Perchance to Dream

To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

With these words does Hamlet ponder the consequences of suicide and death in his famous sololeque. Hundreds of hours of possible mind wresting thought and desperation condensed into a few words. That is what makes a writer great, and surely, there is no greater writer than that old English bard, William Shakespear.

Many have used this quote as a springboard into a discussion about dreams, an utterly erroneous interpretation, since dreams are the last thing on Hamlet's mind as he speaks. Hamlet speaks of a more permanent sleep, that of death. The dreams he is referring to, are nightmares that may turn into permanent reality if he does end his life. You can almost smell the fear as he utters: "ay, there's the rub."

Fear of death and its possible aftermath has been at the root of the belief in a Hell, as well as the inspiration for most horror movies. It's not so hard to believe that in death, every twisted nightmare our tortured mind created while asleep, exists out there somewhere and we get to experience it, especially if we are wrought by guilt for injustices we have done during our lifetimes. As a matter of fact, it is this fear of eternal torture and its idyllic opposite, Paradise - a place of rewards for the worthy, that are at the root of every religion that ever crossed the face of this planet. Preying at two of the most basic emotions of man, fear and hope, religious institutions have survived and thrived throughout the millenia.

But can any of it be true? Where does our poor soul go after the body has ceased all its functions? Is there such a thing as a soul? Does our consciousness continue in some form or is our last breath the end of all thought and being? So many questions, so few answers. Medical science cannot answer any question that goes beyond that last breath. Religion attempts to provide its own explanations, but without hard, scientific proof, these explanations appear like bedtime stories to the discerning mind. Surprisingly enough, one of the hardest of sciences comes to the rescue with some of the strangest hypotheses to ever come out of a scientist's mouth. I am referring of course, to Physics and our latest discoveries of how reality works. Where our world was solid and real, we are now forced to consider string theories, multiverses, parallel planes, frequencies instead of solid matter, and a universe where God does play dice.

And where does all that take us, my dear Hamlet? Anywhere we want to go, I suppose. If something exists in the realm of probabilities, no matter how small, then it is likely to exist somewhere within the expanded realm of the multiverses. The phrase "anything is possible" therefore, takes on new significance and our minds need to expand in tandem with the universe to encompass all points of view.

Death: Where Knowledge Stops

Death is perhaps one of the most taboo subjects of conversation in "polite society" in most cultures. There is good reason for this. There are no "experts" on the subject of death. We have no scientific knowledge beyond the medical evidence of the cessation of function of the human body, which constitutes the act of dying. Nothing in available science can prove or disprove religious, philosophical and parapsychological claims of a continuation of human existence in some form beyond the final moment of existence on this earth.

I am not alone in the belief that all religions are founded on the desperate need of every human being to explain this terrible prospect of non-existence looming inevitably in our future. The hopelessness of the situation is such that it might explain the creation and existence of the so-called "religious genes" I discussed in a previous blog - a safety valve, perhaps that redirects the attention of the human being away from the finality of death to a soft cushion of beliefs in eternal life, resurrection, reincarnation, heaven or whatnot. We need to believe in something or risk insanity as we contemplate nothingness.

Man is the only creature on earth to our current knowledge that has the ability to think beyond his life, to a time when he will not exist any more, at least in the form he has today. The prospect is daunting and I'm sure everyone has spent a few sleepess nights trying to come to terms with the idea. This is the point where most men and women turn to religion for comfort and solace. A few brave souls who declare themselves to be "atheists" focus on the present and purport to believe that "it all ends here". It's such a dismal outlook that frankly, I believe that if everyone adopted this attitude, suicide rates would go through the roof. Perhaps it was no accident that as soon as the atheist communist regime in the Soviet Union ended, people rushed to reopen the churches and returned to religion full strength.

It is no accident that I'm writing this article today. A couple of weeks ago, the most precious person in the world to me - my mother - died. It's very hard to take philosophically the death of a loved one. For once, my meandering mind froze on its tracks and emotions ruled my world. Those of you who have read my articles in the past may have already surmised that I'm neither religious nor atheist. I try to balance myself in a family whose beliefs run from deep religiousness to complete atheism and I can usually understand their points of view. Yet, this was one occasion where my whole being was begging to turn to religion, to God, for hope, in a place where knowledge stopped.

Let's get religion straight...

When I wrote about the "religion gene" a few weeks ago, I had no idea how much interest it would cause. Although it may not be obvious from the blog -- why are people so shy to post comments? -- quite a few people approached me and wished to discuss the subject.

Now, I'm not a genetics expert and can't give the whole scientific background. I heard the tidbit in the news and it entered my mind as it was meandering along for subjects to discuss. A Google or better yet, an acoona search might give you more details on the subject, as well as lead you to some forums where the issue has been debated.

What I would like to further discuss today is the idea of religion, which I believe is highly appropriate seeing as how we are in the middle of the holidays. Now, don't get me wrong. I like holidays. Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, I keep the Christmas spirit alive in my heart all year round. I like to give gifts more than I like to receive gifts (although if you have a gift to give me, I won't refuse!! lol) and I like the effect that the Christmas holiday has on people. It's not very often in my part of the world that people seem giving, and goodwilled. Holidays bring out the best in people, and if only for that one fact, having religion is a good thing to my mind.

But how about religion as a whole? Is it necessary? Can we excuse the violence and upheaval brought about in the name of religion? Were the Christian Crusades right? How about the Holy Inquisition? Is Jihad excusable? Just how many people have died and will die in the name of a peaceful, giving, loving religion, in the name of an untouchable God? Is it possible that there are those among us who use our need to believe (genetically pre-ordained perhaps) to manipulate us into serving their own purposes? Most likely.

And the question arises: can't our trained. intelligent mind overcome the basic instinct and selectively keep the positive teachings arising from our various beliefs while condemning the negatives? Apparently not and for many reasons. The most obvious one is that not everyone's mind is trained and intelligent. The second reason -- more obscure but just as imprtant -- is fear. If God ordains, we must obey, mustn't we? Poor Abraham almost killed his own son because God ordered him to! But is blind belief what we should have? If so, why were we given the ability to doubt, to ask questions, to seek alternate answers?

And then we had the Great Communist Experiment. Religion was outlawed, it was "the opium of the people", only realism there, please. Nothing you cannot detect with one of your five senses. It lasted for several generations... but did it wipe out religion? Nope. As soon as they could, the people opened up the old, forgotten chuches and were back where they had started from. What's the use? The gene is mightier than reason!

Now, I have a different belief. I believe in freedom! In my meandering mind, everyone has the right to believe what he/she wants to, as long as that belief does no harm to anyone else. Radical, huh?
Friend, I don't care who and how you worship... that is your affair. I do demand that you show me the same courtesy and keep your nose out of my business!! Oh, and by the way... if your religion includes the "right" or "obligation" to do harm to someone else, I'm sure there is a jail or a nice, padded cell somewhere for you.

Religion Gene

This is not news but it is true that geneticists have identified a "religion gene". Apparently, somewhere in the human DNA there is a precoded gene that tells us that we have to believe in something! I was wondering what the use for such a gene would be...

If we follow Darwin's theory of evolution, it is possible to hypothesize that humans that do possess this gene and do therefore have the belief that there is some sort of a deity out there protecting them, fared better and survived long enough at least to bear progeny and pass this gene along. I suppose that means that people that did not possess the "religion gene" and therefore did not believe in protection from above, did not survive as long. This is not so strange. After all, if you believe that you will miraculously survive, chances are that you are also trying your best to do so and a strong belief does bring favorable results.

There is another school of thought, which bears consideration, however. It is the idea that the body is simply the biomechanical expression of the soul. In this scenario, the human body possesses every single mechanism necessary to attain the desires of the "higher self". If it is in the interests of the higher self then to believe in one or more deities, the gene is placed there to make it easier.

Both arguments have merit and can be debated with relative ease.

Yet, the most important lesson we learn from the discovery of the "religion gene" is that purported agnostics and atheists are either lying about their lack of faith, they have substituted denial in lieu of a deity as a reaction to social pressure, or, quite possibly, they are the exception to the rule and simply do not possess this "religion gene".

Whatever the case may be, there is no denying that for most people there is a sense of comfort and safety, perhaps due to an increase in endopherines, that arise from observing even simple acts of faith, such as crossing oneself or lighting a candle or whatever practice their own religion dictates. Such feelings are useful to humans and to society as a whole because they are intimately connected with a sense of peace and happiness, the human conscience and finally to a reverence for things that are greater than oneself.