Buddhism

In the 'latter' days there will be a falling away of the church. It is sometimes felt that the reason is people rely more on humankind/science than the spiritual and lose a connection.

The word(s) stay the same but people are not seeing the meaning of the words and how spiritual choices affect the world around them.

In my early readings of Tibetan Buddhism I often marveled at how someone could live with such peace and happiness with so little - and no ambition (ie, climbing a corporate ladder, etc). In our world we are bombarded daily being told what we don't have, what we need, and ways to get those things we now believe we cannot live without.

Contrasting this to some recent readings (A book on Tibetan Folklore and books on myth/folklore in the early Americas) I found a theme that intrigued me: Across continents there was a similar tale that at some point humans and animals could communicate/talk to one another. Several cultures tell of a time when 'something' happened (akin to a tower of babel moment) when this ability ceased and a new age began.

I guess in some ways I see this occurring now on a more spiritual level in that we are seeing less of a communication and inability to understand (no belief in anything spiritual as but one example). The shift is that man is all alone and superior to all else and has turned more outward than inward. We see less reason to be in touch with our surroundings (from polluting w/cars, coal, etc) and instead of harmony nature is purely a resource.