Guide For The Newly Awakened Apotheist

Hopefully by now you have done enough research to know a little about Apotheism and what its goals and philosophies are. But what is it about Apotheism that separates it from other religions or spiritual philosophies and what constitutes a practitioner of this system. I will break the structure down for you in this article, but first I should tell you that, like any other religion, your own personal experience and relationship in spirituality is what makes it real for you. You do not have to go to a church or gathering to be spiritual and practice the moral teachings of religion. In fact, many issues may arise from a blind obedience to regimented organized religion. So please feel free to explore and trust your own process. Alternatively, just as "going to church" doesn't mean you are a true believer, following any structure without embodying its morals and exploring its depths doesn't make you a true practitioner. Apotheism is very inclusive by its very foundation, and as long as one makes a conscious effort to practice and uphold the precepts within it, they can consider themselves an Apotheist.

Let's start with beliefs: What does Apotheism say about belief? Well, just as the word suggests, a belief is an acceptance of something to be true without evidence. As an Apotheist, one should strive to try to know as many details of something to make their logic as sound as possible. The easier the logic, the easier it may be to accept something as truth and not belief. For example, the Earth is round. You may have never seen the world from outer space to know this to be truth, but you can see from the overwhelming evidence and science by astronauts and astrophysicists telling you that the Earth is round, we can take that and logically deduce it as truth, which may or may not seem like "belief" depending on how you see it. For a second example, an all powerful God exists who created the world and all things in it. This God speaks to His believers and performs miracles or destroys cities based on our morality toward their teachings and will send you to eternal paradise or torment in death. Now this claim is extremely outrageous compared to the first claim. Then when you look at the science, there is nothing to back it up. In science, we can solve any equation without needing to factor any sort of God into it. We don't use God as a method to understand scientific laws and principals of physics. So rationally we may not believe in the claim being made nor do we believe it to be a being who demands our loyal obedience. So the answer lies in the in-between. Observably we do not see the evidence of a Gods existence, but with the vast mysteries of the universe still to be unlocked, one potentially could exist. An Apotheist is not strictly an atheist and is encouraged to keep an open mind to the mysteries. However the existence or not of a God doesn't concern us when exploring the vast potential of human effort.

If Apotheism believes in anything, it is the Divine Consciousness that connects all beings. It is the vibration that heightens our spirituality to achieve unimaginable things. It is the great mystery of our universe down to the subatomic particles that blink in and out of existence to form us, and from those particles creates biomatter that has a consciousness that works like the greatest supercomputers. It is the universe experiencing itself through a conscious being using mater that can never be destroyed and has always been in existence. It is to the Divine Consciousness, our own minds and spark, that we show reverence. Because those same particles exist within all things, we see God in all things and in every person. For in all religions, what is God? God is a creator. We have the power to also create and are, as the Bible says, like gods. Why else does it feel so good to create something new? It is because we are activating the divine power within us which we were made to use. Therefore, creating and shaping our own world is the fundamental practice of an Apotheist. An Apotheist does not take a backseat in their life but actively strives to make the world better by their own creative outlet. A zeal for life and love for beings in it should be the cornerstone of Apotheist philosophy. Now let's look at the two most important Branches of Apotheism for a beginner: Meditation and Education.

So now that we have addressed belief, what about practice? What should we actively be doing in order to reach Apotheosis? The 10 Noble Precepts will help with the right mindedness of a practitioner, but for the practical application we must look at the Branches of Apotheism. The tree that leads to Apotheosis has many branches and climbing the tree is a life journey of continual practice. Some branches are easier to climb than others so you should explore what is comfortable for you to start with. As a foundational practice, some form of personal daily meditation should be the easiest to begin. Meditation only takes time and a place to sit. Some people use guided meditation to focus on specific things. You can research your own meditation to see what benefits you, but to start, focused breath or box breathing meditation is a good place to begin. Focused breath is where you breathe in slowly for 4 seconds and exhale for 5, counting the number of breaths you take as you go. The goal is to try to not be distracted by your own thoughts and to maintain a focus on the breath. Box breathing is similar but instead of just breathing in and out, you hold the breath in between at fixed intervals. So you breath in for 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, breath out 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds again, and repeat. This technique is known to heighten performance and reduce stress and is a common tool used by Navy SEALS when in combat. This breath meditation is also growing in athletic practices. So start small and work your way to more forms of meditation or even find some audio guides to aid in your practice. The most common time to practice is first thing in the morning and before going to bed. More information on meditation can be found in other blogs or group discussions on this site.

As Apotheism is a life study, an Apotheist should always be staying on top of their education. There is never a time in any ones life where they are done learning new things. The world is constantly changing and old mysteries of the world await to be discovered by new minds. Education should be the constant practice of an Apotheist. True, unbiased, and open-minded education on the things we don't truly know or wish to learn is the greatest gift you can give yourself. A drive to explore the mind, other cultures, religions, languages, and societies not only cultivates a mind that is prepared to learn new things, but opens us up to compassion for new things. There is no fear of learning because Apotheists strive for the truth. Therefore, if a belief we have held for so long gets destroyed by new truth, then it should no longer be a belief and new knowledge should update old information. Cultivating a mind that is not only curious but can process information rationally is the most beneficial practice one can undertake. The best thing about it also is, it's free!

Rene Descartes said in The Search for Truth by Natural Light, "… [I feel that] it is necessary to know what doubt is, and what thought is, [what existence is], before we can be fully persuaded of this reasoning — I doubt, therefore I am — or what is the same — I think, therefore I am." The phrase "cogito, ergo sum" was Descartes way of finding the root of truth. He attributed truth to an apple basket and he would take all the apples out and put back only those he knew to be absolutely true. When you have a bad apple, or a false thought, he removed it so it wouldn't rot the others. He then landed on the epiphany that the ability to think gives him absolute proof of his existence. We would use this as a metaphor to completely empty your apple basket of everything you think you know, like a blank canvas or an empty cup waiting to be refilled. We may have gone our whole adult lives never revisiting old information and past truths that have secretly infected other patterns of thought or belief. Some of us may be long overdue to empty our baskets and start again. It is not only important to learn, it is equally, if not more important, to unlearn. To completely detach yourself from your thoughts and beliefs is paramount to your progress through Apotheism. When you are not attached to any ideas you can easily cast aside things you don't need anymore or update old thoughts with new understanding.

This is also why meditation and education go hand-in-hand for beginners. They are both exercises for expanding the mind that prepare you for the rest of your journey. Meditation helps you understand your mind better and allows you to create space between your true self and your thoughts and emotions so that you can learn to control them and not let them control you. Education is the continuous fuel of knowledge that allows you to better understand new or unknown concepts. Shedding ignorance is the cleansing Apotheists must go through to begin absorbing Apotheistic principles. It is better to constantly ask why and desire to know more, believing you know so little, than to proudly boast that you know all and cannot learn more from someone or something. Things like memory, compassion, understanding, and thought are all mental muscles that you can train to grow. It is like any muscle of the body that if you don't constantly use, it will shrink and weaken. Therefore a strong mind and a constant exercise of meditation and education are the daily workout of the Apotheist to become a self-knowing, compassionate, kind, and educated person who humbly pushes to explore the mysteries of the world and bring enlightenment to all beings with unconditional love.

Explore these main ideas and within a month of practice, you will see how vastly different your mind works in a short amount of time. Use the tools and resources on this site to explore new forms of meditation and seek out different forms of knowledge. Continue to grow and expand, and with it, your capacity for love, compassion, and understanding. Endeavor to separate tying your identity with your beliefs and emotions so that you may better be able to observe and critique them without arousing your own emotion. Explore the things of the world you have feared to learn before, and acquire an excitement for the unknown. You will never be disappointed when you are reaching for the truth of the world and the truth hidden within your own mind and consciousness. I hope that you explore well and climb with assuredness through the Branches of Apotheism.

Namaste

- Rishi