The problem with "God"
(my first official LJ entry (aside from my 43 Things entries, which still need backdating) ...
I think the problem people sometimes have is thinking of a third party in general, in personifying "God" so as to be able to relate to, identify with, and (often) allow the surrender of one's will and sense of control to this personified entity. That "God" is a person-like entity or even an entity at all is the assumption of humans, probably linked to the statement that "man was created in God's image" ... but, if you look carefully at those words, "God is person-like" is not the only possible interpretation and likely not the most probable.
If "God" could be perceived any number of other ways (the collective spiritual force of all of us; the force of nature driving the cycle of creation, destruction, and renewal; even the force which organizes the molecules of everything, molecules which vascillate between particle/wave - literally, the essence of light, which sustains all life), well then, why would "God" be specifically creating individual tragedies and/or intervening to stop them? Those are person actions. It seems to me that this "entity" or, more aptly, collective force or essence, which we sometimes assign this term "God" is more about enabling us to create, destroy, and restore balance - to learn, grow, and expand our capacity for love through experiencing harmony, discord, and the critical component repair - rather than controlling us or everything in our lives. This third component repair is the most important one, because if you can't return to harmony, what good is it?
Control is about one person dominating another; it is about patriarchy (or even matriarchy, though it has been a very long time since that has been in place) - a psychological, and thus, distinctly human (as opposed to spiritual) concept. I think we are here to overcome the construct of control - after all, it was us (humans) that created it - and move on to the empowerment of self and others. This is the shift that seems to be happening slowly but surely throughout the globe.
To know that we can not only recover, but become stronger and evolve despite or even because of trauma - and that we can enable others to do the same - is to know that we are truly "created in God's image." As we said in our show: your life is your greatest creation. So, we are challenged to allow ourselves our grief and our joy equally, for there is no creation without the feeling of destruction - even if it truly is just E=MC2; things just changing form, energy just shifting back and forth between manifest or potential.
This is hard to handle when it is so close to home; we are personal creatures and our attachments are strong, so we hurt deeply. But it reminds us that love is truly the root of this life. Without the pain, love becomes a casual luxury, and I don't believe we would truly know its worth in the absence of the ache loss creates within us.
I don't like to use the word "God" since I think it has really been abused, especially in Western cultures, but I do believe there is divinity and soul running through everything and everyone ... and yes, that all things happen for a reason, however disturbing, painful, and seemingly unjustified or inexplicable at the time. I think faith in this idea - in the idea that all is connected and even in its possible absurdity or horror - offers rewarding meaning and beauty for those who are courageous enough to take the time to examine, appreciate, and maybe even revel in the simple yet complex experience of being alive in this moment, right now ... for as fleeting as it is, that is all we have at any given moment. I think the same kind of faith can get many people through terrible tragedies, because it allows them to sense their connection to that which has been lost; it allows you the possibility that nothing is ever truly lost, but has only changed form and must be perceived in a different way.
I think the problem people sometimes have is thinking of a third party in general, in personifying "God" so as to be able to relate to, identify with, and (often) allow the surrender of one's will and sense of control to this personified entity. That "God" is a person-like entity or even an entity at all is the assumption of humans, probably linked to the statement that "man was created in God's image" ... but, if you look carefully at those words, "God is person-like" is not the only possible interpretation and likely not the most probable.
If "God" could be perceived any number of other ways (the collective spiritual force of all of us; the force of nature driving the cycle of creation, destruction, and renewal; even the force which organizes the molecules of everything, molecules which vascillate between particle/wave - literally, the essence of light, which sustains all life), well then, why would "God" be specifically creating individual tragedies and/or intervening to stop them? Those are person actions. It seems to me that this "entity" or, more aptly, collective force or essence, which we sometimes assign this term "God" is more about enabling us to create, destroy, and restore balance - to learn, grow, and expand our capacity for love through experiencing harmony, discord, and the critical component repair - rather than controlling us or everything in our lives. This third component repair is the most important one, because if you can't return to harmony, what good is it?
Control is about one person dominating another; it is about patriarchy (or even matriarchy, though it has been a very long time since that has been in place) - a psychological, and thus, distinctly human (as opposed to spiritual) concept. I think we are here to overcome the construct of control - after all, it was us (humans) that created it - and move on to the empowerment of self and others. This is the shift that seems to be happening slowly but surely throughout the globe.
To know that we can not only recover, but become stronger and evolve despite or even because of trauma - and that we can enable others to do the same - is to know that we are truly "created in God's image." As we said in our show: your life is your greatest creation. So, we are challenged to allow ourselves our grief and our joy equally, for there is no creation without the feeling of destruction - even if it truly is just E=MC2; things just changing form, energy just shifting back and forth between manifest or potential.
This is hard to handle when it is so close to home; we are personal creatures and our attachments are strong, so we hurt deeply. But it reminds us that love is truly the root of this life. Without the pain, love becomes a casual luxury, and I don't believe we would truly know its worth in the absence of the ache loss creates within us.
I don't like to use the word "God" since I think it has really been abused, especially in Western cultures, but I do believe there is divinity and soul running through everything and everyone ... and yes, that all things happen for a reason, however disturbing, painful, and seemingly unjustified or inexplicable at the time. I think faith in this idea - in the idea that all is connected and even in its possible absurdity or horror - offers rewarding meaning and beauty for those who are courageous enough to take the time to examine, appreciate, and maybe even revel in the simple yet complex experience of being alive in this moment, right now ... for as fleeting as it is, that is all we have at any given moment. I think the same kind of faith can get many people through terrible tragedies, because it allows them to sense their connection to that which has been lost; it allows you the possibility that nothing is ever truly lost, but has only changed form and must be perceived in a different way.