Friday, January 6, 2012

Is There a Meaning in the Madness?

This is the introduction to my book: Ten Great ways to Understand the World - The Larger Perspective on the Leading Edge of Thought.

Is There a Meaning in the Madness?

I was an atheist for many years and I often despaired over the ills of the world until I discovered a new way of looking at things. This new way was positive, logical, and uplifting. It embraced the idea of a creator, but it had nothing to do with the traditional religions. It meant that I no longer had to despair when I saw what was happening on the surface of the planet. I no longer belonged to the large group of people who fear that we are facing some kind of doom. I saw that there was a meaning despite floods, earthquakes, civil and political unrest, fighting, wars, terrorism, and unhappy fates. There was hope despite thawing poles, polluted air, climate change, population growth, and rising carbon dioxide levels.
In this book it is my aim to facilitate another way of looking at the world – a way that will point out that all is not lost, that we are not doomed, and that a bright light is shining at the end of the tunnel.
Let’s face it: not a whole lot of those we have put at the steering wheel of the planet have a clue about what is actually going on here. I mean, when we look at our scientists, our politicians, and our decision makers not a lot of them have a clue about where we are headed as a population inhabiting a small planet orbiting a small sun. So when we look to our leaders and ask them: “Where are we going? What is happening? What are we doing here? What is life all about? Is there a meaning in the madness?” Well, then we are barking up the wrong tree.
We are barking up the wrong tree because they don´t know. Most of them don´t really have a clue. We are simply asking the elm tree to give us pears.
This is when I ask: Why don’t we just ask somebody who knows?
You may now say that there is nobody who knows the answers to any of the big questions. To that I can only say: “Yes, there is!”
So I suggest that we take a look at what those who know about the state of the world and the meaning of it all have to say. In that we way will be asking the pear tree for pears, and that seems like a much better idea than asking the elm tree for them.
And who are those who know? Those who know are our spiritual masters, teachers of wisdom that can see beyond the obvious and have an insight into the deeper workings of the world. Through their eyes we see a world that is in no way lost or going down the drain. It is a world that is in the process of becoming a perfect place for a harmonious existence for all living beings. It is a world in which the suffering has meaning, where light and love shine through the darkness, where there is sharing, compassion, interconnectedness, and love.
I would like you to take a look at the world through the eyes of my spiritual master. My other books present full introductions to who he is, so here let it suffice to say that he is a modern mystic who lived in Denmark during the major part of the 20th century and that he died in 1981. His name is Martinus. He left a legacy of thousands of pages of spiritual wisdom. This spiritual wisdom has been designed to satisfy our present needs for answers. It is logical, meaningful, and it appeals to our intellect. It is not an object of faith, not something that we should believe in, but something that we should study. And to those who have studied it, it makes so much sense. It gives us logical answers to the big questions; it is uplifting, refreshing, and innovative. And he who has studied it will never want to look at the world in any other way ever again.
My own life can be divided into a before and after I “met” my spiritual master. Well, I didn’t actually meet him in person, but I became acquainted with his writings. Before I “met” him I was clueless, I lived a life devoid of meaning other than the struggle for survival, and I had no idea what I was doing here. But I did have one thing: curiosity. I wanted to know more. I wanted answers to the big questions: where are we coming from and where are we going, is there a meaning somewhere, is there a God?
And because I was asking, the answers came. When I was ready for the answers, my spiritual master appeared. And wow, did he appear. One day, after a long period of searching, a book about my master fell into my hands. The moment I grabbed that book, I intuitively knew that I had found my answers. It took me about a year to read through all the material written by Martinus, but when I had finished reading it all, the bricks inside my head had been permanently rearranged into a logical and beautiful edifice. Where before there were ruins, chaos, and clutter, now there was a palace of meaning, insight, and wisdom. I had found a way to look upon the world that made sense. Not only did it make sense, but it was stuffed with logic, beauty, and joy.
So why not join me on an excursion into this logical and beautiful world view? Please come with me and let us take a good look at ten great ways to understand the world.