The Nature of Being: Thoughts from a Fellow Cosmic Traveler

By Fellow Cosmic Traveler

Who are we? Why are we here? Why are we unable to find true fulfillment in our lives even when we seem to have everything we need? All of us ask these questions at some point during our lives. From the richest most powerful person to the poorest and most desperate individual, we are all the same, travelers through our brief existence in this earthly domain. There is so much more to our true make-up than we can ever possibly perceive or understand. When we begin to understand who and what we really are, we can start to truly understand the grandeur of the True Nature of our Beings.

The author of this book is a fellow cosmic traveler. He has written this book in order to share the insights he has developed over a lifetime search for a better understanding of our place in the cosmic universe. He draws upon years of study and contemplation of religious, philosophical and scientific concepts to offer insights and ideas that provide a new understanding to many of life’s most important questions.

I wish you a wonderful journey
- a Fellow Cosmic Traveler -

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fellow Cosmic Traveler
• Release date: Jul 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310260582

Book preview

The Nature of Being

Thoughts from a Fellow Cosmic Traveler

Copyright 2014 by Fellow Traveler Press

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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From Me

To You

Table of Contents

Foreword

Chapter One: The Big Questions

Chapter Two: How Real is Reality?

Chapter Three: Religion

Chapter Four: Our Place in the Social World

Chapter Five: The True Nature of Our Beings

Chapter Six: It’s OK, Everything is OK

Epilogue: The Journey Continues

Back Cover

Foreword

There are times in everyone’s life when we stop and think about who we really are and what place we occupy in the vastness of the universe. Sometimes these moments are facilitated by periods of change or great loss. Sometimes they come from deep contemplation or spiritual pursuits. Some individuals may ponder these thoughts only a few times in their lives while others may spend an entire lifetime contemplating them very deeply.

The thoughts and ideas in this book have been developed over the span of my lifetime. The contemplation of our place in the cosmos has always been the most important element in my life. It is rooted in the very fiber of my being. Beginning in my teen years, I have constantly sought a better understanding of what and who we are in relation to the universe. I have spent numerous years reading and contemplating different schools of thought on this subject. This manuscript outlines the concepts and ideas that I have developed with regards to this topic over these past years.

This journey of understanding that I have been traveling is so deep and personal that until recently I have not shared it with anyone, believing that doing so would diminish its importance. To me, the understanding of my existence and my relationship with the universe and the creator of everything has always been the deepest and most important aspect of my life. It is a part of me that transcends the affairs of the world and it is just for me. I have never found the need to sell this aspect of myself by having to explain or defend it with others. In the past I had thought of writing down my thoughts in the form of a book, but it did not feel right to me at the time.

However, a few years ago I underwent a new period of awareness with respect to my cosmic journey. This life-changing period has prompted me to write these pages and share those thoughts and understandings that are most personal to me. My awakening was initiated by lighthearted interactions with a new friend, which allowed me the freedom to express a carefree side of myself that had been dormant for a very long time. The process of sharing this aspect of me was the catalyst that began an unfolding process that turned into a flood of interpersonal ideas and discoveries. I truly feel that there was cosmic guidance that directed me through this period of discovery. Every culture and religion has a concept of something that is believed to provide spiritual guidance to its followers, such as Divine inspiration, angels, cosmic guides, animal spirits, etc. The ancient Greeks had the Muses, the Hindus have Saraswati and other cultures have names for spirit beings that guide and inspire people. Guidance from sources outside of our selves can come from truly unexpected places or people and also at very unexpected times.

One of the results of this event occurring in my life was the understanding that it is not only OK to share my inner thoughts of the nature of things, but that it is something that I should do. In writing this book, I have put my understandings of our place in the cosmos in a form that can be shared with anyone interested in reading them. I share these thoughts knowing that many people will dismiss them, reject them or even become hostile towards them. I share them without any motive for personal gain or recognition. I share them with the understanding that you should take only what you want from this, only what feels right to you. There is no doctrine that I want to push on anyone. No donations to be sent anywhere. It will be totally up to you how you use the ideas that I present in the following pages.

There are no new ideas in this writing. Everything that I will present throughout these pages has been presented in one form or another in various texts written throughout history. My understanding of our place in the universe stems from the frameworks of others but has an understanding and organization of ideas that has been developed throughout a lifetime, my lifetime. There are so many concepts and ideas in the multitude of volumes written on the subject of spiritual and philosophical thought that the difficult part becomes separating the wheat from the chaff. Insights to significant ideas are realized at points in time; however, as additional time passes they become surrounded with meaningless words and rituals. After enough time passes, the words and rituals that surround the original idea become more important than the original truth. Many of us find ourselves reciting words we don’t understand or performing rituals that seem to have no context when we are practicing our religious observances. We also depend on others to tell us what we should believe or not believe, what is spiritual and what is not spiritual, what is moral and what is immoral, as if others have the ability to understand these things better than we can. We all have the ability to look into ourselves and look for our own answers. The answers we find will all be different, but if we look deep enough, they will be right for us.

It has been very difficult to put many of the thoughts presented in this book into words. The thoughts are within me, but when it comes time to express them you begin to see the real limitations that language can present. Many times there are just no words that capture the essence of the idea and only an approximation of the concept is possible. Language is also fraught with preconceived meanings that can change the connotation of things, especially if a concept lies outside of the context of normal life situations and experiences.

Not only is there a struggle with the confines of language, it is also accepted that everyone will bring their own individual understandings and beliefs with them when reading this. Because of this, the ideas presented in this book will need to fit in into each individual’s sphere of understanding, which will change the nature of the ideas that I am presenting, sometimes subtly and sometimes drastically. If someone comes to this book with an open mind to new concepts then they may find some thought provoking ideas within these pages. On the other hand, someone with a very rigid and uncompromising view of our place in the universe may find that many of the ideas that I present evoke an inflammatory reaction.

What is presented here shakes the very foundation of how we perceive ourselves, our beliefs and what we believe is important in our lives. As with other texts dealing with this topic, it will evoke many different feelings.

You would not know me by seeing me. I would look just like everyone else going to work, raising kids and doing yard work. You would not know who I am by talking to me as I would sound like countless others you interact with throughout the day. Yet, within, I believe that I am someone who sees things in a