Introduction

Thank you for reading this month's issue of Subjective Substance.

In my Introductions, I often celebrate the "quest for truth." To this maxim, I now add the 
preposition, "by means of doubt." 

"Doubt," that forebear to "inquiry" and cousin to "skepticism," is often vilified by faith communities. 
But when used responsibly, it is an impetus toward truth for the fallible yet salvable human. The 
words "truth" and "faith" are often used in a vacuum, but a life of true faith is often found in 
questioning "what you have been given" to potentially end up with "something better of your own."
Conforming to cultural norms is no substitute for a personally-driven attempt to develop a relation 
to the Absolute.

The process of finding truth can lead to something as public as an outright rejection of a teaching. 
Or it can lead to something more personal, such as appreciation for a previously misunderstood one. 
In either case, it entails setting aside the ego and surrendering to the questions that arise and then 
challenging them with the subjectively undeniable.

However, many religious texts are full of examples of people that doubted and who lost their way. 
This is not only a scriptural reality but a history in the making. Modern philosophy has shown how 
doubt can evolve from a culture of faith and into a disbelief in God. Arguably the greatest danger 
of our time is a worship of the self and of experiential reality.

Equally disturbing are methodologies that disallow doubt altogether, and see inquiry as a moral 
weakness. There is no room for sincerity in such a worldview, as outward-focused compliance 
trumps inner-focused understanding. 

Such disparate outcomes may arise from similar causes. Whether one falls to worshipping oneself, 
a political idea, a deity, or nothing at all, the case usually concerns bad faith: failing to acknowledge 
that we have the freedom to turn toward God, and then turning away from God.    

If a person is sincere in his quest to understand reality and is not deluded by their ego or by worship 
of their culture or their intellectual or personal gods, then he will be drawn to find something higher 
than himself to worship. 

As with faith, the promise of "good" doubt lies in the sincerity of its application. If you want to 
move toward God, you will. If you want to move against God, you will. If you want to move away 
from God, you will. Alas, oftentimes the misunderstood seeker is trying to move away from or against
God in order to ultimately move his relationship toward God.

An appreciation of the spirit of questioning that leads to light is welcomed in the pages of 
Subjective Substance.

In the next month, I will continue my analysis of "doubt" as a doorway to truth.

For now, Enjoy the poems of this month's issue!

Omar Azam