SPIRIT

‘Spirit’ works best for me, though as long as it’s meant reverently, I don't believe God really cares what names we use.

I like ‘Spirit’ because it’s familiar, but much more neutral than ‘God’, a concept we have IMO largely created in our own image, twisted to our needs and desires, argued and fought over incessantly, and tragically trampled underfoot. And even if you are a non-theist, I hope you'll read on, because Spirit and Spirituality are not contingent on religion.

Spirit, without any prompting, editing or trampling, has existed forever, plus or minus a fortnight.

Spirit as Universal Truth

As Divine Consciousness

As infinite power and the power beyond the power

As unconditional love

As the timeless, ineffable goodness and beingness of all life.

As the unfathomable creative energy that holds the Cosmos together

As the sustaining and nourishing presence that wants each of us to succeed and prosper.

Spirit and Spirituality are the Essence of the universe, at the very core of every being and in all the spaces in between. The ‘Sages of the ages’ and their words and deeds are gateways to Spiritual Truth. We should honor them all.

As we know, many religions don’t. Too often, they pretend 'their guy' got it all right and has all the answers. This is where religion can be so calculatedly divisive.

I believe Spirit and Spirituality are the only hope for religion.

Spirituality is universal and uniting. It allows each of us to synthesize any and all Scriptures, all the sages and all the truths that enter our being, mix gently, drink deeply and walk that wondrous path with our friend, Spirit.

NAMASTE

3 STEPS BACK

It’s kind of a lesson about how far we may need to ‘go’ and how much we may need to unlearn, to achieve objectivity, understanding and compassion in everything from our relationships to our worldview. Each of us is born with a body, and most of us with a family (history). We have a gender, race, nationality, cultural heritage, religion, etc. Clearly, all these attributes factor into our upbringing and mightily flavor the adults we become.

Many kids grow up hearing 'those damned (some combination of these and their limitless variations) blacks, Jews, Muslims, women, hippies, gays, liberals...,' plus all the things ‘people like them’ say or don’t say, do or don’t do, etc.

We tend to mimic these views, until something, maybe a book or movie, or perhaps a teacher or a school, promotes love and compassion; and a kinder, broader template of life emerges, challenging us to choose love and embrace diversity everywhere we find it.

Sadly, obviously, not everyone who inherits or embraces prejudice in their youth outgrows it.

Question: If you were asked, concerning the above list that begins with 'gender', 'do you feel that any of these attributes best defines you as a human being?,' I'd hope that you would give considerable thought to your answer.

And perhaps agree that the best answer may be 'no.' Why? Because our most important attribute must be something we share with every other human. Namely, that each of us is a child of God/Spirit/the Universe.

Namaste.

We’ve all been told, at various times, that we’re not ‘seeing the whole picture’, not being objective. Usually, a knee-jerk reaction spurs the reply, 'I am being objective!'

However, when we take a 'step back,’ we can begin to reflect on diverse opinions, and to recognize the tremendous complexity of every human being; we become aware that no two people see or experience the world the same way. This should open the way to dialogues, both internal and with others, that enable us to continually fine-tune ourselves, to avoid bringing traits like 'narrowmindedness', 'ego' and 'attachment' to our relationships, lifestyles, activities and worldview.

The second and third ‘steps back’ are for the more deep-seated prejudices and intransigent beliefs noted earlier. It’s so important to be as nonjudgmental as we can. For one thing, we need to recognize that there are assorted family ‘legacies’ and childhood wounds in everyone; and a second step back, at least, will sometimes be necessary for almost all of us. We are all very much a 'work in progress.'

Because prejudice, like unforgiveness, has no place in the hearts of seekers of truth. It keeps its true victims (the pre-judgers and the unforgiving) in a constant tailspin, because it keeps us from the profound relationship we all know is available for each of us, with Spirit.

To become the best we can be.

To be there for others; loving, compassionate, enabling.

Children of the Universe. Gentle, but outspoken.

Quick to love. To laugh. To experience. To share. To forgive.

Honoring the Divine Light in everyone.

Namaste

GIVROBY A CHANCE

'Givroby' is just my re-arranged acronym for the colors of the rainbow. To me, it sounds more expressive than the familiar 'roygbiv’ when it’s to be used as a force for positive growth.

I feel a need for an expanded rainbow-type alliance, building on the Rainbow Coalition of the LGBTQ+ community and adding the full range of different races and cultural and religious affiliations. Full equality for all, in our hearts and in our laws, and on a scale never before realized, for several strong reasons, all related and often overlapping:

The US/world is so splintered, in so many detrimental ways, we could use some basic rallying cries, based on morality and Universal truths, that people everywhere could adopt and stand behind. We form allegiances around sports teams, cultural and special interest organizations as varied as chess clubs, women’s groups, hiking clubs, yoga groups, glee clubs, sewing clubs, parachuting clubs, drum circles, community outreach and a thousand wonderful charities and volunteer efforts.

Beyond them all, though, there is the potential to show that deep down in our souls, we recognize the inherent importance of every human on the planet, and cherish the thought of being counted, and counted on, to help make a difference for positive change in the world.

It means being a 'card-carrying' member of something big, smiling broadly with a thumbs up or a victory V or a heart-felt ‘Namaste’ as we pass others wearing the same badge of love and integrity.

Love is a big part of this initiative. Universal and unconditional, that’s the goal. Another biggie is (unity and) uniters, contrasted with dividers. Uniters try to look for things that we all share, and then celebrate our differences. Dividers tend to look at our apparent differences, from gender to race to sexual orientation to religion, etc, disparaging the traits that don’t match theirs, and quite honestly, causing so much of the unrest, fear, hatred and splintering that often seem to define our world.

This page is not the place to name or dump on dividers, but you sense correctly that I’ll be going there as the need arises. There is a simple formula that could be applied to all confrontations with dividers: when the fundies and haters growl, growl back, but not with hate. With compassion.

Let's say someone feels the need to remind you that the Bible says that homosexuality is an abomination to God. Just remind them that God says elsewhere a that child who strikes or curses their parents is 'surely to be put to death.' Or that slavery and selling your daughter are OK. Put the ball back in their court. See if they soften on their stance. And ask them where we should go from here.

It never hurts to dialogue in good faith. Acknowledge that the other is a Divine child on their own path, and that we can all be helpmates to one another; and remember that judging one another is a generally a waste of our time and energy. Then take a breath right down to your soul and feel Spirit's presence.

NAMASTE

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