Tag Archives: God

THE PALE BLUE DOT

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3.7 billion miles distant and still moving – on its way out of the solar system –

It’s 1990, and Carl Sagan has requested one last photograph from the Voyager 1 space probe –
So the camera turns and takes one final image of earth –
A “pale blue dot” from that distance – smaller than a pixel –

“Click.”

Think about “time” – how little is taken up by a single human life –
By humanity as a whole –
Or even by “life on earth.”

Given this, shouldn’t we be thinking about God’s perspective on things more
Than our individual egos?

After all, human beings were created by God
While egos are self-constructed –
Shadows, really, of our true selves.

Oops, that pale blue dot just got lost in the sunlight –
But there’s no “word” for the kind of world that’s no longer able to see itself.

Nothing’s ever lost, however,
No matter how large or small –
Size doesn’t matter to God
Only “reality” does.

That pale blue dot is loved by God beyond all human fathoming
Carrying the potential of an intelligent-loving, self-conscious form of life –
And, it’s a fact that a small number of these have already appeared –
But God has promised that more are on the way – and, one day, will include everyone.

Later on, when God gets in a much better mood,
God intends to place this beautiful blue planet on her ring finger –
Like a “blue-water” jewel –
Radiating light and life and literally infinite quantities of love –

Nothing will ever be discovered as valuable as this in any other universe!

Yes, it’s true our blue/green earth constitutes a jewel
God’s gaze has been centered upon –
Proof that God has decided to “marry” this tiny world that
One day, could be filled to overflowing with intelligent/loving human lives –
Innumerable “Friends of God”.

If you want to see our “pale blue dot”:

THE FUNNY THING IS

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The funny thing is –
When you start moving closer to God
You also begin losing pieces of yourself –

And when your goal is reached
You’ll be completely gone –

Gone,
But still there.

It’s only your artificiality that’ll really be gone.

At that point, you’ll be free enough –
To stand in front of God – face to face –

You won’t be able to see yourself though –
Even though others still will.

Yes, it’s true, once you finally let go –
And are no longer there –
You’ll actually be more there than you ever were before.

FRIENDS AT LAST

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Here’s how God “works” –

Just when everything’s looking good
And our humility’s decided to take a hike –
God will place a few unexpected obstacles in our path
To trip us up.

Isn’t it obvious that the more humility we’re able to retain –
The more our capacity for love can grow –
Which is why God wants us to experience a few failures.

God encourages greater humility to accompany increasing success
So we can continue experiencing our vulnerability.

It’s like riding a bike – the faster we go –
The less thought we need to give to what we’re doing.

This is what God wants
And what Jesus gave his life demonstrating:

“One eye on ourselves
And the other on God” –

If we can live this way
We’ll find God and ourselves
Becoming friends, at last.

TASTING GOD

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What does God smell like?
Perhaps we should ask a dog.

What does it feel like to be “taken up into the spirit”?
Perhaps we should query the diving-down ducks.

Every sentient being “knows” God in their own unique manner
Except humans who generally think spiritually only in blueprints.

We do know God – but several steps removed –
In our focused, yet abstract way.

Backing up a bit, we can gain some perspective
But the intensity of the experience diminishes –
On the other hand, if we move closer – like a lover should –
We often lose a sense of the whole.

Perhaps we should think about reclaiming our distant vegetable self –
Or take up an intimate relationship with stones –

In other words, leave our beautiful minds at home
And approach God “fresh” –

That is, close as “reality” can get –

Licking close.

GOD IS A WORD

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God is a word
And that word is “God” –

In a sense, God has to be a word
Because we only “think” in words.

Words are made up of nothing –
But they’re all we have.

Actually, words just point –

For example, God points at God
And says: Look at me –
Not at yourself.

Also – you might want to
Look at “love” or “truth”

If you can bear it.

God “says” (since that’s how God generally reaches out to us):

“Look at me,”

“I’m a ‘Word.’”

BORN AGAIN

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“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:3

Christianity teaches that Jesus was referring to salvation based upon a belief in him.

But Jesus was actually talking about being born “into the Spirit” – not about a commitment to himself.

So, what does it mean for one to be born “into the Spirit”?

I think, first, this requires a determination of the meaning of one’s “self.”

Each of us is born as a “true self” – but, at this moment in history, a “true self” probably wouldn’t be able to survive past his or her childhood. That’s why a person, while still young, accepts the substitution of an “ego” or false self in place of their true self – so that they can successfully integrate their “self” into the world – i.e., with their parents, community, and surrounding culture, including their nation and religion. This successor “self,” in most cases, takes the form of the strong and healthy ego that Freud described.

But what are the costs of living through an “ego” self, no matter how successful it may be in the world?

Think about consciousness as an open circle. Then picture the part accessible to the ego as a very thin slice – maybe 10% – 20%. From early childhood on, that’s the part of ourselves we choose to live within – with all our experiences needing to fit within that narrow slice or be excluded. Excluded how? The ego self requires, as the price of an effective existence, that each and every experience outside the scope of its chosen roles be methodically and ruthlessly pushed back into the unconscious – sealing those experiences off from our consciousness.

So, what happens when we’re “born again”? Upon being born again, we gain access to all our consciousness – all 360 degrees of it – and are able to experience full reality. We become completely “free” and totally open to all our experiences – just like when we first came into the world as a newborn baby – but we also retain all the experience and knowledge of the person we had become by the time we were “reborn.” This rebirth, however, doesn’t happen to an ego – it only happens when we’re able to break free of the ego we had earlier accepted – and start living outside it. That’s what Zen training, for example, prepares us for – to get “outside yourself” in order to become “free of your ego.” This is essentially the same path which Jesus taught – that we need to be “born again” in order to become our “true self” – the self God originally provided us with.

Once you become your true self, you’ll enter “Heaven” – and no longer be creating karmic problems in this world. That’s because you’ll be experiencing everything clearly – by being able to see yourself at the same time as you’re participating in the world – by an ability to stand “outside” yourself. This makes it possible for you to see what God wants you to do in any given situation – just like Jesus was able to – allowing you to act the same as God would act if God were a human being like yourself.

Let me say this as simply as possible – once you find your “true self,” you won’t be Jesus, but you’ll have become someone like Jesus – because you’ll have done what he recommended – spiritually, you’ll be “born again.”

All the “Angels in Heaven” start singing when this happens –

or perhaps,

You’ll simply be able to hear the angels who’re always singing – once you’ve gained the “ears to hear” that everyone receives upon being “born again.”

(UN)FORTUNATELY

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Eastern sages teach that everything is unreal
Because most of us experience reality primarily through the funhouse mirrors
Of ego.

But when ego retreats,
Reality receives God’s permission to enter our lives.

However, we always want both at once –

(Un)fortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

TOO SPOILED TO CHANGE

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We believe we’re okay, even though we’re not –
And know we’re not.
We’re committed to this belief because we’re too spoiled to change
And, up until now, have always been able to “get away with it.”

In the distant past, God sent a few select people into the world
Repeatedly attempting to teach human beings they really need to change –
But, rather than changing, they changed the message instead –
And then buried it – upside-down – inside magnificent stone structures.

Now, however, it’s gotten to the point
That, as a species, we face the threat of going extinct – by
Inadvertently tearing ourselves to pieces (in the old tried and true “male” way),
Along with altering the climate of our beautiful, still largely paradisiacal world –

Unless we completely change:

From human animals to human beings –
From false selves to true selves.

That’s why we need the purest girl in the world more than ever
To make an appearance here on earth (life’s only “known” home in the universe) –
Because our ancient spiritual models have gone stale
And no longer work in the way we need today.

GOD COMES IN MANY FLAVORS

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God comes in many flavors –
Not just vanilla.

God thinks about
Going forward, and then,
In reverse.

New universes appear
And disappear
Like bouquets of light
Thrown up into the night sky.

God has a secret
And makes up a song about it –
But when it’s sung
We can’t hear a thing –
Because we lack a “third ear.”

Nevertheless,
God loves little things
Which is why we’re so cherished
And always invited to the party.

God won’t ever stop making new things –
Nor will we –
But, sometimes, we should take a break
And compare work.

SEARCHING FOR GOD – WITH BOTH MINDS

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We possess two minds: a logical/mathematical/scientific mind and a creative artistic one:
Joined at the brain’s center they function best when acting together
Because it takes both to encompass reality.

Today, many people are using just one of their minds in their search for God or for understanding reality – the “logical” one –
And that’s true whether we’re speaking of believers in orthodox religion or atheists –
Since both can be quite comfortable construing reality in a purely logical manner.

Atheists – being materialistic – use “Occam’s Razor” to crop spirit entirely out of life’s picture,
While Fundamentalists and Conservative Evangelicals proselytize a “god-given” faith
composed of ancient superstitions systematized into a “take it or leave it” religion.

Both are dead-ends.

I propose that people should start searching for God and their true self by using both minds. A new post-“postmodern” field of human endeavor will be necessary to accomplish this: a freely creative and artistic, yet inherently rational, spiritual discipline of using both of our minds.

In the past, artists convincingly portrayed various aspects of God, but restricted their images and stories to their culture’s predominant religion – whether Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam.

Today, however, artists need to widen their scope of work to encompass all human religions, spirituality, thought, and emotions. Human beings’ highest and most joyful levels of creativity could then be used to “paint pictures” and “tell stories” about God, and to discover their true selves – with absolute freedom – while grounding this new“ spiritual-art” in a profound and rational understanding of reality.

This “Two Minds spiritual discipline,” however, will never be included in the course curricula at Princeton Theological Seminary or Oral Roberts University because this combination of a rational scientific approach with spontaneous and free artistic creativity, by its very nature, could never be the subject of academic systematization.

The best thing would be for each person to become a “scientific-artist” or “artistic-scientist” (depending upon one’s natural preference), and to go and search for God and one’s true self on their own – using both minds. If they happen to learn about someone who might be helpful to them in that search – they should go and talk to that person – one on one.

Repeat, as often as necessary, until radiant with joy!