人生中各種生活體驗的目的——如果說它有個目的(或意義)的話——「引發我們開始去思考」絕對是其中之一。當我們開始思考，我們才會走向自己內在智慧與力量的源頭。而這就是每一個人如何從自己人生的各種生活經歷中，體驗性地(experientially)獲得智慧的過程。
也就是說，懂得去質疑、去思考，確實是一種生活中珍貴且重要的恩典時刻。但是生活在人類社會裡，有一個「力量巨大地在把我們拉往相反方向之集體意識」的組織，它叫做「宗教」組織。因為，宗教組織若要能運作，就必須讓眾人相信.....。讓我們聽聽這段(及接著將貼出的另兩篇相關摘文)可能讓你震驚的觀察建言：
聽神談【人類「如何回到智慧、明晰和神」的關鍵】
我從開始就答應過你，我們會有三本書。第一本，討論個人的生命真相與挑戰。第二本，討論這星球就跟一個家庭般的生命真相。第三本，我說過，會涵括最大的真相，有關於那些永恆的問題的。在其中，我將揭露一些宇宙的秘密...
尼爾：好吧。但對於一些根本不會讀到這幾本書的人們，要在此時此地回到智慧、回到明晰、回歸神(get back to wisdom, get back to clarity and get back to God)的話，那有什麼可行的途徑呢？我們需得回歸宗教嗎？這是那失落的環節嗎？
回歸靈性。忘掉宗教。(Return to spirituality. Forget about religion.)
尼爾：這樣的說法會激怒許多人的。
許多人會對這整套(與神對話)書憤怒。……除非他們不會。
尼爾：為什麼你說「忘掉宗教」？
因為它對你們沒有好處(not good for you)。要了解，有組織的宗教(organized religion 以下稱：宗教組織)若要能成功運作，就必須要讓眾人相信他們需要宗教。為了要讓人們相信自身以外的某種東西，必須先讓人們對他們自己失去信心(must first lose faith in themselves)。所以，宗教組織的第一個任務，就是先讓你失去對自己的信心。第二個任務是讓你認為它具有你所沒有的答案。第三個——也是最重要的一個任務——是要讓你沒有疑問地接受它的答案。
如果你質疑，你就會開始思考！如果你思考，你就開始向「內在的源頭」(Source Within)返回。宗教不能讓你這樣做，因為你可能得出和「它設計要給你的答案」不一樣。所以，宗教必須設法使你懷疑你自己(doubt your Self)；必須讓你不相信你自己有直接去思考的能力。
踏入宗教最常要面對的難題，是這種玩火自焚(backfires)——因為(要成為宗教的一份子)如果你不能無疑地接受自己的思想，你又怎麼可能無疑地接受「宗教所提供的關於神」的新觀念呢？
摘自《與神對話 II》第20章
I told you, I promised you from the beginning. There will be three books, I said. The first would deal with individual life truths and challenges. The second would discuss truths of life as a family on this planet And the third, I said, would cover the largest truths, having to do with the eternal questions. In this will be revealed the secrets of the universe.
Neale: Okay, okay… fair enough. But between now and then—or, for that matter, for the people who may never get to read these books—what avenues can be used right here, right now, to get back to wisdom, to get back to clarity, to get back to God? Do we need to return to religion? Is that the missing link?
Return to spirituality. Forget about religion.
That statement is going to anger a lot of people.
People will react to this entire book with anger… unless they do not.
Why do You say, forget religion?
Because it is not good for you. Understand that in order for organized religion to succeed, it has to make people believe they need it. In order for people to put faith in something else, they must first lose faith in themselves. So the first task of organized religion is to make you lose faith in yourself. The second task is to make you see that it has the answers you do not. And the third and most important task is to make you accept its answers without question.
If you question, you start to think! If you think, you start to go back to that Source Within. Religion can't have you do that, because you're liable to come up with an answer different from what it has contrived. So religion must make you doubt your Self; must make you doubt your own ability to think straight.
The problem for religion is that very often this backfires— for if you cannot accept without doubt your own thoughts, how can you not doubt the new ideas about God which religion has given you?
