In Loving Service
I’ve been struggling with spirituality for a long time, in terms of how this essence of life and love I refer to as “spirit” is identified through contexts of culture and religion. To me, God, this one higher power to which all religions point in one way or another, is summarily missed through practicing the traditions and rituals of religion. Going through the motions may be a necessary activity for the well-being of some in a sort of social and psychological aspect, but I believe the well-spring of life and love described as God is distorted and confused by these distractions.
For all the myriad ways in which human beings relate to the divine, it seems there is a common denominator. It’s why I pursue the notion that God does exist but not nearly in the most common ways people tend to believe — that this higher power transcends cultural and ideological boundaries, radiating still no matter who we are or what we believe. In every religion, at its core, is the principle of Love — being to mean a sense of selfless service for a greater purpose. Some religions gear the love toward self, some only toward others, even some toward all, but the vine from which all these branches are built is Love.
The Bible states plainly that God is Love, so I’m obviously not the first person to see things this way. And, looking at the story of Christ as a parallel for all humanity, this kind of transcendant Love goes beyond our usual capacity for understanding. Love is more than an emotion. Love is certainly not limited to physical affection. Love is greater than desire. Love is a force of Nature, dwelling deep at the core of each of us — inspiring us to service, charity, and all kinds of good works.
To think about it in this context, is to open one’s self to the idea that this force of Nature, this ingrained impetus toward compassion and sacrifice, is in and of itself the God described by stories like Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, and many others. This higher power is a still, small voice, echoing from the realm of Heaven, where Love supersedes in all things. It is the ruler of the kingdom of paradise, where all perfection is made real and all passions made whole.
In some form, it is this Nature within that drives us to religion in hopes of finding, through the contrivings of men, a tangible means to identify and put a label on it — as if to be able to conjure it up at will to do our bidding, through things like mantras, and chants, and prayers. Looking from this angle, such behavior is mute and without purpose, except to our own confused terms of well-being.
If we let go of doctrine, and imagine for a moment that this Love within us is God, our higher power, then we start to see things in a different light. We start to extract all new meaning from things like holy scriptures, and indeed from religions themselves. We could begin taking inventory personally and externally to build an entirely new world view from within — and could lead to an entirely new world view outside our own understanding, into an actualized form of living unified in the spirit of God.
Just something to think about, as many of us imagine new beginnings and fresh starts in the New Year. I believe it will be a Great New Year, if we allow it to be!
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2009/01/04 02:27 -0700Z
I’ve read you post a few times, pondering where it’s at and whether there is one single theme which unites the various points you make. I come to the conclusion that you have not reached a coherent conclusion and are still a seeker rather than someone who has found. Accordingly you are casting your net quite wide and trying to understand what you have experienced to date.
You reject common ideas of God, as well as the traditions and rituals of religion. Nevertheless you have your own sense of God as synonymous with Love. You find inspiration in the Christian Bible, to the extent that you are able to “extract all new meaning” from it. Indeed, taking religion as an object of contemplation, rather than as something to join as a member, you are able to extract new meaning from that too.
So here you are a lone-wolf seeker, ranging hungrily in the shadows not far from the flock. I imagine there are many more like you. In a certain sense I am a lone wolf too, but not exactly a seeker; that is, I’m not hungry for any doctrine or path, or even to connect with God: only to continue to live and find in life itself the subtle scents which inspire.
I can therefore find nothing to argue with in what you say, and just reciprocate your wishes and prayers for this New Year; hoping that you and yours will be blessed.
2009/01/04 10:46 -0700Z
Thanks for the well wishes, Vincent. I truly hope this year is filled with new beginnings, open doors, and bright blessings for you!
Is it possible the incoherence you sense from this is rooted in your own positions regarding spirit and theism? I ask because what I’ve expressed here is really quite comfortable to me and fires unwavering toward the heart of the subject. I’ve been learning and experiencing what happens when we reject “self” to be replaced with an embracing of being “true to one’s self.” There is a marvelous difference between these two approaches, and one where I believe Love is nurtured.
Regardless, in light of what I’m learning, the only thing I can offer you is not necessarily a challenge — as much as I enjoy the repartee. My most powerful and effective position is one which embraces what others believe in full confidence of my own understanding.
2009/01/04 14:06 -0700Z
Yes, you are probably right in your question. For me, tradition and ritual are the most positive aspects of the Christian religion, and I find myself embracing these same aspects that I rejected so indignantly as a child; if only because I now see what my elders enjoyed in the Book of Common Prayer and the Hymns Ancient and Modern and the church buildings and churchyards which went back through our history, sometimes having parts more than a thousand years old.
In short I have learned to revere those aspects of Christianity which are most conspicuously absent across the Atlantic, unless like Paula you are an Episcopalian from Massachusetts & worshipping in the English manner more than the English themselves. When she says BCP she means “Book of Common Prayer”.
I suppose the uniting thing would be the Holy Bible. But to me its magic resides in being the same wonderful incantatory, poetic text as in the days of my childhood and also the days of my ancestors stretching back to 1605: in short, the King James Version. My Bible is literally a magical object, that’s always at my side when I sit at this desk. I don’t believe in its words. I don’t find inspiration in it: some of it I find dreadful, as bloody and vengeful and doctrinaire as the Israeli invasion of Gaza. No one in the world of course could take the Bible literally in its entirety. The worst monster can and does find justification in its chapters and verses, as well as the opposite (best saint?).
But I accept that there are different ways of ritualising Christian theory and practice; and part of any Christian’s ritual is to see what an atheist could not.
2009/01/04 15:14 -0700Z
A sense of community is probably the most powerful and valid aspect of religion. As you’ve pointed out, the feeling of connection in reading the same scriptures and participating in the same hymns as those millions or even billions of others who have done the same is in itself a powerful thing. I can see how it’s appreciable.
I also understand your stance regarding anyone who cites religious doctrine as a foundation for doing the “wrong thing.” That, to me, is part and parcel of the negative aspects of religion and can be correllated to “mob mentality.” However, these kinds of negatives in religious adherence are the same thing Jesus rejected and taught against in the Pharisees and Saducees. Is it a true story? I don’t know, as I wasn’t there. However, the wisdom in the story is universal, pervasive, and has stood the test of time — I don’t know of many other stories to have stood under such tests.
2009/01/05 12:38 -0700Z
you say, “God, this one higher power to which all religions point in one way or another”
yes..they do…and inevitably it is fear that makes them believe their religion is the only religion actually pointing to the one and only true God…where everyone else is wrong…
i have less trouble with ritual now than i once did…only because i personally have come to see ritual differently…it is not…as religions often practice…an end in itself…the ritual can be a way to commune with a deeper part of myself…and therefore commune with God…the ritual itself is largely personal…it can happen when gazing into a flower…it can happen when saying a rosary…it can happen when doing housework…anything that provides a gateway into that experience beyond thought…where time ceases to exist…and thoughts are largely outside of awareness…
i once may have been satisfied to define God as Love…and in fact have no disagreement with doing so…for me, however, God has taken on more dimensionality than this word alone allows…or really any word allows…God is many things…frustrating…elusive…a creator who creates through my own hands and in so doing comes to know “himself” … closer to me than my limited mind is able to be aware of … it is my illusion that makes God a separate concept from myself…
i have also come to understand we all use different language to express the same things…while Vincent may largely communicates his thoughts by relating to nature…i might use words like God, spirit, awareness, etc…others might be more comfortable with words like higher consciousness, universal flow…still others are more comfortable using words of physiology like right brain or left brain…this does not to me mean we necessarily disagree though this is often the first thing individuals will assume when having a discussion on religious topics…i have found it more often means we are using our own personal languages but so often saying the same thing…
thank you for your thoughts and for graciously allowing me to share a few of mine as well.
2009/01/05 22:49 -0700Z
we need faith. and more than that, as you said, love.
i wish you a year of love in 2009.
2009/01/06 01:18 -0700Z
On reading Serenity’s comment I felt a wonderful and enduring moment of togetherness in what seemed to me exactly the same sense of togetherness that members of a congregation seek when making the effort to go to church.
Especially in the matter of discussing ritual. For Serenity I think we have the same view about this thing: that it is a deeply personal way to get closer to a rather fugitive experience. (I’m not suggesting there is only one experience - but a whole world of them. In fact this is what somewhat puts me off the idea of “The One”, as in “The One True God” etc.)
Of late, on these winter days when the outside world of nature under the sky is less enticing, I’ve been discovering a new kind of entrance to that realm of higher awareness. It seems to happen when I am absorbed in a simple chore, such as putting away cutlery in the drawer, wiping down worktops or scooping up vegetable peel to put in the compost bin. It’s as if the space-time continuum reveals a little crack, through which I can see Eternity, just for a moment, then it’s gone, but it leaves an echo. There is no way I could possibly chase that thing. though it does mean that I’m keener than I was to wash dishes and do those simple chores, or cook.
And one of my best rituals, which lasts rather longer, is to hang washing out on the line in the backyard. We have plenty of washing but it depends on the weather. On these cold days we don’t even think of it. I’ve rigged up lines across the study and the washing dries just as quickly with the heating on and the window open a crack. But the transportation to Heaven isn’t as guaranteed, without the sky overhead, the trees and the birdsong.
So for me, Serenity, Nature isn’t just a way to communicate thoughts, it (at present) is a limitation on my experience of God!
One more thing. I’m starting to feel that coming here seems to feel like an embodiment of Matthew 18:20 , though I feel impelled to say I’m not a Christian at all.
“When two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
2009/01/06 08:12 -0700Z
@serenity: Thank you for the thoughtful commments! Language and definitions are things Vincent and I have discussed before and realize, as complex and flexible the English language is, it is (and may always be) a barrier to communication of these sorts of topics. I think that’s because, as you suggest, spirituality is an essentially experiential task — not contained or confined by the thoughts of men, but in a realm of simple existence. To that, there is a great deal of value in ritual, especially in terms of community experience.
@mistipurple: I know I certainly desire more faith, and more love — I agree every human can benefit by achieving more of them, and I pray the same things for your 2009.
@Vincent: What a powerful and intimidating thing to say, referencing that scripture. Powerful because I believe it’s true, yet intimidating because it is a sharp reminder of the responsibility involved… like being promoted from the mailroom to operational officer, a wonderful yet overwhelming feeling. However, there isn’t much different for me to do except perhaps to encourage and foster the activity. I still seek and yearn for understanding and experience, and in this the more the merrier — I’ll reference another scripture regarding community: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Pr 27:17) I won’t hold you to a label for referencing good wisdom, and I wholeheartedly agree with what you say about finding peace and serenity (of the experiential kind ;) ) in simple tasks where the thoughts of men escape for a brief “here and now” existence. I like the fact that you’ve referenced cooking, as it’s one of my own favorite pastimes and may well inspire a post.
2009/01/06 14:20 -0700Z
Vincent,
and i see this as no limitation at all…for as creator God creates in so many ways and so many languages…nature being one of the most artistic and expressive…as i woke this morning to the beautiful sounds of a bird singing loudly from his heart it occurred to me i was hearing God singing…we are each as these creations all unique in how we discover what i only know to call God but have no trouble with any other word at all for to me it is all the same…i can feel myself in worship of a weed…so enthralled by the details i see that i feel lost inside of it…this to me is as much an experience of God as anything…to be filled with the holy spirit no longer something defined for me but rather my own unique experience and expression…not something to be chased after at all for it naturally flows when it is allowed to…and to see the comments you make about household tasks tells me somewhere in my clumsy use of words i have found resonance…your prose always so eloquent…and in this case hitting it right on the mark for me…which brings me to another thought about language…the true communion we share in the words we speak to one another is when someone has touched a spot inside themselves and is able to bring that spot into form through words to share with others…those words meet that same spot inside of someone else…this to me is divine communion…the essence of namaste…or to use other words more comfortable for others…like an electrical circuit that is becoming more conductive as hearts open wide beyond the reach of dogmatic barriers…
2009/04/20 21:05 -0700Z
I don’t know if anyone will ever reply to this or that anyone will ever read this for that matter. I have read many books, gone to numerous seminars, visited many churches and listened to many opinions, but this posts have touched me more than all of them combined. I have just started reading a book on the subject of finding and loving your true self. I’ve been looking for mine for a long time. Although I have a long way to go, I am excited about the future. And Vincent, I will always think of your post when I’m putting up my cuttlery from this day on. It will be a nice reminder of these post and the people who wrote them. Thank you, Dennis
2009/04/20 21:50 -0700Z
Hello, Dennis! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I’m glad you found the discussion here beneficial! I, too, have been seeking for a long time — even today, and probably for a long time to come. I think perhaps the most important part is staying focused enough on the goal to stay on the journey, but not so focused on the goal that we forget to experience the journey.
Vincent and others often have poignant and insightful things to say regarding my little rants here. I hope you are able to find other posts and ensuing discussion here that can help you grow along your own path toward finding that spiritual “sweet spot.”
2009/04/21 05:33 -0700Z
Dennis, I am really pleased for you, and Timothy too, knowing that his intentions have been precisely to touch a spot as you have been touched.