Up until now I had always thought our experiences made us more knowledgeable. But after reading the excerpt below I am rethinking things.
Masonically speaking, we are expected to have the knowledge before we proceed further. hmmn.. this could prove to be a 'chicken or egg' challenge.
While we are incarnate in a physical body, we find it very difficult to create from our own individual awareness. So we surrender to the collective human consciousness, whether it serves us or not.
When we are in Spirit, the results of our thoughts are instantaneous. So we come to know and understand very quickly that we choose what we experience. The truth that ‘our thoughts create reality’ becomes obvious to us.
If we could remember this truth in this Moment, we would be joyful, no matter what our circumstances are. And, because Time is now speeding up, we would soon discover that, what we are being brings us the things we want. Knowledge does not follow experience – it precedes it. It’s called Creation.
Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Eckhart Tolle
An interesting topic made a bit more difficult perhaps by the use of reification. Thus knowing (a process or state intrinsic to the individual consciousness) is turned into an object (knowledge) that may be even be passed around in the form of a document.
I also wonder about how individual the human really is at a spiritual level. Hence what does the "we" mean in the statement "we choose what we experience"? Perhaps the group soul is the I rather than the individual human mentality.
Knowledge does not follow experience – it precedes it. It’s called Creation
An example may be the Biblical knowing of another human.
There are essentially two kinds of growth--physical and spiritual. The main difference is the plane on which the growth is experienced; however, both "forms" of growth share many things in common, two of which are suffering and struggle. It seems to me that the person who wrote that quote thinks that the spiritual life is like going out to eat at a restaurant or something; true, there does come a place where it becomes natural to have an abundant, spiritual life or get good, spiritual insight/knowledge but by no means is it as simple as the author has described.
There are fiery trials that we all have to go through and God not only tests our deeds but also our works! To say "Hey man; getting good spiritual knowledge is easy" is like saying "Hey man; being a carpenter is no sweat!" or "Hey man; getting that degree at university is a piece of cake!"
I also feel that for the people who listen to this kind of advice, the "joy" the author describes, which would become a reality for the people who listened, is really just "vain-confidence"; for, to think that everything I experience is really just inside my head is called...Solipsism. And to merely believe that everything around me is a result of my thoughts and ideas would really make everyone who believed this idea "happy"--but for different reasons.
For some, it would be because they view themselves as some kind of superhero who can change the world; for others, it would be a further inflation of their Narcissism because they would be "happy" in thinking that the world revolves around them and their interests. Of course, there is a whole spectrum of other reasons why people would be "happy" thinking that their lives are nothing more then the result of their imagination and thoughts.
Most dangerously though, this idea would ALTER their perception of reality! But why is this so dangerous? It's dangerous because when you exchange reality for fiction, you end up believing a lie! And every day you live your life, you think that all you have to do is reorder your brain, thoughts, ideas, etc and all your problems will go away; this would eventually lead you into a kind of depression because you discover that for some reason, no matter how many times you reorganize your life, the same problems end up occurring (but you can't understand why)...
And the greatest paradox?
When someone tells you that your life ISN'T an extension of your mind which you can change by merely "reorganizing" it, you don't want to believe because you cling so desperately to the idea that is responsible for killing you softly.
