The progress of reality: The purpose of my book, “Red Clay and Roses”, was, through storytelling, to explain how things were during a particular era in time. Many have read the book and enjoyed the read, but some took issue with the one page, “Afterword”, which was meant as a sort of disclaimer.
I do not advocate pro-life or pro-choice with the writing of the book. The book’s storyline simply indicates options available for women in relationships which resulted in pregnancy during a time when options were more limited than they are today and the dilemmas they faced in exploring their options. Women’s reproductive rights and responsibilities are explored through the telling of individual’s stories in another era in time. There is also a significant amount of racial tension and angst in the stories.
In the “Afterword” I quoted Mark Twain when he said, “Racism, Chauvinism, and Religion are the three greatest evils of mankind.” I went on to say that the bloodshed in the name of these three things is what makes them tangible evils.
That offended some, and that is okay.
I am not anti-religious, but I am not religious. I do believe that many have died in the name of religion unnecessarily.
In many Eastern cultures there is a concept of non-duality. I have studied many religions from Baptist to Methodist, Judaism to Islam to Christianity, multiple Hindu to multiple Buddhism ways of thinking. It all gets very complicated. There are many shades to the concept of non-duality. In my concept of non-duality, we are all one people with one collective consciousness. When harm is done to one, it not only harms the one and the doer, but harms the whole of humankind in the universe, because we are merely a microcosm in this universe.
The internet is a good example of this non-dual “collective consciousness”. This interconnectedness. It is not limited to Earth, in my opinion, but the entire universe. God made it all, whether we believe in science, spirituality, or both, in this country, we are allowed to believe or not believe this is true. In western culture, with many faiths, there is an interconnectedness wherein individuality is retained, and mind, body, and spirit are interrelated. Social creatures that we are, we are not exclusively individuals because we are influenced by other individuals and their reactions to our own selves.
Non-duality is not to be confused with transcendentalism wherein there is inherent goodness of both people and nature…I believe inherent evil and wickedness do exist.
In the Christian way of thinking there is a spiritual union with God. While I am not a practicing religious person, I do have this spiritual union, this interconnectedness with God.
There is a New Age movement confining dogmas with a worldwide view of science and spirituality. It is inclusive and pluralistic. While I agree with some of this movement, I am not in the practice of soul searching. I am quite content with the soul I know myself to have, although I feel that I am enlightened every day that I live and breathe.
According to David Loy, “When you realize that the nature of your mind and the Universe are non-dual you are enlightened.” Non-duality is almost non-conceptual, not easily graspable in an idea. One eastern culture gives a metaphor of the essence function of non-duality: a lamp and its light. They are the same and they are not. There is body and there is function. I am a lamp and its light. We are one!
S.K. Nicholls 