photo by Carolyn Ganus of Lucky Plant Photography
'God' is quite a contentious word in some circles and one that often elicits a very strong response.
Some believe in a fixed version of God, a divine yet human-like being who is omniscient and omnipotent but still has needs, wants, and judgments. He (presumably) is gracious, good and kind but also opinionated, and spiteful if you push the wrong buttons.
Some believe there to be many Gods and Goddesses each with different qualities, who rule over different parts of civilization.
Some believe it is silly to think that there is a God at all and we are it. When we die, that is it; end game.
There are many other variations in between these. One thing held in common between these groups is that a great number of folks- whether they believe in God’s existence or not- believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong or misled.
What if God were all of these things? What if God was everything? What if you are allowed to think and believe any story you wish about God and when that one is not serving you any longer, you can make a new one? What if God really is what you make of him/her and each individual gets to have a unique relationship with God?
I believe that God is of and in everything.
He/She/It is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent.
God has no expectation of you at all.
You have free will to do as you please.
I believe that we are individuations of God itself.
Does this mean that we are allowed to do whatever we want even the hurtful, hateful stuff? Well, yes indeed we are, look at the state of things right now,
BUT…
Given all this freedom, who is it that you want to be in this world?
What qualities of your being-ness do you choose to express here on earth?
Do you really want to be remembered as an angry tyrant or a vicious gossiper or a child abuser or a greedy manipulator?
OR…
Would you rather choose to express those parts of yourself which bring Joy, Peace, Laughter and Love to yourself and those around you?
We have choice in the matter of who we are and who we believe God to be.
What’s more?
You can call God by any name you wish. Some will say Universe, Spirit, Soul, Life, Divine Lover. The Sufis have 99 names for God. My dear friend Hamid once said, “God doesn’t care if you call him “Harvey the Wonder Chicken” and I agree.
In his wonderful piece, Re-branding ‘God’, author Rob Bresney of Free Will Astrology Fame offers people the opportunity to recreate God; to make a personal relationship with a God that suits you. I did that a few years back and it was a wonderfully personal, creative process. Check it out.
The best description I have ever seen for God comes from Neale Donald Walsch’s book, “When Everything Changes Change Everything”. Here Neale says:
“…I am not using the word God as many other people do. I do not use the word to denote or describe a huge Super Being existing somewhere in the cosmos, exhibiting proclivities and tendencies, needs and desires, frustrations and emotions identical to those of humans. I am not talking about an Entity Divine who has needs that must be fulfilled or else… I am referring to the Source of Supreme Intelligence manifesting itself as the Pure Energy that we call Life Itself.”
That about sums it up for me: God = Life and all that life entails. Everything. It is all God.
When looked at this way it sure does “change the way I look at change" and God and Life and all of us humans struggling to make sense of it.
So that is what I mean when I say the word God.
What does your God look like?
Some believe in a fixed version of God, a divine yet human-like being who is omniscient and omnipotent but still has needs, wants, and judgments. He (presumably) is gracious, good and kind but also opinionated, and spiteful if you push the wrong buttons.
Some believe there to be many Gods and Goddesses each with different qualities, who rule over different parts of civilization.
Some believe it is silly to think that there is a God at all and we are it. When we die, that is it; end game.
There are many other variations in between these. One thing held in common between these groups is that a great number of folks- whether they believe in God’s existence or not- believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong or misled.
What if God were all of these things? What if God was everything? What if you are allowed to think and believe any story you wish about God and when that one is not serving you any longer, you can make a new one? What if God really is what you make of him/her and each individual gets to have a unique relationship with God?
I believe that God is of and in everything.
He/She/It is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent.
God has no expectation of you at all.
You have free will to do as you please.
I believe that we are individuations of God itself.
Does this mean that we are allowed to do whatever we want even the hurtful, hateful stuff? Well, yes indeed we are, look at the state of things right now,
BUT…
Given all this freedom, who is it that you want to be in this world?
What qualities of your being-ness do you choose to express here on earth?
Do you really want to be remembered as an angry tyrant or a vicious gossiper or a child abuser or a greedy manipulator?
OR…
Would you rather choose to express those parts of yourself which bring Joy, Peace, Laughter and Love to yourself and those around you?
We have choice in the matter of who we are and who we believe God to be.
What’s more?
You can call God by any name you wish. Some will say Universe, Spirit, Soul, Life, Divine Lover. The Sufis have 99 names for God. My dear friend Hamid once said, “God doesn’t care if you call him “Harvey the Wonder Chicken” and I agree.
In his wonderful piece, Re-branding ‘God’, author Rob Bresney of Free Will Astrology Fame offers people the opportunity to recreate God; to make a personal relationship with a God that suits you. I did that a few years back and it was a wonderfully personal, creative process. Check it out.
The best description I have ever seen for God comes from Neale Donald Walsch’s book, “When Everything Changes Change Everything”. Here Neale says:
“…I am not using the word God as many other people do. I do not use the word to denote or describe a huge Super Being existing somewhere in the cosmos, exhibiting proclivities and tendencies, needs and desires, frustrations and emotions identical to those of humans. I am not talking about an Entity Divine who has needs that must be fulfilled or else… I am referring to the Source of Supreme Intelligence manifesting itself as the Pure Energy that we call Life Itself.”
That about sums it up for me: God = Life and all that life entails. Everything. It is all God.
When looked at this way it sure does “change the way I look at change" and God and Life and all of us humans struggling to make sense of it.
So that is what I mean when I say the word God.
What does your God look like?
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