A Religion for the Non Religious

[Tonus]

Thanks for the well thought out reply!

Your last paragraph, though is not what he's saying. He's not saying we should appeal to a higher power. He doesn't believe in a higher power. And he is precisely telling us to take control of our own lives and fates.

I think that his attempt to describe it in religious terms confuses things. Talk of conscious awareness as a 'higher being' and references to 'the truth' and of a veil that can obscure it ('a fog') seems a way to try to, as his title suggests, view things as from a religious perspective. I think it still gives an impression that there are many more things that are out of our control than actually are, and that he is turning conventional understanding on its head. We're better off understanding the subconscious mind and finding ways to influence it than to think that we've got a few evolutionary steps to take before we unlock our higher self and reach a new level of achievement. That, in itself, is reminiscent of religious thinking: manage in the present with an eye towards a greater future provided by an outside agent, instead of striving for a better today to create a better future for those who follow. I much prefer the latter approach.