In the West, God -- be it bearded Jehovah or younger Jesus -- is a man, typically portrayed with light skin and a beard. He interacts with other people, curses them, blesses them, and interferes in their lives when people break his rules. He controls a piece of the universe called Heaven, and grants entry to people who worship him and who obey him at all times.
This sounds more like a mob boss than an enlightened divinity.
Yet walk into most churches (or synagogues, or mosques, or temples -- it doesn't vary that much) and you will hear something along these lines. Follow these rules, or you will go to Hell.
Even if you don't believe in God, or are agnostic, it is this image that is supposed to shape your "spiritual" inclination.
God is presented as something to be feared. So you see most people today live in fear of God, or live in fear of other people who believe in God, or life in fear of the people who make the rules based on the values of a fearful God.
If we want to plumb the depths of human consciousness, we have to get rid of these limiting ideas of God.
It is OK to have a connection with the larger universe and to have a sense of spirituality without subscribing to any particular church or doctrine.
In fact, spirituality is so unique -- and we as individuals are so unique -- that every person probably has their own idea of the nature of God.
People don't need to agree about their conceptions of God. It's OK for there to be a difference of opinion about God.
The important thing is that people make up their own minds about God (or the lack of a God) and not just blindly follow some belief because it makes them feel better.
That is not genuine investigation, but simply acting like a sheep. And our consciousness is too precious to behave like a sheep.
Personally -- I view God as being the mind, and as being the universe as well. This may seem like a paradox, but to me the mind and the universe are one and the same -- and both are God.
God is the bridge that connects my intentions, desires, hopes, and prayers to their material manifestation.
I sit, and quiet my mind, and then I open my mind to all of creation and feel a comfort that all will be well, all can be healed, everything will be OK. No need to worry.
In this state, you can formulate an intention and ask that it come true, so long as it is in the best interests of all involved. And if it is, then it happens.
God is the connection to all of consciousness. When you sit by yourself, and you feel the presence of a loved one who may be thousands of miles away -- that moment is God.
Or when you sit in a garden and can delight in beauty, happy to be alive -- that moment is God.
Our purpose here on this Earth is to obtain ever greater freedom. Freedom means the defeat of fear, and values promulgated on such fear. When you confront a fear, and you knock it down, and you obtain greater spiritual and psychological freedom -- that moment is also God.
And because freedom is always growing, always expanding, always evolving, so too does our own conception of God grow and expand, and evolve in tandem as well.
2 comments:
I'd love to hear a bit more justification for some of the assertions you make. You say that our purpose is to become even more free - to seek freedom. Why do you conclude this? Your discussion about God also harkens back to this idea. You create a broad definition of God - the awe in the world (does that paraphrasing suite you?), but you skip the fundamental question of whether there is a God (being) or God-like force that created this earth and life? I want to hear more about your fundamentals...
Hm..fundamentals...I guess my main fundamental assumption is that everything in this universe is connected to everything else. This is because everything is composed of energy.
I don't view God as being separate and distinct from that energy, or from my ability as as a human to perceive that energy in this universe.
I think it is possible that we can use our minds to perceive more subtle forms of energy -- we can "tune in" to certain vibrations that are more universal in scope. I think this is what happens when you meditate.
When you "tune in" just right, your mind vibrates at the frequency of the universe. At this point, you become one with God; it is like a drop of water finding the ocean once more.
In terms of whether God created life, I think God is life -- they are one and the same. Life is nothing more than the ability to metabolize energy, to use that energy for something else. As life has evolved, so has God.
I think the purpose of life is freedom, because energy is always seeking to expand the boundaries of its limitations. Nietzsche called this the "will to power." The single cell organism became the multi cell organism, which produced plant life, life in the water, life on the earth -- then humans. Evolution doesn't stop. When an animal evolves, its consciousness evolves as well. It opens up a new frontier of sensation and is free of its original limitations. Freedom is energy; and freedom is also life.
I'd write more but this is way longer than I originally intended as it is.
Post a Comment