Different Spiritual Pathways, One Helpful Belief

“The journey for me began when I started to ponder these questions: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What is the purpose for all of this? When I started to really give myself over to some of those deeper questions, instead of brushing them off and trying to say ‘Be practical, you have got to pay off your debts,’ I started to allow those questions to come into my awareness. That was probably around 1984, when I really started to allow those questions to be significantly in my awareness, to give my mind over to them. And A Course in Miracles came two years later as a reflection of that turn. I thought, there has to be a purpose to all of this, and I want to know the purpose.

When I was just in Greece, I kept talking about ancient Greeks sitting around in the bathtubs all day and pondering the nature of things. That was pretty wise. The Romans were next door with their buildings, architecture, conquests, etc., and the Greeks were more like, Before we get into all of that, let’s get clear about what’s the purpose of anything. So to me, that is where the ancient teachings come in. I identify with the Advaita Vedanta teachers who say, ‘There is no path.” I don’t see a pathway anymore. My mind can’t go to thinking in terms of pathways. It’s like it is all synthesized. I had this experience where I saw that all specific beliefs were equally the same. All specific beliefs around anything were absolutely the same. So therefore I turned into quite a good instrument for God in that sense. I turned into a spiritual chameleon, where I could be traveling around, and I have a great time with everybody.

Sometimes people have said, ‘Well, there are some major differences, David, that you have to acknowledge.’ And I say, ‘I don’t think so. I haven’t found any.’ They say, ‘Well, there is a difference between believers and non-believers.’ I say, ‘I can’t tell the difference anymore. What do you mean, a believer or a non-believer?’ I’m in joy. I don’t understand that. Or people may say, ‘There is a difference between a believer and an atheist.’ And I say, ‘I can’t tell the difference anymore.’ Everything is the same. It’s all the same love. It’s all the same joy. It’s all the same connection, and therefore the conversations are very lighthearted. I haven’t had a debate for many years. I haven’t had an argument for many, many years. I can’t even fathom what there is to argue about. Someone could tell me that this person is the devil, or this race needs to be wiped out, or these people are right and these people are wrong. I don’t get it any more. I don’t see that there are any specific beliefs that are any more or less real than the rest. And to me, that was from following the Course, which said that the only helpful belief in your mind is forgiveness. It’s still an illusion because in truth there is nothing to be forgiven, but it is the only helpful one. And I thought, Okay! I’m going for that one. I will take that one belief, but that one belief is like a blanket of peace over everyone and everything. Forgiveness doesn’t have an argument in it because it is all-encompassing peace. It sees that there is nothing to disagree about.”