You Are Alive

The necessity to wake up seems to be the central theme of 'Eastern religion,' whereas the idea of 'salvation' seems to be the central theme of 'Western religion.' The themes are faintly similar; however in Eastern religion 'you wake yourself up,' whereas in Western religion you are rescued by a savior of some kind.

Thus a devotee of Eastern religion engages in self study, whereas a devotee of Western religion studies the Bible or the Torah or the Koran. I am speaking in the most general terms of course. So I call the Eastern religions the 'psychological religions.' A better term might be, 'cognitive religions.' I call the Western religions, the 'save-our-ass religions.' I understand completely if you are a bit put off by that characterization: religion is a complex subject and I am oversimplifying. Nevertheless I would characterize the Western religions as 'save-our-ass religions' and the Eastern religions as 'save-my-life religions.'

I presume that you know about Western religion but may not be well informed about Eastern religion as I have characterized it. Therefore, if you will permit me to continue in the general vein of oversimplification, I will give you a small example of what (Ouspensky in particular) means by, 'self-study.' (If you already know this stuff then skip to the next post.)

Ouspensky begins (in The Fourth Way) with the idea of 'self-observation.' This is the creating of an 'internal mirror' of sorts, where you constantly hold in your consciousness the idea that you are alive (among other ideas). Self-observation is not easy. For example, try this: Next time you enter the super market try to remember that you are alive. Say to yourself something like, 'I am alive' at the same time you do your shopping. In order to do this you will have to create a kind of 'dual consciousness.' As you compare prices, interact with other people, move your shopping cart, select groceries, remember that you are alive. It is not as easy as it sounds.

Furthermore it is inefficient. You are using brain cells that could be better used to accomplish the task at hand, which is shopping. But this is only the beginning of self-study. If you do this often enough you will get good at it. You will be able to do you your shopping AND remember that you are alive. It is progress. (A better description might be that you will be able to constantly remember to realize as you do your shopping that you are alive. Whatever.)

What good is this? It seems to be inefficient, therefore un-Capitalistic, therefore un-American - not to mention un-Christian. And look at the bastions of 'Eastern religion:' India? Tibet? China? Japan? Quite right. To be 'personally awake' may not be a good thing on a macro level.

And I could go on and on with this but I see that I am getting much too complex. So I want to leave you with this single thought: you are alive. Remember that.