Escape from Responsibilities?

Café-Salon Philosophique #11

April 4, 1998

No. of Participants: 16

Topic for the Evening's Discussion: Is belief in God a subtle and unconscious concealed escape from individual responsibility and the laziness to think for one's self? Or is this a route that may lead to enlightenment? And anyway, just what is God and what does the word "God" mean?

"Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know" Lao Tzu

The evening began with Samuel greeting newcomers and Cafe Guidelines being read by Stan. Samuel once again shared the purpose of Cafe-Philo. - A gathering where people can get together to explore worldly topics; for those who dare to question our very existence...

Samuel began the discussion with asking us to define who or what God is? Brad read to the group a computerized dictionary definition of God as a "supreme being, the highest in rank or authority, the supernatural." Samuel suggested that we define the word "God"for ourselves instead of running to the dictionary.

Someone talked about how the translation of the Bible from Hebrew has distorted the real meaning of words, stories and concepts. Centuries of confusion, misleading interpretations, and twisted perceptions, have caused wars, separation and hatred.

According to the Kabalistic tradition, Samuel said, certain parts of the Bible, like the first verse of Genesis, were written in a specific code of the Hebrew letters, known to whomever it is known. So, what is translated today as: "In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth" is actually, NOT "In the beginning, NOT created, NOT heaven and NOT earth at all. When one studies these codes, one finally is introduced into another realm of language, and understands and experiences a deep knowing of this "mysterious" first verse of Genesis of the Bible."

Marta had an idea that maybe "people use God as a way to focus or contemplate specific issues." She stated that, "prayer and meditation can offer one a means for becoming peaceful and still in order to try and find answers to whatever is troubling them."

Alison related how "most people learn to look for or seek God outside of themselves." This is an escape from taking the responsibility for look inward at the true nature of one's self.

Samuel agreed and added, "that things that we don't understand in the universe need to be explored and searched inwardly in order to find the "answers."

For Jean, "God is salvation. "He can answer our questions. God is not a person, place or thing. God is love - Love of the self which radiates to everything."

Homer believes God is "a Still, Small Voice. He stated, "that the voice calls and challenges you to transcend the narrowness of living that we occupy and lock ourselves up in." "It's transcending the ego. It calls for us to be better, more, deeper. Homer also stated that, "In today's society, we rarely take the chance to look at the world with wonder and awe. Instead, we stumble and struggle to know."

Relating to the "Still Small Voice" that Homer talked about, Samuel mentioned the original words in Hebrew as: "Kol Demama Dakka" - meaning: Sound and voice, thin and sharp in total silence and stillness. A space-time to listen and learn. This is just a Hebrew words translation, without going into the Kabalistic code, because no one present knows Hebrew enough to decipher this "mysterious" Kabalistic code Samuel is talking about. One must first learn the Hebrew language, then the code. And as Samuel has emphasized many times: "If you want to learn Shakespeare, you learn it in English, Moliere in French, Sanscrit in Hindu, and the Bible in Hebrew."

Someone reminded us that in this "World of Noise," we have forgotten how to listen. Samuel suggested: "There is a deep silence beyond words, a silence that does not mean the absence of noise. We need to find the space between sound and silence. Music and rhythm are between the cracks of the piano keys." And what Samuel calls "Le Centre du Silence" and Brad stated as, "that which has no name."

The group then discussed how "in the beginning," humanity developed the concept of God through religions in order to comprehend themselves, the natural phenomenon, and how the universe works. Samuel added how throughout history, we have gone far away from our own true nature, and our own essential selves. And how when we realize this fact, we begin to awaken to a new understanding of being, and begin to work on what is called in Kabalistic tradition "Tikkun Olam" -"The restoration of oneself and the world."

Attention turned to Stan describing his interpretation of God. "To me, God is money." "Money is the driving force to get what you want." He believes that if one has money, one has the power to buy anything that one wants. Jean stated that money can't buy love, happiness, or fulfillment.

Samuel then wondered by questing: Are our cells conscious? Are we, as an ensemble of cells and organs conscious? Who is the guiding power, managing all this organism we call ourselves? Is there an innate intelligence in the cell? How do cells communicate with one another? Can we evolve consciously? Do we know who we really are?

These were questions to ponder and reflect within oneself, publically and privately. He suggested not to actually look for an "answer." The "answer" is in the "quest" and the "quest may be the "answer."

Another point he asked us gently to consider was, "In the beginning was the dot, and the dot multiplied and began forming a line. Then the line, moved, curved, spiraled and formed triangles, squares and circles. Then volume and shape began to move and relate, and the conscious one created oneself and all of life." Can we conceive the simplicity of this metaphor? Do we see now, that we need to be awakened from this deep slumber, and begin the process of Restoration, to evolve to the next "unknown" and "mysterious" new way of being?

The next questions asked of us were: If you understood God, of if you were God and understood the secrets of creation and the universe, how would you communicate to humans with words that which is beyond words? How can you define the infinite with the tools of the finite? So, if you were God, and have this great knowledge, would you tell humans of today? Someone quietly stated that, they would keep silent and not tell, and allow humans to evolve in order to grasp the immensity of this knowledge.

To illustrate the moment of learning, Samuel quoted a Chinese wisdom of Lao Tzu from The Tao Te Ching saying: "Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know."

We then discussed how people like to "brush things under the carpet" when they do not understand something, and escape from facing issues by saying that, "God knows," "God willing," or "I am just human." People tend to let outside authorities tell them what to do, or they "parrot" what others say or do. Some people don't dare to enter a door with a sign written on it saying, "unknown."

Samuel reminded us once again that the purpose of the Cafe gatherings are to increase awareness and to stimulate thought, provoking ideas. He says that it's always good to become that "walking question mark." Someone asked, why are we afraid of our own ability to know? And anyway, what's wrong with being afraid? Fear can be a creative stimulant. Have you ever wondered why we have this urge to know? And to know what?

Brad said that he felt we were a conscious society, and how we have evolved as a society through education and experience. Samuel then said, maybe we are pretentious and think that we know, when in reality we are in the dark; that we are wearing too many masks of self-deception and delusion. Dana disagreed also with Brad and felt that a vast majority of society is still very much asleep and unconscious.

She sited examples of mass hypnosis in television watching, and how people make materialism the "idol" or "God." She continued by asking, "Isn't it amazing that the people with the responsibility and power of running our country are probably the least inadequate and enlightened?" Samuel called this state the "endarkenment" of pretentious and arrogant "leaders."

The evening quest ended with sincere thoughts of how one goes about using power, money, one's essential self and materialism. Also, how to use these forces wisely and intelligently, and begin the process to "learn how to learn" in order to discover and apply the work of self restoration and balance with all that is.

The next meeting of Cafe Salon Philosophique will be in the new meeting place of:

Barnes & Noble, 2915 Pearl Street, Saturday, April 18, 1998.

The evening's topic will be: Does love liberate our being? How do we understand this basic concept of love? Bring and invite your friends for an inspirational and meaningful evening.

Reported by Alessandra