AndrewBrunelle.com

There’s always a question that people ask that quickly forms judgment on other people.  “Do you believe in God?”  As they ask this question, you aren’t really sure what kind of God they’re talking about, or if it can be anything.  Some people see God as this father figure, much like the governing force of nature, whille others simply see God as a presence in our world, an energy force.  So if anyone ever asks you a question like this, you should have them define what they’re talking about by “God.”  It’s almost like we’re handed this world and asked to make best judgments on what holds true for us.  For example, if you grew up Catholic and now you’re out in the world and you see all these other religions, of which yours damns them all the hell.  How can all these belief systems exist and all be the “one true religion?”

This is where it gets a little hazy.  With all the belief systems, most of which are fear-based or too structured to be realistic, are a trap if you really look at them.  Most of them have good messages, but they somewhat limit your scope of reality.  You can’t have certain experiences in certain belief systems, mostly because you don’t believe they’re possible.  But most people stay inside one religion or set of beliefs in their entire lifetime, never experiencing anything else, so even though they may believe that all the other religions are wrong, they have never experienced them from the inside and seen if they resonate with them at all.

Of course, most people never stray from the system in which they were born.  And it’s sad, really, because they never do any thinking about reality for themselves.  They allow others to do the thinking for them.  If you let someone else tell you what to do with your life, it wouldn’t really be your life anymore.  It would be the life of the person who’s telling you what to do.  So unless you make a decision that reflects yourself, you’re pretty much giving up control of your life.  I believe the whole test is to question your beliefs and wonder if there are any beliefs outside your own belief system that could work for you.  And it takes time to try each of them out, but it may be worth it in the end.  You never know.

But there are all these pressures in certain religions.  People will notice if you start to get away.  Like if you go to church every Sunday and have been doing so for the past ten years, then if you all of the sudden stop, there could be some backlash and people muttering, “That guy’s lost his mind.”  And the thought of dealing with this is one thing that holds us back.  Not only that, but the fact that you’ll probably be spiritually unstable for awhile because you have to adapt to any new belief in your world.  But that is only temporary. 

I remember the time I tried to adopt a belief that time is only an illusion and is a creation of the mind.  At first, I couldn’t really grasp that, but eventually I came to figure out that everything is a creation of the mind.  Nothing just happens, there must be some sort of willing it to happen, be it a person, an animal, or a plant.  You see, the fact that time exists it mostly something we use to measure results, lifespan, and other seemlingly trivial things from the universe’s perspective.  If we place so much importance on the impermanent, then we start to place too much importance on the aspect of time. 

The most mind-blowing realization I’ve ever come to is the fact that we really don’t matter that much.  The fact is, while looking at the universe and its expansive size, we are not exactly the best thing since sliced bread.  We are just as important as an insect or a planet.  We are a cell in the organism we call the universe.  We are here to perpetuate the existence of our planet, which for some reason exists.  People often ask why we’re here, and I say, you could look for the rest of your life and you may be able to figure out how we are here, the science of why we are here, but it doesn’t bring us anywhere close to the purpose for being here. 

This is one thing I’ve been struggling with.  If we are as insignificant as it seems and our planet is nothing more than a small rock in the most gigantic formation of rocks anyone could ever imagine, then why is getting your taxes done so damn important?  How come people get stressed out over trivialities when there really is no need, from a cosmic perspective.  Even if you were to die, or even if the planet were to be destroyed, so what?  It’s not that big a deal.

And I think religion is the way to cope with all of this.  People place some sort of value on answers to these questions, and they’ll buy almost anything.  I’m not saying people who are religious are stupid, they’re not, if they’ve chosen their beliefs from examining many others.  If you ask this question to the universe, “Why are we here?” you most likely won’t get a response.  I think it’s because the universe is asking the same question to you:  “Why are YOU here?” 

And answering that question is very difficult to do.  Many people never answer it in their entire lifetimes.  I mean, if you have realized what I have, you know that from a cosmic perspective, choosing a purpose for your life can be very difficult.  Now that you realize the magnitude of the situation.  If you want to be a lawyer, but you know that doing so will force you to lie a lot, then you have to make a choice of whether or not you want to pay that price.  I’m not sure how the universe works, but from what I’ve seen, people usually get what they deserve, but it’s almost meaningless if you keep shifting perspectives, even to the other side of the globe. 

So I think the best deal is to choose a belief system that gives you the most power.  Choose one that will allow you to feel the most in control of your life.  You can give up control, but you can never give up responsibility.  If you have control, you do have responsibility, but if you don’t have control, you still have the rsponsibility to regain control.  So gain control of your beliefs and don’t follow something just because the rest of your family does or the church you go to does.  Don’t expect them to be understanding of your change in beliefs, as they most likely will dismiss you as insane. 

I guess it’s all about you, but not you in the selfish way.  It’s you as a collective whole, you as a planet, you as a universe to make it a better place without restrictions.  You shouln’t have to ask a pie-in-the-sky authority figure if you can do certain things.  Do what feels right and do what will give you the most power, but not power in an evil way, but power for the highest possible good you can imagine.

Then the most empowering for me is called subjective reality where a) there is only one consciousness, b) you are that consciousness, and c) everything is created by thoughts in that consciousness. It gives you an insane amount of power, but also an insane amount of responsibility.  So therefore, it places the world, the universe, in your hands.  It definitely takes time to get used to this, as your realize that other people are actually a projection of yourself.  Even strangers that pass by and plants, animals, books, tables, chairs, they’re all part of you and you have the power to change it.  It’s a very harmonious way of living, but you have to work at the thought part because every negative thought you have will be created, just as the psitive ones will.  So there are a lot of goods and bads like any other religion, but it is the only belief system that empowers you to this extent.  I hope I’ve been helpful in my musings and have a nice day, at least the one I created for you.

I’ve been reading Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development Blog for over a year now and I’ve come to incorporate him into my daily routine. He, in a way, inspired me to make my own blog and really embrace my passion for writing. I felt that when I initiated this blog, that it would be all comedy and comedy-related items, but I’ve grown quite a bit since then. This is not just a comedy blog. This is a collaboration of my daily thoughts, instincts, and routines. This is me uncensored. I don’t put up a fake front. I don’t say things just to get a laugh. I do it to connect with an audience. But it’s not just about that. It also fulfills me to write and get feedback o n how a particular article helped someone.

Right now I’m in the midst of re-philosophizing my life. I’ve been reading some very interesting literature as of late and it’s starting to make a dent in my consciousness. I haven’t watched more than five hours of TV in the last month, except for the week I had a visitor who was more than happy to just sit there and watch. I’ve tried to improve my diet substantially. I’m trying to naturalize it completely. Fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade juices, rich and hearty whole grains, tasty nuts, and plenty of water. I have been reading on how eating just these essential foods is a blessing for the planet and all of existence, not to mention the massive health benefits. I’ve been slowing things down significantly. By that, I mean I haven’t been working very hard at work, partly because it’s not tourist season, and also partly because I’ve noticed that rushing causes immense stress and no one should ever have to be subjected to it. I’ve learned the value of honesty and trust. I know myself more today than ever before. However, when I first started this ongoing process, it was like meeting myself for the first time.

I started this process off by closely examining myself and all areas of my life. I chose to accept each of them, followed by indicating which parts of my life need work. There were quite a few, but I took the approach that I have my whole life to do this, so there shouldn’t be any rush. The first aspect of my life I chose to revamp was my eating habits. I don’t know what motivated me to do such a thing, but I had heard so many studies that linked diet to well-being and peace of mind. Right now I’m in the midst of working towards a cruelty-free diet. But I’m not completely ready to make the transition yet. I still enjoy some animal products, but I’m moving towards animal-free living. The first thing I decided to avoid was dairy products. To be honest, I never really cared for milk, but I had a feeling it would he hard to give up cheese, ice cream, whipped cream, and yogurt. But I avoid them now as much as possible. They really don’t sit will with me, compared to when I don’t eat them.

When it came time to look at my spiritual beliefs, I had some sort of baseline I was more on the agnostic front, meaning I believed in a God or supernatural being, but was not completely sure of its nature. As a matter of fact, I thought nature was the being. Mother Nature and the energy force the world has in it. Then I was introduced to this belief system that explains quite a lot of different situations. It’s called subjective reality. Here’s how it works: There is only one, distinct, shared consciousness. I am that consciousness. My thoughts have power to change things or keep them the same. My dominant thoughts are what creates my reality. Everyone and everything is a projection of consciousness. I am not just my body, but everything I directly experience. There was also the notion about whether or not people exist when you’re not aware of them. How can you prove it? You can’t because it order to prove this, you would have to become aware of the person or object you’re thinking about. This doesn’t mean that it’s true, but it has to remain open as a possibility.

When we’re born, we’re told the world works a certain way. As a child, we sit through all kinds of lectures in classrooms for six hours a day, being fed mostly propaganda that states you have to work hard to be successful, you need to study hard to do well on tests, you need to be independent instead of interdependent. We’re told of something called success and something called money, both foreign concepts to us at the time, and we believe whatever someone says about it because we don’t know any better. And these thoughts become our beliefs. For example, a child brought up in a Catholic family is instilled with beliefs about heaven and hell, birth and death, Jesus Christ, and the Almighty God. We believe it because we don’t know any other belief system. And since the foundation has been formed for these beliefs, you stick with them. Maybe even for your whole life. Why? Because actually questioning your beliefs and eventually dumping them will destroy all the hard work and long hours you invested into this belief system and it would take a time of confusion and desperation as you look for another way to find meaning in your life.

You sometimes have to go down to move on to a higher level. Let’s take the Catholic example. You’ve been Catholic for thirty years and you find you only go to church because you don’t want other people wondering why you’re not there. It becomes a habit, a routine. It has no real meaning to it. So you want so desperately to leave as this ritual no longer fulfills you. But you wait years to make the move. You research other religions, you look inside yourself to find some sort of way to cope with life. But you still go to mass every Sunday and listen to the things you no longer believe in. Then one day you stop. You stop going. People are calling you up frantically, “Where are you?” And you try so hard not to break their hearts, but you have to say it, “Going there doesn’t fulfill me anymore. I need to find something better.” You worry about the gossip, and other people outside of your awareness mocking you, wondering where you are this week. But you’re creating that. You thinking about that is a creation of what you fear.

But let’s say you get turned on to the whole subjective reality concept along with the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that your dominant thoughts are what manifests. So if you have conflicting thoughts about getting married, your dominant ones will find a way to manifest, either by a cancellation or through a messy divorce/annulment. In this type of belief system, you no longer care what people think about you because they are also a part of you. So if someone thinks you starting your own business is a bad idea, it’s only because part of you feels the same way. And I find this model to be quite accurate. And it’s very empowering because it forces you to take complete responsibility for your own life and the lives of others. And you can go two ways. Either negative or positive. You can either think good about other people or badly, but by doing so, you’ll only perpetuate the reputation of those people. People who hate others really hate a part of themselves. I definitely feel this way when it comes to me. Which is why I am trying to move myself in harmony with loving all of nature, all of the universe. Because by doing that, I will come to completely and fully love myself.

I’ve come into contact with the concept of unconditional love. If you believe that everything is a projection of your consciousness, you will indeed love everything in your awareness unless you don’t actually love yourself that much. But this isn’t loving yourself from the ego perspective, but just a form of universal acceptance and appreciation for everything you’ve created. I’m still laying the groundwork for this belief system, but my passion and motivation are sky-high when I apply it directly to the task at hand. This is not a paper written for a specific audience, but just the self-expression of an amazing feeling I have from within. Things are looking my way, our way.

It’s the whole saying “Do one to others as you do them to yourself.” This is true to the last word. If you help others, in this belief system, you’re actually helping yourself. The same goes for the negative. This sort of thinking should erase all fear and doubt. If you have the ability to create whatever kind of life you want, then go out there and do it. If you want to overcomplicate things, then be my guest, but the way I see the world will bring me some interesting results.

THe biggest trouble I’ve had these past six months was figuring out why the hell I’m on this Earth and what this all means.  You know, the big picture.  Astronomy can be a very discouraging science to study as it really lets you know how insignificant you are.  It makes you think that nothing really matters at all.  And maybe things are better that way.  Think about it.  You do something you regret.  Deosn’t matter compared to the universe.  Compared to all of existence.  But if you really come from inside, you can find meaning in your life, but the meaning of everything and how it’s connected still gets to me.  I can’t connect the dots to this world and the gigantic universe.  Why was all of that even created if we never actually experience any of it?  How do we know there are other life forms out there if we’ve never seen any? 
I think it’s time for me to get into my spaceship and go see for myself because I don’t think I”m going to get any anwers here.  Just trying to figure it out this way is getting me nowhere.  I know that the universe exists, but I’m not sure to what degree.  How can we be sure that there are other things out there and not just projections of other things?  And what kind of pure randomness allowed for our planet to have life?  Why did we end up being in the perfect position for that?  And why am I me and not someone else?  Why me? Why not you?  It only makes sense.  Waht the hell are we here for and why should we care?  Even if we do build up the Earth to be really advanced and all that stuff, what will it mean with respect to the entire universe?  And why can’t I get any answers? 
It’s almost as if we really don’t exist.  How can we prove that this isn’t just some sort of weird dream that never ends?  And when we go to sleep, it’s like a dream in a dream.  But for some reason, this dream is very stable while the dream in a dream changes nightly, sometimes.  I’ve got a full time job in my dream world, although it’s the same on I have here in the “real world,” but I don’t get paid when I dream about my work because I guess there’s no reason to be paid as I can’t bring it back to this world.  That would be nice though, wouldn’t it?  Getting paid for dreaming about working.  And I don’t care about the Employee’s Dream Working Act of 1967, I should get paid for it.
But I wonder even about my dreams.  What do they represent and how do they connect to my real life?  Sometimes I have an idea, but sometimes I don’t.  It’s like if you dream something about your childhood, what is that supposed to mean?  That you should be a child again, or does it mean you have some sort of problem you have to work out?  How the hell should I know?  I just wish someone would tell me.
It’s almost as if we live in this world, have no idea why, but for some reason, we try everything to ensure our survival.  But for what?  What are we living for?  Is there something out there we seek?  When will we discover the true purpose of our existence?  Is there even one, or are we just here for absolutely nothing?  Is this God’s cruel joke?  “Let’s see if these people can last for 3 million years.  Any takers?”  Because we’re kind of the “new guys” in the world as many animals alive today were alive long before us.  So what gave us the right of taking over the whole world and even eating the other animal because they’re not as smart as us?  Does that really make sense?  What’s going to be next?  Eating retarded people?  Then ignorant people?  I mean we don’t even have respect for animals that have lived millions of years longer than us.  Think about that.  Our only thought when looking at them is, “Mmm, that’ll be good on Thanksgiving.”  Animals that live in harmony with one another and we build roadways and stadiums to disrupt their living space and if they ever try to reclaim it, we call an exterminator.  Killing animals and insects because they’re a nuisense.  Is that fair?  I don’t think so, but it’s the way we live our lives.
You’re probably wondering why this post isn’t that funny.  It’s because I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on and why we’re all here doing what we’re doing and what it all means.  I’m simply trying to express my innermost deep thoughts.  Like supposedly there’s this path in life that we all have to follow or we’re crazy or something.  First, go to school, then college, then get a job, get married, have kids, get a house with a white picket fence and a dog named Sparky.  Eventually retire, and then do meaningless activities until you die.  Is that a way to live?  That’s what society wants us to do.  Well I’ll tell you something right now.  Very few people will find true happiness like that.  True happiness is going for what you believe in.  Doing things that may put you at risk, but doing them anyway because that’s who you are.  Don’t let other people and society stand in your way.  Compared to the rest of the universe, who are they?  They’re nothing but a triviality.  They’re not much more than you as an individual, so it shouldn’t be hard to resist its conditioning.  We don’t all have to follow the same path.  It wasn’t meant to be that way.  And that’s why I chose comedy.  Not because other people do it.  Not because other people want me to do it.  But because I want to do it.  Because I have a passion for it.  “But it doesn’t really matter.”  I know, but it matters to me, the only opinion that really counts in my world.   It’s me, the creator of my life that decides what matters and doens’t matter.  And that’s a wrap.

Jesus Christ born from a woman who never had sex.  That is just almost too crazy to believe, isn’t it?  I’m sure back in the year zero or one, there was an episode of Maury where Virgin Mary was there saying that there’s no way Joseph is the father of her baby and God was there saying there’s no way he’s the father.  And Maury, who had just been taken back there via time machine, was there to settle the score.  God was up there like, “That girl ain’t no virgin.  I’ve seen her with seven different guys.  And I see everything.  I am God.”  And Joseph is like, “Why am I even here?  I ‘ve never slept with her but for some reason the producers want me to say that I think I’m the father of this kid.”  And Maury’s like, “Hey, everybody, let’s hear the results.  When it comes to eight-month-old Jesus, Joseph, you are NOT the father.  God, you ARE the father.”  And Mary goes running backstage all distressed.  God’s like, “Oh, no.”  Maury asks him, “So are you going to take care of this kid?”  And God’s like, “Yeah, I’m gonna get myself a job and support this kid to being just like me.”  And look what happened.

And then this Jesus character walks on water, turns water into wine, and moves a mountain or something.  I don’t know because I haven’t read the Bible.  But it’s crazy to think that someone can really turn water into wine unless they have some grapes and some alcohol.  Jesus was a magician who had an idea about how life should be lived and used his magic tricks to “prove” he was the messiah.  Every night when he went to bed, he would think to himself, “I can’t believe they actually believe this shit.” 

Two thousand years later, look where we still are.  People still believe this.  And I for one cannot just sit back and let the socially conditioning of Christian values be brought upon us.  Well, if you’re one of those people who says, “Faith is all I need,” when confronted with the evidence that some of the things you believe are impossible, well, you need to reevaluate your whole theory on reality.  Sure Jesus was a cool guy and he would have been great to hang out with.  I’m sure he got a lot of ladies because of that whole messiah thing.  He was a fucking chick magnet.  And if they ever ran out of wine, “Hey Jesus, make me some more wine.”  And he did. 

Some people take this shit too seriously, though.  Like when I get down on Christians, I’m just doing it to make you question your beliefs a little because if you don’t, you’re no better than people like the KKK who are too afraid to think that what they stand for is wrong, so they continue killing niggers.  It’s just crazy how sometimes I see the KKK in my neighborhood and I tell them there’s a black person in my garage and they actually look.  You can say what you want about belief systems, but to chastise just one is ludacris.  Each one has its own faults.  But when you’re in one of these systems, you are often critical of others’ beliefs just because they’re not yours so they have to be wrong, right?  If you believe Jesus was the son of God and they believe Muhammad was, they’re obviously wrong.  No they’re not.  We’re supposed to be all God’s children, so what’s so special about Jesus? 

God is a choice.  You can believe it exists or it doesn’t.  It’s not like you should think of it as a man or woman, though.  That’s because if there is a God, then why would he just focus on human beings and just Earth?  What about the rest of the universe and all the creatures that could exist?  And what about Maury Povich?  I’m sure he has some input on this situation.  “God, you are a not a human.  You are an energy force.”  Leave it to the talk show hosts, huh? 

I hate it all.  I hate bleeps, I hate those fake words they put in on a TV movie that used to be in theatre.  I *bleep*ing hate it all.  It’s just not natural.  It’s suppressing who we really are.  Forget using replacement words.  Say what you want to say and don’t back down.  Don’t let anyone get in your way.  It’s all about being yourself, whomever that might be.  In a previous post I wrote about comedians who sold out to do movies that were just awful.  It was because they valued money over their true self. Sure, they might have been a watered down version of who they are, but look at Bob Saget, for Christ’s sake.  That guy was a really funny comedian before America’s Funniest Home Videos came out.  He was very blue, but he was also very funny.  I know that foul language is not the choice of every comedian and the fact that they use clever things to disguise what they’re really talking about is nice and all, but the comedians that just say the *bleep* that you’re thinking and do the *bleep* you expect are the ones that deserve to be remembered, but all that is remembered about them is some corny movie they did about bull*bleep* that nobody remembers.  That’s all it is. 

I hate watching comedians on TV and hearing the bleep.  It’s just so frustrating, it makes me swear out loud at the television.  I’m paying for this thing called cable and I believe I deserve to hear everything those people are *bleep*ing saying, not some fake, edited version of their act.  It’s just not fair.  You’ve got to stand up for what you believe in.  I’m tired of hearing about how awful some things are on TV.  Don’t watch *bleep*ing them, then.  Jesus Christ.  Why should we all have to conform to some FCC standards?  Who the hell are they?  Notice I had to use hell instead of *bleep.*  It’s *bleep*ing bull*bleep.*  This post makes no *bleep*ing sense, but *bleep* it.  You know what I’m saying? 

People are always ready to get offended by anything.  Calm the *bleep* down.  It’s not really that bad.  So, some foul language got into the mainstream.  So what.  It’s not going to kill you, so lighten the *bleep* up.  It’s just stupid.  Moronic.  Idiotic.  Would movies like Office Space be as funny if it didn’t have the swear words that totally made the movie? No it wouldn’t.  Those words make a stand.  Because we’re so sheltered from them, every time we hear them, we instantly are attentive.  “Fuck” is the biggest attention-getting word in the world.  Anyone hears “fuck” and they instantly turn to where it’s coming from. It’s inevitable.  Maybe if we started using these words regularly, they would have less negative connotations and be just like the other words in the English language.  Then there would be no need for censorship.  All words created equal.  I mean, it is the tweny-first century, people, so get with the *bleep*ing program.

It’s all the Christian’s fault.  That’s whose fault it is.  I have to blame someone.  And I chose them.  Their whole motto of being afraid of doing things or else some guy who’s in charge of everything will punish you by sending you to some fiery temper is just insane.  What in the hell were they thinking when they wrote this?  Some guy with horns poking you with a pitchfork while you remain there for eternity?  Ha, and that’s what makes you afraid to use the word *bleep?*  Or *bleep*?  How about *bleep?*  Four-letter words that make everyone tick.  It’s just so *bleep*ing amazing.  Send me an email for the uncensored version of this post.  It’s dynomite.  Maybe I should censor the word *joke.*  Wouldn’t that just make everything confusing?  Or the word *punch?*  Take the sentence:  I punched my friend.  It becomes:  I *bleep*ed my friend.  I just don’t care anymore.  It’s all rooted in fear.  This whole censorship thing is all about how people are afraid to hear these words that supposedly can throw a whole country into disarray.  Controlling what we say in a country that values free speech so eloquently is such a hypocrisy that needs to be stopped.  I sure hope I struck a chord here because I’m just sick of it.  This is all I have to say about this topic.  *Bleep*ing enjoy this, mother *bleep*er.

Here is a list of the things I really don’t like about Christianity:

• Believers will often try and force their beliefs on non-believers to “save them.”
• They believe there’s some authority figure up in the sky that will judge them when they die and either send them to the most wonderful place in the world, or the worst place int he world.
• They believe that their religion is the only one that’s actually true.
• They have a history of killing people who don’t believe in what they do.
• I like to sleep in on Sundays. 
• They always want more money.  They might as well go ahead and start charging admission.
• Christians will assume if you’re nice that you are Christian. 
• People will come up to me and tell me that I have a great Bible name when I’ve never even read it.
• The Bible is constantlly being misinterpereted. 
• Jesus is overrated.  Although a very enlightened person, he was just a guy with an idea that everyone seemed to say, “That makes sense…sort of.”
• Free food at a Christian meeting means you’re getting converted.
• They have their own genre of music devoted to brining Christ into the lives of every human being, especially those terrorist Muslims. (their words, not mine)
• Most of them don’t question any of it.  They just follow it blindly and no matter how ridiculous it sounds, it’s in the Bible.
• I don’t even think Jesus wanted all this attention.
• Christian Bumper Stickers…ugh.  Not to mention that “Jesus fish.”
• “one nation under God”
• Televangelists trying to make me buy a DVD about the Apocalypse.
• Most Christians don’t even follow their faith completely.
• The Ten Commandments are all negative, “Thou shalt NOT…”  Well, how about some commandments that say what you can do?  Hmm?
• Mary had a kid and never had sex.  Yeah, okay.  That’s like being a surgeon and never going to medical school. 
• I like watching football. 

So don’t go to church this weekend.  Take a week off.  See what all the other people say about you in a negative way.  Is that really the way of Christ?  To put people down for not “believing” as much as you do?  Why don’t you tithe your money to another organization that does good in the community, like a charity?  Maybe some sort of Make A Wish foundaiton.  I meanl, why waste hours of your day, listening to some guy talk about the Bible?  The Bible is outdated.  It’s over 2000 years old.  The New Testament isn’t new.  They should call it the Most Recent Testament.