Expert: Joe McSorley - 2/16/2007

Question
I've been thinking about this, and I've reached that conclusion that love is not sacred. In fact, no human emotion is sacred at all. Instead, I hold that ideals and states of being are sacred. The ideals of honor and love are sacred things, even though they do not exist in the physical world. Not in and of themselves anyway. Conversely, innocence and purity are sacred states of being, but when idealized become profane abstractions. I can conceptualize abstractions of reality, ideals which are sacred. And there are certain states of being a person can pass through which are sacred, but the machine it's self. The body, the transitory vessel for my soul is not sacred. In fact, it is meaningless. For "I" exist apart from myself, apart from the corporeal entity "I" inhabit. Every molecule of oxygen, the firmament which gives me life is sacred, and the earth it's self is sacred, but me? The human being? The animal? I am not sacred, at least not any more so than a frog or a bird or a tree.

May I ask your thoughts on this? Thank you ~ Cindy

Answer
Dear Cindy,
There are many ways to look at your letter.  What is the meaning of sacred, for one thing.  Is there some implied definition or is sacred simply a concept like love and honor?  All of these things come from the intellect but who is the “I” that says it is separate?  You say you exist “apart from myself” but this is a contradiction; how can you exist apart from yourself?  Is there an I that is not the body and if so, how do you know this?  Does this “I” that inhabits the corporal entity as you call it ever know who it is or is it just another concept.
   What is the earth?  Isn’t it the frog, the bird, tree, firmament and molecules of oxygen; don’t all of these things make the earth what they are and what you are?  Is so, then the reverse question is in order and that is: what isn’t sacred?  Honor, love, innocence and purity are all creations of the human mind and do not exist as some abstract ideals in the universe.  They can only exist where a human mind can create them.  Without any humans on the planet what is sacred, honorable or good?  Nature does not uphold these judgments; nature is just nature complete and full.  We are an expression of nature but think we are outside of nature and create all these ideals.  As humans we can see ourselves as nature and yet go beyond nature and be selfless and kind even to our own detriment.  Our compassion arises because we can be nature taking care of itself and sacrificing itself for a greater good.  Our perceived separation from nature causes the bad things too, the imbalance, greed and self-destruction that humans cause, yet we can be magnificent and altruistic too.  Without the machine, as you call it, there is no self-expression and no way to judge or conceptualize.  Without body you cannot conceptualize soul, it is a creation of our separate self and mind from nature.  Does the self ever say I am a soul and not Cindy, and if so, what does that do for the suffering of Cindy?  If you only know yourself as this non soul where is the comfort of believing in a soul and most importantly; what separates you from being a soul?  Anyone can say I have a soul but what is the ground for this?  If you say I am I then you are immediately saying I am not something else to be this I.  After that you add, I have a soul and you have yet another split.  So I am I, I am not that which is not I (rocks, trees, other people) and yet the real I is my soul which is not this “I” making all these proclamations.  Who is at the source of all of these ideas?  Without the “I” there are none of these abstractions and with the I all of these problems arise so the problem all rests with this: who is the I that was born and is going to die, that eats, drinks, sleeps and wonders?  This is where the solution to your question lies for this I creates the idea of sacred and profane.  Before humans these ideals did not exist. Who is the I reading this letter now and thinks things are sacred or not?  You created this I.
     I hope this helps you.  Take care,
              Joe