Alright let’s have the “religion” talk once and for all, as I'm getting lots of questions about what I believe...
You may have caught my “That’s How I Know That God Is Real” segment and also have heard me reference the Universe, heavily. For some that is a conflict , so allow me to explain (as best as I can). Please keep in mind this is My Opinion and My Point of View. Nothing More. (that's why it's posted on a SUN Day. My personal experience...)
Growing up I was taught that GOD was this guy in the sky that pretty much resembled Santa Claus. He, like Man, would get mad at some things, be pleased by other things, had a full plate of things to do, I mean watching over EVERY single soul on the planet! That’s a huge job right? Assigning GOD this identity was very limiting for me. We won’t even get into how his race and gender were polar opposites than my own (how can I not worry about favortism?) How could this guy, while VERY powerful, love all of us equally (and this love was Greater than any love in the whole galaxy), be forgiving of every action, be every where all the time, all knowing, omnipresent, inside of you and inside of me…etc the list goes on. Already, the concept is huge for our human brains to grasp, but put it in a package of a Man and it, for me, makes it even more of a challenge.
However, you talk about the Universe, the Mulit-verse and speak of how we are all made of the same things, the earth, stardust, energy, tiny atoms that make up flowers and trees also are a part of our genetic make up. It makes more sense. The omnipresent, all knowing, All Loving, Presence that is everywhere all the time, for eternity inside of you and me…makes more sense when I think of it as the Grand Universe. I Get it. Because the very word Universe opens up my Awareness and I can see it and I can feel it. It’s not to sound super metaphysical it’s just what makes sense to me. However, I call the Universe, God. Because I very much do believe in God, but/and it’s as the Universe that I understand Her ☺ and that is how I use the two terms. The Universe allows me to understand the Majesty that is God. So while some people get upset that I say Universe thinking I’m negating God, to me the Universe IS God. The Multi-verse IS God. God is everywhere, everything and God Is LOVE, and Love is all there is.
As you see, I also use different pronouns and descriptors to describe God. I will say Him, Her, It, The Supreme, The Light, The Great I Am or a mixture of those and maybe more. It again, is in effort to not limit my mind to think of a person with two eyes, two ears, a beard etc. It’s a way of shaking up my brain like an Etch- a- Sketch so that I don’t try to “see” a picture of the Presence and Power that I am referring to. Our human brains always want to form a picture and God is greater than anything we can “picture” in our minds.
Lastly, Religion. Organized Religion. I have tremendous respect for all religions and those who are deeply entrenched in their religions. My only problem with organized religion of any kind is that I have found that people use it as a foundation to start a fight rather than spread peace and love, and this baffles me for one and discourages me for another. The point of religion is to give people something to believe in, a guideline on how to live a Divine life. I would find when I would volunteer for churches some Baptist, some Catholic, just trying to do the good work of Love, the conversation would always turn to who is going to hell first (and everyone was Christian!). The people took pleasure in these discussions all the while saying “Lord Forgive Me for saying...” or “Pray for me ya’ll but…” It doesn’t make sense to me. I live in a country right now heavily dominated by one religion, and it’s one of the first questions people ask you. “What is your religion” and they are ready to fight and debate you EVEN if you say you are the same religion! Just to make sure you love God as much as they do! I think that is deviating from the point of organized religion. Followship, Communion and Community are some examples of the benefits of organized religion not standing on your soap box in a group to tear down another group.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am seeking the real answer to World Peace and many think that everyone needs to have the same beliefs so that we can “all just get along”. However, I don’t agree with this either. The toilet paper section in my grocery store takes up over half of the isle. What’s my point? My point is that if there is a demand for that many varieties of toilet paper what makes us think we are all going to agree on one Faith!? Just like all the other things that make us different, our Beliefs, when handled in a loving way, also add a great variety to our lives. The challenge is to be able to live harmoniously and
still be able to have our different belief systems. When the Baptist, The Buddhist, The Rastafarian and the Atheist can all sit down at the same table in harmony (i.e. not imposing their beliefs onto the other, respecting honoring the others) to ME that is beginning to paint the perfect picture of World Peace.
artwork from:http://www.zuristanback.com/index.php/2009/12/17/peace-love-god/
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