About Me

In my case, accepting and preaching an inflexible dogma had made me into something of a spiritual automaton;

Belief is the death of intelligence.” says cult philosopher Robert Anton Wilson, and comic book writer Alan Moore adds, “The one place gods indubitably exist is in human minds.” These two quotations have served as cornerstones of my anti-faith for several years. I came across them when I was still a true believing Christian fundamentalist cult member; they were perfect little mental bon-bons, tempting enough to retain and savor, but not obviously threatening the beliefs I was then so assiduously cultivating. They were also seeds, perhaps the seeds, that eventually led me to change my life radically.

Wilson’s point is devilishly simple; the moment we profess ‘belief’, we begin to limit our ability to evaluate new evidence. That is, by ‘accepting’ a belief, we relieve ourselves of the responsibility to reevaluate as needed – our thinking becomes rigid. In my case, accepting and preaching an inflexible dogma had made me into something of a spiritual automaton; I was prodigiously good at bending every thought—every thought—to the service of the dogma and had nearly lost the ability to think independently.

Wilson also discusses ‘reality tunnels’; our personal sets of beliefs that shape and limit what we are able to perceive and, thus, the world that we are able to live in. By systematically examining and surpassing our assumptions about reality, we can experience bigger, more enjoyable realities. If we are to believe Wilson, we are the “Masters Who Make the Green Grass Green”.

Something in me cracked when I read this. A little light came in. Though I am still extending the insight, even then I could almost see that my beliefs were limiting. I also began to see that by studying, attending meetings, reading obsessively and so on, I was actually maintaining a certain set of beliefs. I had the beliefs, and I was doing everything I could to hang on to them – rather than changing my weird beliefs to accommodate new experiences. And here’s a little tip for readers—when you have to work that hard just to keep believing something, odds are it’s not especially true.

Moore’s observation is also simple. He avoids the question of whether gods have any objective existence – after millennia, all we can really do is shrug this question off. He simply insists on the irrefutable fact that gods certainly exist between human ears. And this leads to all sorts of delightful speculation about just what religions are being loyal to: a god, or a human’s conception of a god? And the same question can be asked of other mental constructs like philosophies or political systems.

The two statements add up to something like a personal code. Strive relentlessly for awareness of one’s own set of beliefs in order to transcend them, and more than that, be wary of widely held beliefs. I am happy to say that my own experiments with this basic philosophy have been extremely positive and have given me a more loving, joyful, and prosperous life.

Angus W. Stocking, L.S.

Questions? Feel free to email me!

If you like my writing on this site, you’ll love my books!