(April 8, 2012 at 8:30 am)michaelsherlock Wrote:
The title of this thread, ‘I am Christ’, although sounding like the rant of a deluded mind, is in fact, a profound notion. A notion that has the power to end wars, famine, inequality and the manipulation, which has been the cornerstone of both religion and politics. This philosophy, which I have termed‘I am Christ’, is not of my own contrivance, but dates back to a time before the alleged advent of Christ himself. Philosophers like Socrates and Plato propagated this ancient idea, along with more modern scholars like, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Carl Gustav Jung, Wilhelm Reich, Albert Einstein and the late professor of mythology at Princeton University, Joseph Campbell, to name just a few.
Although it is an exceptionally useful way of thinking, it is frightening to those malign shepherds who have been at the helm of the sinking ship of humanity, since time immemorial. As a result of the threat posed by this idea, the heads of both religion and politics have released a virus into the minds of the many. In so doing, they have ensured that this philosophy is denied the opportunity to take root amongst the masses. This virus has continued to ensure our masters' ill-gotten power over us. We have given this virus the harmless and innocent name,‘belief.’ Yet, it is far from harmless and has been the favored tool of the malevolent in fomenting disorder and chaos amongst an otherwise intelligent species. Should we be freed from this cognitive prison, the balance of power between the masses and the elites would shift, toppling the naked emperors that have subjugated humanity since the deliberate spread of this mental and emotional plague.
I was wondering how I could best explain the ‘I Am Christ’ philosophy in words that could adequately convey its meaning. Einstein once said that any fool can make something more complicated, but it takes a genius to simplify something, or words to that effect, and so I guess this is going to get pretty complicated!
As I mentioned above, the ‘I Am Christ’ philosophy is not solely my own idea, or philosophy, but for the title, and I understand that the title can be slightly misleading, so allow me to clear up that issue first.
I Am Christ: Title
The title is meant to be read! It is not, ‘I, Michael Sherlock, Am Christ,’ but ‘You, the reader, are Christ.’
So why didn’t I just call it ‘You are Christ’? The reason is that when you read ‘you,’ the emphasis is initially directed away from the reader at a subconscious/unconscious level. The unconscious mind interprets information in a different manner than the conscious mind, so when a person reads, ‘I Am Christ,’ the voice inside the readers head is saying that exact phrase to themself, which is where the message is intended to go. I think the tile describes the philosophy better than a long winded explanation, but here goes anyway.
The reason I have used the title, ‘Christ’ is that I am speaking to a predominantly western audience, who are either Christian, or have grown up around the symbols of that religion, the word ‘Christ,’ being one of the more powerful ones.
Another reason I have titled the thread this way, is that it also happens to be the title of a 3 volume series I have written. The series has been designed to illustrate the tenuous and erroneous nature of belief, by using Christianity as a kind of whipping boy, so to speak. I chose Christianity due to the fact that it is an easy target and illustrates quite clearly, the potential chasm which exists between a given belief and the truth is claims to be built upon.
Essentially, the name Christ, in the title, could be replaced with any hero’s name! I am Gandhi! I am Socrates! I am Hercules! I am Mohammed! I am Buddha! I am Homer Simpson!
What the ‘I Am Christ’ Philosophy is not!
First allow me to reiterate a point which I have found many people (especially Christians) cannot seem to get past. I am not calling myself Jesus Christ, nor do I think that I am special, enlightened, endowed with super-powers, or even highly intelligent. I am simply a person, or so I have been told!
This philosophy is not an attempt to create yet another “New Age” religion in which dumb dumbs are told to sit down shut up and listen to the “Great Guru!” It is not a form of Gnosticism and it is not a philosophy, in the strictest sense of the word. There are no T-Shirts, beads, incense sticks, no army of converters, nor are there bands of colourfully adorned shaven headed hippies chanting in airports. It is not a movement, fashion, trend, organization, religion, institution, it is not post-modernism gone astray, as many Christians have accused it of being, and it is not “The Answer!” As far as I have been told, “The Answer” is 42, but I am still checking that out!
The ‘I Am Christ’ Philosophy
The idea/philosophy is focussed on getting people to shed, destroy, see past, re-assess and grow past their subjective beliefs, as much as possible! It is about increasing the “individual’s” independence of thought as much as possible and exploring the limits of that possibility. The ‘I Am Christ’ idea, takes into account that humans are social beings and are therefore naturally dependant on one another to some degree, but the ‘I Am Christ’ idea, asks; to what degree is this dependency healthy for both the individual and the society and do both history and current affairs present us with any evidence to show that such dependency is causing our downfall as a species, who seem to be heading into a new ‘dark age,’ or ‘Idiocracy,’ if we ever in fact emerged from the first one.
It is about fostering both a cognitive and behavioural humility amongst an otherwise egocentric and overconfident species, whose confidence has been predominantly rooted in misguided beliefs and perceptions that have been reinforced by various psychological strategies employed to protect the house in which these beliefs reside, the ego.
It is about attempting to address and reconcile the various aspects of our own consciousness (individuation) which have been divided and pitted against one another, causing the proliferation of internal and external conflict and the dominance of the ego-self over the “true-self,” for lack of a better word.
It is about maturing beyond lame and impotent “hero worship,” and becoming the hero, the saviour, the teacher and the student, all at one time and giving up childish things, like religious faith, political ideologies and scientific and academic dogmas.
It is about putting an end to the emotional manipulation achieved by the belief, which, in the hands of various belief peddlers, has fostered inequality, poverty, war, yadda, yadda, yadda and which has underscored each person’s relationship with societal institutions since recorded history and probably even longer. Hopefully by cutting off this root, (the emotionally manipulated belief) in each and every individual, we would effectively cut the strings by which our religious, philosophical, academic and political leaders have made us dance and in so doing, learn to walk for and by ourselves, for the first time.
Any thoughts?']
You should stop telling us what it does and what it is not and start with what it is. Most of your post is about what your philosophy is not and what it is supposed to accomplish - but nothing about its contents. What does this pet philosophy has to say about metaphysics or epistemology or ethics? Stop trying to sell it without telling what it is.
