Reality is not the world as you perceive it. Reality is the world perceived through enlightenment. It's the same world; but it's not the same world.

The way of Zen is to become independent and strong. Don't rely on others for perceptions of life and truth. Do it individually. Go to a teacher of Zen to learn how to do that, not to get answers for individual life situations.

I personally don't subscribe to any particular cosmology or beleif system. I'm a seer.

Lakshmi is a celestial being who lives in a higher plane of existence. Her mantra is "Sring." When you chant it, it brings beauty and light into your consciousness.

A categorization implies a hierarchical way of seeing things. Life is really relational, not hierarchical. Hierarchical is a human way of looking at things. Relational is much more the way things are. Everything is connected.

Enlightenment has nothing to do with being spiritual. Being spiritual is just an idea - it's another ring of perception.

A better lifetime comes from not some karmic scale but from inner knowledge. Inner knowledge makes you happy. In other words, it is not as if someone is checking!