I'm going to write about God - more accurately about the idea of God. And in thinking of a title, I remembered the opening lines of the Dylan song - "God said: Abraham, kill me a son."
A pretty good introduction to the God I rejected, the one I was force-fed when I was younger. And then it became possible to reject any idea of God. Until, I was working on the Twelve Step programme of AA which was directing me towards an acceptance of and a relationship with God. Sure, they dressed it up as "a Power greater than myself" or the "God of my understanding" but I could see what they really meant. The problem, it turned out, was that I had a closed mind and that closed mind was going to keep me from seeing whatever else there might be around.
My journey towards the God idea is summed up in a story:
Our man is walking in the mountains on a clear day. But the weather gets dark and stormy and he loses his way and, far from the track, slips and falls down the side of the mountain. His fall is broken by a branch which he clings to firmly with both hands. Looking up he sees a sheer climb of about 100 feet; below him a fall of 400 feet to almost certain death. As the clouds get darker, and as he gets more desperate, he looks up into the sky and calls out "listen, I know I've never believed in you before, but I really could do with some help here. So, if there's anybody or anything there, can you please help me?" A few moments passed and the clouds parted and a thin shaft of light fell on our climber and he heard a voice say "My child, I am here and I will help you. All you have to do is let go." Our man looked down at the drop and then back up into the air and called "Is there anybody else up there?"
With many stutters and false starts I have today reached a point where I have a relationship with a God of my understanding. And it serves me well. Through this, I have become convinced of two things: first that God exists, second, that faith in God - or the idea of God - is vital for living as an awakened spirit.
On the question of God's existence: God exists in the minds of all those who believe in God. Which is probably the cue for disbelievers to jump in and demand proof. As long as we cling to reality and proof as the only way to know anything, this sceptical stance is justified and bullet-proof. But we might do well to consider the fact that there is much about the spiritual domain that is not real and is not provable - people have visions, miracles take place, people see angels, hear the voice of God and a few people gain Enlightenment. These things bridge two worlds - they are real but not explicable in a rational way. A good explanation I heard for this is that the domain of science and the domain of the spiritual world are mutually exclusive: neither can provide useful explanations for what takes place in the other.
So I take it that God exists, and that we have a choice whether or not to believe this.
In How to Know God Deepak Chopra uses probably the most appropriate verb "know" in his title. He also lists different ways in how God's presence is felt in our minds.
First there's God the Protector - like a parent keeping a child safe. Then, there's God Almighty with laws and rules to order our lives; Next the God of Peace keeping us from turmoil and confusion; God the Redeemer who understands and forgives; God the Creator who built everything; the God of Miracles, more akin to a form of pure awareness that feels joyful and blessed (very likely where "all is well and all will be well fits in) and finally the God of Pure Being, the one who doesn't exist but just is.
From where I sit, it seems that different religions at different times point to different aspects of the perceived God. Maybe it's a mistake to try to make God all these things (which might explain why I have a problem with reconciling the smiting and a'venging [sic] God of the OT with the gentle loving God of the NT). Mind you, I have a problem with many religions mainly because of what Jung said "One of the main functions of formalised religion is to protect people against a direct experience of God." There are exceptions but in the main organised religion comes with a dogma that is in the hands of church leaders. What use is a second-hand experience of God to me? Trusting somebody in authority to interpret the will of God seems to be the major problem, likely the cause of all those wars and hatred started in religion's name - farcical when you think that all religions have peace and love at the forefront of their teachings.
My personal preference in describing my knowledge of God sits in the last definition - a God of pure being, one that fits a world of infinite possibilities; I like to wake each into a world where anything can happen, where the things that do happen are limited by me and my unwillingness to believe.
I use a sign off "in love and light" to letters and emails for a simple reason; it is as close as I can get to describing what God is like for me. The love is obvious I guess while the light I am referring to is what some call "the Inner Light" or "that of God within us." The Bible encourages us to "seek the Kingdom of Heaven within." So it's quite possible that this is the best place to look. But in order to look within we need to stop being obsessed by what's happening without. We need to be here now; to come to the present and be still and look at ourselves
That last line sounds simple... however...
ReplyDeleteI think 'being still' is almost a lost art these days - it took me a long while to learn how 'just be' as opposed to 'do'.
A lot of people offer a lot of BS advice about achieving that state that that may well reflect their experience, but it seems clear to me that one size doesn't fit all...
I suspect a number of different-but-similar paths - the 'desert religions' being one group - are the distant echoes of ancient attempts to do exactly the same thing... hand down what worked for Abraham, in that case, as seen through the cultural baggage of different times and circumstances?
Our challenge may be to recognise our own cultural baggage, to reject it, and rather than following Abraham's hand-me-down map; see what was before him... which may look entirely different to us.
I dont know if you remember but a few years ago you said something to me in a meeting which gave rise to a turning point in my life.
ReplyDeleteI was sharing about my lack of belief in god and therefore my struggle to "find" a power greater than myself.
After the meeting you pointed out to me that I had spent my life looking outside myself for solutions/things to fix me and it had never worked. You suggested that I might like to search inside myself instead and reminded me of the "unsuspected inner resource" mentioned in the big book.
That completely changed my perspective and was a big turning point in my spiritual journey.
Richard: I'm becoming more impressed by what the Desert Fathers gave us. Looks like a fully serviceable and usable philosophy, theology and way of life. I had to get over my idea that they went into the desert to avoid "temptation" when they went into isolation to find it.
ReplyDeleteBe. Here. Now. Something about that warrants a blog
Nicky: I remember it well. I also remember a look on your face which I have seen on the face of many others when I have proffered the same suggestion. The idea of looking inside goes against everything we have been taught. And, of course, the big issue of our distorted view of ourselves keeps us back from even looking at all.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that I cannot embrace an experience of pure being and 'manage' a concept of God simultaneously? I cannot profess knowledge of God. As a prerequisite for innocence, I know that I do not know, yet I can know, as Jung said, that God exists without having to believe in a concept.......experientially - rendering my tired little strivings for a more profound concept akin to a small insect with compound vision rendering the toes of a large ape into a manageable vision of deity. Can I be satisfied with just mystery and the experience of Godliness?
ReplyDeleteMy only way out of this is to (probably) misquote Picasso, who when asked about technology said "What use have I for computers? - all they ever give me are answers".
Be Well Y'all,
Marv