am I the person projected in my biodata sheet? Who was I before I was born? It's time to construct our own and live by that identity.

We have so many labels

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – December 22, 2021

People tend to categorize us to belong to any of the following labels:

1. Iconoclast – a person who questions, criticizes, and argues openly against those beliefs that are not in consonance with his/her beliefs.

2. Omnist – a person who believes in all religions, faiths or creeds.

3. Pantheist – a person who believes that God is all around us, all throughout the whole universe and who believes in all gods from all religions.

4. Panentheist – a person who considers God and the world to be inter-related with the world being in God and God being in the world.

5. Deist – a person who is a believer of God.

6. Polytheist – a person who believes in multiple Gods.

7. Agnostic – a person who believes that there is a god, but not any god that's connected to a religion.

8. Atheist – a person who does not believe in God, gods, or goddesses.

I am neither of the above.

I exposed myself to several religious beliefs, learning their teachings and experiencing their rituals and other community activities, but not to attack and argue with them. I must admit I have imbibed many of their teachings and practices.

That’s why I am not a Buddhist. Buddhism is neither agnostic nor deist, neither monotheistic nor polytheistic. The Buddha himself openly rejected the concept of a God or Gods — and he is not a God himself, just a man who became a teacher of this specific Buddhist doctrine.

My upbringing and training, however, is deeply influenced by the teachings of Catholicism and I cannot just disregard this totally in my belief. But Catholicism signifies universalism, catholicity, holism, and cosmism. That's why I am more than just a Catholic because I have already imbibed other religious beliefs that are not part of Catholicism.

I am just a seeker, but not a seeker of truth either. For what is truth anyway? I have no yardsticks to measure what truth or untruth is and I am not in the position to judge what is truth or not.

I am not also an adventurer who travels a lot and explores, more for enjoyment. I am just somebody driven by curiosity to know and experience new things, propelled by the excitement of discovering something entirely new, different, and bigger, whatever this is.

I interact with people of different cultures, race, beliefs, always open and ready to discover treasures in their teachings that I've been longing and looking for in life, but which I myself am not also clear of what this is.

And this is what triggers me to continue exploring the world beyond. I'm just an explorer, a lone ranger and traveler perhaps if you wish, relentless in discovering new things, despite the uncertainties of what may lie ahead.

Face Can Be Deceiving

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – January 31, 2019

I'm celebrating the Chinese New Year in another time zone. The year of the Tiger is considered the King of the Beast in China. Its ferocious roar can be savagely fierce, cruel, and violent, but deceptively given a Lion's face in Metro Goldwyn Mayer Movies, to appear innocent, tame, and holy. Yet, let's always be careful. People's face can be deceiving. At the least provocation, they can be anything we can ever imagine. This will mark the Year of the Tiger and it has already started. Is this the beast that the Book of Revelation (13:1) is talking about?.

We evolved from the chimpanzees to become homo sapiens and homo galactica.

Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – October 10, 2021

From food scavengers, we have become space travelers. But something sinister looms in the horizon.

To withstand the rigor of space-time travel, scientists have modified us genetically, injecting us with all kinds of gadgets and viruses into our bodies that, in many ways, have transformed us literally into mechanized robots?

They have even created and mass-produced robots to perform many of the tasks we used to do normally. Many of these robots possess artificial intelligence that make them far more human than many of us.

Is this the kind of future science envisions for the entire human race? To be extraterrestrial colonizers and dwellers? If so, are we not regressing, instead of progressing?

Will we not, in fact, become just mere invincible robots in the future, which is, of course, what space and time travel need? And, by our silence and acquiescence, have we not allowed ourselves to be dehumanized, as a result?

Is this the kind of Man you and I envisioned to be? Is this what the Cosmos and its Force designed for us? Oh, Lord, why have you forsaken us?