NOTW: A Bad Idea We All Believe

There is a misguided concept that runs deep in Western culture. Christians express the idea with the acronym NOTW (Not of This World). Neo-spiritualists rephrase it by saying "We are spiritual beings having a human experience." And most of us carry this frame by imagining ourselves static capsules, encased in flesh, walking through a foreign (and often hostile) environment. This is  a complete illusion of separation in an interconnected universe, where everything leans on something else. It's a misconception that undoubtably leaves us all feeling disconnected and anxious, and puts our planet in peril. 

​Here is a quote from gotquestions.org, a Christian site (highlights added):

"We are still surrounded by all the horrors and tragedy of this life, but this is not our life. The knowledge that we are not of this world gives Christians hope even in the darkest times; hope that this will pass and at the end of it we will be in heaven with our God, face to face forever. This cracked and broken place is not where we belong, and it is not where we will stay.

The appeal of this philosophy is evident. The challenges we have as a species are stressful. Watching the news is like consuming anxiety. What a relief to completely wash one's hands of all global problems with zero guilt. Stand by, ride it out, and grab your flight to paradise.

But what if this conjecture is wrong? It's impossible to verify stories of an afterlife. We see, hear, taste, smell, and feel the world every day. If this reality, confirmed by our physical senses, is our home then NOTW becomes a disastrous manifesto of non-responsibility. A bad idea that has spread past Christianity. 

Recently I was at the University of Santa Monica, a school offering a spiritual degree in philosophy. This same concept was passed around in different clothing. One man, addressing the entire room with a microphone, began a long, rambling thought with, "We all know that this world is not our home..."

This perception even permeates the secular world. Look up from your screen and you'll likely feel a sense of subject and object with everything you see. There is a clear border between "you" and "not you". But is it really so distinct?

To challenge the idea here are a few questions to ponder:

• We all currently carry more bacteria DNA inside our skin than human DNA. Is this bacteria also NOTW? Are they spiritual beings having a bacterial existence? Does the bacteria have any idea that they are assisting a human in necessary body functions (like digestion), or do they believe they are also distinct  creatures making their own choices?
• Around 6 million years ago there was just one creature which eventually branched to become humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos. Are chimps and bonobos also NOTW or spiritual beings having a primate experience? How about bottlenose dolphins which have bigger brains than humans? Exactly where is the line between worldly creatures and spiritual ones?
• In all our cells there is oxygen that came from flora. Our muscles are made of protein which came from animals and plants. Our system requires minerals like calcium, zinc, and magnesium. Are all these things NOTW or do they become spiritual entities only after entering our mouths and lungs?

"Hold on Jonny", one might say, "there is a difference between the body and the spirit." We have a spirit that is NOTW... that's the real us. OK. Let’s think about our spirit and how it might resemble the person our friends and family know. 

What makes Jonathan Legg different than you?

•  We look different.
• We have different affectations.
• We perceive events differently. 

These differences are mostly attributed to our DNA (a worldly thing) and early childhood experiences (which occurred in this world). In fact, almost everything that defines us comes from the physical organization of our bodies and brains.

Imagine a steel bar falls off a construction site and lands on my head. Instantly the brain is reorganized. My travel stories and a sense of adventure disappear.  The new man remembers nothing about Jonathan Legg. However, he is a much more peaceful and kind person. When this man dies what does his spirit feel like: Jonathan Legg with his sense of adventure or the man who doesn't like to travel, but is extra compassionate?

The steel bar is unnecessary. This restructuring is happening every day.

This brain (and body) of ours is constantly reorganizing in a slower fashion. Brains at 2 years, 30, 90, and 'recently dead' are assembled differently, with profound affects on perception and behavior. Which version determines the characteristics of the spirit? Would a person to be lucky to die at 30 (to have a spirit in its prime), unlucky to die with Alzheimers, and terribly unfortunate to die while in a coma? 

If this undocumented spirit, flying off into eternity, resembles none of these personalities, with no cognition of former selves, why do we cling so tightly to this phantom?

Here is the answer: the "spirit" is an escape capsule for the ego. A doomsday shelter for the pending identity apocalypse. 

We live in an era of individualism unknown to our tribe-centered ancestors. The constant anxiety we feel in this modern age stems from our hyper-inflated, separately packaged egos. Egos that are culturally isolated from their environment, disconnected from each other,  and terrified of their mortality. We cling to NOTW theories out of fear. They are sequels scripted to give the ego the happy ending of a Hollywood action hero. 

​Like many sequels there are some serious flaws with Jonathan Legg Part 2: The Real Jonathan:

1. Somewhere deep down we all doubt the NOTW plot. It's a serious stretch. The constant flow of air, food, and water constantly rebuilding us is a reminder that we are incarnations of the earth itself... and that we will return to it. 
2. The writers of the sequel were thinking small potatoes. They were fearful the whole movie would collapse if the hero dies, so they keep him/her alive throughout the most improbable situations, like Dwayne Johnson sputtering back into motion after taking 5 bullets and falling off a balcony. 
3. We are fussing with this sequel script on the set of the first film. While we look down at the dog-eared pages (of a movie that will probably never get made), the opportunities to contribute to the production happening right now are passing us by. 

What if we drop the sequel script and pay closer attention to the original movie that is in production right now. Let's look at it fresh as if all the characters, including us, are entirely OTW.

What if we embrace the fact that we are part of this planet just like the plants, birds, and whales? The air we are breathing at this very moment came from a tree that needs sun. The sun is crucially a certain distance from this earth. The sun's distance is governed by forces that extend beyond this solar system to the farthest reaches of the universe. This would make us a glorious arrangement of pieces which connect both down and up into the entirety of existence.. a continually changing assortment which is remarkably conscious in the here and now.

Who needs a far-fetched, piddling sequel? The original is a timeless classic.