manitou

That's why it is universal. Just as you say, because there are so many religious traditions out there. Don't you find it strange that regardless of where we're born, or what religion that we're born into, there is always that niggling question as to what makes this all tick? When you say there's a spark of Divinity in everyone, I couldn't agree more. This is our universal consciousness, our one shared soul. And, as you say, "there is no place where God is not". That seems to infer that it is all One, which would mean that God is contained within us....is us. I think if a person looks to the ethers for something coordinating all this that is not us, that one hasn't taken the time to think about the ramifications of "there is no place where God is not". I do see the purpose of our brain is to figure this out on our own. This is what self-realization is. Religions can only take you so far, as the master pointing to the moon indicates. He can only point the way, and there is a fairly large gap between his fingertip and the moon.

Does anybody ever wonder is the whole god idea is something that's been handed down generation after generation, and it's all just one big fantasy? That it was originally set up, as someone said before, to control? How wonderfully controlling it is to engender fear in people in order for them to stay on the straight and narrow? That we are intended to grow up with the same attitudes and beliefs as our parents? It seems that the god concept is a very comforting one, and I understand people wanting to believe that there's something out there (apart from us) that watches and cares what we do. Something to turn to in times of sorrow. But I propose something else; that God is none other than the wizard in the Wizard of Oz. When Dorothy and friends went behind the big scary wizard, they were confronted with nothing more than a plain human being! I think this story about the Wizard is a crucial acceptance of that which we don't want to believe: that there's nothing out there going to save our asses. There's nothing to pray 'to'. But this is not to say there's no god at all! I've come to the realization that the intelligence of god is our very DNA! That is god, to me. The incredible intelligence involved in a fetus growing into a child. When I found out that there is no difference between cells when they're first produced, that the only thing that differentiates a hair cell from a skin cell or a bone cell or a heart cell, is how they line up next to each other! Such intelligence! And how does the fetus know how far out finger cells should go before they turn around and come back down the other side? I think there's a sort of DNA in everything, including minerals. It's the intelligence of the universe, as I see it. and when we do pray, we are praying to nothing more than our higher selves, and our higher selves, communally, are God. I say communally because I think that we all share the same higher self. The things that differentiate us are our separate conditionings. But it occurred to me one day that the reason I see the soul-sharing among all of us, is because when you see something sad, you get tears in your eye. And so do I! This is a crossover from a physical observation to an internal expression of sadness, and we all share the same configuration. This communal god I speak of is found by self-knowledge, not be anything that any preacher or guru can tell you. If you can peel off the layers of your conditioning, you will get down to that which is true. Your true identity, and we all share it. We are God.

I think veggies would be a misteka with enchiladas. Yes, I have missed you too, Nungers.

I think it's helpful, for full understanding, not to look at a god as a separate being from us. I don't think there's anything out there that would rather be aware of an interaction. We are the whole enchilada. This is what self realization is about - our true identity. And to bring a devil into it is just plain silly.

(Or Kindle, as the case may be). We had a good time with this when a wonderful entity named Songs of Distant Earth used to participate here. I still have a hole in my heart because he no longer does. But the thread was fun. The ones I've got lined up (or am reading all at the same time, actually) are: TROPIC OF CHAOS; Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence (Christian Parenti) THE AVATAMSAKA SUTRA (Cleary translation) GREAT EMPIRES: Exploring the Power Civilizations that Changed Our World (A wonderful TIME publication that you can probably find next to the National Enquirer when you check out at the market) THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE RIDER WAITE TAROT (Fiebig & Borger)