The true lay spiritualist and deep ecologist feels and sees the context in which he lives as an aspect of himself, in this conforming to the vision of deep ecology ... In fact, I take care of the place as if it were mine, I speak of the place as if I were its voice . This happens for every place, an "ideal place" where Yin and Yang, good and evil meet. It happens for Italy that I recognize as my beloved homeland. It happens for the Earth which is my matrix. It happens for the spacious universe in which my existence takes place. It happens through the Spirit that permeates me.

Certainly at the beginning this feeling looks a lot like an opinion, that is, it has the semblance of a thought taken as true, but with practice and with the constant and continuous contact with nature and with other living beings, one clearly perceives that the "everything ” in which we are immersed is exactly ourselves. This awareness matures slowly, almost by degrees… and finally it happens that…

According to the great sages opinion is only a personal reflection of the individual perception of the truth. In short, the opinion is always partial and incapable of reporting an entirety. But if we are able to interpret each opinion as a piece of universal thought and try to integrate it into the whole of what is known, perhaps we are putting into practice that "syncretism" of thought desirable for overcoming pre-established ideologies and religions.

The only discriminating factor should be the quality of sincerity in which the opinion is expressed…

In fact, if an opinion is only "instrumental" then it is not even worth considering, it cannot even be labeled as an "opinion" (which in itself is already a "reductive" term) but we can define it as a "justifying fraud" to the satisfaction of a personal or ideological advantage… based on the assumption of a thought (defined as universal). This happens when you lie knowing you are lying or even when you haven't gone deep enough in inner analysis!

For this reason, I focus on the merits of secularism, or equanimity, and this is what I try to affirm in all my expressions... But in my opinion, "secularism" must also presuppose leaving others the freedom to think in their own way and we cannot use secularism to continually argue on the points that seem to us to harm this principle ...

In short, we should be lay even in relation to laity.

This mental attitude, super partes, is decidedly useful and interesting for the affirmation of a "syncretism" that should unite all of us human beings in the recognition of the equal value of the thought that manifests itself in everyone ...

Ah, as far as the hypothetical difference between Men, Animals or Extraterrestrials is concerned, it is only a fact of gradient or intellectual predisposition, but the consciousness that animates these vital categories is the same, the possibility of self-knowledge is also the same…

I love animals, I love extraterrestrials I love every form of life and every element... but having to pursue my personal growth (the only prerequisite for universal growth) the saying "to each his own work" applies. Krishna said: better to fail in trying to fulfill one's dharma than to triumph in performing the dharma of others. And from a human point of view, being a man myself, I take care of my self-knowledge and leave it to other beings (human or non-human) to do their part!

Translated into secular terms, it means that in order to do good for everyone, it is sufficient not to harm anyone.

Paolo D'Arpini - spiritolaico@gmail.com