What is 'God' ???

#095-2006-  After Michelangelo  - 32" x 48"


An acrylic  painting I did in 2006 

Michelangelo painted his frescos 500 years ago . I did this one to learn from a master painter. It is a small section of his painting "The creation of Adam" that I have changed slightly to make it my own.

(below is a copy of his original )

 

Is God the old white man in the sky that Michelangelo portrayed, so long ago, in his original painting around 1500, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in Vatican city? This bigger then life,  human like sky god, which is really a remake of the Greek god Zeus, that atheists like to negate, so often, is always seen as a separate deity from us mortals here on earth. Is there a more universal way to know what God is?

OK! , I will admit this type of questioning has been an obsession for me, most of my life, but especially so, the last ten years.  Questions like, what is God? can last a life time, it cannot be known with our intellect. The thinking mind cannot comprehend what is spirit. But, a deeper part of our being can realize deep truth, however, it may not be easy to express that revelation in words.

What is God ? This is perhaps the hardest of all questions, isn't it? Its a question pondered by seers, philosophers and all spiritual masters throughout human history. For many the word 'God' creates  a negative reaction in their thinking which may even cause havoc in their body chemistry, as it hits them in the pit of their stomach. For others it brings them to a certainty of inner conviction that moves them toward joy and rapture. However, for the vast majority of people, these matters have devolved toward an attitude of indifference, the word 'God' has lost all meaning in their daily lives.  Why can this word, which is really just a thought form, cause such a varied response in us humans? Well, perhaps its all the other thoughts that we attach to this word 'God' that cause our reactions whether it be labeled bad, good or neutral. Atheists, devoted believers and the secular masses have all built up an internal network of thoughts concerning their ideas and concepts of what 'God'  is.  Does anybody really know what, or who, God really is?

I listened to a well known local united church pastor turned atheist, speak recently. His words seemed well rehearsed, empty and shallow to me, during his book promotional talk. Atheists seem to believe in only a material and mechanistic type universe, that is void of the supernatural. They have rejected anything to do with spirit and even the idea of a universal consciousness.  In the question and answer period that followed, some christian believers were practically shutdown by the audience, when they tried to debunk the speakers stance. I left the room saddened by the dichotomy of thinking in that public forum, on what seemed to me as a one sided, empty and unappealing perspective. I am sure the atheists in the room felt renewed in their mutual disdain for all that is religious and spiritual. But, the christian believers may have felt somewhat ostracized and demeaned as they walked out of the building. I felt as if I were standing on the middle ground between these two opposing forces of embedded fundamentalist thought. The new brand of godless atheists, and the biblical literalist believers are both  fundamentalistic and firm in their conviction concerning what they believe truth to be. Both tend to be closed minded toward any opposing or dissenting view. If it doesn't fit their narrative, in their understanding of life it can't possibly be true,for them. Both camps believe they represent and know the truth. But, what is truth, on this subject, really? Can we know? In the vortex of opposing opinions and emotions, the truth always seems to lie in middle ground. What is the middle way when it comes to opinion concerning matter and spirit ?

Perhaps there is a middle way to approach this subject. Let me dig freely into this for awhile and see if  I can pick a way through the maze of thoughts and hopefully come to a center point that makes sense.

What is a word like 'God' ? Like all words it is a thought form. We know now that thoughts have the power to create. Its the creative intelligence behind thought form, on a cosmic scale, that brought the universe into existence according to ancient teachings. 'In the beginning was the word (Logos) and the word was with God and was God'  this is the well know verse in John 1:1. Some of the Greek philosophers 300-400 BCE perceived this logos as an active rational and spiritual principle that permeated all reality. It is in a sense the highest authority or principle that governs all that is in existence, the seen and the unseen. Some have called it the God Self,  the superordinate organizing principle at the top of all hierarchical principles. It may be the over arching authority or principle that underlies the structure of the universe.


But, for the purpose of attempting to understand on a limited scale, what God is, with the Logos meaning aside, we are trying to define some phenomenon that is non material in nature. We are attempting to attach a thought form, a verbal word, to that which is formless and unexplainable. Its likely impossible to use words to describe that which we cannot comprehend with our analytical mind. If we describe something, we put a limit on it. Whatever God is, it  does not fit into a box with walls of limitation. It seems as if, God, the unknowable mystery, will not fit inside an institution, a religion, a philosophy,  an ideology, or any belief system at all. So, at best we will only get a very limited understanding of what this mystery is, in this dimension.

Another well know phrase used to refer to God is- the ground of being -Paul Tillich 1886-1965
Paul Tillich was a very well know Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century.

 Here is a quote from the source link below

"Paul Tillich was critical of the view of God as a type of being or presence. He felt that, if God were a being, God could not then properly be called the source of all being (due to the question of what, in turn, created God). As an alternative, he suggested that God be understood as the “ground of Being-Itself”.
He felt that, since one cannot deny that there is being (where we and our world exist), there is therefore a Power of Being. He saw God as the ground upon which all beings exist. As such, God precedes “being itself” and God is manifested in the structure of beings."

 Click the link below for his view of God as 'Ground of being'

 ground of being

This extra article gives other views on the variety of ideas in defining God, click here images of God






There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.

Tao to Ching, #25    written circa 500 bce

For more on Tao click Tao

Perhaps a word which both atheist and believer alike, can accept and comprehend, is to refer to this mystery we live and have our being in, simply, as 'Life' . What is life? We know almost instinctively when something is alive, don't we? , but, we have no idea really what this invisible life force is. When there is life present it emanates or radiates some sort of vibrant energy, be it ever so subtle.  We can't wrap our thinking mind around it, but, deep down in our heart, or intuitive mind we know there is some sort of energetic presence in what we call life. Pull a carrot out of the ground, its still alive. When a tree is dead we know it because it is lifeless and without living matter, only an empty structure remains with its base elements.( It could be argued that there is life in the elements, atoms are now known to be made up of energy on the deepest level, rather then just invisible particles.)  A tree without leaves in winter is considered still alive, we could say it is at rest. We know its alive. What is this life presence all around us, even in the coldness of winter?

Spirit is also another universal word used to describe this Life presence. I personally prefer the word Spirit or Life to express what has been traditionally been called God. Both of these words don't seem to have the multi-generational emotional baggage of meaning attached to them, like 'God'. 'Spirit and Life' does not seem to provoke or excite most people ...but, these words seems to be a more neutral and meaningful way to speak of this mystery we live in.

Another word for this life presence is what many Christian mystics, Hindu yogis and Buddhist monks down through the ages call stillness. Out of this no-thingness or  stillness field arises all the phenomenon we experience in our known universe.  In this absolute stillness we can almost determine that there would be is no movement, no action, no matter, even atoms become still, the particle as photon,  or proton and electron with their electrical charges return to the potential wave energy state. Stillness in this absolute sense may be the field of potential where there is only the formless nothingness. Stillness is the containment where we live and move and have our being. Can we experience this stillness in a noisy and active world? Maybe! , many mystics have experienced this deep state of being. To be still and know, I am, God, is a well know verse from the psalms. With this understanding, God is found in the stillness. Many mystics call stillness God. Whatever God is, it is found only in the now, not in the past or future.  When we still the body and mind, becoming present, in the here and now, and go deep within, in the meditative state we may begin to know what God is. It has little to do with belief,  you don't have to "believe "anything, its more like an inner knowing or realization.

Life in its multiplicity and diversity of forms rise and fall in massive cycles over eons of time. Science and the ancient Vedic teachings seem to agree on the proposition that  universes come and go, and galaxies come and go. We know, the earth was once formless and void of life and it became over billions of years a living being, with quadrillions of units of living biological communities, forming one massive global ecosystem. The earth with its huge feedback loops, and the interconnection, and interbeing of all its intelligent life,  seems to have a mind of its own, a global collective mind, something the ancient Greeks called Gaia, or in modern times mother earth . Mountains rise and fall, ice ages come and go, creatures and plants morph into new creatures and plants, extinctions come and new life forms evolve. Human kingdoms rise and fall , and we as individualistic units of consciousness rise and fall as well. Life is manifested for a time and it goes back to the unmanifested. This cycle of life moving from the manifested form to the unmanifested non form is what we think of as life and death.

Universal consciousness or infinite intelligence are other words used to try and express this mystery of life. The materialist scientist believe that consciousness is only inside our brain. But the new non material scientists today are studying this universal consciousness and they realize it may be an infinite intelligence and the foundation or basis of all we call life. We seem to live in an ocean of consciousness and we are like waves moving up and down on the surface. When the individual wave loses its energy it dissolves back into the oneness of the ocean. When we drop the physical body we, as this individuated consciousness, melt back into the whole, the cosmic consciousness.






There is so much we don't understand. I only scratched the surface of what we can conclude by observation. The inner world found within, with the practice of meditation or contemplative prayer can help us realize more and more. The Jesus character did say that the kingdom of God is found within, its not some thing we can grab hold off and touch, in the physical realm. Let that sink in.  We,  may never fully grasp what God is until we, through grace come into a deeper realization by looking within. And, even if we did through a meditative state, enter the realm of the divine presence we will not be able to use words to adequately express ourselves to others what we know for sure about the ultimate reality.

Outward expressions of devotion to an image that represents God, like Michelangelo's Zeus like sky god, like the Jesus character, the Krishna figure, or a Buddha statue, or the sun and stars and many other idols, may have been a natural need for most humans. To worship an abstract God that is not visible, or without human attributes may be impossible for most people. The idea of the god-man has been with us long before Jesus walked the earth. There is the idea that the spark of the divine is in all beings. In Christianity it is suggested a human Jesus was the ultimate embodiment of the logos, the Christ, the spirit of god. The Christ spirit within all of us has been a teaching in Christianity since its beginning. The pre-incarnate  Christ existed at the beginning of time, Jesus is the embodiment of it, fully in a human being. Christ in you the hope of glory ( Col 1:27)  was proposed as a real possibility for all people everywhere. The divinity within the human being is a very old teaching that goes back thousands of years before Christianity began.

We live by grace and we trust in powers that are greater then us. I did not mention experiences that people over the years have experienced, when they encounter this divine presence. Attributes that have been revealed are subjective to the individual .  Qualities like the fruit of the spirit have been recorded for example in the christian tradition, and much as been written about near death experiences where a great infinite love, bliss and joy have been experienced.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.....” (Galatians 5:22-23)

It seems like, in this age of enlightenment, the more we learn on this deep subject, it becomes very evident, that we really don't know much at all. The details will have to wait until the final dissolution of our finite physical body. When our individuated temporal being melts into the infinite one being, we may find being itself is connected to an even greater 'ground of all being'. It is all a great mystery. I wrote a poem on this last year here is the link: The Great Mystery  .

In conclusion , many words and concepts  have been used down through the ages to describe God  but none are sufficient. It is the greatest of all mysteries. So,  what is God?, a good answer may be ..'I don't know'. This may be the most truthful answer for something that is unexplainable and unknowable. The agnostic position of, 'I don't know', when it comes to questions referring to God,  is in the end perhaps that middle way, the most humble way and perhaps the safest position to take. This conclusion may not promote the certainty, of 'I believe in God',  but it can promote the openness of getting closer to truth. Its truth, or the seeking after truth, that sets you free. Not knowing is freedom, it keeps us humble and open to new revelations about life, in the present. When we rely totally on past revelations, in the written texts, of other peoples subjective experiences, and their visions of what God and truth were, we can get a very distorted and illusory image.

I hope I gave a small glimpse, perhaps as if looking through a very dirty window, my very limited impression of  the awesome phenomena we call God. Someday we will get greater clarity, until that day keep an open mind, question everything. Seek and you may find.

Eventually you get to the point  where  the search is over,  you will have found the greatest of treasures, and it was not found out there somewhere but it was found within.

 One reaches a point where there are no more questions and there's no more search. - John Butler

Honor, Responsibility, Suffering and Meaning

 





To honor your mother and father with the promise that things will go well with you, all the days of your life, is a very ancient wisdom teaching.  Deep down we know this to be true. Its very powerful and it points to a great responsibility, for the parent more then the children. Children need examples of that which is honorable. We all know cases where parents are not perceived as honorable by their children because of their family dysfunction. We tend to admire and respect what we define as good parenting; as that which produces children who function well in our society.  Perhaps, parenting is the greatest of all responsibilities. We need to be that human ideal that our children will honor and strive toward. Its not what we say so much, but how we live our daily life that has the greatest impact. If we transmit wisdom, truth and love toward them all their lives, its very probable that our children will grow up to honor us with a deep love and respect.


Honor is earned by our responsibility in upholding the highest human ideal. When 'we look or wish upon a star' as portrayed in children's stories/myths/fables, we are in fact reaching toward the highest goal of life. What is the highest human ideal?  In Christianity its the Christ within, the human psyche that is made in the image of God. 'Christ exemplifies the archetype of the Self ' according to Carl Jung. He also said ' Human consciousness has discovered the religion-creating archetype, of which the figure of Christ is just one expression, though the relevant one for our particular culture'.  Buddha nature is another archetype or pattern of the human ideal in the eastern cultures . Krishna was also an archetype for the Hindu tribes a thousand years before the Jesus figure embodied this same spirit.

Its not what we preach to others that convinces them of the truth of our conviction. But, our outward radiance of being, in life and love, may earn their respect. Its not just our children who learn from our example, our whole community is watching. Responsibility gives us purpose and meaning, it moves us toward that which is honorable. 

So, to give honor to someone seems like it should be based on merit. It has to be earned, and a goal to work toward. To honor one who is unhonorable is an example of an act of grace and perhaps that is what is needed in a family who have been cursed with dysfunction at its core, for years. To love the 'unlovable' can be one of the greatest human accomplishments and that is very honorable. In some eastern cultures their is the idea that we should honor the spirit of others, its often spoken with the word  namaste meaning "I bow to the divine in you". 

 'Life is suffering' was the conclusion of many great thinkers, teachers and philosophers down through the ages . Suffering is the crucible, the furnace, where our lives become transformed. Through suffering we learn to understand and develop compassion and love toward others and ourselves. 

 


Click the link below: This short video is very powerful.

suffering, responsibility and meaning -video


In the end its all about what brings the maximum meaning to life with the least amount of necessary suffering, needed for growth. It has been said that there are two ways to realize what is real and true; an awakening can only happen in great suffering or great love. When we surrender to what is, whether it be suffering or love our perspective on life changes. We are called to grow up, and move toward the ideal set before us, as much as possible, in this limited and finite form of existence.

To be honorable comes with a great responsibility and sacrifice, and honor is earned, it does not come without merit. If you want something in this life you got to work hard for it. Honor and responsibility seems to be what brings the greatest meaning to life . Happiness is fleeting but meaning can last a lifetime. If we seek that which has meaning in life perhaps happiness can become the unintended outcome. Happiness may not be a realistic goal, but, striving toward  living a life which is honorable, by taking responsibility seriously, can bring  great meaning to what would otherwise be a miserable existence.


He (she) who  has a why to life can bare almost any how - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)


Find meaning, let feelings of happiness and sadness come and go as it will. Honor that which is honorable. Find meaning in responsibility. Suffering is life's greatest teacher.  Live life striving toward the greatest ideal. Be an honorable person who others can hold up as an example to follow. Teach the children what it means to be honorable and maybe, they will then honor their parents and strive to emulate them,  so that things will go well for them all their lives.

May our children be blessed with wisdom, love and a open heart for truth.  Many eyes are watching us. Its a great responsibility to be the greatest example and standard that they can live up to.

Be that living pointer, a light that shines on, the way, the truth, the life, and the ultimate ideal, the transcendent Self; so that they can search within themselves, and reach toward and wish upon a star, too. What greater meaning could there be in life than this?

Click here:

Stumble towards the Light video







'....before you learn

anything you have to admit that there

are things that are important that you don't know...'   - J. Peterson

The parent needs the child's honor just as much as the child needs the honorable parent. In a way the child rescues the parent from chaos ( the belly of the whale) through responsibility. The video below explains this complicated relationship between child and parent . Peterson explains very well, the deeper meaning behind a just small clip of the children's story Pinocchio.

click here:   The antidote

Growing In The Rocks

You are growing in the rocks! Sounds like a strange statement . Before, you think...Brian has completely lost his mind this time, allow that thought to sink in and let me expand on that idea a bit.

Over the years I have been amazed at how trees grow out of the rock faces on the cliffs. I became aware of this again recently on a trip to Newfoundland. On one of my beach combing walks the thought came to me ...

....you are growing in the rocks, just like these trees...


How can life live on such bare and raw elements with very little fine particle soil visible? Somehow, their roots squeeze down through fine cracks and find enough moisture and substance to survive and appear healthy.

We know that life grows and thrives in the elements found on earth, but, the life energy itself, and its source, this is the greatest mystery pondered by the sages for thousands of years.  What is it ?  Over 4000 years ago in one of the Vedic Upanishads, this life mystery was referred to as simply 'That" and also found in this ancient text was the the famous statement 'you are that '. You are 'that', that mystery we call life.

Elements are the basic physical substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are the primary physical constituents of matter.  The human body is made up of less then 20 of the 92 elements found on earth, and  99%  of the biological body is made from just 5 elements, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. 

So, what is this life presence that lives intermingled and  immanent among these elements in nature? Life does not seem to come from the elements, although elements are made of atoms which are now known to be made from pure energy rather then solid particles. Life  lives immersed, seemingly within the basic elemental particles and molecules. It is not made of matter, molecules or material of any kind, it is not a thing. Spirit is perhaps a more accurate description of 'life'. But, in reality, words cannot express what life actually is. Life is conscious, it is aware. It is a type of universal intelligence, a cosmic mind, a presence, it can be called the web of consciousness, and it seems to be one giant network of cooperating forces controlled by intelligence and love. Love in this universal sense can be seen as an harmonious energetic balance created when seemingly opposite forces (yin and yang) cooperate for the evolvement of the whole, one life. Consciousness is continually evolving, its very nature is a creative energy force, while maintaining oneness it chose to manifest itself into multiplicity with infinite diversity through creation. Its natural cycle is a return to oneness and nothingness out of the diversity of its creative forms. This creative life spirit is at its very essence, the primordial foundation, the all encompassing ground of diversity (GOD). This life energy which is no-thing is in a continuous play and intermingling with form. It manifests into form for a time and returns to non form or no-thingness. This cycle of being, in form and out of form is what we call life and death. In this sense death can be thought of as the unmanifested life which is not residing within form. It is spirit not attached to or within a physical body.  When life leaves the form of the human body, insect  or plant, it returns to non form. The life leaves the material body, which it had immersed itself into for awhile, and what remains becomes a decomposing biomass over a skeleton of heavy dense elements . What is composed as form will decompose back into the base elements once again, in time. Just as the life spirit cycles from form to non form, so also complex molecules composed of elements decompose back to the raw elements and in time will be used by the life force to compose new forms of living biological beings. 


When we observe a  dead body or dead tree, we know the life has gone out of it.

(below is a painting I did in 2004 )


086-2004 -For everything there is a season  16" x 20" acrylic on canvas
 
Life disengaged from being an apple tree, what remains is the raw bare form of a tree,  decomposing back to the base elements. The life has gone out of it. We are life, manifesting as a human being,  just as it does in the trees and the grasses of the field, here for a short season and then gone. There is a season for everything. - Eccl :3




 



You at the pure essence level can be thought of as life itself , appearing in form. A human being or any being, is a type of hybrid of Life/Spirit and form made of elements. This life/material hybrid is what you are. You are immersed in matter and appear as a living being. But, in some sense you have forgotten who you are. 

This living consciousness wants to experience humanness just as lovingly as the humanness seeks to experience the mystery of consciousness. This consciousness (Life) wants to experience itself (life),  it is 'awareness ' itself and it is also aware of what is, in the present, now. Remember life can only be now. It does not seem to be concerned about past, but there is the idea of the akashic records , and  it does not seem to get fixated on the concept of future as the human little mind does. 

When the human is centered and in flow with the inner consciousness, now,  it experiences the fullness or wholeness of life. But, unfortunately the human condition has been plagued with a major dysfunction where the thinking organ, the intellect has taken over as master. This lower mind  thinks that its streaming thoughts and biological body are who it actually is . We have become lost in thought, with a focused attention on doing, getting and building up our outer appearances,  rather then simply just being, and allowing  the enbodiment of the real self to shine through the shallow layer of facade and outer appearances.  The outer self is a manufactured identity, a false sense of self, a personal story of who it thinks it is, with a history, which is unaware of the inner self life. It is often called the ego or personality, but in reality it is more like an actor wearing a persona mask who thinks the character it plays is the true self.  This fictional separate self has set itself up as the dominant sense of self in a house built on sinking sand , and when the house crumbles with age, along with the facade of outer appearances, it too, dissolves with it.  The thinking mind has set it self up as a master rather than its ideal role as servant. When the outer, small mind (ego) eventually learns to submit to and becomes more aware of  the master, the greater universal mind, a whole new identity is revealed to the entire being. This is often referred to as your true self or inner being and it is really who you are.

To become aware of who you really are, is actually mind blowing because the thinking ego-mind cannot comprehend it. The true self could be called the heart-mind and it is more intuitive and love based. In order to become aware of this inner self  or heart-mind there will need to be an inner work or realization, some like to use the word grace for this opening process into awareness. This opening into spirit awareness will evolve into a deeper sense of intuitive knowing your true identity.
 
To allow the greater consciousness to be aware of and experience  humanness and for the human to become aware of the greater consciousness  is perhaps the whole purpose of the human life. 

So, you are life and you are living now, immersed with, and temporarily attached to the physical elements of earth ....You are, in a metaphorical sense... living and growing in the rocks!


Allow consciousness to experience humanness. Allow humanness to experience consciousness.

Love until it hurts

The deepest love seems to be unconcerned about getting something from the other.

Mother Teresa encouraged us to love until it hurts.

I have experienced this in living and practicing love in action toward my wife over many years . But, I could not express it like this quote. I loved Debbie until it hurt and I dropped the need to get from her in order to give.  I moved pass the hurt and then there was only more capacity for love. Life is amazing when we allow it to happen moment to moment. It teaches us if we have eyes to see , ears to hear, and a heart to understand.

Spiritual but not Religious

For many spiritual people in America, the Christian Church has lost its appeal. Americans have become disenchanted with the Church's unbelievable story and ugly history. They have been turned off by the Church's use of outdated and hard-to-understand language and music. And they have become contemptuous of Church leadership littered with the uninspired, overbearing, and weak. This has created an exodus from organized religion that, in turn, has created an enormous spiritual longing in America.
Spiritual But Not Religious takes a deep look at this ever-growing problem, which in the new century is strengthening its grip on younger America and posing a mortal threat to the Church--a threat the Church has been too afraid to look at. Challenging, fascinating, and oftentimes humorous, Spiritual But Not Religious closely examines the exodus from the Church, citing its causes and implications. It also offers a detailed plan for what the Church must do to not only regain its lost members, but to regain its lost spirit. Let there be no doubt, a revolution is needed! Spiritual But Not Religious is the call for that revolution.

source:
https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-but-Not-Religious-Revolution/dp/059501108X

The spiritual but not religious ( SBNR ) movement has gotten somewhat of a negative reputation, over the decades, especially from the biblical literalist christian community. For many of them, who have not done their research on truth, with an open mind and heart, it is just more of  that new agey mumbo jumbo teachings that is being spread by their perceived enemy, to deceive the masses. This SBNR movement has been growing since the 60's and some would agree, its always been there, but it was very often reserved, and suppressed,  for good reasons.  There may have been a generational carry over stigma against independent  thought on spiritual matters.There was no place in our society for the individualist spiritual freedom seeker. Being a non-conformist toward the family religion was not an option to take lightly.   It wasn't long ago that you would have been executed for holding a dessenters view with that of the orthodox institutional religion of the day. With the advent of religious freedom in recent time we are no longer burnt at the stake, by the 'thought police' , for having a different view, but, an hidden resentment still seems to linger among the 'Rightous'  (We have the only truth ) banner wavers, out there.

 I wrote the following to a family member recently, on this subject, and it sums up my thoughts on it.


I am one of those who fit in the 'spiritual but not religious camp'. I left the church and became obsessed with God. I can't fit God inside the narrow box of what religion portrays it to be. Most religious people believe in a separate God out there somewhere and they need a mediator of some kind to bridge the gap between them, the 'sinner', and the divine. I believe there is a place for religion for billions of people all over the world. They are devotes of worship to their conceptual idea of the divine through ritual and prayer. They are draw also to a sense of community that organized religion offers. Many misunderstand the spiritual seeker after God, who have cast themselves into a spiritual wasteland outside the walls of the institutional structure. To some the idea of leaving church to find spiritual truth is unthinkable. What they don't realize is that Jesus himself was also anti-religious. It was the religion of his day that had him killed. He spoke of the divinity within, outside the man made construct of religious forms. The spiritual but not religious are not backsliders, they are often forward runners in the ongoing quest for truth concerning God. 



 


This has been the path I have taken on the road toward spiritual realization. I worship Life and Love as I continue discovering truth with an open mind and heart.  Liberty of thought for all is a worthy goal for humanity as we continue to grow in a greater consciousness. Its only when we find out who the true self is that we will know what reality is.

Art Nature and Awe

I stood in front of the original  Salvador Dalí Santiago El Grande, one day and I was spellbound with awe. It seemed to have a majesty and a life presence beaming from it.  It gave me goosebumbs like I have rarely felt when looking at a work of art. Its a 13.5 ft x 10 ft oil on canvas painted by the artist in 1957.

I had the same thing happen again today as I stood admiring a huge 200 year oak tree in a park near my home. I have admired this tree many times before on my daily walks, but with the leaves just bursting forth with new life on this mid May, spring day, I stood for awhile spellbound with its majesty and beauty and it gave me goosebumbs just like the Dali painting did. I could sense its life presence so powerful. It seemed so rooted in being. There seemed to be an energy of life emanating from it. Perhaps I was attuned at that moment, in my psyche, to realize it. It is spring and I love life at this time of year. There is the power of life bursting forth everywhere in my area of Canada right now. Spring has sprung.


This photo here, taken 24 hours later cannot  capture what I experienced the day before, its impossible for a photo image to capture the living thing in its majesty.

The tree below  is a stock photo of an oak..

Nature is art in its purist form. It is awesome and inspiring.  The word inspire means to excite, encourage, or breathe life into. I felt something very powerful today, looking at this huge tree for that brief moment in time, and feeling the spirit coming from it. I felt infilled with spirit or in-spirited. In spirit is very close to the word inspired. Again,  I have to say, I guess the conditions were right and my awareness was in sync with nature. I felt in spirit with the world of nature around me.  Everything at its essence is spirit. We share the spirit of the cosmos. Everything at its core is one essence....one Spirit. We don't have a spirit, we are spirit manifesting in multiplicity,  everywhere throughout the seen and unseen universe. The essence of life in the oak tree is the same essence of life in all life forms including us. All life is the unseen Spirit manifested as form. When we see all of life as one spirit, we will also sense the oneness of all that is .

Life and Love

 



In this world of impermanence, I ask what is real? We know from modern physics that all physical form is made of energy at the subatomic level.  Atoms are made up of smaller particle waves of energy and this can be broken down even further into pure energy. So, in essence all is energy. This is a fact of science. All that seems solid in our world is really energy. What is energy? It is the power of life.

What is love? The power of creation. The dance of life. It is the giving and receiving.  Cooperation between opposites, is love in action. It is Yin and Yang. It is the masculine and the feminine acting as one, through the energy of love. Where there is a lack of love there will be fear and separation. Love creates harmony and balance . Fear results in disharmony and dis-ease. In nature death and decomposition is the transformation of life energy from one form to another. Conception and birth is the unseen or unmanifested  creative life energy manifesting into another form. Life energy is never lost, it is transformed into another state, or another form.  Nature strives for balance, health and homeostasis, it works through cooperation, rather then competition with other forces, toward an overall oneness. Love can be seen as the power behind this cooperation in oneness and this is the nature of all that is. Or, to word it differently; Love is the energy of life in all of nature working in cooperation as oneness.

To know love we need only look at a mother caring for and nurturing her young offspring. She cares more about the well being of this newborn then all else. Her life is given in sacrifice for the other. We see in the mother the same power in all of creation. Life is love in action and love can be seen everywhere we have eyes to see. Its in every moment, in every form of life that blooms and sprouts forth into being.


In the photo below the life in the worm is transformed into the forming of a new robin. The male and the female work together as one to bring new life into being.




Perhaps all the dysfunction in humanity that we see around us is a result of a low love-life energy. This lack of love energy causes an environment of competition and separation along with fear and disease.

Life is love in action!

To know God is to realize this life as love in action. 

God is the power of life and love .

To worship life and love,
   is to worship
        God