Ever since two alcoholics, Bill Wilson and "Dr. Bob", got together on Mother's Day in 1935 there has not been any addiction recovery tool more effective than the "Alcoholics Anonimous" which those two men began out of sheer desperation and hopelessness. Somehow they realized that they needed to reach out to other suffering alcoholics and help one another, a monumental spiritual insight that we will discuss shortly. Since that memorable day, the 12-step recovery programs have spread the world over, and the same steps have been adapted for dealing with other addictions, both chemical and behavioral. As we will see momentarily, these 12 steps, if worked correctly and in accordance with the spiritual and holistic principles, do open the doors to recovery, the doors that have been shut tight against any other medical and non-medical interventions. Many people believe that the "12 steps" must have been "divinely inspired", and this is actually quite possible considering their deep spiritual meaning and their easy and natural "fit" with the main holistic principle - our tri-dimensional nature of Mind, Body and Spirit. In fact, many people report that they have become better persons as a result of "working the 12 steps", something that is not unusual, and is fully consistent, with spiritual awakening.

Each of the 12 steps exercises the mind in its own particular fashion, removing layers and layers of "addiction mentality" and making it more and more possible for the Spirit to re-assert its dominance with the resultant personality changes necessary for recovery. If we were as smart as we sometimes think we are, the very action of 12-step spirituality should have convinced us long time ago of the correctness of holistic approach to addictions, even if there were nothing else to prove it. Each one of the 12 steps moves an alcoholic or addict further and further away from the low levels of consciousness associated with "addictive thinking" and ever closer to the higher levels of consciousness of the dimension of the Spirit.

"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanaeable."

The first step that most people make on a spiritual journey is to admit that the old ways don't work. We have run out of all the possible excuses, we have burned all the bridges that we could burn, we have tried to turn the things around our way, but instead of getting better our lives have gotten progressively worse in all respects, material, emotional and spiritual. This very first step is a spiritual breakthrough because it recognizes that we are not in any way "special", no matter what we had thought about ourselves in the past, that we are hopelessly addicted to a substance or a behavior, and that, finally, the addicted mind is ready "to lay down the arms" and stop resisting the real change, the change that it itself has not been able to provide. It is, paraphrasing Bill Wilson, "... the loss of one's old life as a condition for finding a new one." Well, all the wisdom traditions say just about the same thing: we need to allow our "lower selves" to die in order for our "higher, spiritual Selves" to be born. This is the very purpose of the spiritual journey. And when do most of the people embark on such a journey? When they cannot deny even to themselves any longer that the old ways, the ways of the "lower self" are not working. As we admit that we were powerless and that our lives had become unmanageable, we introduce a healthy dose of humility into our awareness. "The meek shall inherit the earth", said Jesus, and the simple reason for that is that when we are humble or "meek", we have removed ourselves from the false "protection" of our earthly mind, or ego, and placed ourselves under the true protection of the Spirit.

"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

Importantly, the 2-nd step recognizes three very important principles. First, it acknowledges the existence of a "Higher Power". Not the intellect, not the scientific breakthroughs, not the "will power", but a "Power greater than ourselves." When we even "remember" that such a Power exists, this alone is transformative, as we no longer feel nearly as helpless as before, when we believed for a long time, and to our utter frustration, that it was "us" against the "world". Secondly, we realize that only that Power, that is greater than ourselves, greater than all the "intellectual" reasoning or willpower of ourselves or others could "restore us to sanity." So, we have actually admitted to ourselves and our fellow human beings that we were "insane." We were not "misunderstood", we were not treated unfairly by the "cruel hand of fate", we were not the victims of others, although we certainly fell victims to a disease called addiction, the only disease known to men that convinces its victims that they do not have it. We begin to realize that when we hold allegiance to an entity that is destoying us, it is insane.

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

Now, this is a step of action. Not only have we recognized that there is the Higher Power, not only have we realized that It alone could restore us to sanity, but we actually made a decision to turn our lives to this Higher Power of our individual understanding. Spiritually and holistically speaking, we have decided to allow ourselves to finally come under the only Protection there is, the Protection of the Spirit, the only Protection fully immune to the ups and downs of this world and our own minds when they try to function on their own. Many alcoholics and addicts, when they first come to treatment, are "angry" with God or do not believe in Him. There are others who are fearful of God, as they feel they may be deserving of "punishment." Naturally, those people hesitate to "turn their lives over to God." Fortunately, the AA esposes the idea of a loving, forgiving God, the same idea Jesus had of "our Father", the same idea all the spiritual and wisdom traditions hold when it comes to God or Universal Spirit.
In addition, there are real agnostics or atheists who need help in their struggle with addictions, so what can they do? Fortunately, and even beyond these people's own understanding, the Divine is more "flexible" than we realize. The Divine can manifest to us in many different forms, so when atheists and agnostics appeal for help and protection of the Power of their own understanding, such a power can be expressed through the Group's Unity, Understanding and Love. And what are these qualities the expressions of? The Spirit of God, of course, whether we understand it or not. CNN recently reported very encouraging poll numbers telling us that more than 92% of the United States' population believe in God or the Universal Spirit. So then, more than 92% of us at the very least believe in such a thing as the Spiritual dimension to ourselves, a great help in the addicts' search for recovery.
The first three steps of the 12-step program take the pressure off an alcoholic or addict. There is the safe haven after all; there is the Power that  can help if we recognize It and appeal to It; our lives do have the potential to become meaningful if we allow this to happen; and our Spiritual dimension must take charge of our minds and bodies in order for this to manifest. All of it, ladies and gentlemen, is as close to a genuine spiritual path as it can get. People ask me sometimes, How do we actually come in contact with our Spiritual dimension, with the Spirit within us? Well, as A COURSE IN MIRACLES, that giant of the modern Christian inner thought tells us, the ego, or our self-created earthly mind vaguely feels that there is something greater than it, even if we are not addicted to anything. When we say, my mind, my body, my car, my addiction, who is that "I" that we mean? Surely it is not the same thing as the body, car, or addiction, or otherwise we would not even perceive the difference between the two. Our "I" must be something different from the things or entities that "belong" to it, and we will soon get to the discussion of what that "I" really is, but for right now I will say that in order for our minds and our spiritual dimension to come into contact and alignment, we need to remove many layers of erroneous thinking patterns, or what the Gnostics call the layers of ignorance. The effect will be similar to that which results when we wash our windows: suddenly the sunlight can come in, whereas before it could not.
Step four produce the first tangible results of the three steps worked on previously:

"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves"

This is where the real action is! We actually look deep inside ourselves and illuminate with the Light of honesty every little dark corner of our addicted minds. As A COURSE IN MIRACLES explains, we don't really have to fight the "darkness." It will disappear on its own as soon as the Light is let in. This is also the step when the darkness of denial is put to the ultimate test. Will it disappear? Yes, it will, but only if sufficient amount of Light is allowed inside, so that there is no space left for it to hide. I recommend to everyone on a spiritual path, not just to alcoholics and addicts, to go over the day's events in the reverse order right before sleep, so that we can look at every event of a given day and decide if we could have done something better, more productively, more constructively, more lovingly than how we actually did it. The more Light we allow inside, the closer we are to our spiritual dimension, the better we are able to see our own errors and the clearer will we eventually perceive how to avoid or correct them. But, as all of us know, seeing the errors of our ways is not enough.

"Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

So far, this may be the most important milestone in recovery because alcoholics and addicts are not "big" on admitting their wrong actions to anyone, not to God, not to another human being, and not even to themselves.
But we need to unburden our souls by honest admission of wrongdoing, we need to forgive ourselves as well as others when they share the same things with us. This unbroken chain of forgiveness is called the Atonement in A COURSE IN MIRACLES, and if it were more widely practiced we might be able to solve many more of the world's problems than just our immediate concerns in recovery. The reason for this is that only if we extend to others the forgiveness that they seek, we may expect the same forgiveness in return, and in order to achieve this result the honesty required by step 5 must be shared and supported in the 12-step groups. An alcoholic or addict can also admit his wrongdoings to a member of the clergy or to his or her sponsor in the 12-step "home" group.  If the steps 4 and 5 are thoroughly worked on, the probability of relapse is significantly diminished and the sense of confidence in the eventual recovery is strengthened.

"Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

We all, but especially the alcoholics and addicts, have the defects of character. These defects are a product of our earthly ego or that "unobserved" mind of ours created as a result of what A COURSE IN MIRACLES calles the "state of separation" from God. We will talk much more about it elsewhere, but it suffices to mention here that as we find ourselves on this material earthly plane, in this material condition which by its very nature implies limitations, our minds develop many "character defects" which the ego uses as "tools of survival." This tendency, common to the human condition as it is, is especially pronounced among alcoholics and addicts, who need not only to survive, but to survive in the presence of active addiction. Let's conceptualize it this way: limitations predispose to the formation of character defects; addiction greatly increases the limitations that are already present in our material existence. Therefore, more numerous and more severe character defects are present in alcoholics and addicts. So, how do we all, and especially alcoholics and addicts get rid of our character defects? Only by healing the "state of separation" and finding our way back to God as we understand Him, and in order to do that we must access our own spiritual dimension and appeal to it to take charge of our lives. These character defects are so deeply entrenched in the minds of alcoholics and addicts that the "mind action" alone cannot deal with them any more than it can deal with addictive behavior itself.

"Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

This step turns the intention into action. As we in general, but especially the people struggling with addictions, finally realize that neither the "intellectual powers", nor the "scientific breakthroughs", nor the will power, nor any other kind of non-spiritual intervention can remove the character defects so common to the human condition, but especially detrimental in the presence of an addiction, we then "humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings."
People with "active addictions" tend to be quite sure of themselves, so sure of themselves and "blameless" that it is always someone else's fault that everything is falling apart. The family members, friends, employers, therapists, doctors, "they are all the same" in the eyes of an alcoholic and addict, they just "don't understand me and don't care about me." In fact, according to an addict, it is because "everybody is against me", that the use of alcohol, drugs or certain behaviors, such as gambling, becomes "necessary." Step seven dissolves this faulty and delusional perception of reality and adds another healthy dose of humility fully necessary to get "in touch" with our spiritual dimension and to appeal to God to "remove our shortcomings." Our shortcomings, not those of the family members, friends, employers, therapists or doctors...

"Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all."

Addictions leave in their wake quite a havoc when it comes to relationships with other people. This is no surprise because "active addiction" does not care about anything or anyone, except as it relates to its own survival. In fact, even according to the "orthodox" science, addiction takes over our "limbic system", the primitive part of the brain responsible for the "survival instincts." Consequently, the alcoholics and addicts act to protect their addiction with the same vigor as we would act to preserve our breathing or food intake, for example. And, as a result, everything and everyone become "expendable" for the sake of maintaining the addiction. But we all need to establish healthy relationships with other people; we do not live in a vacuum, and we can never be happy in a state of isolation. This applies to an even greater extend to the recovering alcoholics and addicts who really need a quality "support system", especially that of family and friends. This step also helps to build integrity, another indispensible quality we must develop if we want our spiritual dimension to take over and to restore the balance in our lives that nothing else can effectively restore for us.

"Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

As we all know, good intentions alone are not "good enough." We must actually take action on our good intentions, lest they remain the empty promises that do no good to anyone or to ourselves. This step is one of the most difficult steps of the whole program, and it is best done in cooperation with the "sponsor", who is most likely to be someone in a stable recovery from the addict's "home group." Step nine requires a great deal of courage and right judgment, but it also teaches the addict to take responsibility for her actions. To successfully complete this step may be tricky because "making amends" to people must be balanced against "injuring them or others", but considering the turmoil the alcoholism and addictions leave in their wake, all amends must be made carefully and judiciously. Very often, when we are "in the throes" of an active addiction, our actions are simply embarrassing, but we must courageously face our own shame and really make the apologies for our past behavior. Only then can we successfully forgive ourselves and expect forgiveness from others.

"Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

What happens with our muscles when we are bedridden or do not exercise enough? They atrophy and become weak, which often requires a rehabilitation or exercise program. Well, the same thing happens to our minds if we don't properly and continuously "exercise" them. But in this situation we must have the best "exercise instructor" there is, and that is our spiritual dimension. As we may have detected already, properly going through the "steps" inches us closer and closer to that elusive dimension of ourselves, the only one which can bring our addiction-ravaged being to the wholeness and balance and joy of living again. Taking personal inventory is a spiritual exercise that the mind needs. It "cleans house" of the negative feelings, thoughts and emotions that not only weigh down on us, but can actually precipitate the relapse because of the associated guilt. Promptly admitting our mistakes also makes it less likely that we will repeat them. It shows us and everyone around us that we are, after all, changing for the better, that we are putting our best efforts into reshaping our lives and our interaction with others. For how can we possibly correct the mistakes unless we promptly admit them? Admitting mistakes and correcting them builds character and removes layer after layer of distorted thinking that had been blocking the Light of the Spirit from reaching our minds.

"Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

As we are approaching the end of our journey through the 12 steps, our final goal is finally in sight. And what may that be, you might ask. That is nothing less than the union of our minds and our spirits. The key words in this step are "our conscious contact with God". How can we possibly, addicted or not, maintain a conscious contact with God? The answer to this question is controversial, but this is the only answer that the mystics have given through many centuries of their insight and intuition. There are people who will find this answer strange, even frightening, but I strongly urge everyone who reads this to at least think about it. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is inside us and outside of us." What this means is that the Spirit of God is already inside us, we just did not know about It or how to reach It. I just did a spiritual intervention on a patient who reported a significant improvement just from knowing that the Spirit of God is not in some "distant Heaven" and difficult to reach, but that It is actually in us, waiting to be discovered and approached, waiting to take us back to happiness and wholeness. Step eleven is not just for alcoholics and addicts, this step is the essense of the spiritual life, this is what we all strive to do as we embark on the "path." When the layers of distorted thinking (or what the Gnostics call ignorance) are finally removed, the Light of the Spirit reaches our minds and illuminates them like the sunlight on a bright, sunny day. Remember the question that was asked before, and the comment about the nature of our true "I" that is not to be confused with "my thoughts", "my body" or "my addiction?" The mystics assure us that the Spirit we just discussed, that illuminating presence "inside us" is none other than our true "I". And this "True I" in one person is exactly the same as It is in another person, and in yet another person... Our Spiritual Essense is shared by us all! We are all One at the Source! This is exactly why, the mystics explain, on the spiritual level there is no separation, no "dualities" and no limitations. When we recover from the addiction, a great void that is practically infinite, opens up in our lives that may even lead to relapse. No surprise there since our whole lives revolved around a substance or behavior we were addicted to. And what do you think can easily fill that "infinite void?" The Infinite Spirit, that's what. So, what we have achieved as a result of our journey has not been just an abstinence from alcohol, or drugs, or gambling, or overeating, or whatever the case might be; we found our true, eternal and immortal I AM - ness, the meaning of life that comes with knowing our real Identity. This is why Jesus said so many years ago, "The same things that I do you will do, and even greater things than I do you will do." All the great seers of human history agree on this point. In this regard the prayer and meditation do help a great deal, this is how those who came before us have discovered these immortal truths. When we realize our true Identity, what addiction can possibly stand up to such a Power, such a Might? When we know that "my cravings" are not the real "me", how simple it is to quickly recognize them for what they are and spiritually "discard" them with all other unnecessary "material garbage" that may disrupt the unity of "our" minds and our Spiritual Selves? "But what about my brain?" - some people have asked me. "I heard that addiction is a brain disease, caused by a chemical imbalance." Yes, addiction is a brain disease, but the changes in the brain are secondary to the "malfunction" of the "separated" mind, although this "malfunction" may be tied in some ways to our genetic make-up. When the mind is "separated" from the spiritual dimension, it easily falls prey to what we call "gravitational pull of materiality." This means that until the proper Mind-Body-Spirit balance is restored, there is nothing available to counteract our "bad genes" or emotional distess, or whatever else that may precipitate the addiction. The spiritual awakening will heal the brain through healing of the mind, but the spiritual "connection" must be maintained at all times in order to preserve this balance. Needless to say, a total abstinence from any mind-altering substances or behaviors that caused addiction is required, but this is not a problem under the watchful "eye" of the Spirit. In any case, we cannot and should not be satisfied just with "abstinence". We want joy and fullness in our lives, and this is what we will have as a result of our "conscious contact with God." When our minds want a conscious connection with Spirit above all else, we have reached a monumental milestone in our spiritual growth.

"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to alcoholics (and addicts), and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

We are now at the very end of this wonderful journey to recovery. But there is the thing in this Universe of ours: the beginnings and the ends are ultimately one. Every new beginning only seems to eventually come to an end, but there is always the beginning of something else in the endless Cosmic "dance" that takes place in Infinity and Eternity. And so it is with our spiritual awakening and our recovery; we keep it best ourselves if we take it to others. We can only receive what we give, this is the Law of Circulation that is, just like the Law of Gravity or the Law of cause and effect, considered to be the immutable Law, created by God for Eternity. When recovering alcoholics and addicts carry their message to those who are still blinded by active addiction, the Law of Circulation is activated in the endless circle of giving and receiving. It is only when we truly know these things, and we only truly know when we have a personal inner experience, that we doubt no more. We are recovering. We connected with the Spirit. We reclaimed our lives and our true Identities. We found the ultimate meaning of life. We carry the torch. We know.

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Any person contemplating the spiritual path may be easily confused and bewildered by a huge variety of "spiritual" books being published and all kinds of "spiritual advisors" promising "enlightenment" and all sorts of "benefits" that go with it - successful career, improved family life, better sleep, increased energy - you name it. In reality, however, the spiritual "journey" requires a great deal of personal effort and even personal sacrifice. That's why the classical spiritual literature stresses a lot of hard work one must be willing to undertake and no visible rewards, at least in the beginning. We all know the famous biblical quote, "Many are called, but few are chosen" which is, actually, the essense of the spiritual "journey" lying ahead of those who are determined enough to undertake it. Jesus of Nazareth understood these truths well when he said: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). There is also the potential for personal sacrifice along the "Way": "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:35), or "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:37). By putting it this way, Jesus did not necessarily mean this to be taken literally but the allegory expresses well enough the depth of personal sacrifices one must be willing to make along the way to higher knowledge.

What then can we expect to get out of the Inner Wisdom traditions, out of the true Gnostic Enlightenment?

Well, from the point of view of ordinary reality of this materialistic, and for the most part ignorant world, NOTHING.
A COURSE IN MIRACLES is quite explicit on this point: "The world I see holds nothing that I want" - says one of the lessons. Quite a difference all this makes compared with many loud promises of modern "spiritual advisors", don't you think? In fact, the beginning of our "awakening" is often accompanied by an emerging sense of deprivation: we may actually start losing the material things we have held quite dear before; we may start realizing the emptiness and ignorance that surround us on every side; we may not lose everything, but we will definitely lose that which is false. In A COURSE IN MIRACLES this is called "undoing". As heartbreaking as it may turn out to be for some people, we begin to realize that what we had previously put all our trust in, is not really trustworthy; it is rather like the sand on which a foolish man built his house in Jesus' parable. It appears as if it had actually been easier to live the life of illusions, given that the journey to enlightenment can be so hard and painful. Many people may get depressed or even require some kind of psychological help. John of the Cross, a famous 15-th Century mystic, called this stage of the spiritual journey the "dark night of the soul". We can even hardly hope for a proper psychological support from the mainstream materialistic "experts" who may instead "diagnose" us with a psychiatric disorder, especially if we confess of having had "spiritual experiences".

So far I have painted a rather gloomy picture of what is in store for us, spiritual seekers, when we embark on what may prove to be a lonely, difficult and life-long "journey" to the top of that "hill" of spiritual attainment that is so well illustrated by the Tarot card number 9: http://st09.startlogic.com/~pendrago/tarotcard/00-ma-09.html
Well, at least now two things should become pretty clear: there will be no false promises made on this website; and we now can well understand why it is that "many are called, but few are chosen".

Fortunately, there is something extremely precious that we get as we progress on the journey, something that, for a "few that are chosen" will more than make up for all the hard work, all the perceived "losses", all the loneliness, all the heartaches. It is the only thing worth having in this empty, chaotic world, poisoned by materialism and ignorance, and that is YOURSELF. This is that "pearl of great price" the Jusus' parable speaks about, for which a man "sells all he has". You will reclaim your true I, that deathless and eternal essence that is the real you, and as you reclaim it more and more, you will realize that you really need nothing else. When this milestone of the spiritual "journey" is reached, the "dark night of the soul" is nearing its end. Gradually, ever so slowly, the quality of the world around us begins to change; it will seem more vibrant, more "alive". As we realize that we share our true nature with our neighbors, we do begin to see the sense of the Jesus' instruction to "love your neighbor as you love yourself". We begin to be more attuned to nature around us; the feelings of deep love and compassion start floating to the surface of our minds; new and deeper friendships and relationships begin to form around our new "selves"; we feel a renewed sense of responsibility arising from inner intiative, the responsibility that actually pushes us beyond the surface appearances, toward finding the deeper truth in every situation we encounter. Even the idea of taking an unfair advantage of another human being, or of the nature for that matter, becomes utterly repulsive. It is probably for this reason that author Boris Muravieff suggested that, perhaps, our world would be a much better place if the people who have attained the spiritual "realization" were actually in charge, because these people know right from wrong and would act in the spirit of Unity, instead of divisions.

So, what can we expect happening in this world as the time goes on? Well, many experts agree that we are starting to gradually "wake up" to our spiritual potential, that our collective consciousness is currently evolving; I believe this to be true, and we can see the evidence of this in the recent nomination of Barack Obama for the Presidency of the United States of America. It does not take a genius to see that without a certain (and much higher than before) level of collective consciousness, this would be possible only in a dream. Author and scholar Richard Smoley, in his book about the Gnostic legacy, notes that the so-called "logical positivism" which is nothing other than modified version of Marxist "dialectical materialism" is being discarded as a philosophical underpinning of reality as any materialistic "theory" should be; even the orthodox scientists, especially quantum physicists, realize more and more that our physical senses can detect only a minute fraction of the overall reality, whether magnified by modern machinery or not. Serious scientists, and not just "dreamy mystics" are now talking of the survival of consciousness after the physical death, and of the "non-locality" of consciousness, and of the physical manifestations arising out of consciousness, and not the other way around. We see more and more clearly that we need to change the state of consciousness, both individual and collective, in order to produce a new material reality, be it in politics or in addiction treatment. It is as if the world as it existed before, and as symbolyzed by the Tarot card number 12 http://www.free-tarot-reading.net/meanings/major_arcanum/12.php, or the world "upside-down", which is what the materialistic perception is, is being radically changed by the Light of gnosis more and more profoundly. And as ignorance is finally defeated as symbolized by the card number 16 http://www.free-tarot-reading.net/meanings/major_arcanum/16.php, the "shining city on the hill", meaning higher collective consciousness or, in the words of the scholar Eckhart Tolle, "the new Earth" will be built for the benefit of the renewed and enlightened humanity.

I strongly suggest that the reader of this article do two things before reading it. First thing is to open your eyes, but not your material eyes, with which you will not see anything, but your spiritual eyes which, if opened wide enough will see it all. The second thing is to read my article "Basic Understanding of Mysticism" because it will make this particular article much clearer.
But let's start with materialistic worldview right now, because materialistic thinking is still very prevalent in this world, much more prevalent than the mystical spirituality I am trying to teach. Even when people say that they believe in God, it is no guarantee whatsoever that these people are actually "connected" with anything other than their purely material surroundings. They may go to church once a week, say a couple of prayers and then go about their everyday business in this world, even supporting the materialist causes, if it helps their careers, or their "standing" in the "conventional" scientific community, for example. Poetess Lee Carroll Pieper said it most exquisitely:

"Many are called, but most are frozen
In corporate or collective cold
These are the stalled who choose not to be chosen
Except to be bought and sold."

So, what exactly are the materialists saying that puts their philosophy in such a diametrically opposite position from the mystical spirituality that if we multiply the infinity by the infinite number, the resulting distance would still be too short?

First and foremost of what the materialists say is that there is no God and no spiritual realm whatsoever. It is the matter, like the physical elements that has simply "existed forever." The matter and energy are interchangeable, of course, the materialists cannot deny that, but in the end our "measurable" energy is matter as well. So, the matter exists forever, just changing forms, and under the "favorable" conditions it "evolves" to produce higher and higher forms of life. There is nothing special about life, in materialist's view. That is not to say that none of them value life, but we will have to agree that if life, after all, is just a product of matter, over time (and it has been explicitly demonstrated in atheistic societies), it becomes valued less and less. The only thing that "moves" a materialist is the matter, because this is the only thing he believes in. But then the problems begin: if the matter, which is our brains, "produce" our minds, our thoughts and our feelings, how can our minds influence matter even in the most non-spiritual way? How can the mind "decide" that the brain that "produced" it is sick, as with addiction, for example? The materialists do not believe in the infinite consciousness, either. They hold that consciousness is none other than "epineuronal" activity produced as a "by-product" of the function of the nerve cells. The materialists always promise us freedom "from superstition" if and when they come to power as a unified force, but all that they have given us again and again under those circumstances was tyranny. I will address this particular issue elsewhere, but right now I believe we can all agree on this point looking back at the Soviet Bolshevik Empire or any other Marxist State. But, you might say, why does it always have to be a "Marxist State?" Well, ladies and gentlemen, because this is the only way the atheists can come to power. There are, of course, a lot of tyrannies that are not Marxist (and "orthodox" theocracies as well as Nazi Germany would be a good example), so the reverse is not necessarily true. The tyranny does not have to be Marxist, but the materialistic tyranny will always be Marxist, and, therefore, atheist. I think that one important point needs to be stressed here. Not every atheist is a Marxist. This allegation is not true, and I would never argue otherwise. But, on the other hand, every Marxist is an atheist, because atheism lies at the very heart of Marxist doctrine. Even though an avowed atheist is very unlikely to come to political power in this country, atheists can and do come to substantial corporate or scientific authority without having to even ever mention God. One thing that is most frightening about the materialist/Marxist tyranny is that it is always afraid of the human mind. Those "leaders" don't value the intellectual discourse or independent thinking. For them, it is the masses of the "proletariat" that assume priority, that is the most "carnal" (or non-spiritual) segments of society, the most uneducated, the most easily seduced by deception. It is they who bring those people to power, and it is they who keep them in power. If we remember the ancient Gnostic teachings, especially those of the great Valentinus, we will easily understand why it is so. The most "carnal" segments of society can be easily deceived into believing that instead of getting closer to God and Its Spirit in order to overcome the unfavorable life circumstances, what is "needed" is the total denial of God and proclaiming atheism as the official doctrine of the "proletariat." Wasn't it Karl Marx himself who said that "Religion is opium for the people?"  And the believers? Oh, my God, they are the number one enemy! Why? Because the believers threaten the very cornerstone of the materialistic/atheistic worldview, and that is that there is "something out there" that actually creates matter. For an atheist the body always takes precedence over the mind. But  A COURSE IN MIRACLES gives us this insight instead:

"No one in his right mind could possibly believe that the body is more real than the mind is, and no one in his right mind does believe it."

Therefore, as opposed to the atheists' promises of a "more fair" society "free from superstition", their first overwhelming urge upon coming to power, whether it is the State power or corporate power is to strangle freedom and establish the strict censorship, denying access to any information that would bring the truth of God and the spiritual vision of Reality to the masses. What is the one single belief that is common among the Marxists of all cultural backgrounds and historical periods, from Karl Marx to Lenin to Stalin to Trotsky to Ho Chi Ming to Fidel Castro? What is it, ladies and gentlemen? Militant atheism is that one single feature that unites them all, that makes them all the same. Prove me wrong, whoever you are, by pointing out even one free Marxist society!
Not possible, because it does not exist, has never existed and will never exist. We can only be truly free when we seek Unity by identifying with our Spiritual Essence that is the same for all of us and that has the true potential to bring Unity and Love to humanity instead of the perpetual "state of separation", and we cannot "bridge" our separation from one another without first overcoming our "separation" from God and His Spirit!

Being unable to seek unity in the only place where it can be found, and that is in the Realm of the Spirit, the atheists in power strive to "unite" people behind their "cause" by creating a certain "ideal" which will invariably be "achieved" in the "future", not in the NOW. And, the atheists will "assure" us, this "ideal" of a "better society" can only be achieved by blind obedience to the "leader", who knows best, from Vladimir Lenin to the "dear leader" in North Korea, and by eliminating all those who "stand in the way of progress." The true horror of atheist's rule lies in the simple fact that, by denying God, such a ruler will himself actively pursue the role and the powers of God.
Of course, in order to "acquire" the God-like powers, the atheists in the positions of authority do whatever is necessary to suppress the knowledge of the real God, however It may manifest Itself to different people depending on their cultural, ethnic or religious backgrounds. As a result, any Marxist/atheist society will end up gripped by fear to the point where the citizens are forced to applaud whatever decision the "leader" makes, or go to forced labor camps or psychiatric prisons. The believers are usually those who go first. Jews and homosexuals follow soon thereafter. Jews - because they need their religious identity to survive as a Nation, and this puts them into an immediate and direct conflict with the atheist regime. Homosexuals - because the Marxist governments declare them "an affront to the proletariat morality." This is the Marxist/atheist "freedom from superstition" that comes with their ascension to State power.

Fortunately, we are privileged to live in a country where, according to the most recent poll, 92% of the population believe in God or "Universal Spirit", as reported by CNN a couple of days ago. Of the remaining eight percent of the population, about 6-7 percent are agnostics (or the ones that simply "don't know", as opposed to Gnostics) if God exists or not. The remaining 1-2 percent are atheists, the people who claim that they "know" that God does not exist.  This country, however, was founded on spiritual principles of Gnosis, as our first President George Washington, as well as many other "Founding Fathers" were Free Masons, which is one of many different modern euphemisms for Gnosticism. "In God We Trust" is written on our currency because, no matter what else we "trust" in, our "trust" in God comes first, according to the Founding Fathers. In his recent "faith - based" initiative, our future President, Sen. Barack Obama addressed the importance of faith in our society as a fully necessary prerequisite for keeping our freedoms. Barack Obama called for "secularism" to recognize the simple fact that the believers don't have to renounce their faith in order to enter the public service or professional activities. And we will never become a society where any particular "brand" of spiritual instructions will become "dominant" over all others, but we will also never become an atheistic society because we will not be seduced by the empty, deceptive rhetoric of those who will certainly take our cherished freedoms away from us. All the truly great thinkers of all times have believed in a "Higher Power." Einstein believed that science and mysticism investigate "different orders of Reality", while the giant of modern psychoanalytic psychology, Carl Gustav Jung, when asked in an interview if he believed in God, responded, "I don't need to believe. I know". And how in the world could he know such a thing? Only by having the spiritual vision of Reality. Otherwise, it is not possible to "know" these kinds of Truths.

As opposed to some people's beliefs, the spiritual teachers are firmly in favor of scientific progress. I just heard recently that the so-called "silicon valley" in California, the site of the cutting-edge computer science research, is a "hotbed" of esotericism (another euphemistic term for Gnosticism). Why is that? Because the scientists who are really at the "cutting edge" of new discoveries perceive the Intelligent Force beyond their most daring theories. Francis S. Collins, the head of the Human Genome Project, presents the scientific evidence of such a Force in his acclaimed book "The Language of God."
In the science of Addiction Medicine, even though the holistic principles of treatment are no longer looked upon as "quackery", the true acceptance of Mind-Body-Spirit approach is still not a widespread reality, and the Doctors who promote such an approach face many obstacles on their path. The "conventional" science still considers the word "Spirit" to be somewhat of a "taboo", an attitude that we need to work hard to change. What is most amazing is that the holistically inclined medical professionals never deny the value of medical scientific research and of the new treatments it brings to the "therapeutic table." All we are saying is, Let's treat the "whole" person, Mind, Body and Spirit. Let's train professional counselors who can show our patients their true Identities and the internal balance they need to achieve to gain the "upper hand" over addictions. Let's recognize once and for all that the very foundation of addiction treatment, that of the 12-Step Recovery Programs, was founded on the solid spiritual basis and, if there had not been such a spiritual basis to addiction treatment, all our current physical remedies would be much less effective. But as our understanding of Reality deepens while our traditional approaches to addiction treatment remain largely unsatisfactory, the medical community will be forced to pay more and more attention to the causes of various addictions, instead of simply to their results in the world of material effects, whether under the microscope, in the Methadone clinic, or in the patients' lives.

In any case, the Orthodox Christian theism summarizes God's eventual defeat of evil in this manner:

1. God is all-good and desires to defeat evil.
2. God is all-powerful and is able to defeat evil.
3. Evil is not yet defeated.
4. Therefore, evil will one day be defeated.

I should point out that I have serious theological issues with this particular position. If God is able to defeat evil, why does it have to be "one day" and not right now? Secondly, if all evil is defeated or "overcome", how will we be able to even appreciate a "total good" that will result without any point of comparison? Even though we will not discuss the Gnostic theologies in detail in this article, as this article is about the orthodox theistic perspective, and Gnostic views have been and will be discussed elsewhere in the previous and future articles, it is worthwhile to note that most Gnostic thinkers believe that, even though no evil was intended by the Original Creator, there are secondary deities in the spiritual realm who are either unwilling or unable to carry out the original intent of the Supreme Being, and this especially refers to the so-called Demiurge (or craftsman") who created our particular world, but either was deficient in his abilities or, as some postulate, simply could not do any better considering that he had to work with the "inferior material", i.e. physical matter.

My personal view is that of some other Gnostic schools of thought asserting that both good and evil "principles" were actually created by God, (as in Light and Darkness) and that both are needed for a balanced Universe, but that we, as human beings should use our "free will" to identify with the "forces of light" as opposed to the "forces of darkness". I believe that my view is directly supported by the Bible, as in "I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all those  things" (Isa. 45:7). I further believe that the orthodox theists have a real problem with this passage from the Book of Isaiah, as it clearly and unambiguously states that God is the origin of everything, even if just in the form of potentialities that the lower deities (and by this I mean anyone with the creative abilities, including our own species) are responsible for materializing in accordance with the degree of evolution of the individual and collective consciousness.

But let's leave the "Gnostic heresy" alone for the moment and continue our discussion of the problem of evil from the orthodox theistic perspective. Not only can a theistic God defeat evil, but He will do it. The "guarantee" that evil will be overcome is the nature of the theistic God. However, the theists agree that some evil has a "good" purpose, such as warning pains, for example. What, then, of evil that seems to have no good purpose? The theistic answer to purposeless evil is four-fold:

1. God has a good purpose for everything.
2. We do know a good purpose for much evil.
3. Some evil is a by-product of a good purpose.
4. God is able to bring good out of evil.

That the "finite beings" such as ourselves don't see the purpose for some evil does not disprove God's benevolence according to the theists; it merely reveals our ignorance. Some evil can simply be a necessary "by-product" of a good purpose. The early bird gets the worm, for example, but the early worm gets eaten. Plants and animals die, so that we and other life-forms can live and procreate. Therefore, some evil is just a consequence of good purpose. Water sustains life, but we can also drown in it. Fire warms us, but it also creates havoc and destruction. Neither just retribution is inflicted nor patience achieved but for the evil of tribulation.
God is also able to bring good out of evil, such as acts of bravery inspired by a disaster. God, say the theists, would in no way permit evil to exist in His works unless he were so almighty and so good as to produce good even from evil. Again, my take on this is that God needs to have a "potential" or even actual evil, so that we would strive towards good which is what the evolution of consciousness is all about.

                                                                       
   (TO BE CONTINUED)