Human activities and actions are based on faith, belief, and trust because the qualities themselves are intrinsic to the very structure and function of the human mind by virtue of its evolutionary origin. As previously noted, everyone unconsciously presumes and has faith that their own mind is processing and reporting ‘reality’, and that their own viewpoint is therefore true, which means that other viewpoints are false or mistaken. With progressive education and wisdom, this basic presumption becomes tailored to more humble dimensions, but even then, it remains a bedrock of the ego’s confidence in its capacity to know the truth and, therefore, ‘reality’.
Everyone is basically vulnerable to error, as was pointed out by Jesus Christ, the Buddha, Socrates, and later philosophers, such as René Descartes and many others. With the recognition that the mental discernment of truth was actually quite difficult, there arose the great philosophical systems as are exhibited by the erudite Great Books of the Western World. Even Newtonian science was later superseded by the great discoveries of the theories of relativity, quantum mechanics, subparticle physics, and, importantly, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and more. Independent of science or academics, there have always been the great religions and mystical traditions as well as the teachings of the great sages.
As noted, the matrix of the mind is innocent by virtue of its innate structure. The mind is in a constant state of presumptive believingness. Even if it doubts, it does so out of the innocent reliance on seemingly logical argument. Although ridiculing faith and trust, skeptics themselves exhibit the same naïve confidence and faith in their own subjective intellectualizations and mentalized perceptions. The skeptic states that the mind is unable to know the truth, and then, paradoxically, uses that very mind to prove the validity of doubt and mistrust; thus, even the skeptic is basically motivated by naïve trust and faith.
Inasmuch as it is primarily by faith and trust that any human endeavor is possible, the most obvious necessity is for a means to ascertain truth and reality from a point of observation that is free of the distortions of mentalization or bias. Nor can emotions be substituted to fill the lack because they are instinctual responses to perception, without an inherent capacity to verify reality. Thus, current scientific/philosophical discourse includes such terminology as ‘intuitive’ versus ‘counterintuitive’, which is an argument about the validity of so-called ‘first-person’ subjective reporting. The current philosophical debate in science concerns the question of whether ‘subjective’ is more real than ‘objective’, or vice versa. Such discourse ends up as rambling conjecture and circuitous intellectualization, most of which is primarily addressed to other intellectualizers prone to similar limitation.
In the search for trustable, unimpeachable sources of verifiable truth, the human mind has relied on prophets, dreams, visions, shamans, ecclesiastical doctrines, religious authority, history, intuition, revelation, myth, intelligence, legends, oracles, divination, astronomy, astrology, transmediums, channelers, archeology, paleontology, political systems, philosophy, metaphysics, reason, logic, Newtonian science, quantum mechanics, relativity theory, advanced theoretical and subparticle physics, and now the realizations described by Peter Lynds (2003). He points out that the same limitations that have been discovered by consciousness research—even duration and time itself— are primarily projections of consciousness, with no actual physical existence. With no self-existent reality such as ‘time’, there is no real ‘now’ or moment, and therefore, no time-dependent relative position is possible in physical reality. Thus, Lynds solves the classic ‘Xeno’ paradox, which was originally stated in ancient Greece.
Consciousness research has made available a means of discerning truth from falsehood as well as the capacity to ascertain the degree of relative truth compared to an absolute (a scale of 1 to 1,000). The effect was comparable to the impact of the development of the telescope on astronomy, or the microscope on biology in that consciousness research provided a pragmatic instrument which facilitated the opening of an entirely new field of research containing an objective, practical tool for verification and validation of levels of truth. The simple methodology of consciousness research (cal. 605) is easily comprehensible and does not tax the intellect or require advanced degrees of formal education or belief systems because it is experiential, nonintellectual, and self-reifying. Simply stated, truth (reality) makes the body musculature go strong in people who calibrate over 200, and falsehood (nonreality) makes them go weak, just as litmus paper is pink to acid and blue to alkaline substances.
Basis of Consciousness Calibration
That truth makes the body musculature go strong and falsehood result in its weakening was an empirical clinical discovery (Hawkins,1995). The phenomenon is due to the fact that truth exists as an actual reality, whereas falsehood merely has no substrate of reality. Thus, the muscle-testing response is either “yes” or “not yes” (“no”). The mechanisms are clarified by understanding basic principles of quantum physics by which the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle itself is the ‘litmus paper’. Phenomena are the consequence of the collapse of the ‘wave state’ of potentiality to the ‘particle state’ of manifestation and actuality. These are the result of intention and observation itself. The observer and the observed become an operational unit. Truth has actual existence and therefore collapses the wave function. Falsehood has no reality (nonexistent) and thus fails to get a response (the arm weakens). Thus, like electricity, the wire is either ‘on’ and carries current (“yes”) or is ‘not on’ (“no”). Furthermore, detailed description is readily available through Henry Stapp via his personal Web site, and Scott Jeffrey (Jeffrey and Colyer, 2007).
Evolution of Faith
When the infinitely powerful, nonlinear energy field of consciousness (the Light of God) interacted with matter, life originated out of the resultant organic substrate (calibrates as true at the level of Infinity). Early life forms lacked intrinsic sources of energy for survival and further growth; therefore, energy had to be sought and obtained from the local environment. The vegetable form of life, however, utilized chlorophyll to convert sunlight into energy, but animal life forms had to obtain necessary nutrients by contact and incorporation. Thus, animal life had to learn to distinguish usable life-sustaining substances from those that were antithetical to life and thus develop the capacity for intelligence.
Survival itself was based on the evolution of the capacity to develop reliable information gathering, interpretation, and organization of data (e.g., discern ‘good’ from ‘bad’). This later became what is known as intelligence, with its innate capacity to sort, stratify, and store linear data via meaning (essence) and survival value. The reliance on correct information for survival then formed the matrix out of which faith (reliability) later evolved.
In the human, there evolved not only the capacity to process and interpret linear data, but there was also available the nonlinear energy of consciousness/awareness that was called ‘spiritual’ because the energy source was nonphysical and not definable by linear concepts. This, too, was evolutionary in its human development and was called the ‘human spirit’. It was characterized by the emergence of a nonphysical (‘etheric’) energy body, the survival and evolution of which were independent of the physical body itself. Thus, spirit is related to essence, and reason to linear form and definition.
As can be seen from its evolutionary development, faith was a biological necessity for survival that was built into a basic structure of the ego as the sense of self. The capacity to be aware of and experience the self was a quality of sentient awareness innate to the animal kingdom. Thus, humankind lived by faith. Naïvely, the ego placed its primary faith in the narcissistic core of the ego itself (e.g., perception/opinion), which therefore assumed autonomy and sovereignty as the arbiter of reality. The ego is, by virtue of its structure and origin, blind to its own limitations.
Faith versus Reason
This dichotomy could be more accurately depicted as reliance on the unseen, ultimate nonlinear contextual reality versus reliance for truth on the limited linear content of mentalization. Generally, linear intellectual constructs, such as science and philosophy, are viewed as presumptively objective, verifiable, and provable, while nonlinear reality is described as subjective, mystical, ineffable, and (prior to consciousness research) non-confirmable.
The Scopes trial is the best-known example of the confrontation between the disparities of paradigms. Actually, as described previously, there is no real conflict anymore than there is a ‘conflict’ between organic and inorganic matter, or between living and nonliving entities. The limitation is merely an artifact of the limitation of viewpoint that occurs when a subject is addressed from different levels of consciousness (Van Biema, 2006).
On the calibrated scale of consciousness, as previously mentioned, the linear, provable dimension is represented by calibration levels up to 499, and the nonlinear levels of consciousness from 500 up are experiential, confirmable, and demonstrable but not ‘provable’ by the rules of reason or logic because they are beyond the paradigm of reality as defined by consciousness levels in the 400s. Intelligence is the capacity to discern basic patterns (principles) that can then be creatively utilized in problem solving.
The change in brain physiology (as per the Brain Function chart, Chapter 4) at level 200 indicates a shift of neurotransmitters. This major shift in the basic physiology of the brain itself is confirmatory of the importance of reliance on spiritual values and their contribution, significance, and meaning. Thus, man’s higher development is expressed by the use of intelligence in the service of spiritualized intention.
Curiosity: The Mental Engine of Survival
For life to survive, organisms had to constantly search for external sources of energy as well as to locate water and favorable physical and environmental conditions. This required development of the capacity to sample and identify data and eventually discern basic principles. The pattern of ‘search and sample’ is the process identified as curiosity and exploration whereby information is subsequently stored, processed, and categorized for the sake of efficiency. This capacity emerged as intelligence, and its linear symbolic products were reason and mentalization.
Reason is the capacity to categorize and manipulate symbols and images that originate as extractions of principles from the physical world so that experience can be amplified and elaborated by the faculty of mentation, independent of actual physical contact or experience. Thus, experimentation could be freed from actual physical location, and explanation could result in the excitement of adventure and pleasure from the ‘new’, as well as reconfirmation of the familiar. The amoeba’s exploration for survival has become the ‘research and development’ of today’s world as an important major activity of all business, industry, and commerce.
Scientific theories evolved over the centuries via often-contentious debate and refinement, and they are still currently evolving, especially regarding quantum theory (Rosenblum, 2006). The benefits of faith in science were not only intellectual but also included the production of technology and other means of verifying and demonstrating the reliability of linear processing. In contrast, processing of information in the nonlinear spiritual domain historically has been purely subjective and experiential and therefore reliant on first-person testimony. The benefits of nonlinear spiritual realizations are observable and verifiable but not provable in the same way as is linear documentable data. Spiritual experience is the consequence of high-frequency energies beyond the consciousness range of the provable. Their expressions are observable, much as friendliness is recognizable in contrast to impersonality. By virtue of its impact on brain physiology and hormonal processes, spiritual context impacts the biological level as demonstrated by worldwide faith-based recovery groups in which the previously impossible becomes possible.
Spiritual intention, commitment, and alignment alter context within which content is influenced and modified. By analogy, when applying the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, spiritual intention collapses the wave function of potentiality into actuality. Spiritual intention also has a notable effect on perception itself so that life events and human interaction are experienced, witnessed, and comprehended from a higher perspective (e.g., ‘miraculous’). This also results in a major shift of emotions consequent to the more favorable shift of brain function and its information-processing pathways as well as neural hormones and transmitters.
With spiritual progress, there is a transformation of subjective experiential witnessing accompanied by a concordant positive change in the appearance of the world and its events. It is discovered that spiritual effort is exciting, rewarding, and results in gratification and benefits that eventually reach the level which can only be described as ‘miraculous’ because they emerge spontaneously out of the power of nonlinear context rather than being ‘caused’ by linear content.
Meaning, significance, and value are experientially revelatory in their emergence rather than seeming to occur as a consequence of presumptive, logical ‘cause and effect’. The laws of context are those of dominance, influence, and increased likelihood that are therefore dissimilar from the content of ordinary mentation.
With advancement of consciousness, the truths of spiritual realities become spontaneously obvious, even though they may not be logically comprehensible to the thinking mind. The witnessing of events results in a greater contextualized comprehension that is beyond the ordinary. This transition becomes quite marked at consciousness levels 540 and above, by which all experience is transformed. By consciousness levels 570 to 590, there is a continuous unfolding of ever-increasing beauty and perfection, and the witnessing of the seemingly miraculous can become almost constant.
Development of Faith
The individual’s psychological capacity for the development of faith begins with childhood dependency on reliable parenting where nurturance is provided in accord with the infant’s tolerance levels. With adequate training, the tolerance of delay increases as faith is linked with expectancy. This phase also influences later propensity for optimism versus pessimism, as well as confidence in authority figures.
Parental guidance rewards positive behaviors, and the withholding of it for negative behaviors can even be accompanied by punishment for noncompliance. The ego/self then integrates the parental pattern of ‘good me’ versus ‘bad me’ as well as ‘good-versus-bad’ concepts of authority. Out of this dichotomy arise guilt and self-hatred versus approval. The pain of guilt is assuaged by the discovery of blame, excuses, and rationalizations. The propensity for trust becomes incorporated in later development as spiritual expectations and beliefs in God and spiritual truths.
Everyone already has a calibratable level of consciousness from the very moment of birth, which is independent of worldly factors or circumstances. This is in accord with the classic principle of karma that, although not a Western term, finds its corollary expressions in Western religions (fate, destiny). (The calibratable level of truth of the principle of karma calibrates at 1,000.)
The calibratable level of an infant’s consciousness at birth roughly indicates the degree of spiritual evolution that has already occurred and also implies the amount of work yet to be done. There is widespread recognition of this basic principle in all the major religions of the world, as well as agreement that the characteristic of the afterlife of the spirit is the consequence of spiritual choices made during earthly life.
To facilitate the acceptance of man’s fate are the great teachings that emphasize the availability of Salvation and/or Enlightenment, accompanied by the benefits of Grace which ensue from faith. Therefore, the teaching “But believe in my name” emanates from the teachings of Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and the great, ancient Aryan sages. That “The kingdom of God is within you” is confirmable by consciousness calibration as well as by the subjective human experience of the shift of identity from the self to the Self (Hawkins, 2007).
That faith may be naïvely and mistakenly placed in inadequate or nonintegrous teachers or erroneous pathways was described in detail in Truth vs. Falsehood. Misplaced faith is the basis for great disasters, both personal and collectively, whereby the innocence of naïve devotees is exploited by leaders and teachings that calibrate at only 90 or below. Therefore, faith in verifiable truth is the royal path-way to Salvation and Enlightenment. In contrast, faith in that which is erroneous is a trap for the unwary. Thus, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, and all the other great teachers taught that man’s basic error is due to ignorance, and his long-term destiny is dependent on overcoming that ignorance. Therefore, identification and verification of truth are critical to human destiny, both collectively and individually. As we can see by historical analysis, the consciousness level of mankind has progressively risen over the centuries.
Theism and Deism in the United States
Although secularism is promulgated via well-funded legal/political activist groups, the majority of Americans (ninety-two percent) believe in God, and ninety percent have a religious or faith-based affiliation (Baylor Survey of Religion, 2006). Only five percent are atheists (which is the same as the worldwide rate). The survey reported that God may be conceived of as authoritarian (thirty-one percent), benevolent (twenty-three percent), critical/judgmental (sixteen percent), or distant (twenty-four percent). Of nonaffiliated people, sixty percent believe in God. Thus, the great majority of Americans have faith in a Higher Power.
Commonly, degrees of faith, affiliations, and concepts of God fluctuate during people’s lifetimes, resulting in periods of great faith as well as periods of neglect. Then later, there is a resurgence, especially in response to stress and calamity. Thus, faith may be active or merely dormant.
The Necessity for Reason
As is readily apparent, innocent trust and faith can lead to serious error without the counterbalance of reason, logic, and education. Thus, credibility of sources of information indicates the importance of the capacity to discern verifiable truth from falsehood. Rationality requires accurate information plus the capacity to process data through experience and mature as the progressive wisdom and authenticity that is the final product of experiencing. Thus, by processing, the linear becomes integrated and synthesized within the context of the nonlinear overall field of comprehension and understanding.
Without the leavening and contextualization of reason, religious faith can lead to irrational extremism and destructive excess of religiosity as fanaticism. Thus, genocide and barbaric mayhem have occurred throughout history and are now expressed as Islamic terrorism and fascism.
As demonstrated worldwide, Islam is currently at war in many countries, with no counterbalance of reason or rationality. The current international criticism of Islam is that it is immune to reason and unable to even comprehend its value (Warraq, 2002). The difficulty is due to Islam’s denunciation of reason as a threat to faith (as per the Koran).
Influence of Religion in United States Society
The overall cultural impact of the various religions or belief systems currently calibrate as follows:
| Atheism | 165 |
| Academia | 190 |
| Libertarianism | 185 |
| Hedonism | 180 |
| Relativism, Moral | 180-185 |
| Sophistry (Political) | 185 |
| Islam | 190 |
| Secularism | 190 |
| Academia | 190 |
| Hollywood | 190 |
| Evolutionary Psychology | 210 |
| Christianity | 450 |
| Judaism | 450 |
| Catholicism | 450 |
| Protestantism | 450 |
| Traditionalism | 450 |
| Buddhism | 455 |
| Chivalry | 455 |
| 12-Step Programs | 525 |
As shown above, the source of socio-political-philosophical conflict and debate is between the segments of society that calibrate below 200 and those that calibrate in the 400s. This demonstrates the old American Indian legend that inside everyone there are two wolves. One is evil and angry, jealous, greedy, arrogant, and given to false pride and prideful ego. The other is good and is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, generosity, and truth. Therefore, be careful which wolf you feed (Wheat, 2007). One wolf leads to enslavement, the other to freedom and liberty (Williams, 2007, quoting Alan Keyes).
Faith as a Cornerstone of America
Deistic/theistic faith has been the primary foundation of America since its founding and continues to be the very basis for its continuance of freedom, opportunity, and strength as guaranteed by the United States Constitution itself. The details were well explained in God and Religion in America (Gingrich, 2006) and The Preacher and the Presidents (Gibbs and Duffy, 2007). It is clear from all the above that faith itself is of such power that it sustains moral integrity in the face of worldwide challenge and threat of destruction. The presidents thus bulwarked reason with extensive ethical investigation and pastoral discourse.
The Reverend Billy Graham served eleven American presidents and the country for fifty years. Thus, faith is not only inspiring but ultra-practical in its capacity to contextualize logic and reason. The grim decisions of war were the consequence of the overall historical context of the threat of survival. In sequence came the great challenges of totalitarian aggression (e.g., Imperialist Japan and the Nazi regime), then communist militancy, and currently, Islamic totalitarianism and attack on the United States itself.
Another stress of the presidency is the constant risk of assassination by which many former presidents were either injured or killed. Another formidable stress is the constant stream of hatred directed at every president by every form of vilification and threat. Without faith, function would be impossible.