Naming the Ineffable
We believe the key to living a fully abundant and meaningful life is to recover a fully functioning, engaged, and loving True Self in an intimate relationship with a Higher Power of our own understanding. Whatever name you prefer; Great Spirit, God, or simply The Force, all are good. God is the most common name used and infers infinite power, presence, and wisdom, but unfortunately carries much negative baggage for some. One excellent reference is "The Infinite" as different names allow differences, but there is only one Infinite, so we all share it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson used “Universal Being,” “Over Soul,” and “The Eternal ONE” to describe his understanding of the Infinite. Each name tells us something important about how we are all part of and connected with this great force that spans all time, space, life, and consciousnesses. We at Cowboy Dharma are comfortable with, and use many of them, mainly God or Higher Power, but we hope our choices don’t put you off. There are many names, as Wikipedia lists seventy-two. The key is to find one that works for you.
Microcosms of Infinite Intelligence
The alternative to an intelligent force in the universe is a big, dumb, random universe, yet creation seems much too complex, diverse, and intelligent for that to be true. There appears to be a divine force behind the awesome and incredible drama of creation and life that allowed it to emerge, expand, and thrive through-out the ages. It is important to realize that you, everyone, and everything is a microcosm of that macrocosm. We have it all within us, this same life, power, presence, and wisdom. Consider also, this presence may have evolved along with creation and life into the vast intelligence we see everywhere today.
We Are the Children
As we are the children of God, then also the heirs of this higher power, presence, and wisdom. It is our birthright and inheritance. We all have the power to create or destroy, a little at a time, but immensely over a lifetime. Just look at civilization; all the houses, schools, libraries, churches, businesses, streets, etc., and all the things in them, all ideas in people’s minds come to fruition, but what will we do going forward? Let's hope we can work together to make the world an abundant, beautiful, and fruitful garden, rather than the desert and wasteland we may be headed for. We see plenty of reason to have hope, as we have seen scores of people find the magic and miracles needed to turn their lives and world around.
Higher Parent
Unfortunately, children naturally overlay their experience of their parents onto their Higher Power. This is natural as our parents were a "higher power" of sorts, as they had complete control over our lives. Uncaring, abusive or neglectful parents leave many with an uncaring, neglectful, or abusive God. It’s no surprise so many people have no desire for spiritual experience or a relationship with a Higher Power. Still, there are a multitude of good reasons, to pursue and enjoy an intimate relationship with a kind, caring, and loving Higher Power of our own understanding.
What Has Guided Us?
Conquest, subjugation, imperialism, consumerism, and other pursuits have done much damage. Where is salvation? Greater good, higher law, higher purpose, and higher truth found through Higher Power. This is why a good, if not great relationship with our Higher Power is so important as we strive to do what is needed for not only for ourselves, but all people, and all life. We ask ourselves what is best for all concerned, what would serve the greatest good?
An Authority Problem
Setting aside our own wishes and needs for a time is to listen to the "Noble Heart," and "Higher Law.” Too often we have an "authority problem" as we believe we are the author of our lives and want to write the whole story beginning to end, but God is the author, director, and producer. It’s
God’s stage as well, so God sets the scene. Here is where the little "me" creeps in. That small and scared self is cunning and baffling, sneaking in and trying and take over and run the show whenever it can. This why it is so important to make the shift to our higher and True Self through a Higher Power.
Little “ME”
It seems the problems started a long time ago when we were little, perhaps age two, when we learned about “ME” and NO! It was a necessary step to make our own identity separate from our mother or other primary caregivers. Prior to that we were a “we” totally identified with our caregivers. American culture and society exacerbated the problem by pushing us to pursue riches, fame, and greed whereas many other countries value community and service above individual pursuits. This turned our (American) world upside down, just as the word WE turned upside down is ME. Recognizing the problem we can work towards righting our view and direction back to WE, and look for ways to be of service to our families, friends, communities, country, and world.
Habitually Confused
Anytime we choose self-power and self-will, we are in danger, yet we do this unconsciously, and habitually, so we must choose Higher Power consciously and consistently. It seems the obvious choice when we hit our bottoms or suffer tragedies that knock us to our knees. We find that is the best place to be. On our knees we may find the humility necessary to make a real commitment to make significant changes and follow Gods will. No amount of self-improvement, practice, recovery, therapy, and hard work will help us earn this grace. They however can help us realize we are already blessed and worthy, if we can tune in to and accept the blessing.
Mental Mistakes
There are many ways we have unconscious and habitual biases that steer us towards wrong thinking. Search “Cognitive Biases”, then images, and you will find dozens of biases we aren’t even aware of such as self-serving, group think, halo effect, stereotyping, authority effect, and many others. There is an image of a chart of fifty common biases that is a real eye opener and can be referred to regularly. These biases lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, and irrationality. No wonder we run into so many problems! As always awareness is the key, and from there we can work to minimize dysfunctional thinking.
In God We Trust
Extreme honesty is required for real transformation and spiritual liberation. It is a hard truth, but one that can set us free. Many will find this truth disheartening, but necessary to acknowledge if we are to move beyond our deeply ingrained impulses for individual flourishing and gain. Facing our fragile, flawed, and compulsively self-absorbed nature allows empathy and understanding needed to end our striving and struggles to improve ourselves and our world as we yield to a Higher Power’s vast intelligence and care. We can never trust ourselves completely, so we trust in God. We can have faith that a beneficent, compassionate, and supremely intelligent force is always at work in our lives, in all of creation, at all times, and in all places.
False Self Blocks God
Our ego, or false self, stands in the way of an intimate and loving relationship with our Higher Power and our True Self. In his book Practicing the Power of Now author Eckart Tolle states this clearly as "Our innermost invisible and indestructible essence, our true nature, is being. The inability to feel this gives rise to illusions of separation. Fear arises and conflicts become the norm. The greatest obstacle to the reality of your connectedness is identification with mind and compulsive thinking. It creates a false mind made self that casts a shadow of fear and suffering, an opaque screen of concepts, labels, word, judgments, and definitions that block all true relationships between you and yourself, your fellow man, nature, and God."
Hitting Bottom
Hitting a wall and being driven to our knees sometimes can be the best thing to break the death grip of ego/false self. Abraham Lincoln said: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” We must learn to choose Higher Power consciously and consistently. Facing our fragile, flawed, and compulsively self-absorbed nature allows empathy and understanding needed to end our striving and struggles. We find the grace to “Let go and let God”, to “Give it to God“, and “Give up” to Higher Power, truth, good, and law.
Higher Powered
On our own we are powerless, but through Higher Power we have access to the infinite powers of the universe: love, peace, joy, beauty, intelligence, wisdom, etc. These "Super Powers" in turn power our (Higher & Super Powered) “vehicles” of work, relationships, meetings, people, retreats, service, etc., and intertwines them beautifully. It seems Higher power is like the broadcast station for the audio and visual signal of a higher power, passion, and purpose, and we are the receivers of that signal, but only if we get turned on, tuned in and do the work, whatever that is for us personally.
Love or Fear
ACIM (A Course in Miracles) narrows everything down to love or fear. It is a very broad generalization, but useful in clarifying our position moment to moment. This simplistic view helps us identify who seems to be running the show. This relates well with the concept of True Self and False Self attributed to David Winnicott as the True Self is guided by love, while the false self is dominated by fears. Some telling acronyms are; False Evidence Appearing Real, and more playfully, Forget (or Fuck) Everything And Run!
The Dark Side
ACIM states that fear is an illusion, so only love is real. Personally, I followed this path for a while, chanting “love, peace, joy, beauty” to myself silently, but Eastern philosophy taught me the truth of suffering is very real in my experience. Imagine putting your hand on a hot stove, as the pain is only electrical signals, but very real in the moment! Now I prefer to see both sides as real and useful, so I recognize the validity of “fear (or hate), chaos, sorrow, and ugliness” as the lived counter points.
Embracing the Shadow
We are wise to see that the shadowy, darker and dysfunctional side, is also an important part of us. Even a critical inner parent, wounded inner child, or angry inner teen may have much valuable information to share, and the more welcoming and embracing we are the more and better they can help us. It is all too easy to imagine our difficult parts as too painful and destructive to be any use, so that we try and break free from and get rid of them, but again, these are a part of us, and may show us things we couldn’t learn anywhere else.
Darker Powers
Our lower, or darker powers include jealousy, anger, resentment, and so forth, but even these have a higher lesson, purpose, and usefulness if we take the time to question our habitual aversion to difficult entities and energies and see what they are trying to tell us at their core. For example, anger and resentments alert us to injustice, jealousy to unmet wants, and fears warn us of dangers either real or perceived. Sometimes these are just what we need, as in the case of injustices that we can and should stand up to, combat, and transform.
The Good (GREAT) News
The internal fight, stress, and struggle is over! We don’t have to try and fix our shortcomings (ego or false self). It wouldn’t work anyway. Einstein said “You can’t fix something on the level it was created”, and this is certainly true of the false (small s) self. What we can and should “do”, is work to understand, accept, and embrace the troubled parts of ourselves. Understanding leads to wisdom and transformation. As for our True (Big S) Self, it is already perfect, loving, and intelligent, always was, always will be.
Facing Our Demons
It may seem we have devils and demons inside us, and many would argue that we do, but perhaps these names are like the word sin, which was originally an archery term that simply meant to miss the mark. Better to follow the classical Eastern philosophy concept of basic goodness that lives within us all, however dark or demonic we may seem. Everybody has love inside them, “Even if it is just for tortillas” Chogyam Trungpa.
God’s Will for Us
In our modern societies and cultures, it is common to believe that the individual is the pinnacle of creation. In a way we are, as we have more knowledge than any other creature, and through our devices incredibly more power, but in truth it is all Higher Power, manifested through our minds, words, hands, and hearts. This realization also allows forgiveness and love for ourselves and others trying to usurp God’s will to our personal desires. It is not our fault, but our folly, and we are wise to understand this mental mistake that we may transcend it.
A Life of Service
Cowboy Dharma's founding father sometimes relates a story that he had reached a very frustrating point in life and called out to the heavens, "Just take my life!" Instantly it was as if his Higher Power answered back and said, "Okay, here's what we will do with it"! Quite a surprising and interesting reply that points out how he became frustrated when he lost his foundation and faith in the infinite power, presence, and wisdom living deep within him, as well as through-out the world. He needed to get back on "Team Higher Power", and just keep doing his part as a worthy team player.
Freedom Power
Too often it seems we have the weight of the world on our shoulders, but like journaling where we take all of our worries, fears, problems, and distress and leave them on the page, so too we can take all of our troubles and trials and give them to our Higher Power. This is our true parent, and true home where we can rest and relax all of our strivings and concerns. This is the true freedom we need to break the chains that bind us and weather the storms that come our way from a place of peace, wisdom, and strength.
The Spectrum
Just like the image of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, our mental situation can be seen as a spectrum, with goodness and light on one side, and darkness and dysfunction on the other. The key is to have the presence of mind and heart to imagine ourselves at any spot on the spectrum at different times and in differing situations, so as to have compassion and forgiveness for ourselves and others when we slip into darkness with problematic dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors, yet as mentioned earlier, there can be much valuable information to be had even from our darker players and powers.
I Am Multitudes (Emerson)
A popular image for some of the psychic entities within is a bus with inner wounded and wonder child in one seat, angry and happy teen in another, as well as a critical and loving parent entity in another, but the cast of characters is quite lengthy. We all carry an inner student and teacher, coward and warrior, ruler and slave, as well as many others in our “inner net”. This may sound like multiple personality disorder, and in some people, it is, when they dissociate so can’t remember certain personalities taking over. Yet we all experience these shifts to some extent. One thing in common is we often make these shifts when under stress.
Who is Driving the Bus?
We could be having a great day at work and then we get called to the boss’s office. This could bring to mind a cruel and abusive parent and cause us to be fearful and shut down. Perhaps the happy teen was driving and got kicked out of the driver’s seat and the wounded child takes over. Hopefully we have the presence of heart and mind to take a moment for a silent prayer and meditation to check in with our Higher Power as we have a limited view so it is always best to trust infinite intelligence, wisdom, and love. This is our GPS. Being God’s hands and feet, we have to do the driving, but we are wisest when we follow God’s directions.
More Good News
Again, we don’t have to yank our wounded child, angry teen, critical parent, or any other “dark entities” out of the driver’s seat and kick them off the “bus”, as that could be just as disastrous. We had better listen up to see why they got scared and took over, and then give them the compassion, care, and kindness they (we) need. This is true self care for all our “selves”. When they have had their say and made their peace, they can get back to their seat and enjoy the ride.
Spiritual Awareness
When we think of the spirit of things it brings to mind the heart, core, or essence that transcends the physical manifestation. We too have this essential spiritual nature, although we spend most of our time believing our bodies, minds, and world are of a mechanistic nature, so all we have to do is adjust the dials a bit to make things right. Unfortunately, much of modern society sees the spiritual and transcendent as weak, outdated, superstitious, and naïve, so reversal of the dominant personal and cultural mindset is nothing less than heroic and absolutely necessary in the face of dire and catastrophic challenges on many fronts.
How can we benefit from this mindset and viewpoint? Just as when we give our lives and world over to our Higher Power, living from spirit saves us from being stressed and overwhelmed by worldly concerns working feverishly chasing after what we want and from what we don’t. It turns the dominant worldview upside down from fear and striving to one of peace, acceptance, and wisdom. A spiritual awareness allows every day and moment to be a new opportunity and beginning. We may then live from the inside-out, choosing our actions from an inner compass and truth rather than reacting to what the world throws at us.
Spiritual and/or Physical/Religious Realties
A simple definition and experience of spiritual reality is touching into the infinite universal power, beauty, wisdom, love, etc. within, in nature, and in God, through prayer and meditation. This can be further defined and experienced by seeking God and meaning through thinking and learning from inner, individual, and personal experiences, beliefs, truths, practices, and understanding and/or collective rites, rituals, sacred, texts, and (possibly religious) leaders in the external, physical, and world. Lastly and similarly, as change and growth and/or holding to traditional values, beliefs, and behaviors. We find and/or appropriate as we choose not to limit ourselves to one or the other, but find value in both.
A simple analogy for the physical and spiritual realms is a wave that rises and falls. Sometimes the wave is barely perceptible and other times it washes over us as a great tsunami as tall as a mountain. Everything in the world is of this nature to come into existence in a small or great way, yet all things change and pass like the days, the seasons, and the waves. This is the relative, physical, and historical realm. Yet even for a simple thing like a wave there is another realm, the ultimate realm of the water.
The Water of Waves
Water is the essence of the wave, its ultimate reality, self, and spirit. We have that too, A spiritual reality that connects us to all people, life, through creation, and our infinite, ultimate, absolute reality. Higher Power lives and moves in both worlds, as we all do if we open our eyes, hearts, and minds to wake up and manifest it. Realizing our small place in the big picture might seem depressing, but in truth, we aren't just a drop in the ocean, we are the ocean in a drop. Acknowledging the duality of physical and spiritual life is very useful for us to see and understand the differences and similarities in our life situations. It can be seen as a continuum, but also as the two sides of a coin, therefore making up a intimately connected whole.
Rising Sun Orientation
We can change our minds and hearts to adjust our orientation, a fitting term as orient means looking east to a new and brilliant rising sun with optimism and positivity as we put setting sun mentality (negativity, dysfunction, selfishness, etc.) behind us. We are then free to move forward in the light of a higher, greater, and true awareness. The shadow is always there, right behind us, but diminishes as we surround ourselves with goodness and light. This orientation affects us in many ways physically and psychologically.
For instance, beneficial bodily chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin are called the "cuddle drugs" or "happy hormones" that serve to increase bonding, generosity, and empathy. These also help relieve depression, aid sleep, and create trust. Relaxation, mental stability, and anxiety relief are also benefits. They also regulate emotions, memory, learning, thinking, reasoning, problem solving, decision making, attention span, energy, appetite, cravings, sensitivity to pain, and sleep patterns. The impact on our beliefs, behaviors, and bodies is also powerfully influenced chemically when responses are triggered.
Setting Sun
On the other side of the coin are potentially problematic chemicals such as cortisol, adrenaline, and others that work together to cause a burst of alertness, energy, and attention by cranking out glucose and speeding up the heart to deal with threats real or imagined. Frequent stress, depression, and anxiety sensitize us and conspire to hardwire our brains towards these stressors making it harder to recognize and reduce the effects. Over time this causes restlessness, headaches, sleep deprivation, fatigue, obesity, depression, immune system weakness, and many types of illness and disease. No surprise ancient eastern philosophy labels emotions such as anger, hostility, hatred, blame, shame, negativity, aggression, violence, anxiety, fear, and depression as poisons. The good news is they are also known as the seeds of enlightenment, as they can teach us much about ourselves and others.
The Noble Truth
Ancient Eastern philosophy also wisely recognizes "Four Noble Truths" that help us surrender to a Higher Power. First, life has suffering (ignorance and confusion). Too often, we think everything should go our way, so to us, suffering means something is "wrong". Sorry, that's life. Secondly, we look deeply into our suffering to see it's causes, and it leads back once again to ego's attachments, aversions, and indifference. This realization is what allows us to understand where our bondage and misery come from that we might break free.
The third step is to stop feeding our self absorbed perception of ourselves and put our lives and our will into care of a loving Higher Power. In this case by taking the fourth truth of the Eightfold Path of "right" or (higher) loving and virtuous: viewpoints, intentions, speaking, actions, occupations, efforts, mindfulness, and concentration with our Higher Power in charge and control. This philosophy doesn't actually acknowledge an entity of a Higher Power, rather the emphasis is on the "Infinite or Noble Qualities" of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, but aren't those "Higher Powers"?
Ego (I - Me - Mine)
Perhaps our greatest obstacle to Higher Power and the universal love of humanity, all life, and creation is “me.” It is very easy to get caught up in self-serving concerns, and so common it seems very normal. "My health, my work, my home, my car, my things", and on, and on, and on. This orientation is not only ineffective, but exhausting and anxiety provoking. A popular Beatles song relates this as: “All through the day, all I can hear is I, me, mine.” It is important to take care of ourselves and our world of course, but the key is a healthy balance of self and others.
Self Will or Will of God
The ego knows when it is in danger of being found out or curtailed, and may react to any slight or judgement of it with a life-or-death battle, because to the ego, to simply be called out or proven wrong is death. It often takes a crisis, breakdown, or failure to break the grip of ego and see beyond, yet we actually need to have a strong and healthy identity to have the will and strength to truly be of service and focus unselfishly on the needs of others and the world. This will and strength, is not self-will or self-power, but our Higher Powers will and energy working through us.
Ego and True Self
It is truly amazing how attached we are to this I-dentity (me) and My-dentity (mine). We get caught up in ego so often it feels normal and goes on unnoticed most of the time. You could also call it the "Mego", or "I" of the storm. Being overly focused on ourselves is also stressful and ultimately exhausting as we know deep inside that we are not the center of the universe, so seeing and living the bigger picture is a relief and feels much better and healthier. The false self of ego lives in fear, so strives to be worthy of the profound gift of life, but the striving only distances us further from it as it is a gift we always have. On the deepest level of our true nature, True Self, and heart of hearts, we are kind, loving, and wise, so it is the surface level of compulsive mind and self we must be mindful of.
From Narrow Mindedness to Over-Soul
We must be ever watchful of mind's calculating nature, of how it is always seeking to take events in service of itself. We must remember that even attempts at self-development and personal growth are often tainted by a predisposition of an unconscious, but not ultimate, self-serving, and flawed nature. The human condition is to be narrow minded with our own personal concerns, and at some level compromised, and incapable of perfecting ourselves. However, we are not doomed, as we can become aware and rise above. There is no redeeming ourselves, our only hope is to release the self and open to the transcendent power and will of a redeeming Higher Power, order, and law.
Taming, Training, and Transforming
This ancient Eastern practice can be very useful in this situation as we practice self love for our habitually and compulsively thinking mind and self absorbed ego. Calm abiding meditation allows us to step aside and observe our habits and compulsions with kindness and forgiveness, as they are a natural result of the nature of mind and our dysfunctional upbringing and modern world. Letting it be and letting it go helps us break free from the grip of our deeply ingrained tendencies to find a calm center amidst the storms of life.
Insight meditation also frees us by following our habitual and compulsive responses to the roots, origins, and beginnings that we may be able to find the compassion and understanding needed to move beyond them. This leads to a natural wisdom that allows transformation of our difficulties into advantages, as we learn to use the problems of the past as fuel for moving forward in positive directions in the here and now. Mind and ego as master is released as self will gives way to God's will, and all the wonders, miracles, and magic that entails.
The Gift of Awakened and Compassionate Heart
When we truly and sincerely realize the kind, compassionate, and wise heart and mind of God, acting selfishly is out of the question. Self-will becomes self-love, and other power becomes other love. This is the True Self, the the all-encompassing Oneself of all life and things constantly inspiring, blessing, and renewing us. Shinran said; “Such is the benevolence of great compassion. We must strive to return it. We must endeavor to repay it.” Our gratitude and desire to respond to this glorious gift is itself a gift. "As a blind man might find a jewel in a heap of rubbish, so too has this awakening heart and mind appeared in me". Shantideva
Gratitude and Grace as a Call to Action
Even as we celebrate the love, peace, joy, and beauty of the tremendous gift we have been given, we acknowledge and remain vigilant to our fallible nature, and life becomes ever more precious, profound, and sacred. Foolish grace says “God has got this, it's all according to God's plan, so I don't have to do anything.” Wise grace is a call to action, to participate fully in the compassionate impulse. The greater our connection to God’s grace the greater our gratitude becomes, and urges us on to be of service to all who suffer.
Mystical Cooperation
To seek, enact, and embody the truly wise mind and loving heart of a Higher Power of our own understanding is the ultimate gift, and our gratitude counteracts self-serving entitlement and pride, Gratitude may then fulfill and inspire us to serve others and lead them to the vast freedom, humility, and happiness we have received. All the more reason to get in the flow of grace and stay there as much as possible. Thus, "We enter into a mystical cooperation that completely penetrates all times, and performs the eternal work of the enlightened ones guiding influence in the past, present, and future, resonating like a bell.” Dogen
Miracles and Magic
Our living prayer and practice is the awakened heart and mind of Higher Power in us, and is like a pebble tossed into a pond flowing out to others in wave after wave of abundant kindness and compassion. The unrelenting stream of grace flows into us and through us like the morning sun's light and warmth, also rising and falling as the seasons of life come and go in an ever more brilliant and profound experience and display. In this joyous world we are at last free to work the magic and miracle of loving service free of the contamination of self-interest.
A Gift of Grace
Our service becomes an offering, a gift to the Great Spirit and Force of life, to aid and inspire others to their best and True Self. Absolute submission to Higher Power, order, law, and truth allows us to discover and manifest our most heartfelt and greatest purpose and passion that we may spend the rest of our days living with the deepest reverence and meaning. Acknowledging and healing our wounded, fragile, and bounded nature gives us boundless compassion, forgiveness, and love for ourselves and others, however difficult or despairing we may appear.
Rest in God
It's time for us to stop building up our own little kingdoms (and queendoms) of the “right” jobs, partners, cars, homes, etc., and knock down our walls to find we are safe and at home in God's loving embrace all along, we just didn't know it. As we take the step backwards from our external, physical, worldly self and instead look inward, we may at last give up the rat race, battles, and war raging in our minds, hearts, homes, and world to instead rest in God. Once we find the infinite love, peace, joy, and beauty within, living from the inside out becomes the sanest and most satisfying thing we can do.
New Time Religion
For many centuries people simply followed their parent’s religion and concept of a Higher Power. There was very little choice in the matter, and questioning or rejecting the status quo often meant being cast out, which could be devastating, if not deadly. These days most of us have the freedom to make our own choices. This is great news as we all can find or create a God of our own understanding that seems to have eluded us, but now can give us the purpose and meaning we need.
God of the Wilds
As you begin to build your own set of tools for building an intimate relationship with your Higher Power, you might wonder why this work is necessary, how did Higher Power get so lost? Well it wasn't God that was lost, it was us! Looking back in time to see how we have regarded God can be helpful. First, God was seen and worshiped in the forests, rivers, animals, and other aspects of nature. When cities were built, it seems all of that was left outside the city walls, and perhaps thought of as too wild and dangerous for civilized folks.
God Under House Arrest
Mankind responded by building grand churches, temples, cathedrals, and other buildings to house God and centralize religious power. This building was often in the center of town and stood high above all else with its spires pointing to the heavens. Stepping inside to see the soaring columns, high ceilings, carved wood and statues, beautiful stained glass and art, as well as moving song and music, it is often awe inspiring, but can be problematic if it gets between us and our Loving Higher Power. Many religions also once put the clergy between us as an intercessor.
Monarchies and Government as God
Next individual men and women sought power and status so built palaces and castles even greater and grander, so God was getting pushed out again. Governments also sought control and power so built immense and elaborate structures such often modeled after classic Greek and Roman temples. This was later formalized with a formal separation between the church and state. We seemed to know better, so resisted a complete separation as evidenced by the green paper we guard so carefully (cash) that remind us that "In God we trust".
Corporate Gods
Modern times finds city centers crowded with corporate buildings standing tall against the horizon, so it seems business (or is it money?) is the new Higher Power. It is easy to believe this a true, as business (and money) is a formidable force behind modern life. It appears that what we need now is a Higher Power that takes in all of these and puts them in service of greater good and higher law. Together we can make this happen, we must.
Pulling Back the Curtain
A less visible but seemingly adversarial position is often held by the scientific community, evidenced in a battle between faith and reason. Yet we see nothing to fight over, as it isn't the biggest building in town that counts, or who is holding the most practical evidence. What matters most is what is in our hearts, and Higher Power is there, perhaps behind the scenes, but still alive and well and running the show.
Science Shows the Glory of God
Some might say this is a fall from grace, as if science has pulled back the curtain like Toto did in The Wizard of Oz. We say no. The "great and powerful Oz" (Supreme Being) that has emerged still brings the sunrise, the seasons, and all the other miracles that got us here and sustain us. Science hasn't killed God, rather it has shown us just how wonderful and amazing creation really is. As Carl Sagan said: "Science, is at least in part, informed worship.”
Albert Einstein:
“I believe in God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of the universe. Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in which we with our modest powers must feel humble. Whatever there is of God and goodness in the universe, it must work itself out and express itself through us. We cannot stand aside and let God do it. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man”.
"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts, and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive".
Coming Home to God
As you can see, many significant forces such as civilizations, cultures, monarchies, governments, businesses, science, and even organized religion seem to have come between us and an intimate relationship with our deepest, most sacred, and truest part of us, our Higher Power, and therefore True Self. Facing this, is it any wonder that individuals and the world are in so much trouble? Yet the challenge isn’t to face these obstacles head on in a mighty battle, but to first simply turn inwards to change our own minds and hearts and turn towards grace so we can begin to make effective changes in the world.
We are the Vehicle
An interesting analogy for becoming empowered and guided by a loving Higher Power is an automobile. Can it take us where we want and need to go? If we just get in and sit there no. It has to get turned on and fired up first. The navigation has to be set so we know where we are going and how to get there. Then we have to get it in gear and deal with the roadblocks, storms, detours, and so forth on our journey.
The same goes for us. We also need to get turned on, fired up, plan our journey, get it in gear, get going, keep going, stop for rest and refueling, and deal with obstacles along the way. The important thing is to remember that Higher Power is the spark, fire, journey, and destination. We are God's eyes and ears, hands and feet, mind and heart, body, soul, and spirit, the vehicle, and tool of God's will manifesting in the world, and useless and dead without divine inspiration, direction, and purpose.
Intimate Conscious Contact
Many people imagine their Higher Power as an energy and entity just like talking to pets, plants, and other things. It is also manifested through our prayers, meditations, journaling, and internal daily conversation. This power and presence can also have a human like form that can take us onto it’s lap and into it’s arms like a child, a loving mother/father/caregiver presence we can feel deeply in every action, feeling, thought, cell of our body, and atom of creation. If your Higher Power ties into your religion great, but it doesn’t have to. This is a God of our own understanding, often different from the one handed down to us from generations past.
When we really get in tune with higher purpose, we find the work itself feeds energy back to us in a self-empowering, regenerative cycle known as being in the zone, or flow. We like to call it “exponential synergy”. Some folks connect best with their Higher Power through prayer; an intimate and personal communion, others prefer worship and praise through service, singing, dancing, art, play, service, and so on.
Up Close and Personal
It is all too easy to imagine Higher Power/God as distant, either living in churches, cathedrals, and temples where we can visit, or far off in heaven looking down on us and only truly accessible in an afterlife. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can see infinite power, presence, and wisdom at work in every aspect of the natural world, in every blade of grass, sunrise and sunset, every season change, raindrop, and every cell and thought of our own bodies, minds, and hearts. Rather than distant and mute, we can cultivate a relationship that is intimately up close and personal.
Divine Creator and Sustainer
Some might mourn a personal God that that we could count on for personal miracles, but again, look at how your body manages digestion, balance, circulation, cognition, and a hundred other bodily functions and you should see another example of wonderful and amazing miracles. As Joseph Murphy said; "The doctor dresses the wound and God heals it". This goes for every problem and hurt in life, so we will never be as safe and cared for as when we rest in God.
Even the Hard Things
Though I must admit God is harder to see in drab buildings, wars, and trash, but if God was malevolent, it would be a barren wasteland. God is benevolent, life is abundant, tenacious, intelligent, diverse, and beautiful across the world, across time, and all creation. That is enough to put my heart at peace, and fill it with infinite love, joy, beauty, and so forth. Whatever people should do, however kind or unkind mankind is, it doesn't matter as much as the big picture.
Intimately Interconnected
Realizing our incredible interconnectedness with all nature serves well to acknowledge our interconnectedness with our Higher Power also. Call it nature or Higher Power, but our bodies are connected to all other life forms to give us the amazing respiratory, cardiovascular, muscular, nervous, and other systems. It does seem incredible and unbelievable that our bodies can do so many amazing functions all at once. The truth may be that our bodies are simply the receiving device and Higher Power is the signal and source
The Mind of God
The same goes for minds through thinking and speaking; thoughts and words come together too quickly and easily, and seemingly without any aforethought for it to come from me, so it is God mind, as well as God body. It seems like we are more like a radio or television, than independent actors, simply manifesting the “signal” we receive from Higher Power.
Binding Back to Our Source
Yes, a lot of God talk there. A risky proposition in our culture where religions continue to lose people as they move towards spirituality. That is why we use the term Higher Power most. Also consider that the word religion, at its root, means to "bind back" to our source. This definition casts a new light, one easier to swallow and follow. Perhaps once again we can see the holy and divine in the sky, water, and trees. Everywhere can be sacred ground. It seems imperative we do as climate change hits us where it hurts.
The Gift of Grace
We are in dire need of a beneficent influence, a transcendent cosmology beyond our selfish aims, a compassionate influence we can all participate in and enjoy. This awakening and enlightenment is not something we earn, rather a spectacular gift all have inherited through Higher Power. Savoring this gift can be a beautiful affirmation and blessing for us all. No amount of self-improvement is needed or will prove useful, as grace flows into each of us abundantly through humble reverence and service.
Universal Blessing
It may take a stretch of the imagination to create and accept this mindset but it is one worth making. It is to believe that the tirelessly persisting force that created all things and life is constantly blessing us in millions of ways. From the changes of the seasons, to the rainfall, to the beauty of sunsets and children, grace is our inheritance. It created, developed, and sustains every atom, molecule, and cell in every moment. We may have bad moments, days, or years but it has given us immeasurable and inexhaustible well-being. And not just us, but all life across the world and across the ages.
Manifesting Higher Power
For us, we don't see our Higher Power as an old man in heaven, but an energy we can create and nurture such as with our pets, plants, or anything we put a name to. This entity is developed and maintained through prayer, meditation, journaling, daily conversation, and so on. We can create a persona that can take us onto it’s lap, into it’s arms, and into it’s heart and mind. Our Higher Power can be loving mother, father, caregiver, presence, and home for us that is up close and personal, in every action, feeling, thought, and cell as our BFF (best friend forever). If HP ties into your religion, great, but it doesn’t have to.
What’s It Going to Take?
We mentioned the car example of the “vehicle” of our lives, but here is another fun example of how Higher Power works in our lives; like a vacuum! Imagine a person throws some dirt on the floor. The vacuum can suck it up right? Of course! But the person just stands there. “Oh no! It’s not plugged into a power source!” Still nothing. “Oh no! It’s not turned on!” Still nothing. “Oh no! You have to do your part! You can’t just stand there and do nothing!” So, are you plugged into your (higher) power source? Are you turned on? (inspired and motivated) And are you doing your part, the work that needs to be done in the world?
Original Blessing: My relationship with my Higher Power was unclear for a while until I read a book called Original Blessing. It told how Saint Augustine came up with original sin and the church tried to get between us and God. Before that God was in the trees, the sky, the water, all life, and creation. That was my homecoming. All the peace, love, joy, and beauty of the universe was mine again, within me, and across all space and all time.
I agree with Albert Einstein in that I believe in Spinoza's God. As for Spinoza, God was synonymous with nature. With this view, the sun, mountains, and trees stand tall and strong as the masculine aspect, or father. The valleys, meadows, waters, and earth itself are the feminine aspect, or mother. All are life giving forces that sustain us and all other life as our brothers and sisters in an incredibly benevolent and fruitful home. I can't tell you just how comforting and reassuring this is for me. When I am in nature I truly feel at home and with family within minutes, and troubles and stresses seem far, far away.
In fact, this one concept is for me is not just good news, but the best news ever, and one I can to turn to at any time to see and feel the infinite love of my Higher Power within me and through-out all creation. No matter what happens, God is good, as evidenced through creation, and in particular life across the earth in incredible diversity, tenacity, intelligence, and beauty, as well as across all time and likely through-out the universe. This is the absolutely indestructible, beautiful, and peaceful place I go in my mind and heart in the face of any worries or difficulties. What is yours?
Many words, lines, paragraphs, and pages to realize a simple truth: let go and let God lead us, as we do God’s work in the world as God’s eyes and ears, hands and feet, heart and mind, body and soul.
To see how Higher Power connects us with other areas of life, check out Part 2 of the Sanity File by clicking here