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The Being School Podcast delves into the essence of being human through engaging conversations with a diverse array of individuals pursuing interesting endeavors. Through the power of story, this podcast aims to uncover the lessons and insights gained by these individuals, offering inspiration and education for listeners seeking a more meaningful and fulfilling life. Join us as we explore and learn what it means to be the creator of our own lives.
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[00:00:00] Hello, everyone. Welcome to episode six of the being school podcast. I am recording this little intro. I recorded the episode earlier, this episode is on chapter three, which is spirit and your spiritual body in the book, the being equation. I had this feeling in that episode, I didn't really. I don't know. I think I was being a little, I don't want to say nervous. I was a little rigid.
The spirit aspect of the being equation is, well, they're all very important, but I would say over the last few years since writing the book the true real journey, the thing I've worked on at the deepest level, most fundamental level, is reconnecting with spirit, my own spirit, spirituality.
The feelings, the emotions, everything that comes up as you, as you connect more with spirit and get more into the flow of spirit. I don't want this to sound woo woo like spirit is this [00:01:00] woo woo nebulous thing and I know that, can be off putting, I know it was for me for a lot of years to think of spirit in that way.
It is such a critical and important element and I think I just tensed up when I was talking about it. So this little intro is really to let you know that's what we're going to talk about in the podcast today, chapter three of the being equation book, which happened to have right here. , that's what we're diving into, but I wanted to take a moment and let you know how important.
Spirit is in your everyday life, in how it shapes and creates who you become in the future, who you are in the present moment. If you're not someone that is into spirit or into spirituality, or you think, again, you think this sounds like a very woo woo topic, and, ah, that doesn't sound real practical. What am I going to learn from that?
I think I can just skip over this one. I would encourage [00:02:00] you more than This is something to think about. I was the same way. It wasn't a huge element for me. I didn't understand it. So I kind of pushed it to the side and I tried to focus and intellectualize on everything else and figure everything else out.
When sometimes it's like the thing that's right beside us that we need to go into most. And, starting to even just think about it, open the door just a little bit and say, Oh, maybe that maybe there's something to the spirit thing and the spirituality thing. And the spirit thing can be just as small as starting to listen to the true inner voice a little bit more.
It can be moments of gratitude for the things that you have, these little things connect us to spirit. And I would hazard to guess that you're probably much more spiritual and connected to your spirit than you realize. But if you bring that into the conscious portion of your mind and make that even a daily practice, something you think [00:03:00] about in the moments, then that connection will grow and it will become a huge, powerful input and force in your life.
Long winded way of saying, check out this episode, chapter three thank you so much for being here. And let's roll.
Bangarang, ladies and gentlemen, episode six coming at you. I want to start off today with a quick shout out and thank you to my friends, Susan Peterson and Andy Sturm, aka Budd Bronco. I'm repping this awesome, the Broncos brothers and sisters shirt. Right here, and man, I got to see Andy, aka Budd Bronco, play live in Fort Collins and it's just a huge reminder, folks, go out there and support your friends and live music.
It is great to be out and there's something special about hearing music live, get out there and do it, huge shout out to Bud Bronco. Amigo. Amigo.
Let's pick back up where [00:04:00] we were. This is episode six. We have been working through this book, The Being Equation, and when we last left, we were going to pick back up with page 27.
If you're following along at home, page 27, let's start chapter three and we're going to dive straight into it. Chapter three, Spirit. Spirit is equal to a combination of source energy and spiritual body. Who or what is spirit? We might as well jump straight into the deep end. So let's start with the variable that may seem the most controversial to some.
Spirit. Whenever I think of how to address the discussion of spirit, source energy, and spiritual body in the being equation, I remember a question and answer that is often attributed to Albert Einstein. but cannot be definitively linked to him, which seems fitting. The question is, is the universe a friendly place?[00:05:00]
Einstein's supposed response is that your perspective on this question will shape and determine your answer. The question of spirit, source energy, and spiritual body is much the same. If you believe there's a spiritual component to all of this, then synchronicities throughout your life. You will find examples of spiritual connection we all share.
On the other hand, if you believe that all the spirituality and the idea of some super being creator is made up to explain our existence, then you will have endless evidence to support your belief. As a person who has a long history with the scientific method and education on evolution, I can use my logical mind to rationalize both sides.
There is no indisputable, overwhelming scientific evidence that can prove the existence of spirit or any type of unifying force that can be measured. The fossil record and multiple studies over the last few hundred years sure lend a lot of evidence to the idea that we [00:06:00] originated from the primordial soup and this whole spirit thing is just a way to make us feel good and accept that death which is coming for all of us is not the end.
The truth is that there's no way with our current level of technology and understanding to scientifically prove the existence of spirit or anything spiritually related. However, it is also true that with our current level of technology and understanding, there is no way we can scientifically disprove the existence of spirit or anything spiritually related.
The bottom line is the existence of spirit can neither be proven nor disproven, and that is why I like Einstein's supposed framing in this context. If you believe there is a spirit within all of us, then in your world it will appear to be so. And if you don't believe in any of that, in your world, it will also appear to be so.
Before we go any further, I would like to take a moment to clarify the way I use the term, quote, spirit, throughout this book, [00:07:00] because it does have a different meaning. To different people. When I use the term spirit, I am referring to the unique spirit that is within each of us. Some people use the word spirit as a replacement for God or Creator that is external to you.
Your individual spirit is the combination of source energy and your spiritual body. I will cover this in more detail, but I think it is essential to keep this distinction in mind as we move forward. It is especially important here for you not to confuse spirituality with religion or the creator concept.
You do not have to believe in a creator or religion to have a spirit and a spiritual body. We have all had the experience of feeling refreshed and recharged after some time in nature or a walk outdoors. Or for you, maybe it comes from sitting and staring at the ocean. There is a part inside of us that needs something other than food and water to be replenished.
That is your spiritual [00:08:00] body. If you're still skeptical, that's okay. Just hang with me and see how you feel by the end of the chapter. The easiest way to think about the relationship between spirit, source energy, and spiritual body is to equate it to a physical body. Source energy is like the initial DNA that is in the first cell of our physical body.
This essential source energy contains the entire DNA that forms the basis for your spiritual body. It just so happens that instead of each of us having unique DNA, like for our physical bodies, we all have the same spiritual DNA that forms the basis for our spiritual body. Just as our physical bodies are shaped by all the inputs from this point forward, so are our spiritual bodies.
Our spiritual bodies grow and form just as our physical bodies grow and form. As food and water is the energy for our physical body, spiritual [00:09:00] energy is the fuel for our spiritual body. Contemplating the enormity and ubiquitous nature of spiritual energy is like trying to discuss the importance and nature of water.
Like water, I believe that spiritual energy is in every living being, and spiritual energy fuels the spiritual body. We can't see the water inside of us, but we know it makes up most of our bodies. We start to feel quote off when we don't replenish and recharge our water and without water we die. I think of spiritual energy in much the same way.
Spiritual energy. Every living being has spiritual energy inside of them and like taking a drink of water We can take actions to recharge our spiritual energy when it starts to feel low Just as going for a run on a hot day drains lots of water from your body There are activities and situations that draw heavily on your spiritual energy Like drinking a tall icy refreshing glass of water after our run There are places and practices that can recharge your spiritual energy [00:10:00] and we will discuss these further in later chapters It's most important now that you are aware that you have a spirit and a spiritual body.
Your spirit and spiritual body do not have to have anything to do with religion unless you choose that path. However, you do have to acknowledge and nourish your spirit as it forms an integral part of who you are. As you'll see in later chapters, there are many ways to connect with and nourish your spirit and in chapter 15 I've included exercises related explicitly to exploring your spirit.
Take some time to think about this chapter thus far and see your underlying first principles as they relate to spirit. To give you an insight and an example to explore your first principles, here is a bit about my own journey with the interplay between spirituality and religion and how it formed my first principles and my relationship to spirit.
I grew up in a small town in Virginia. A tiny town where everyone knew everyone and generations of families stayed [00:11:00] in the area. We were Lutherans, my grandmother played the pipe organ at church on Sundays, and my mother sang in the church choir. I got drunk for the first time at the age of four on leftover communion wine.
An innocent accident, but that's a whole other story. The Lutheran Church left a permanent mark on me when, at the age of five, I was stabbed in my left cheek with a pencil by my Sunday school classmate. I still have the lead in my cheek to prove it. Our community was religiously diverse. Haha. Besides Lutherans, there were also Methodists and Presbyterians.
I had heard there were other religions out there, but I had never seen a real life practitioner of another religion in person until well into high school. The point of all this being, my understanding at the time was that religion was not a choice you made. You were born into it. I was born into a Lutheran family, so I was Lutheran.
Can you see how my first principle around religion, [00:12:00] and subsequently spirituality, that I was a Lutheran, developed and I accepted it without even knowing I had made a decision? Spirituality. I know talking about religion and spirituality can be a difficult topic. I want to be careful not to lose you because I believe the rest of this book can change your life.
In essence, I don't want you to throw the baby out with the bath water on this one. If you have had enough of spirit at this point, then move on to the next chapter and perhaps come back to this later. What follows is a more in depth look at my personal understanding of the interaction between spirit, spirituality, and religion, and some of my personal experiences.
If you are curious, then read on. I talk generally about religions, so please remember this is only my view. I am not trying to change yours. For me, the idea of spirit goes back to the word creator. I believe that, out there, somewhere, there is one big pot of source energy from which all things [00:13:00] have been, are, and will be created.
We each have a little dab of this pure source energy within us, which is why each and every living being is a powerful creator. We are all made of the same source energy, and as such, we can create our worlds. Some beings are more aware of this power than others. So here's a breakdown. Number one. Every living being is imbued with Source Energy.
Number two. Source Energy retains the Source's properties, spiritual DNA, meaning that we are powerful creators with the ability to create and shape our worlds. Number three. We need to nurture and develop our spiritual body just as we nurture and take care of our physical body.
That's a lot. There's a lot in there.
Hang with me on this and we'll, we'll dissect it more as we go through, but obviously it's a big, complex topic. So, let's [00:14:00] continue on here. Source and source energy. So, I want to take a moment and clarify the relationship between source and source energy. Source can be thought of as the origin of all source energy.
It is not something that can be described with language or imagined by mind. Source can only be felt and intuited. Every living being that is, was, or will be contains source energy, all drawn from the same source. It is critical to understand that every living being is a piece of source, and just like each cell in our body contains the entire genetic code for the human, each of us contains a complete copy of source.
We just activate and initiate it differently as individuals, as we see through the application of the Being Equation. So, let me be direct. What I am about to say may not feel comfortable to you at first. It may be disconcerting, but stick with me. We all have the same Source Energy. That is, we all [00:15:00] have the exact same spiritual DNA.
Since we all come from the same Source, we all contain the exact same Source Energy. We cannot change our Source Energy. It is a fixed, a constant. Now, I can just hear the questions and objections leaping forth from your mind as this sentence lands. Because we all want to be unique, it is jarring to acknowledge that your source energy is not unique.
I had a very hard time accepting this myself until I looked at it from the following perspective. If your source energy were unique, it would mean that your life was at least partially predetermined. Your capacity as a spiritual being would be predetermined by the value of your source energy. I do not believe that our lives are predetermined in any manner, or that we each have a predetermined fate or destiny.
Source energy has to be the same for every being in order for our fate not to be predetermined. Now, do not [00:16:00] confuse Source Energy with Spiritual Body, Spirituality, or Religion. Source Energy for every single being that ever was, is, or will be has the same value regardless of the being's level of Spirituality or Religion.
Large organized religions as we know them only started a few thousand years ago. What about all the beings that existed before religions existed? Were they denied their source energy because no religion existed to inform them about the spirit or spirituality? As some religions imply, were these beings subject to eternal damnation because they had not accepted a savior they knew nothing about?
This same question exists today about religion, and I will address it shortly. This is a good time to introduce you to a practice that I follow when I'm seeking clarity or answers to questions that I don't know how to answer. I open my journal and start writing a dialogue as if I were sitting across the table from another person, except my dialogue is with Source.
To be honest, I didn't [00:17:00] know how to address spirit in the context of religions, so I sat down, opened my journal, put my pen in my hand, and asked Source how to address it in the context of religion. Below is the dialogue I had with Source on this topic. Quick water break. So what do you think so far as we dive into that? I know, I know. This is the topic that I was probably most worried about in writing this book, and also one of the ones I felt that was most important, because it really cuts to the heart of it. Everyone's turned off by this concept, or it's kind of like the third rail of talking about religion, but here we go.
Okay, literally, this is what I do, I have a, you'll see here, I have a pen, and this is my journal. I do this all the time. I sit down, open it up, open my pen, and go at it. So this is, and that's what I did in this, so that's, now you have a visual for what I did here. So a [00:18:00] conversation with source. Oh boy.
Me. Source. How do you want to be addressed in the context of religion? Source. Religion has been a way for human beings to try to understand spirit. Human beings can feel spirit, but they just can't wrap their heads around the practical side of it, because spirit can't be defined in terms usually used to describe other aspects of the world.
There is nothing else on the planet, nor the type of matter, quark, or electron, that is like spirit. It doesn't adhere to any of the laws human beings have defined. The laws man has created come from the mind of God. Logic, classification, and reduction. You can't use the mind as a tool to understand spirit.
It would be like trying to pick a paint color for your house with your ears. Human beings know how the ear works on a mechanical level. They know how sound waves enter the ear. cause vibrations in the cochlea, and move the tympanum, which transmits [00:19:00] electrical impulses through neurons to the auditory cortex of the temporal lobe of the brain, where it is interpreted as sound.
Human beings understand the physics of how sound travels through air and how the density of air, or any material, affects how sound travels. Human beings have mathematical formulas describing and predicting to the minutest measurement in detail the exact nature and behavior of sound. In fact, human beings could use sound and the reflection of sound known as radar to give the exact shape, size, and location of a house.
Still, even with all that knowledge and understanding, there's no way humans could use their ears to determine the house's current color or what color it should be painted. Your ears are the wrong system for choosing a paint color, and no amount of information will change that.
This is also true for spirit. You, as a human, can feel spirit. Some of you are much more sensitive to it than others. Still, as soon as you try to put spirit into a [00:20:00] conceptual framework that is universally accepted, like the physical laws of sound, the concept breaks down because spirit can't be measured by any instruments that exist in human conception.
Me. Okay, but why is spirit viewed so differently by so many religions? Source. The truth is that spirit is universally the same across all of them. Remember that when different religions emerged in various parts of the world, people were not connected. People and cultures were isolated. Everyone can feel spirit.
There are as many different ways that Spirit can be expressed as there are people in the world, because there is no universal or defining measure of Spirit. Look, human beings are here for experience. They learn and grow through experience, and they want to share and express themselves through experience.
Human beings encounter Spirit every day because Spirit is within them. It is part of all living beings. Some human beings are [00:21:00] more open and receptive to what spirit has to share, and have tried to share what they have learned with others. What each person receives and shares is always within their culture, because this is what they know.
The only framework, the only language, and the only landscape they know. Humans have learned a tremendous amount about the physical world over the past few thousand years. But for all the gains and knowledge of the physical world, there has been a decrease in knowledge and connection to the spiritual world.
All living beings contain spirit. Humans have used their increasing knowledge of the physical world to seal themselves off and isolate themselves from the natural world, from their connection to plants and animals, and the cycle of all living beings. There is less connection with the natural cycle of seasons.
Humans have heating and cooling to keep the temperature at 66 degrees Fahrenheit year round inside their sealed up homes. They have electricity and lights to maintain a consistent 16 hours of daylight. They don't rise with the sun and sleep when it is dark anymore. I Meaning Source. Will say this [00:22:00] once and for all, but it will not matter.
It will never be possible to measure spirit with any instrument created by human beings. There's no one place that spirit resides because it is every place.
Me. So back to religion. Why do religions arise then? Why is there not one universal definition or understanding of spirit?
Source. Religions are the product of a human being's spiritual understanding at a given point in time. This understanding is then shared through language and communication, and most importantly, the culture of the time. Then, other humans start to share, expand, and add their own pieces of knowledge and understanding to it.
For example, in the past, squirrels only lived in forests and had no understanding of skyscrapers, towns, and cities. But the squirrels of today can live in cities and know about cars because they're Story has changed as their environment has changed. There are examples of this throughout the natural world.
Humans are no different. So here's a note to the reader on this. Reader's note. [00:23:00] In this dialogue, Source uses the word, quote, story. To preserve the original dialogue, this reader's note is inserted to define story in this context. Story is simply the view or understanding that a being has about the world and how they exist in it.
We'll touch on story more to relate to egoic interpretation, but we'll touch on that more. So, back to the dialogue, and this is back to what Source is saying. What human beings do that other beings do not is to try to use story to gain power and control over other beings. A lion will kill and eat what it needs in the moment, but no more.
It does not kill for show. A bird will take just enough grass and twigs to build a nest. Big enough for itself and its offspring, not enough ten times bigger than it needs to show the other birds how great it is. No other beings besides human beings use story to control others. Humans have a bad habit of trying to do this, and when religion is used to justify control, its original intent is corrupted.
Me. So, where does that leave humans on what they should [00:24:00] think about religion?
Source. If a religion originated from a place of pure spiritual intention, trying to understand and connect with spirit, then there is truth within it. It is up to each spiritual being to decide what truth connects with them.
The trouble is that most human beings have forgotten how to think and feel for themselves. They want to be told what to feel and think. Human beings also think you must accept the whole story or none of it, or every aspect of religion or none of it. This is not the case, but do not misconstrue this to mean that you can accept what is convenient and discard what is inconvenient.
Far from it. You can accept what you feel and know with your spirit to be true, and discard what you feel and know with your spirit not to be true. Trust your spirit.
Now this is the conclusion with the dialogue with source. This written conversation helped me better understand my relationship with spirit and [00:25:00] human beings current and historical relationship with spirit.
I am not here to support or condemn any religion. In my view, the actions you take and how you show up in the world is ultimately your religion, meaning your actions speak far louder than your words when it comes to what you believe. Unfortunately, many examples abound with supposedly devout people acting in ways in complete discordance with their religion.
Religions are guides, but you are a spiritual being on your own unique path. Trust your spirit. And then the chapter here concludes with a couple of questions to consider. One, can you think of something that recharges your spiritual energy? I'm just going to answer them as we go through them. Maybe you can think of something, like an example for me, something that recharges my spiritual energy.
Anytime in nature, if I go out in nature and take a walk, enjoy the sunset, enjoy a sunrise, go up around the [00:26:00] lake, hear geese flying over, nature is a big source of recharge, spiritual recharge for me. Actually, movement, exercise, makes my body feel better, but that in turn also recharges my spirit. Reading things that Um you know, just different books.
I'm just glancing over here. There's a book on I'm Cara over there by John O'Donohue. I have pieces and things tucked around that I have a spiritual connection to that I can tap into to recharge that. I think having things around for you, whatever that may be. Some people obviously reading the Bible, reading the Koran, reading, anything that, resonates and connects you with your spiritual source, or listening to great music, great songs, any of those things can be a connection to spirit and source, your spiritual energy.
Have you been automatically connecting spirit and religion? [00:27:00] That's one for you to decide. But as I shared my own story, I think very early on and then all the way through my teens and whatnot, I definitely connected spirituality with religion. There's a definite place for that and those two can be intimately intertwined.
But do not, not connect with your spiritual nature, your spiritual source, your spiritual energy because you think it has to be through religion. Many different ways to connect with spirit. It's not simply through religion.
Have you turned away from spirit because of a negative religious experience? I mean, that's a loaded question in itself a bit.
And I know some people are going to be turned off by that. But at the same time, I also know a lot of people that have told me that they have turned away from this concept of spirit and spirituality because they equate it with religion and they had a experience with religion that didn't resonate with them.
And that turned them off from the whole concept of spirit and spirituality. And [00:28:00] so it's a valid question. There's polls on the rise. I don't remember the exact citation, but I think now there's a majority of people that consider themselves spiritual, but not religious. If it's not a majority of that numbers.
And I think this is a reflection of this notion that spirituality is tied directly to religion when it doesn't necessarily have to be. And the best forms of religion can be an amazing way to tap into spirituality and community and to share that experience with others. And the worst forms, which many of us have seen as of late, it can do the opposite, right?
It can degrade your idea of spirit and spirituality. And so, it's just important to, in a way, separate those two and make sure that they're not always, intertwined in your mind.
Have you connected with your spirit because of a positive religious experience? So here's the other side of that. Obviously religion is a [00:29:00] very positive influence on many different people and that's the spirit of God talking. That's spirit coming through and connecting and so religion can be something that brings you much closer to your spirituality.
Finally, do you believe you can have a spiritual practice without being religious? And I would just go ahead and echo that you can have a spiritual practice and be religious. So do you believe both of those are possible? And they both are absolutely possible.
Trying to decide where to go here.
Obviously the conversation, the topic of spirituality, religion, all of those things it's a big one, and it's one that I put front and center in the book. To start the book out with. And I know maybe that stops some people from moving forward into it. But it is just so intimately connected to who you are as a being, whether you believe in religion or not.
But that, that connection to [00:30:00] spirit source energy, that you can also start to think of it a little bit like when you get a voice, that little voice, that little knowing. And the quiet times when you really ask yourself a question and sit with the answer and see what comes, that's part of spirit and source energy and spirituality.
So it's almost a little bit like your intuition, your intuition, I mean, we can go down a whole psychological conversation, but your, your intuition can be, um, It can be, you know, collective unconscious, collective non conscious interaction, but it can also just be your spirit knowing at a deep level what needs to happen and projecting that and having that come through you.
I would love to entertain any questions anyone has on this. If you have specific questions or if you want to start a dialogue, send me a message through the website, through YouTube comments, whatever that will be. And then in, in future videos, I'll definitely reference back to this and we can have a conversation [00:31:00] with that about that because I think the best way to explore this, as with anything, is just having open and honest dialogues, and let me know what you think, what questions you have.
That takes us through page 38 in the book. Our next chapter is going to deal with the physical body, which, oh man, that's a, this is a barn burner of a chapter. It's a pretty long one. So I think what I'm going to do Is leave it here as I said, we're finishing on page 38. We'll be picking up on chapter 4 page 39 in the book I'm gonna get this on my website if you're interested in getting a copy as I said, my goal now is to really Put it out there start conversations.
Get people thinking about these things and see where things go thank you for being here. If I think of other things, again, a big shout out to the Bronco Brothers and Sisters, Bud Bronco, Susan Peterson. Thank you for the awesome shirt. Go out and support live [00:32:00] music. Go support the Bronco Brothers and Sisters.
What else? I hope we're coming up on the holidays. As I told you all, a big goal for me was to get 10 podcasts out before the end of the year. This is going to be episode six. I have a few more coming out. I'm going to keep, keep plugging through these to meet my goal. Thank you for supporting me meeting that goal.
I hope you're enjoying as we work through this book, the being equation, and we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Reach out, stay in touch on the social. Email me, that's the best way, or comment on the YouTube video or on one of the podcast sites. But thank you. I guess I'm supposed to say subscribe, wherever you find this.
That's always great. That'll help me get guests on in the future, but again, you know, I'm really just focused on people that have interesting conversations, uh, who would I love to have on. I'll throw some big names out there, you know, it would just be fun. Elizabeth [00:33:00] Gilbert. That's always a dream guest.
Elizabeth Gilbert. That's the one. If I could have one person on. Liz Gilbert. I know you're watching this right now. But if you were watching, I would love to have you on the podcast. I will, any episode you want to be on, you're more than welcome. Jedediah Jenkins. That's another guy that's pretty darn interesting.
It'd be fun to have one to have a conversation with., Who else? And I have a lot of local friends here that I want to talk to just as much as anybody else. So stay tuned. It's going to be exciting. I'm just rambling now, but thanks for being here. Talk soon. Be well. Keep rolling.