The International Writers Magazine: Life Styles

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Soul Searching ... Why Not Bring in the Clones? • Michael Levy Most people looking for success on planet earth with only a physical self-image of who they believe themselves to be, may never locate true success, no matter how much money they accumulate and how much notoriety they achieve. At best, they may earn a lot of money, big house, big car and a big identity crisis later in life, when the so called luxuries no longer satisfy their desire. Lamentable are the folks who are distinguished by the whole world and yet strangers to their true selves.

Therefore, how about we do some soul searching in an different way from norm, pinpointing answers that will elude most people dwelling in a scientific, hi-tech, media driven world.

Controversy abounds over the science of cloning human beings. Scientists have successfully cloned sheep and other animals, therefore it can only be a matter of time before we have walking, talking replicas of ourselves. I am not getting into the ethics or the morality of cloning, for that will be a debate that will rage for a long time to come. Science and religion have always been at loggerheads with each other. Too many wars are caused by strong beliefs that rely on the ego's view of the world. The more people seek truth, the more it seems to elude them.

The question asked here is; will clones have a soul? I guess the answer all depends on how we define a soul and who we think we are. It is a deep probing questions and many philosophers of the past have come up with a variety of answers as to the identity of a soul, but humanity as a whole has not settled on any meaningful answers to date that will satisfy everyone.

Indeed, can an answer be found that will satisfy everyone? Well, how about we look into the future with one scenario;
An atheist by the name of Will is fifty years old ... accordingly would you say Will has a soul? If you ask him he will say no, because he does not recognize any image of God, that has been cultivated by other people, as his reality, however that does not necessarily mean God does not exist in Will's world, by another description unknown to Will. Likewise, Will the atheists may not know if a soul is his true identity when he see himself in the mirror of life as just flesh and blood.

Will is very wealthy and decides he would like a clone made of himself so his image. A clone is composed and is physically identical to how Will looks in the natural. The clone studies hard, becomes very religious and becomes a priest. Does the minister not have a soul ... Can religious people say God is going to disown the clergyman because his human double does not believe in souls and he has not been born naturally? Is Will, the atheist, the same as the "Will," the clone apart from their beliefs?

What about the advancement with microchips? Very soon we will have robots that can think for themselves. Maybe solar powered, or they may even be powered by inhaling oxygen. Science fiction is fast becoming science reality. Androids may well look just like humans, but that is artificial life and a machine may not have a soul –– or will it?
It may well be the machines are made exactly like humans in every detail, with live cells that have the ability to acquire the means to access universal intelligence in the same manner as naturally born humans (although most well educated human beings on planet earth will disagree that they have that ability). Radical thoughts are possible sometime in the future as science fiction becomes scientific reality.

Now more than ever folks need to understand who they are and the reason they exist. If humans go through life with no idea of who they truly are, they will get more and more lost in the high-tech revolution. Humanity requires a truthful, sound, solid foundation upon which they build their lives

Every life-form is energized by something so why not celebrity universal intelligent energy, that encompasses love & joy and acknowledge it as a soul. Therefore, if we characterize our life's energy as soul, a clone with a life-force will be energized by a soul once the breath of life infuses the body. To reiterate, the life-force, the true identity of all life forms is the soul, which is another name for intelligent energy. As time goes by, we may not be able to distinguish who was born and who is a clone.

Spirit is another name humans use that has many definitions and can describe anything that is not in the physical. Why not call the source that forms intelligent energy, that is in all life, spirit. Religious, pious folks, may think their religion has an exclusive contract with the spirit of their God. They may feel anger and hatred towards the thoughts of cloned human, However, if they cannot distinguish a clone from a naturally created human they have nothing to fear.
Many folks who do not understand what intelligent energy is may declare a clone has no soul therefore is not really human. Many religious folks think they are superior to a dog or cat when it come to Gods creations and believe a soul is located solely somewhere in the human brain. They may well believe animals don't possess a soul, however if they possess intelligent energy, how can they not have a soul if it is defined as a life source?

Blind faith dogma has been programmed in humans for thousands of years. That could be why many religious folks can't be happy. They say in the afterlife is where they will find heavenly peace. They believe God is exclusively in their camp of ownership, in the same manner they safeguard their personal possessions ... their be-lie-f system detaches them by denomination from other human be-lie-fs, that are also mostly misinterpreted pathways to God and all other species of life.

Some folks even go so far as to think some other humans are not in God's camp at all. Many different tribes of thought, lined up in divisions of ego's blind thinking and so much time wasted worrying and hating others ... Millions of people slaughtered by religious dogma and what has it proven, other than the fact that human beings are still living in realms of primitive ignorance.

Oh! by the way, did I mention genetic engineering? I heard today they can put genes in our foods to make us fit and well. Maybe also to control our minds in case we feel like rioting against the clones? Some doctors, who be-lie-ve they know best, because they have academic papers to prove it, pressure children at school with high spirits, to take mind dulling drugs that can become addictive and educe devastating side effects.

On another note, athletes are experimenting with all kinds of stuff to make them compete faster. One-hundredth of a second can mean the difference of big money sponsorship, and athletes will try anything to make themselves winners. The latest thing I read was wasp juice from the larvae of killer hornets gives a big boost. Some seek a menu of caterpillar fungus, seal penis and extract of sea horse. How lip-smackingly scrumptious!

With such competition in sports, it will not be long before gene therapy is introduced and injected into sports folk. We will be able to tailor-make our bodies. Maybe we will re-manufacture a human being to suit a trend... Maybe we will become designer beings in the same manner we fashion cloths.

Stem cells, which are cloned cells, may be injected into humans to fight disease... Does this mean they will lose their soul because the cells are cloned? The possibilities of modern science boggles the mind. The cures for many diseases maybe just a few years away... No illness means longer lives. Can the planet cope with a population explosion?
This is just a brief glimpse into the future. What do you think folks would say who lived two hundred years ago and could comment on today's lifestyles?

Science is advancing at warp speed and the way humans are destroying earth, humanities survival may depend on modern science technology. Before we get too carried away we need to acknowledge the moments of life are precious and few. We are put on earth to enjoy our lives and what wonderment there is to see a sunrise, to hear the birds sing, to gaze at a sunset. The free things in life are enough. Simplicity in all things is the answer in any era. Everything else is just the icing on the cake. How big a slice do we need?

We all need to recognize we are the energy that drives the motor, we are not the motor. We are the energy that feeds the mind, we are not the mind. We are the energy that feeds the thoughts, we are not the thoughts. We take a ride on the carousel of life, but we must remember not to go round so fast or it will make us sick and dizzy.
© Michael Levy December 2007
MIKMIKL@aol.com

 Michael Levy is the author of eight inspirational books. Michael's poetry and essays now grace many web sites, newspapers, journals and magazines throughout the world. He is a prominent speaker on health maintenance, stress eradication, wealth development, authentic happiness and inspirational poetry. His new book-The Inspiring Story of Little Goody Two Shoes - is available at all good book stores and Michael's web site:
http://www.pointoflife.com/

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