The AGE
of
REALITY:

A Manual for Living in an Age of Reality

It is important that you understand that in this Age of Reality there should be no need for any religious creed, particularly one that has some codification or history of the religion that presents itself in the form of some sacred document like that of the Bible. It is understandable that most individuals might require some spiritual guidance in the absence of some organized religion. It is not proposed that churches be entirely abandoned; it will become quite necessary, if they are to survive, to most simply redefine their missions to the support and teaching of love as the only foundation upon which all personal, social and spiritual values are founded. There will no longer be any need for external gods and mythologies to explain man's own divinity and the true source of his and the earth's creation and existence within this vast universe. With the individual being the one and only primary focus of spiritual growth, what I propose is a simple manual suggesting guidelines for one's physical, emotional and spiritual behavior towards himself as well as towards and with his neighbors. This book may contain words that heretofore have not been in the English dictionary; these new words will be employed only for the purpose of suggesting the real meaning and understanding of just what love is and should be in this Age of Reality that truly reflects the full intentions of that one and only commandment of a man named Jesus that lived some 325 years before the actual conception of the Christian religion. His singular commandment was for us to learn how to love ourselves and equally important, how to love our neighbors unconditionally. In this Age of Reality there is no need for a religion and because so many of our commonly used words in the English language are imbued with such an unimaginably strong Christian religious image, it becomes imperative that new words ought to be created that reflect the true images necessary for the fulfillment of an entirely new and more humane ideology that is focused entirely on the understanding of unconditional love. It is hopeful that it will be possible to use some phrases of currently defined words that are capable of expressing a new idea without the creation of a new word. In short, it is nothing more than incorporating exactly what Jesus had taught some two thousand years ago and has been conveniently shelved to make room for the too many religious despots that are too often focused only on the incestuous greed for power and money. Love is the only answer to our ultimate salvation as a race of spiritually and intelligently imbued mortal animals. We have been divinely blessed with the inheritance of the responsibility and care of this marvelous Garden of Eden and it is a blessing that has been equally bestowed upon each and every man and woman. There is nothing mysterious or secret about the contents of this simple manual which is nothing more than a modest labor of love. Because the manifestations of love are most commonly experienced between two individuals, I will be writing this manual from the perspective of the experiences of two individuals cohabitating in a mutually committed loving relationship. In this Age of Reality the spiritual focus is not one of sin but entirely on that of unconditional love. It is of no consequence that my loving partner is another man as love itsself has no boundaries or definitions that exclude any individual from expressing his love and commitment to any other individual entirely of his choice. As to the title given to this committed relationship, it's of little consequence as to whether it is called a marriage or simply a legal civil union. For the purposes of this manual every loving relationship will simply be noted as spiritual in nature, as love will be considered as the quintessential element of any proper relationship; any loving relationship does not have the need of consummation in order to be valid and recognized by society.

Age of Reality Synopsis

Thomas Jefferson had encountered great difficulty in the establishment of the "first" University in American that was not church and/or religiously sponsored or related. He obviously had the properly conceived notion that, where religions and their consistently and doggedly insistence that the truth lies only within those narrowly defined tenants of its own faith, it would be almost impossible to achieve a true atmosphere of academic freedom and thought as well as the scientific establishment of new discoveries. That more than noble effort of Thomas Jefferson, resulting in the founding of the University of Virginia, was the quintessential essence of that ideal socio-political circumstance where there would exist a distinct separation of the church and its mostly conservative ideologies from that of a modern civil state that should rightly foster individual achievement and growth over which there should be NO moral authority. Only in that ideal of circumstances would it be at all possible to actually have what is aptly called freedom of religion wherein every single individual remains equally free to pursue the truth according to his own beliefs and personals needs.

As a great man of letters, I am very confident that Thomas Jefferson, in the light of modern day knowledge and scientific realities, would be amusingly appalled at the present state of affairs where so many individuals still so blindly hold fast to these embellished religious mythologies that have been so totally challenged and dispelled by modern discoveries and science dramatically beginning with those far-reaching theories of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) and that were so dramatically confirmed by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) with his masterful and most timely invention and use of the telescope. For Galileo's courageous contribution to the knowledge of his day that we were NOT the center of the universe and therefore most likely not the singular focus of creation, he was hastily placed under 'house arrest' by the head of the Catholic Church, and that atrocious and malign decree was only lifted in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, some three hundred and fifty years after his death.

Reality has not changed in its essence from the very first time that man began to explore his ever-expanding universe; the difficulty lies with man's ability or inability to successfully and realistically integrate his antiquated mythologies with the hard sciences of our modern times. The beginning of any age of mankind is appropriately marked not with just the simple discovery of some previously undiscovered reality that had always existed, but most appropriately when the tangible fruits of that revelation or discovery have actually entered the mainstream of mankind's day-to-day world. From our own Western culture perspective, the singular event that might well mark the beginning of this great Age of Reality could possibly be focused on Pope John Paul II, when on October 31, 1992, when the Vatican 'revisited' its initial indictment of Galileo's scientific confirmation of Copernicus' take on our universe's heavenly bodies and their actual relationship to earth.

Mankind and his innate noble spirit, has for too long, been held totally captive and spiritually enslaved to these archaic and notoriously oppressive religions and their often-time radical leaders who all too frequently subjugate that very loving nature that every individual man and woman should be equally and universally heir to. We are so very fortunate to be living in an age of such magnanimous discoveries. And in most every instance mankind continues to challenge the spiritual impact of these modern discoveries and in too few cases might even be able to successfully dispel many of those notoriously and conservatively held points of view.

There is in reality nothing new under our own life-giving sun; mankind has only to accept and broaden his fundamental knowledge of what is already most evident in nature. Mankind is most fortuitously and finally leaving behind the very infancy of his once political, social, psychological and spiritual development, and with this ever-immerging social and spiritual maturity mankind is fastly entering this most progressive Age of Reality. And, above all, mankind is seemingly achieving much of this newly discovered maturity most notably with or without the blessings of many of our world religions, most notably that multitude of Christian faiths.

These rather large number of spiritually oppressive churches, temples, and mosques need not be totally dismissed or even left behind in the dust of modern discoveries; they should, however, all, so to speak, come clean about the ghastly multitude of their mostly bogus and certainly mythological claims. Then, and only then, should these now spiritually irrelevant mythologies have the greatest of obligations to become more spiritually relevant to the real needs of their congregations. I would suppose that this metamorphose could be easily achieved by simply redefining their various spiritual and social roles to reflect an ideology that truly and sincerely fosters the love and acceptance of all mankind as well as the infinitely and most magnanimous beauty of this naturally occurring diversity of mankind that has been manifested in this wonderful Garden of Eden.

This great diversity also carries with it the reality that not all individuals will posses either the desire or ability to recognize and/or even accept the fundamental precepts of this wonderfully freeing age; they are equally free to experience their own life's joy in any manner they see fit. Mankind, for far too many reasons, has remained in the infancy of his deeper spirituality and it has only been the purveyors of these now terribly archaic mythologies that have selfishly profited far beyond any reasonable or authentic concern for these often blindly led followers’ spiritual wellbeing. It is a reasonable expectation for the infant to believe in a Santa Clause, BUT to continue these fabled and mythological beliefs into the mature adulthood is a grave travesty that only feeds the despots of these infantile mythologies despite all the social order and good behavior that many of these old religions and mythologies are totally and rightfully given full credit for fostering.

So, you tell me; what should these now outdated and benign religions be doing to correct their misgivings. Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote a book entitled, Why Christianity Must Change Or Die that only scratched the benign surface of the problems with America’s number one religion that claims the same God as is depicted as part of our country’s heritage as reflected in the expression, “One nation under God.” I am appalled that we as free Americans still hold to this now failed expression as we have the most horrid statistical records when it comes to human failure as in; the broken homes, alcoholism, every crime under the sun, drug dependency and those countless and growing numbers of what is presently called “street people” or “the homeless.”

Jesus, as the greatest and most certainly profound humanitarian that ever lived on this planet spent most of his adult life seeking some reasonable answer for mankind’s pour plight and then sharing it with those who cared enough to try and did so until the troubled times of Constantine the Great. Elaine Pagels explains the problem in the very first chapter of her best seller book, Beyond Belief. The title of this first chapter truly sez and defines it all, From the Feast of Agapé to Constantine. The operative words here are “Feast of Agapé” as this was the only real action required in order to respect and reflect the one and only commandment of Jesus and that is to, “Love your neighbor as I have loved you.” You see, Constantine had absolutely no need of this singular power of love, but instead Constantine demanded “Absolute Obedience” of those slaves that constituted 90% of the population over which he ruled. That is precisely why the Nicaean Creed is so totally devoid of even the very mention of Love, which was the one and only commandment of Jesus of Nazareth that we should learn to “Love” our neighbors. You tell me, where in the hell did Constantine ever show any love for his slaves or those countless hordes of enemies that were ruthlessly murdered and slain under his ruthless and military command. Constantine was, to the contrary the very epitome of the antichrist and yet he is hailed by many as the founder of the great Faith. It is no wonder that Christianity has followed in the footsteps of its founder and absolutely showed no love for the countless neighbors put to death and its auspices of serving the one and only vengeful God. This death wielding God has no place in my universe and that includes the mythological Jesus created by this devil worshiper, Constantine the Great.

The reality is quite simple; Constantine created Christianity to meet his own carnal needs and it was his Spiritual Mafioso, those bishops that met at Nicaea at Constantine's demand, that created heaven and hell as a reward or punishment to the slaves as a means of obtaining from those slaves, their absolute submission to the dictates of the newly formulated religion (then the Catholic Church) as well as their absolute obedience to their slave-owners (the evidence of which was easily supplied by the slaves’ confessions to priests). That is precisely why the Catholic Church’s FIRST rule over its own parishioners is governed by that one singular word "obedience" rather than Jesus of Nazareth only commandment of "love."

So, my good friends whom I love enough to share this historical reality with; I wish that all of you who are freed by the inherit truth of this fundamental knowledge will accept my most humble dedication of these six modest treatises, that in each instance and in their own unique manner affirmatively proclaim that mankind has, for his spiritual betterment as well as his most affirmative future already embarked on that arduous journey that will hopefully and eventually bring all of mankind entirely into this truly wonderful and most freedom imbued AGE OF REALITY.

Ana

Age of Reality:

A Manual for living

in an Age 0f love

phoenix monster

J. Lamah Walker

San Damiano Publications

Cedar Crest, New Mexico

2009

Age of Reality: A Manual for Living

in an Age of Love

by J. Lamah Walker

Joseph Lamah Walker, Jr., Ph.D.

& Pan American Copyright Conventions

No part of this book may be reproduced

in any form—except for brief quotations

(not to exceed 1000 words) in a review or

professional work—without permission

in writing from the author.

Library of Congress

Catalogue Card Number: 2009

Printed in the United States of American

on acid free paper

Cover image by

To:

The many

hopeful who

now with guidance

can aptly achieve the

spiritual maturity

Rightfully due

every loving

spiritual

being

"Confuse not the reality that you do truly believe
with that reality of the focus of your belief."
- J. Lamah Walker

Thanks to…

John for his enduring love

Barbara for always being my sister

marsena, My spiritual mother

Robin, the “doubting Thomas’

BRUCE AND ARLENE

mother

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Lamah Walker, a graduate of the University of Miami (B.A. in Psychology & Religion) and Georgia State University (B.A. in Sociology/Criminology), received his M.Ed. from West Texas State in Community Counseling and his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in the Administration of Higher Education. While at the University of Oklahoma, he was the last recipient of The Robert E. Ohm Dissertation Assistance Memorial Award for outstanding scholarship as an advanced graduate student in the field of higher education and general administration. The coursework for his Ph.D. essentially consisted of the history of Western education, which of course traces the history of our intellectual development. He last served as a psychotherapist at the Student Health Center at the University of New Mexico. Outside the protective confines of that academic ivory tower, Lamah has been a general contractor and real estate broker in New Mexico for some thirty years and was ordained as a minister of the Gospel at the age of nineteen in his family's inter-denominational Christian church, New Age Church of Truth. A most dynamic and resourceful Renaissance man that dramatically illustrates that old Stoic aphorism that: "Life makes philosophers of us all" and more importantly, Lamah has arrived at an understanding of just how mankind’s checkered history of religions contributes to his stubborn résistance to those very changes that will eventually bring us into the Age of Reality.

PREFACE

In this wonderful Age of Reality mankind will finally be able to put away his child-like fantasies. And perhaps even more importantly, mankind should be in a position to finally put to rest those ancient mythologies that have so terribly enslaved him beyond the more than natural ability to once and for all truly embrace this wonderful life unencumbered by the shackles that have bound and burdened him with doubt and guilt to the point that it has prevented him from ever fully embracing and intimately experiencing that one gifted opportunity at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is a reasonable explanation of why man has remained so totally, dutifully and innocently oblivious to reality. As ancient literature clearly indicates, man has had a wonderful mind that is miraculously capable of all kinds of diverse thoughts, but it wasn't until around the time of Jesus that man had a sense of bring all these various thoughts into one accessible area like that of the truly liberal, unrestrained and infamous library housed in Alexandria, Egypt.

It was in the precise year of 325 when Christianity was strategically and masterfully born, that the majority of Western mankind was totally uneducated; in fact, it was the ninety percent of the population of the then Greo-Roman Empire that were slaves. You might imagine Western mankind as being in his intellectual and spiritual infancy and this awfully contrived slave religion that was equally political and mythological was most summarily established to essentially bring into being a sound social-political method of maintaining a desired passivity and personal contentment amongst all of those naturally and expectantly ignorant slaves. It was as though the slaves were still naïve children and they were easily convinced that there truly was a suprême and loving God that deeply cared about them so long as they remained absolute obedient to the Roman state as well as to the Catholic Church and its anointed vicars. We perform very much the same informative dynamic with our own children even today when we tell them about Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. The difference is, when our children finally approach and reach adulthood they are usually quite able to distinguish between the fantasy of a Santa Claus or tooth fairy and the reality that the fantasy probably served some good if not a strategically infantile purpose in teaching perhaps the moral value of giving and receiving and most certainly, obedience as it is aptly suggested that Santa Clause only rewards those good children who have fallowed the established rules; “Santa Clause knows whether you have been naughty or nice.”

We live in an entirely different world today from that most pivotal of year 325 where it could be easily understood that mankind was totally immersed in and still demonstrating those often unbearable ills of his then debilitating intellectual and spiritual infancy. I need not list all of the various advances in man's understanding and knowledge of his universe to even begin to justify the reality that man is no longer in that lingering age of his infancy; many of us have simply come to know too much information that simply contradicts those ancient stories of gods and monsters.

It is now time to put away those cryptic mythologies that no longer serve any real purpose except for those who most benefit politically and fiscally from the continuation of these various religious institutions. No one, particularly as a child, should be ashamed of believing that Santa Claus really does exist and likewise no one in this age of those countless technological and intellectual advancements should be ashamed of having still to believe in a God that most simply in reality never did exist. The problem is simply that there are no role models for modern man to emulate as the whole of society has been led to believe that there are no acceptable alternatives to our entrenched ancient gods and their earthly institutions as the sole keepers and dictators of our moral values and source of salvation.

It's finally the time to get real! The reality is that man himself is the only and true source of all divine inspiration; it was and still is man himself that created this vast multitude of gods. Man has inherited this divine quality by approaching and being at the very pinnacle of his own evolution. It is in the manner of the sacrificing, by our American founding Fathers and those countless others that followed, that we as Americans have come to enjoy certain political and civil freedoms. Mankind is also the fortunate benefactor of generations of our spiritual forefathers who have equally struggled, sacrificed and paid the price for some of us to enjoy those wonders of our modern discoveries and acceptance of reality. We owe it to all of them to claim our own divinity and retire the worn-out mythologies as well as their accompanying religions and relegate all of them to their rightful and bygone past; let’s just bury them, even if some should be buried alive! It is not always easy for the child to accept reality because the fantasy of such a wonderfully jolly Ole Santa Claus is so beautiful and offers the child those feelings that are emotionally comforting and that enhances those needed feelings of security. And after all, what is wrong with or the danger of believing in a Santa Claus, rather it be real or not?

I hope that we all agree that mankind needs to deal with his reality, grow up and accept the responsibilities that would naturally accompany the inherent and inevitable spiritual adulthood of mankind. It is not at all an easy task to dispel the religious fantasies that have been such a comfort to the generations of believers that for many held their religion as the singular source for any reasonable purpose or deeper meaning in their otherwise burdensome lives; “hope springs eternal.” I would understand and even expect that many will never let go of the past and will continue to believe till their dying day that their God will be there to greet them and welcome them to that promised proverbial heaven that to them aptly justifies life’s many tribulations and sacrifices.

I wouldn't wish for any of these faithful believers to abandon their religious fantasies as they most probably emotionally and spiritually still exists as that most integral part of that often painful childhood of mankind and should be rightfully rewarded, if only as a solemn gesture, for having made it all possible for the rest of us to embrace the ultimate salvation of this Age of Reality. Their inherited fantasies will always be real to them and as they are aptly not to ever become part of this Age of Reality, there is no need to insist that they abandon a belief system that has often given them such comfort. You may remember that even Moses, as faithful as he was to his God, was not deemed worthy to cross the river Jordan into God's Promised Land

Contents

01 Why the Age of Reality 1

02 Societies East and West 14

03 Political Boundaries 26

04 The States/Provinces/Diocese 33

05 The Townships 40

06 The Christian Church 50

07 The Family 61

08 The Individual 69

09 The Marriage 81

10 Raising the Child 91

11 Respondability 103

12 No Church Need Parish 110

13 The New god 121

14 Poems of the Father 127

PROLOGUE

It is important that you understand that much of which I have written and proposed here and elsewhere comes from some deeper spiritual conviction within my own individual psyche; perhaps a legacy of my own given genetic memory. As I am about to start a new project, it is not an unusual thing for me to dream and that was certainly the case for this particular book. It was last night I had a dream about writing this particular book and in the dream was this woman whom I had a conversation about this very topic. As I was explaining to this woman what it was that I was to be writing about, there were several thoughts that had occurred to me. The first thought dealt with the contents; there is no way for this book to be a book about social engineering, most particularly it is most definitely not be just another book entitled, Shangri-La. You may remember that Shangri-La was this idealistic place somewhere in the world that had an idealistic social order; even the environment including the weather was quite ideal. I want you to understand when I'm writing about anything other than the individual, I proposals will likely be only some form of suggestions or even possibly alternatives to the way I see society behaving today.

You may remember that Jesus’ proposal of a precise manner in which his enslaved people might still enjoy life considering that they were enslaved to the Roman Empire. He felt that his proposal was so simple and to the point that he did not feel the need to be writing this down. He sort of felt helpless when it came to making any changes in their society as the Roman Empire was quite powerful and it was obviously the empire's intention to remain in control for as long as they could. It was this helplessness that kept Jesus on track with just a proposal for his people alone. If the truth be known, I too feel a bit helplessness to propose any social changes anytime in the near future.

The American people have a wonderful spirit when it comes to tragedies, as with the hurricane that so devastated New Orleans. The fact that it appears that we are losing our middle-class do no doubt to our financial situation being so depressed, tells me that unless there is another of those severe depressions, and American people just aren't ready for any social changes that may cost them financially in the short run. As I am so set on having people deal with reality, I don't feel it's my place to make proposals that don't make any realistic sense. I do believe, however, that individuals are quite capable of making changes in their personal manner of dealing with life, and doing so in a realistic manner. I will, in any case, discuss some of the proposals that would be helpful to the individual, if and only if you're not individuals set on the idea that they could have a good influence on society itself whether presently or even later, but do understand that these are only proposals that may be possible only when society itself is terribly compromised with its present mode of operation.

Please remember, that what I feel to be considered as most important is the manner in which you are living your life today, and whether or not, making any changes within then neither future to the point of you being able to better enjoy your own Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. To that betterment, I so dedicate this book.

WHY AM I HERE?

I'm not here

To read what others write,

Nor to see

Without some guiding light.

I'm not here

To reap what others sow,

Nor to see

The arts which others show

I'm not here

To learn what has been taught,

Nor to see

My life result in naught.

I'm not here

To waste my life away,

Nor to see

My each and every day.

But, then why;

Why am I here at all?

May' because

I heard my Neighbor call.

Reality never changes over time even though man's perception and interpretation has undergone sometimes the most bizarre, and certainly countless changes. We are fortunate that in most every generation there appears to have been those few unique and exceptional individuals that are not seriously affected by the mass hysteria brought on by the confusion and often violent rivalry between the numerous offering of so many diverse mythologies, as well as by those charismatic mystics proposing the latest alternative to traditional belief systems. Everyone seemingly agrees to the notion that man has this insatiable need to believe in something that is somehow infinitely greater than his own perceived impoverished spirit; assuming of course, that man's spirit is naturally devoid of any potentially significant substance worthy of a life full of joy and love. Nearly all religions universally impose the idea of man's innate lowliness and then miraculously propose its own unique and often exclusive solution for salvation. As Karl Marx, had so profoundly and prophetically stated, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” In his book, Awareness, Anthony de Mello suggested, “Do you want your drug? Get ready for the hangover.”

My countless Western colleagues, all equally in search of the truth, have rightfully identified the flaws and uncovered the countless misgivings of so many overly-righteous and likely Christian despots. I don't wish to be redundant in my own writings and thus will not seek to “reinvent the wheel” of often erroneous Christian dogma. What I hope to accomplish here is offering a simple and concise overview of man's plight and relentless struggle to understand that is he or she alone, and not some imaginary external divine being, universal power or demigod, is the only and truly miraculous pentacle of creation and evolution. How we arrived at this point of spiritual ignorance is not as important as the recognition of our each and every one’s inalienable right to set claim on this extraordinary and most naturally imbued inheritance; it is that any true divinity lies only within grasp of each and every individual and the path to that enlightenment begins with the recognition that we alone are the masters and sole captains of our fate, spiritual and otherwise.

Man should vehemently lay claim to this wonderful and truly available inheritance in much the same manner as he has endlessly sought his civil freedoms. Our claims to spiritual freedom are often attained by those same drastic costs of sacrifice and loss of life. Strip away our varying and diverse religions, and all of mankind is quite equal in all aspects of his or her life including that most wonderful capacity of all, most simply, to love. It is this ultimate reality, to which this book is lovingly dedicated as a most intentionally unscholarly, modest and most probably incomplete guide to understanding just how man has become so hopelessly and spiritually enslaved to his various gods; “Ye shall know the truth, and that truth shall set you free.” I repeat, “Ye shall know the truth, and that truth shall set you free.” Our gods unintentionally helped us to arrive at this threshold to the truth; now we need to thank them, excuse them, and move on into this uncompromised and revealing Age of Reality. Be ever so thankful that you lived long enough to have actually witnessed its beginnings.

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