What is Yo?
is the Infinite Unknowable Essence from which all that we experience manifests. The existence of Yo can be proven. For some Yoans, awareness of the existence of Yo is of central importance. To others, Yo is irrelevant!
Well, if you don't want to be bamboozled, led down the primrose path, conned or duped; if you don't want to have the wool pulled over your eyes, hoodwinked, taken for a ride, or railroaded, then welcome to The Way of Yo. If for you, "seeing is believing," then maybe you are one of us. If you don't believe because someone said to; if you don't just believe because it sounds good or because you'd like to; if you base your beliefs on the evidence you yourself can come to know, then The Way of Yo may just be for you.
In coming to understand The Way of Yo, it is important that folks who are uncomfortable with religion do not assume that the word "Yo" refers to what most of us have been taught to think of when we hear the word "God." The common patriarchal, divisive illusions structured around the word-concept "God"—which is what the majority of Christians and Muslims think of as religion—have (in addition to whatever good they may have brought into the world) proven to be dangerous and, at times, terribly destructive. Note that this danger is acknowledged by virtually all religious believers; they just claim that it is the religious ideas and actions of others that cause such problems.
So, we hope it is clear, we are NOT talking about this:
So, if you are one of those made uncomfortable by religion and want to learn about Yoism, it appears necessary that you suspend judgment until you understand what we mean by "Yo." You will then see that there is no contradiction between enlightened, rational thought and Yoism. If then, you still find yourself feeling that Yoism would be more interesting to you without Yo, keep in mind that you are not alone; there are more than a few Yoans for whom Yo is irrelevant. For those Yoans who have a mystical sense of Yo, it is not a problem that others do not believe. The "God" we believe in would rather have you not believe in Yo, if you are happier that way, and—like those Yoans for whom Yo is irrelevant—you choose to join us and follow The Way of Yo without being a "believer." (See "How can Yo be irrelevant?") Indeed, some folks just refer to "The Way of Yo" as "The Way," or "The Heaven on Earth Movement."
It should also be clear that we are not trying to sell you Sky Cake (or pie).
In another contrast to religions that are familiar to most of us—religions that are built on "truths" received from special, long-dead "authorities" who supposedly witnessed or participated in miracles—The Way of Yo teaches us that our knowledge, our Truths, must be based on what people everywhere can directly experience for themselves, today. Despite the repeated claims that there is "overwhelming evidence" for this or that traditional belief, the poor, contradictory quality of such evidence was demonstrated over a quarter of a millennium ago by the philosopher, David Hume. This is why traditional religion inevitably resorts to appeals to blind faith, i.e., belief that must be accepted without evidence. Indeed, such faith is often taken to indicate piety. So in a major contrast with the standard religions, the existence of Yo, not only can be proven, it has been proven by modern science!
Many Yoans feel that they can come to know that Yo exists through their feelings, thoughts, and direct experience. For these Yoans, a feeling of reverence toward (or spiritual union with) this Divine Mystery—or an immediate, awe-inspiring awareness of The Infinity that manifests as the Universe—can be a profound source of comfort, strength, and meaning. But what defines Yoism—even for those Yoans who do not "believe" in Yo—is our shared commitment to the 5-10-Open Heaven core of Yoism.
The nature of Yo—or, at least, what we know about Yo—is explained in the next few Yo FAQ's.
You may be like many Yoans who became uncomfortable when they first heard such words. If so, this type of "religious talk" may make you feel that we are trying to recruit you for some kind of "cult." Indeed, we believe it is appropriate to be highly skeptical when a new world view is presented with the implication that you should consider it for yourself.
The "Face of Yo," so to speak, is our experience of the Infinite Unknowable Essence that is "turned toward us," that manifests as our experience. Yo "manifests" Yoself to us as the universe and everything within the universe: the trees and bugs and animals, the rocks and rivers, the stars and galaxies. This is similar to some mystical versions of the more traditional religions. Yo, Itself, is the Divine Mystery that lies behind (is the source of, generates, manifests as) the paradoxical, mind-boggling facts of existence.
The "Face Of Yo" includes all the animate and inanimate features of the universe. But the literal "Faces" of Yo are the nodes of the Universal Field with sensory organs and a neural information processing network that enables Yo to experience Yoself.
