One Higher Power

“When I was your age, we walked to school seven miles, through the snow, uphill both ways!”

“When I was growing up, we went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and to every other event the church had.”

Well, it seems as the world “grows up” into this new and modernized era full of technological marvels and split-second globalized communication, the human being is growing away from the old traditions of religion toward a completely new flavor of spiritual understanding. Of course, the concepts of hybrid religions and decentralized spirituality aren’t new — only new to most people who are just now falling across the concepts as a result of this modern era. Continued→

I am a Christian. That means I believe in the teachings of Christ, and endeavor to emulate the principles he prescribed. In that light, I have long been suspect of the “doctrines” of Christianity — meaning I essentially reject there is some mystical property in chanting a prayer, taking the bread and cup, or even in performing good deeds — not that they are without merit. These things are essential to Christian theology and profoundly useful in the practice of spiritual focus, from Catholic to Protestant and even transpose with principles of other religions, but here I offer my own view of such things as a gift to anyone who is willing to listen (er… read). Continued→

When people think of great food, it is often irrelevant what the dish actually is. It could be a steamed fillet of sea bass with bright green and red vegetable garnish, a tender ribeye cooked medium over a bed of garlic scalloped potatoes, or even a crisp garden salad with fresh toasted bread and herb vinaigrette.

What makes the difference between just a meal and fantastic, five-star food is the amount of care and attention that goes into the preparation. From the selection of ingredients, to the painstaking process of flavoring, tasting, and flavoring again to perfection, to the presentation, the end result is always evidenced by the passion invested in the creation. Continued→

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. Continued→

This time of year, we’re bombarded with reminders of the Christian story — birth from a virgin mother, the three “wise guys” from the East, shepherds in their simple glory, and angels heard on high.

I wonder, though, if they were still in our faces as living and breathing human beings, would they agree with our remembrances? Would any religious figure, living and breathing, find our remembrances valid and purposeful?

Posing the question brings a thoughtful reminder to be critical of what we hold dear. Are these seasonal celebrations something of purpose, or are they simple gestures of logical bearance to social order?
Continued→

In my quest for understanding the core principles of spirituality, it becomes more evident that “religion” in any flavor tends to cloud those core principles. Especially in these modern times, doctrine, tradition, social order, and even entertainment seem to take on more prevalence and importance in the practice of religion than does seeking and emulating the source that bonds all life.

Assuming such a connection with this “unseen” source is the ultimate goal in seeking spiritual fulfillment, and religion is positioned as the conduit for achieving the goal, seeing barriers erected between people by religion and businesses erected as ministries of religion makes a good case Continued→

Spirituality apparently has a new “personal brand” these days — ethics!

Dan Schawbel has an interesting article over on his Personal Branding blog about business ethics, which I think deserves an honorable mention here. His basic take is that business profits should (the dreaded “should” word) never supersede ethical practices in business — and I wholeheartedly agree. Continued→

In order to focus more on the main aspects of the site and to otherwise consolidate the message, the forums are officially retired immediately, if not sooner. A special thanks to the thousands of loyal visitors who have traversed its pages countless times. I hope you’ll understand and be forgiving.

Actually, it’s not all that dramatic. The link, http://onehigherpower.com/forums, is still alive and well should anyone wish to visit it. However, the link and references have been removed from the main site so that, as they say — content is king.

I got into an IM conversation today with a friend from another blog who had recently posted about the work of one, Daniel Everett, a cunning linguist from Illinois State University. This particular story is one of Everett’s efforts as a Christian missionary to study and learn the language of a tribal culture in order to translate the New Testament into their native language. However, the natives inadvertently un-converted Everett by way of their simple, efficient, and good-natured lifestyle.

When my blogger friend first shared this story with me, I was quick to react by saying something like: “Of course, he found the simple and peaceful nature Jesus tried to teach inherent in these people who had never been exposed to modern culture, or worse, Christian ‘doctrine’ which has a tendency to complicate things!”

Boy, was I wrong. Continued→

Thanksgiving is more than just an American holiday. It’s something we do every day — being thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Why is it so hard to understand what he said? It isn’t.

Love God, then Love your Neighbor as yourself — in that order, before anything else, and the rest of life just sort of falls into place. A primary understanding that must be understood is the fact that God is love.

God is love. I doesn’t get much more clear than that — even for all the misplaced evangelism, coercion, opinions and heresy.

The “God” people talk about, in their myriad religions and traditions Continued→

The story of Ted Haggard is the perfect account of what’s wrong with Christianity. The headline, Disgraced Pastor Returns as Christian Businessman, is the perfect fodder for the Lake of Fire set forth for our modern culture.

If anyone believes Jesus was like this man, they are fooling themselves. If anyone believes this man was in any way like Jesus, they are fooling themselves. Some of the “money quotes” from this detatched synopsis of “Evangelical Christianity” include the following:

… severance package with his former church …

… solicited financial support in an e-mail … plea for funds was rebuked by a three-pastor team overseeing his “restoration” — a healing process that doesn’t necessarily mean a public return …

Continued→

Here’s the money quote, from a detached, uninformed, completely disconnected media:

The drawn-out drama … was seen as an extreme example of young people’s penchant for sharing intimate details about themselves over the Internet.

Penchant for sharing intimate details over the Internet? The moron(s) who wrote/produced this article are just delusional.

Perhaps it’s not the people who wrote the article who are morons. Perhaps it’s not the people who edited the article who are morons. Perhaps it’s not the actual publishers of the piece who are morons.

Perhaps it’s the Continued→