“All this is mapped out in the Buddhist notion of the six realms of rebirth: the gods, titans, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell-beings. In this system, achieving buddhahood is the equivalent of achieving union with the fully realized soul. The level of consciousness of people who are self-aware in ways that maximize their growth within a lifetime is represented by the human realm. Those who are dealing with false personality are represented by the animals, hungry ghosts, and hell-beings. The animals are humans who act from compulsion, the hungry ghosts those who act from obsession, the hell-beings those who act from idée fixes.
“The gods and the titans represent two dead-end approaches to spiritual growth. The so-called gods are human beings who have mastered the knowledge of how to create their own reality. They're as able to create the realities that will satisfy their needs while incarnated on Earth, as they are here, in between lifetimes. In Buddhist tradition, the gods live enormously long lifetimes of sensual pleasure in some nonphysical paradise world--which is to say that they're advanced enough that they don't need to return to the physical plane on a regular basis, like most other souls.
“The chief characteristic of the titans is that they envy the gods. They're desperate to achieve that level of development themselves. Thus, the titans are human beings who pursue spiritual growth for the wrong reasons. Not only do they want to satisfy their needs as easily as the gods, they also want to be free of the world. They want to transcend the world at all costs, whether those costs accrue to themselves or to others.
"This approach to spiritual growth assumes that nonphysical reality is better than physical reality. It can often be quite self-destructive, both physically and psychologically. Spiritual practices designed to advance the soul at the expense of the body--self-flagellation, for example--are typical of the so-called titans.
"The approach to spiritual growth of the gods, on the other hand, is destructive neither to others, nor to themselves. Their problem, however, is that they're completely self-absorbed. As I've said, they're able to use their advanced spiritual knowledge to create pleasant realities for themselves, both in the physical world and in the Afterlife. But they have no interest in placing their superior spiritual knowledge in the service of others.
"The truly advanced souls are those who try to help you remember who you are and further your growth, both while you're on Earth, and in between lifetimes. These are the buddhas and bodhisattvas of Buddhism, who are roughly equivalent to the Overseers and Facilitators whom you've encountered on your journeys to Otherwhere. In some cases, your own higher levels of consciousness or development may reflect and express themselves through such guides.
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