Religious decision-making in medieval contexts

Religious Dimension #13 & #14

Religions Dimension #13 and #14

Religion and Reality.

The levels of reality are terrestrial, intermediate, celestial, and infinite. One question for this perspective is whether these "higher" levels of reality, which are ultimately invisible, truly bring meaning to life. If they exist, then it makes sense that they would. But if we cannot prove that they exist, except out of personal experience which is not universal, then how could we base value on them? In other words, if there is more to life than we can see, hear, or touch, then why doesn't everyone understand this? Why does it not seem natural? Why do some people live as though these higher levels of reality are irrelevant? Have they lost their capacity for intuition? Is it the scientific worldview that has made it impossible to notice layers of the universe?

For example, when people in the government make decisions, they are not thinking about a higher reality. They think only of the present terrestrial world, the world of direct perceptions. It would seem that if higher realms exist, they would want to consider those also. There should be some reason for looking beyond this world when it comes to making laws. Maybe this goes back to the notion of a religious text as giving divine laws to the people. It seems like today things are so secular that there are no more reasons for basing political or social ideas on religion. That means that there is a disconnection between other realms of existence and the terrestrial realm. There is no spirituality in today's government or business. Technology and science have eliminated most of it. Does this mean that they are not connected to the ultimate meaning of things or to the infinite? In the past, like with the Native Americans, the leaders had a real connection with the spiritual world. They were acting and making decisions for the group based on this connection. Politics and social life were linked with spiritual life -- the land, spirits, ancestors, and myths. This question is important because it might show how far away from real spirituality modern society is. It focuses mainly on the terrestrial and pays little or no attention to the invisible world. Of course, it could say that the invisible world is superstition and unreal. It might not exist, or be part of an old system of belief that is primordial. It would see those old beliefs about an unseen realm or the infinite as absurd. But are they? Have they vanished?

Lecture 14: Religion and the Self.

The levels of self are body, mind, soul, and spirit. One sees a similar emphasis here in modern society. The body and mind are valued. Advertisements sell all kinds of products for the body, and health is a huge industry with gyms, sports, and diets. Mind is stressed through education and the way to succeed is to develop your mind rationally rather than be inclined to emotions or use it to experience through insight and intuition a spiritual value. The question is why the layers of soul and spirit are less important. Yes, there are lots of books about spirituality, but they are quick fixes. They play on people wanting to consume easy solutions for anxiety or health problems or lack of connection with other people. They are not replacements for a real view of oneself as possessing a spirit. It is the spirit part that connects with those higher layers of reality. So how come this part is less important? Is it because people are too busy these days with the physical world to do meditation to touch the other world? Is it because there is too much going on with the internet and business to pay attention to the real soul and spirit? Even music is commercial and rarely reaches the deeper levels of the self. What can be done to change this? It is important because there seems to be a shallow view of the self in the modern world. Does this shallow view no go as deep as it should? Have we lost a part of our real selves? What would it take to regain a real depth in ourselves? Would we have to spend most of our time meditating? Would we have to remove focus from our bodies and minds?