Sharing the experience!
FOREWORD
We know that nobody stands alone. We are all inter-connected. The beliefs of others affect us. If people all thought the way the enlightened thought there wouldn’t be so much energy going about that does harm and which gives us hard work. We must spread the word, we must help people tune into the light that enlightens everyone so that all might see the truth. We do not convert anyone – we only remove the spectacles that they cannot see with. They convert themselves.
We must not evangelise. We must not proselytise. Proselytise means to try and convert others by preaching. No - what we do is share our love so that others may taste the love and joy we experience. If they taste and see the power of the message they will drink of this message which is the fountain of life. We have to fill our lives with light and let that light heal the error in the world. If you are apathetic about the problems of the world and the spiritual darkness of your neighbours, you are in effect helping those problems to remain. Those who are ready will embrace the truth only and when they are ready. Do not compel.
Do not try to convert others. Explain your position whenever you get the chance. Do that and you won't need to evangelise.
Sharing the truth does not make you a smart arse or smug or preachy. We all share knowledge every day. People need to know the secrets of happiness. If they stay secrets with you, then you are not doing much to help your own environment. You are not giving people the chance to be happier. If they are not happy, they may leave you feeling less happy too. Do not fear those who will misjudge you as smug or a show-off. You can't let peoples view of you control what you do especially when they are in the wrong.
There is nothing wrong with showing that you know something. Sometimes people are not ready to learn from us. But they will never know they are ready or get the chance to think about getting ready unless we become an inspiration.
We must be the message. People need to know the message for our
sakes. For example, it is hard for you to thrive in a community that
judges you. If you can help that community see that it is mistaken
to judge you then you will grow and you will be more whole.
If anyone leaves you and curses the truth continue to be her or his
friend. There shall be no bigotry or pressure in the faith that puts
people first.
THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE
True wisdom is not about causing somebody to believe something. It is not to
give them perception. True wisdom turns on the light. It makes people become
aware. People then see the illusions they were under. Then the illusions are not
illusions anymore. Perception of the truth replaces them.
The trouble with the libertarian notion that one must let people think and
believe what they want as long as they do not force their ideas on others is
that if they become numerous enough they will force through the law and societal
pressure. Sometimes there is a need to compel and those who try to do it licitly
could be forced into silence. The libertarian could do this deliberately. Or it
may just happen - what the majority think affects the law and society’s outlook.
That is why friendly debate and good example are important.
What you believe is potentially public. A lot of it will become actually public.
We all influence one another and must claim the right to influence one another.
We do it anyway. And to argue that you should influence others not to influence
each other is just hypocritical. It is insulting if it is based on the notion
that others are beyond persuasion.
It also leads to people enabling cults to give young people and children a very
narrow view when they have the right to inform themselves properly and hear all
sides.
You cannot control everything that happens to you. Much of the pain caused when
things go wrong is down to the way you react. You can control that reaction to a
sufficient degree but you cannot control it easily on your own. You need to be
an inspiration to others and lead them to the truth so that you become part of a
supportive community. You need to create and build and sustain the community
through sharing your values.
Atheism must avoid indoctrinating children. I will simply stick to the core
issues and help children and everybody else to realise the truth of the core
principles for themselves. The only thing that can help is the asking of
questions that prompt them to think. It avoids offending or manipulating them.
We know that nobody stands alone. Silence gives a message so for that reason we
must not hide what we stand for. We are all inter-connected. The beliefs of
others affect us. If people all thought the way the enlightened thought there
wouldn’t be so much energy going about that does harm and which gives us hard
work. We must spread the word, we must help people tune into the light that
enlightens everyone so that all might see the truth. We do not convert anyone –
we only remove the spectacles that they cannot see with. They convert
themselves.
We must share the faith that gives us joy. You have to present facts as you see
them. Be careful with what facts you choose and make sure they are important and
attractive so that you can plant a seed that may grow into something perhaps in
years to come. Remember that if people know you have a faith, they at least know
there is a different way of thinking out there and that can sow a seed that will
lead them to the truth. That is not the same as trying to convert other people.
We must not evangelise. We must not proselytise. Proselytise means to try and
convert others by preaching. No - what we do is share our love so that others
may taste the love and joy we experience. If they taste and see the power of the
message they will drink of this message which is the fountain of life. We have
to fill our lives with light and let that light heal the error in the world. If
you are apathetic about the problems of the world and the spiritual darkness of
your neighbours, you are in effect helping those problems to remain. Those who
are ready will embrace the truth only and when they are ready. Do not compel.
Do not try to convert others. It does not follow though that you should do
nothing about the errors people make. Error is not a good thing and blocks
advancement and no belief is intrinsically sacred. The notion that certainly
believes are sacred and must be encouraged or let be even if they are dangerous
or wrong leads to intolerance and encourage the believer to think that what they
think matters and what you think does not. To declare your belief off-limits
when it comes to investigation or a challenge is to refuse to let others be
themselves and to indicate that you do not care about truth. If you have real
respect for your belief you will welcome a challenge. The person delivering the
challenge is respecting your belief. And if X has a strongly evidence based
belief and Y has a belief that is founded on weak evidence nobody can say that
both beliefs are equally sacred. Surely the one that cares about the evidence is
the once that deserves the most respect.
A risk is dangerous and you must only take it if you are fully informed of the
consequences. Whatever is false or untrue is a risk. It is dangerous the way a
risk is dangerous. It is more dangerous because it means you cannot know what
you are risking.
Sharing the truth does not make you smug or preachy. We all share knowledge
every day. People need to know the secrets of happiness. If they stay secrets
with you, then you are not doing much to help your own environment. You are not
giving people the chance to be happier. If they are not happy, they may leave
you feeling less happy too. Do not fear those who will misjudge you as smug or a
show-off. You can't let peoples view of you control what you do especially when
they are in the wrong.
There is nothing wrong with showing that you know something. Sometimes people
are not ready to learn from us. But they will never know they are ready or get
the chance to think about getting ready unless we become an inspiration.
Explain your position whenever you get the chance. Do that and you won't need to
evangelise.
In fact, rejoicing in your faith and telling people why you are happy is all you
need to do. It is the best way to share.
We must be the message. People need to know the message for our sakes. For
example, it is hard for you to thrive in a community that judges you. If you can
help that community see that it is mistaken to judge you then you will grow and
you will be more whole.
If anyone leaves you and curses the truth continue to be her or his friend.
There shall be no bigotry or pressure in the faith that puts people first.
Evangelism is not indoctrination or proselytising but making the faith
attractive to others. Let others feel that as there is no God you will do his
loving for them.
Practical atheism will often matter more than theoretical atheism when it comes
to attracting others to the faith.
The need for regular meetings
A system is needed to help the people grow. Each community must have a structure
for imparting the truth and supporting each other. Meeting with others who share
most of your life-changing attitudes frequently is helpful. And essential.
Meetings are useful for winning support and learning. We all need to be a part
of something.
Meetings help you learn from others. And they learn from you and you get a sense
of being supported by others with your worldview. Beliefs do not comfort you as
well if you are an island. They comfort you better when you join with
like-minded searchers and believers.
Reassurance is about making yourself believe and feel that the future will be
okay or that the problem we have will work out. But reassurance needs work. It
will vanish unless you know how to maintain it. And if I have to convince myself
things will be fine, that means I know they might not be. I am reinforcing my
fear and trying to overcome it with nice feelings. I am battling it. Instead of
letting it seep out of me I am empowering it by making it fight back.
It is important that there be a free flow of information and that everybody
feels they have a part to play. Nobody must be forced to do anything.
Even a half an hour in somebody's house where you get a chance to make a
testimony or impart a new insight or simply to engage in the communion of
friendship once a week would be an amazing catalyst for your spiritual progress.
Study the truth, select readings from it. These are just suggestions.
What you need is people who think like yourself and you need fellowship with
them so that you all can grow in the likeness of what a God should be together.
Pray to each other here and now and you will be close.
The Quaker system where the meeting is led by inspiration, the inner light,
would be a good one to embrace. It means you sit in silence waiting on the
inspiration. The inspiration could take the form of getting up to sing an
inspirational song, read from a self-help book with an atheist orientation or to
express an insight.
Families could have their own meetings.
We reject the term spiritual. What you need is a good psychology. It is
psychological service not spiritual service we are about. Spiritual is a term
used to hide how religion uses psychology and pretends it does not for it is a
job for the professionals.
Our hearts tell us that providing such service - for all it takes - is to be
without charge or for a small profit. Religions collecting lots of money to
build churches or getting paid for their work is wrong. Seeing the blessings the
true message can bring into lives is to be the only payment sought.
Faiths making too much money is wrong. They are only faiths and they cannot all
be correct. Though we offer wisdom we must not charge where possible. Let us be
confident then that when we give loving therapy for nothing or for little that
the rewards will surpass the money we could have charged but didn't.
It would be great if the important truths were written down sensitively and
beautifully and were distributed free to all and sundry. It would be great if it
could be a gift that we impart to the world in our joy.
Every time you find a new friend for the truth you make the world more special
for yourself. And what better reward would you want?
The truth will help your confidence improve. It is a big vote of confidence to
ask people to do what God is not there to do.
The truth comforts you with the promise of a permanent method of self-esteem
enhancement. Meditate often on the truth. Feel your confidence soar. Exercise
well. Eat well. Look after the body. You need to feel as good as you can
physically before you can expect to develop a healthy self-confidence. Feed on
truth every day and let it care for your growth as a wonderful integrated human
being.
The philosophy we teach on these pages, will not necessarily give you permanent
self-esteem but it will give you the permanent method of self-esteem. We seek to
give you a method of developing self-esteem that prevents you losing it if you
make mistakes. This encourages one to face any situation knowing that if things
go wrong her or his self-esteem will not be lost.
The testimony and evidence of the power of the message will come. And it must be
used as evidence. Evidence gives faith. And this leads to certainty.
Finally I affirm -
I affirm the key truths because they are the truth and they are the biggest
blessings I can embrace.
I affirm that understanding and accepting them all of my own accord is essential
as each of them is like a jigsaw piece and you need to put it all together to
see the whole picture.
I alone control my attitude to life and what it brings so I am my God.
I treat myself as creator of my life good and bad. I approach life as an
invitation to create. Pretend you are creating it. Then you feel more in
control. The fact that you do not literally create does not mean you cannot
intend to and feel as if you do.
I honour myself and others by honouring reason which stops us risking ourselves
needlessly and creating problems for those who have to work with the
consequences of irrationality.
I affirm that self-acceptance is the true form of self-love and self-esteem.
Self-acceptance means you accept you as you are for you alone have made yourself
what you are.
I affirm emotional healing rather than forgiveness for forgiveness is
judgemental.
I see others as okay even if flawed so I reduce my fear of others.
I know how to stop my reaction to the troubles of life making things worse for
me.
I know that happiness should be my god. I make it mine not by working for it but
by doing good without even thinking about it. Then it happens naturally.
This is my faith. It is my creation and it is the truth. It is my liberation and
it gladdens my heart.
