Joy of Being, Part 2
The sacred nonaggression "faith" module: II
by Brian Wright

The Church of Being

If the joy of being is accessible to a person individually, why form a church? I mean aside from its ability to accelerate a benevolent, abundant social system without coercion. The answer is: because people like to share their joy with one another, help one another in the struggles of life, and otherwise make time for 'worship' and celebration.

Thus, sharing the joy of being and creating incentives for the SNaP, those are my foundational motives. Regarding the latter: I want to create an incentive from the higher concepts of universal connectedness back to the SNaP by showing that political freedom occurs naturally as each of us lets go of addictions-Falun Dafa calls them attachments-particularly the addiction to power and control stoked by the 'egoic mind.'

The synergy

Subconsciously, the idea of creating a religion arose in me to accelerate the incentive mechanism, which is: 1) greater spiritual awareness => 2) letting go of addictions => 3) SNaP movement to deaggress => 4) benevolent coercion-free society => 1) greater spiritual awareness. Engineers call this a positive feedback loop; once seeded, it can reach critical mass exponentially. meaning a society without coercion would be close at hand.

Comments on form

Significantly, the Church of Being (COB)[1]-if church is considered a patriarchal hierarchy-is more an un-church. not because there will be no structure, but because the natural lines of respect for authority are freely chosen and widely distributed. Indeed, it is worthwhile to think of the COB as a support structure for the individual's 'finding Being,' an inverted pyramid in which founders and leaders are at the bottom, adherents and members at the top.

Connection to the source

It's been asserted that the famous classic everyman tome on spiritual transformation, The Course in Miracles, was written through hearing the voice of Jesus. I confess, too, that in the latter stages of recomposing the SNaP series into the seven modules and even writing the words in this final unit dealing with spiritual goals, it has often felt my hands were guided by a flow from something beyond me. or deeper inside me than I had previously been willing to accept. Amazingly, I get dreams at night or flashes of insight during the day that simply seem to turn into words of their own accord. Such that I only need to be a transcriber, make sure the English is right and clear. Let me proceed then to fill out my specific COB requirements framework:

#	Category	Description
1	Doctrine and Creed	The doctrine of the church proceeds from the general human goal of spiritual enlightenment and transformation. Enlightenment is a felt connection with Being. The purpose of the church is a kindredship of souls in the ‘enterprise’ of enlightenment. Fundamental doctrine of the COB consists of the core message (per Tolle above), the modified cultivation practice of Falun Dafa, and the exercise of natural reason and the SNaP. The creed is a statement of fundamental belief; specifically under the Doctrine and Creed heading below.
2	Benefits	Why belong to the Church of Being? To promote one’s spiritual well being—which works to one’s physical and intellectual well being, too. Hasten the day of political freedom by undoing coercive government, and enjoy the company of kindred souls.
3	Practices	The assembly-practices to promote spirit will develop in time, but a core daily regimen—a combination of Tolleian inner body exercises, abbreviated Falun Dafa, and visualization—is recommended. Some practices will be more designed to specifically promote other central legs of the doctrine: reason and the SNaP. SnaP is the big deal, many practices here. Of course the ceremonial rites and rituals will be observed. A big part is the education of children and recognition of adult maturity, marriages and commitments.
4	Symbols	Primary symbol for the COB is the upward turned feather and in the context of the galaxy. Items of clothing, too. ‘Badges’ and membership evidence to display for exemptions from searches, etc. Relates to practices and art, too. Other symbols and icons will come, very important. Our ‘cross’ is the feather of "freedom for everyone."
5	Assembly and Community	Spiritual practices, book discussion, good life, creativity training a la Rappoport. Cyber meetings, but mainly neighborhood gatherings in the flesh. Want families and children, work with mindfulness. Will start from a broad universal base, then the neighborhood structure will be worked out.
6	Art	Was thinking mostly of music, but also paintings and the rest in due time. Many of the requirements will be satisfied from the thinking of those who join, matter of spontaneous creation. “A revolution without dancing is one not worth having.”
7	Appeal and Evangelism	What’s the appeal to the masses? Liberty for starters and alternative econ, connected to the regimens and practices that enlighten. Imparting of the inner peace of true joy. Falun Dafa key to the appeal, health benefits. Focus and discipline for youth: e.g. formal Islam offered to inner city blacks.

Some have concern that a belief system accommodating many lines of control lacks the structure people need to feel comfortably a part of something. I respond that only an organization that coalesces from the energy of everyone's voluntary commitment is one you can be proud of. Think of a healthy family, neighborhood, community, region, country, planet, galaxy . at every level these become enhanced by all the individuals' choices to be there. COB is an antidote to patriarchy. Not really matriarchy either... more like civilized-adult-selfarchy.

Major Areas of Development

Creating a religion from scratch requires more work than can be accomplished in the space of a booklet. Ask L. Ron Hubbard-who invented Scientology on a bet. It turned out to be quite a project. with questionable results. For the COB these are the areas that will be addressed... [tbd]

The above is an excerpt of the SNaP series publication: Module #7: Nonaggression Faith, scheduled for publication in Mid-March 2011. For the entire series of publications and other works by Brian Wright, please access this page: http://brianrwright.com/BW.htm.

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2011 February 28
Copyright © Brian Wright | The Coffee Coaster™
SNaP Series | Liberation Technology | Joy of Being | Church of Being

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