God

The problem isn’t that truth can’t be found. The problem is there’s too much of it on the market. Life is short, and there are too many stalls selling this product… You won’t even have time to visit them all, let alone taste the goods.

First you need to understand that truth can’t be learned from people. “Human” and “truth” are antonyms. Every person is by nature a question. People can hide their questioning nature under various mantles, robes, and so on — and hand out great final teachings to others. But that’s just business.

Truth can only be learned from God. He speaks to me and to you. To everyone. We’re communicating with him right now. God doesn’t speak in words. He encrypts his messages. But decrypting them isn’t hard. Look. We’re sitting and gazing at a candle. Simultaneously, a stream of consciousness passes through your mind.

What is this stream? You think something quickly, then hear something, remember something, and so on. You feel a draft. Or notice the smell of a burning wick. All of this is mixed into a special combination of sequentially perceived things, existing only in you. A unique stream of experiences and impressions, changing every instant.

This stream is you. But it’s also God. A mixture made of divine soul blended with matter. Is matter also God? Something like his nails or hair, let’s say. Are your nails — you?

God in his omniscient aspect is present everywhere and penetrates everything. Through different states and forms runs a single nervous system — today we’d call it an information network — which you can use even when you don’t understand your own nature at all. You can ask God questions and receive answers from him. He will send you signs. Personal encrypted messages, of a sort.

You don’t need to decrypt anything. The messages are encrypted only for others. The instantaneous configuration of your consciousness is unique and changes every second. Two know about it — you and God. And at some point, from the external world, a quiet voice arrives: “There! That’s it!” Like an arrow pointing at something. That is the message: pay attention to what you see, hear, or think right now. Explaining further is pointless. You have to understand through experience.

I nodded. Then thought without much interest: “Maybe it’s true?” And the candle flame flickered. Gently, the way it does from a draft.

Keep in mind, God will speak only to you. Others won’t see the signs sent to you. And you won’t see what he communicates to others.

— I believe we live in a virtual reality. And I also believe in the unified, animate nature of everything that exists. Just don’t ask me how the two fit together.

They fit together simply. — Through God. You’ve seen tourists with those photo sticks? They attach a phone or camera and photograph themselves. Selfie sticks. We all work for God as selfie sticks. God entrusts you to see his portion of reality on his behalf. Like working on a specially assigned patch of garden.

— But why do you call it God?

— The word is popular among Indian saints. You can say whatever you want — “spirit,” “unified information network,” “quantum conscious factor,” and whatever else. These are all just labels on signs under which shovels stand. No matter how much you dig, you’ll find nothing but more labels. It’s not about what we call it. It’s about how we use it. And that depends on you. Or rather, on the God in you. You yourself can do nothing. The God in you can do anything.

“The Invincible Sun” by Pelevin