Archive Home Page >>Without the presence of a spirit, I believe our brains are nothing more than organic computers.<<
Well I agree with that to the extent that it is a good paradigm, grounded in a old religious or metaphysical conflict that sees spirit (usually considered a good thing) and body (often considered a bad thing) as different, though we really don't know what consciousness and self-awareness are really all about. E=MC2 defines the relationship of energy and matter and is metaphorical of that body/spirit relationship.
The question remains even if we could clearly seperate spirit and body, what ground of being does spirit eminate out of? Or would we then start considering the spiritual world to be merely another illusion? Spending any amout of time wondering whether my life is merely an illusion does not make me the smallest bit happier.
The larger problem seems to be suffering which exists both in physical AND spiritual form. Our religions treat spirit (life after death is the most common reference) in both positive and negative ways in the same way that they treat life in both positive and negative ways. Personally I would think that it would be a more productive use of our lives here trying to deal with the problems of both rather than seeking to "humble" one as an illusion.
Sorry to get cranky. It's late and I'm tired. This is difficult subject for me personally as someone who has reason to question both on a very personal level. Right now I'm trying to"ground" myself and work on seeing myself as an integrated whole... and the historically defined body/spirit schism and the human life as an illusion view of the data is counterproductive to my own "personal" search.