I want to live consistently. What does this mean? I believe this means a person has one central paradigm to which everything he does and thinks in life conforms.

I believe there are two fundamental paradigms that one must choose to operate out of, at least for starters.

1. Mental Reasoning. This would be where the beliefs we hold and the choices we make in life are based upon logical deduction and evidential induction. I believe this is principally encapsulated through three principles of knowledge. First, the law of noncontradiction, which states that A cannot be A and non-A in the same sense and at the same time. Second, the basic reliability of the senses. That is, what we taste, touch, hear, feel, and smell can be relied upon as being true to reality for the most part. Third, the analogical use of language, meaning that language has the capability of communicating meaningful ideas that others can understand and process. This paradigm is what much of modern science and medicine is based upon in the west.
2. Gut Instinct. This is a paradigm that is irrational in the sense that it is not based upon rules of logic or evidence. Saying it is irrational does not mean it is inferior or wrong; it just means it does not use these rules as its basis for thought and action. Rather, it is an outworking of feelings, beliefs, ideas, and desires. It does not attempt to give reasons for pursuing a course of action. This paradigm is most prominently seen in Eastern religions and philosophies. It is also noticeable in many Christian groups.

How should one choose which of these paradigms to operate out of? There can be no answer to this question. If someone were to use logic to show why living by mental reasoning was better, this would be committing a logical fallacy called circular reasoning. For by using logic, the person has already chosen to operate out of the first choice and his conclusion is therefore found already to be one of his premises. Someone would also not be able to argue that the second paradigm choice is better, because by doing so the person would be presupposing the first paradigm, and thus not really living in the second at all.

Now, I don’t believe most people operate strictly out of one central paradigm. To put it more plainly, I believe most people live inconsistently. This is not to say that they are wrong or inferior for doing so. It simply means that they do not have one overarching paradigm in which they operate. Some of the things they do and believe are based ultimately on mental reasoning and some of the things they do and believe are based ultimately on gut instinct.

If a person is content to live inconsistently, then this blog post will be of no profit to them. However, most of the people I talk with want to live consistently. They don’t like to feel that they might be living inconsistently. I believe these people need to make a definite choice on which of these two fundamental paradigms they are going to operate out of. This way, even if they are wrong, they will at least have the consolation that they were consistent in what they believed and how they lived their lives.

To use a classic Christian example, most Christians believe the Bible is true. However, they want to base this belief on gut instinct only, but also say that it is rational by claiming scientific and archaeological evidence to support it. But this is inconsistent. I can believe the Bible is true because scientific and archaeological evidence support it. However, if I put it on this plane, I must also be willing to admit it is not true if the evidence later does not support it. Conversely, I can believe the Bible is true just because I feel it is or I want it to be. However, in doing so I must also acknowledge that my belief is irrational, meaning that it is not based on logic and evidence, but simply on personal (or spiritual/supernatural) feelings. I can do either of these, but I cannot do both and be consistent.

Most of the people to whom I mention that I practice yoga are either very receptive to it or else somewhat skeptical of it.

Much of the skepticism comes from Christians who are aware that yoga originated as a Hindu worship rite. The physical exercises, postures, diaphragmatic breathing, and meditation popularly associated with yoga are more accurately a specific branch called Hatha yoga. Legend has it that Lord Shiva propounded this particular discipline.

A couple thoughts I would like to give about this:

1. Just because something originated as part of a pagan worship ceremony does not mean it is wrong. This would lead to absurdity. For example, let’s suppose that stretching originated as an act of worship to the lord Stretchu. Would this mean that stretching is wrong? This of course would be ridiculous. There are many innocent customs inbred in our culture that originated as ancient pagan worship rites. Also, there are probably many others that we don’t even know about and we are unwittingly sinning if the pagan origin of these customs makes them wrong to practice.
2. What actually needs to be avoided is immoral actions and worship of other deities. Christmas and Easter also originated with pagan worship rites. Please look this up for yourself online if this is new to you; there are many articles addressing this topic. Does this mean that giving gifts is sinful? No. What made these holidays sinful? First, the immoral actions practiced during them, such as fornication, child sacrifice, and drunken carousel. Second, the deities worshiped during them, such as Mithra and Ishtar. If the immoral actions and false worship are avoided, there is nothing inherently wrong with engaging in all of the customs associated with these holidays. In fact, there can be much good that results.

Yes, yoga originated as a Hindu worship discipline. Yes, Lord Shiva propounded Hatha yoga, a version of which is what is commonly practiced in the West. And if you do yoga as part of a Hindu worship rite or focus on Lord Shiva in your meditation, then definitely this would be unscriptural and wrong from a Christian perspective. However, if you do it to improve health, awareness, peace, and connection with YHVH, I see nothing wrong with it.

Yoga connects posture, balance, stretching, and breath. As such, it is the most fulfilling exercise routine I practice. The spiritual and breath connections are a major part of its appeal to me. In I Corinthians 8, Paul states that eating meat offered to idols even in the idol’s temple is not wrong, but he also states that he will not do so if it makes a weaker brother violate his conscience. I will take the same approach. If I was mentoring someone in their Christian walk and they had qualms about yoga, I would probably abstain from practicing it.

In a future post, I will delve more into the concept of meditation. For now, I will leave you with Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am Elohim.”

Recently, the place I was staying at lost hot water. Thus, I was compelled to take a cold shower. Horrors! From this experience I learned several fascinating things:

1. It was difficult. I almost decided to just take a spritz bath at the sink after turning the water on and testing the temperature with my hand.
2. I wasted much less time in the shower. Indeed, I don’t think I have ever been as productive in this regard
3. I felt so much more motivated and ready to take on the day. Usually, right after I get out of the shower, I don’t feel like moving that fast and am not quite ready to focus my mind on the start of the day’s activities.
4. I like the rewards that come from doing hard things. There is an awesome psychological energy that comes when we face our fears, even of small things, and break our comfort zone.

After this experience, I decided to look up online to see if anyone purposefully took cold showers. What I found is that there is even some purported health benefits to this activity. Check out this article for some more info on this.

So, I’ve decided to take cold showers regularly. I still take hot ones here and there, but most of the time I turn the water to cold or at best lukewarm-cold.

If you feel inspired to try this out for yourself, please share your sensations. I would love to hear from you.

Challenge Bridge is a variation of a historic card game. The point of the game is not to win the hand or score the most tricks, but rather to do the best you can with the cards you have been dealt. You compare your score on a hand with experts who played the same hand.

Living the conscious life is a lot like Challenge Bridge. We are not trying to be the best or the greatest; we are simply trying to do the absolute best we can with the cards we’ve been dealt.

Therefore, there is no reason to be upset if we cannot lift as much weight as someone else, or don’t know as much, or can’t speak as well. Our goal, as conscious individuals is not to be better than someone else, but rather to reach our full potential. This may look very different from someone’s else’s potential.

So perhaps you were dealt some raunchy cards. Maybe you have a genetic health problem, or grew up in a bad environment, or have become disabled in some respect.

Instead of becoming bitter at the Almighty, the world, your parents, or yourself, accept the cards you have been dealt and play them well. Who knows, you may surpass your wildest expectations. For unlike Challenge Bridge, the cards you are dealt in life do have the possibility of changing.

Perhaps you are overweight. Instead of making excuses for it or just being depressed about it, just start doing the best you can to combat the problem. This may be as simple as cutting out one desert a week or exercising for 5 minutes a day. Then just keep loving yourself and developing yourself. Where you end up is not all that important; the journey is what matters.

However, be prepared to astonish yourself. When you start living consciously, amazing things happen!