Search This Blog

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Knowing God

I've known God since I was a young kid. But what I knew and continue to know about God has nothing to do with experiencing God as a human-like personality with supernatural powers who alters the universe or history as a reward or punishment for human behavior. My communication with God does not result in mystical words spoken to me or by me, visions, or the witnessing of mysterious, unexplained phenomena. These sorts of things reflect a desire for irrational superstition, and I have no such desire. I accept life exactly as it presents itself.

To me, God has been an inner personal companion, always available to nudge me toward truth and understanding whenever I need and seek it out. God is Truth, manifesting all that is and can be at our individual levels of understanding.  I am part of that Truth and can communicate freely with it, because everything I am and everything I could and will become emerges only from what has always been possible.

What I have come to understand about God is that God is not about religion. God is most clearly experienced in the miracle of life itself, and through expressions of love. Religions may be about human concepts of God, but the reverse is simply not true.

So, does this mean religions are useless or wrong? I do think religions are wrong if they seek to strictly define God through traditions, myths, creeds, rituals, or dogma. However, any religion that helps you learn how to experience and participate in God's presence is certainly not useless. Religions and centers of worship provide excellent opportunities for personal spiritual growth. Supportive spiritual communities can help you discover ways to face whatever is unknown to you with confidence in the presence of God. You'll never know all the answers, but  you will always have faith that what you do know and believe, as you keep yourself open to learning, fits perfectly with whatever the final answers actually are.

God is experienced on a personal level and cannot be captured within the creeds of corporate religions. That does not mean that individuals cannot be moved to a God experience of their own through devotion to creeds or by participating in rituals of organized religions, because many are. What it does mean, however, is that the personal experience of God's presence and Truth is the real journey and is more important than surrendering to external pressures to conform to church teachings and dogma.

Be true to what feels right to you and the way you experience life. Always seek guidance from a higher perspective than your immediate personal cares and you will be led toward better, more loving, and more practical answers. Creeds, religions, and spiritual leaders, all can help, but the final decisions need to be what makes sense to you based on your accumulated experiences and knowledge at that point in your life. Religious institutions are best viewed as stepping stones along your path of spiritual growth, not as end-points of your journey.

God is ultimate Truth, so more can always be learned that will draw you closer to God, your personal companion, forever.