ddw - Good comments as usual. I appreciate the thought you put into your responses.

Regarding the Eastern concept of the One...the vast majority of those traditions involve at some level a denial of worldly existence, and a desire to escape from it. In that respect they err...or they avoid responsibility. That's not what I'm suggesting. I am suggesting fully realizing the One in an effective practical way, here and now, in physical reality, not escaping into Samadhi or some form of Nirvana.

To apply the teachings I am studying in the world would involve treating all people everywhere in an equal fashion, which hasn't actually been tried yet by most people, although some progress has been made toward that ideal in democratic societies...it's just got a long way to go yet.

And there is a definite plan and series of steps for getting there, but most people are far too lazy and undisciplined to bother going through even the preliminaries, if they even know about them. I know about them, and I've proven too lazy and undisciplined so far myself. I'm about 2% of the way down the path to Self-realization at this point, I figure. I've met one individual who I know has made it there, and I've never met anyone else like him in my whole life. That shows me it can be done.

It's like the diametrical opposite of "ignoring the bus"...it's more like being totally tuned into everything that's going on, and acting in the most effective and harmonious way possible under every circumstance...with absolute love, confidence, and effectiveness.

If you're looking for airy-fairy world-denial type of stuff to criticize...well, it's out there all right, but that's not what I was talking about.

If I thought I could deny the hardships of the tangible world and get away with it, I probably would go for it at this point, but I know it just ain't that easy.

- LH