Spiritual fiction – A secular view of things spiritual

 

Spiritual fiction – A secular view of things spiritual – by P.K. Odendaal - May 2026

Science fiction is a genre, so why can’t spiritual fiction not be a genre as well? And ... if it is not an accepted genre, I am accepting it now as an accepted genre ... at least for me it is.

For me it is also clear that there is a spiritual domain, as there is a physical domain, and we are really spiritual beings, whilst our physical body is only a temporary container.

Coercion and care

Coercion and care by PK Odendaal – October 2025

These two words are, superficially considered, quite the opposite or antithesis of the other, and maybe some people have the trait of being coercive and others of being caring. Some are even caring and coercive.

Or is it?

Let us consider any carer, let us say a medical doctor, a type of person who cares for the health of people.

His focus will be on coercing people into taking an operation or painful treatment for the sake of the patient’s health. Most people with agree to the treatment recommended.

Or will they?

To Think or not to Think ... that is the Question - A satire

To Think or not to Think ... that is the Question - A satire by P.K. Odendaal October 2024

From Descartes we have the statement: I think, therefore I am. Wow! What I farce. For the long or brief periods when I do not think, I am inanimate or even vegetable.
In fact, should I never think and follow the global Woke movement who are not capable of thought.

From Shakespeare we have the adage: To be or not to be ... that is the question. 

We can easily adulterate or hybridize the two above statements and form a new one: To think or not to think ... that is the question.

Redemption or suicide - take your choice

 Redemption or suicide - take your choice - by P.K. Odendaal March 2024

There has been many instances in history and society where people have chosen suicide in stead of redemption, to their own destruction and nihilation.

Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus Christ to the pharisees, and Hitler, who was instrumental in the death of millions of people, were two.

The Quest for Wisdom

 

The quest for information, knowledge understanding and wisdom

Yes, we were born without any of these. Shall we remain so, or shall we strive for wisdom – our ultimate quest?

It is said that a fool knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Shall we have all the information there is in this world or even the universe, and remain fools?

It seems to me that most of us do not even get out of the starting blocks and are not interested in information at all. We feed on what was good for yesterday and for our ancestors.

God is a utilitarian par excellence

 God is a utilitarian par excellence.

One of the best qualities I like and attribute to God is His utilitarianism, and by extension our utilitarianism which is a spin off of our free will. Similarly, it is also a spin off of God's free will.

In essence, utilitarianism is the act of doing the best for yourself or for groups on whose behalf you may act or choose.

The Root of all Evil - Part 2

 The Root of all Evil – Part 2 – by P.K. Odendaal July 2023

My previous article on the root of all evil is pure drivel.

Will I delete that article or will I keep it here on my repertoire as a lesson in folly? Yes, I will keep it here, as the endeavour and accomplishment of humankind is fraught with error, omission, folly and evil. I make no excuse.

What this exercise in folly really taught me, is that an idea which has slumbered in my soul for too long - the idea that expressing an opinion is useless, fruitless, superficial and egoistic, has been let loose.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 8 – Becoming a Friend of God.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 8 – Becoming a Friend of God.

We have now come to the end of this series, not that the subject is exhausted, but rather that this part is the ultimate happiness and joy any human can live for and even die for; the incredible opportunity to be a friend of God, or more specifically, to be a friend of Jesus Christ, the human side of God. Scripture says 'for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily'.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 5 – Genesis to Revelations

Part 5 - Genesis to Revelations

It is not necessary to have or read the Bible to get to know God and communicate with Him.

Millions of people have found Him by searching for Him and He is always ready to reveal and even partially expose himself to those who search for Him, whatever the form or shape of that path may be.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 4 – Embrace the Nietzsche Moment

Part 4 – Embrace the Nietzsche Moment

Now that we are at peace with our decisions, we do not care about the past or the future, we have shunned negative people from our lives and we have made peace with those whom we have wronged and those who have wronged us, we can sit back and enjoy every moment that we are alive and blessed to partake in the wondrous universe and people around us.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 3 – Inspire or shun negative people

 Part 3 – Inspire or shun negative people.

You get a breed of people who can never be happy. They are never satisfied with their lives, with what they have and with people around them. They can never embrace life or accept responsibility for their actions. They have no idea what their mission in life is and can never accept their destiny. Despair, prejudice and bitterness darken their inner being. They have no faith, no hope and no love.

The Pursuit of Happiness Part 2 – The joy of forgiving and forgetting.

Part 2 – The joy of forgiving and forgetting.

In the first part we learned how to be free to choose anything from all possibilities, regardless of what the outcome of the choice may be, and that the past and future has no meaning for us.

We thus progress on this road to become free, to delete the past, and for that matter also the future’s pain that the past may have caused us.

The Pursuit of Happiness - Part 1 – Goodbye Convention and Compromise

Foreword.

Happiness is within our grasp. I know that, as I am the happiest person in the universe, I think, and I have not even explored half of the possibilities of these seven principles yet. I also know some people around me who feel exactly the same, probably without even realizing what the principles of happiness are. But I also know that the majority of people around me are unhappy, frustrated and miserable.

The joy of doing penance

 The joy of doing penance.

 There is such a disconnect between our thoughts, actions, sufferings and joy, that we feel lost and unable to find meaning and purpose in life, and for us, or at least for me, meaning and purpose is all I want from life -  well - speaking only on an emotional and intellectual level.

There are riches and pain on a spiritual level as well, but that is not my subject today, whilst I concede our emotional and spiritual wellbeing are intimately connected. And then there are the physical necessities, which I also do not write about today.

Please remember to forget

You might have gotten used to me teaching the opposite of the teaching of convention and conventional wisdom; maybe it's the way I try to forget convention which takes me into this domain where senses must be reinterpreted and tested.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote that the madman is not one who has lost his senses, but one who has lost everything except his senses.

Pent up love will explode in your heart

Love is in your heart ... let it fly ...

What we all have in abundance, is love stashed away somewhere in the deep chasms of our inner being and it will on the least provocation open its eyes and rear its beautiful head, making itself ready to explode into something beautiful, long before we realise it.

No, this statement is not from a science fiction film, a western thriller, a Hollywood soapie or a new fashion.

The Invulnerability of Weakness

No, it is not a contradiction in terms. It is a truth that is hidden. 

We normally, conventionally and socially revere the opposite. We are so quick in pushing the weakling aside, ignore and pity him or her and move on. For us weakness is a shame - in others and in us. It just does not make sense to praise or tolerate weakness, much less revere it.

The Age of Unreason

The Age of Unreason – July 2020

Of course my title chosen above is an aberration of the name of the book by Thomas Paine, whose last name was in reality Pain … and the amount of pain he inflicted on mankind is incalculable. His book was only meant to be for a reason or a season or an age, but it became the foundation of unreason for millennia.

On the face of it, we will all say: what!? Could there have been a time when unreason reigned supreme?

Corporations and Governments – a satire

Corporations and Governments – a satire – June 2020

This does not apply to any corporate or government body with which I have not dealt, and my comments are restricted only to those I have dealt with.

This is about intelligence and intellect, and maybe about life and sanity as well. All four of these are under serious threat as intelligence and wisdom have disappeared from the planet. They are quite lethal characteristics for humans to have and to hold, if you ask me. That is why we have to get acquainted with and adept at playing dumb, playing dead and playing sane.

Be a Child of the Universe

Be a Child of the Universe – June 2020

Most of us have this impaired vision. Even highly learned people have it too, and maybe even more so. We have no peripheral vision, perspective and farsightedness. It is as if someone gave us near-sighted glasses and eye blows.

Of course I mean vision in a broader sense than  seeing – vision almost as an epiphany. We cannot train our eyes to see farther, but we can train our brains and minds to see into infinity.