Posted by John on September 23, 2001 at 15:30:29:
In Reply to: A Discussion of God- The Divine Transcendent Mystery posted by Paula on September 22, 2001 at 23:20:01:
Well said. I find what you wrote ringing true in my experience with only a few minor exceptions. I think that it is true that God is both personal and impersonal, but I don't think it stops there. I think that God desires for his creation to come to a personal knowledge of him. I beleive that we as humans are created with the spiritual image of God and that image is the completeness of what a human is and can be. And this is personal. I think those who view God as impersonal do so as a sort of negative confession of what God is. and by this i mean that god is so far beyond a Zeus or Goddess, or Ubermensch, even a human in general, that we basically have no frame of reference to contain the personality of God... so in that sense God is not personal as any of us would concieve of personhood.
I come to this frame of thought out of theological study, but everything is passed necessarily through the filter of experience. And in this pursuit of real experience, I have encountered some unshakably decisive moments that prove to me just how personal God is. As a sort of corrollary to that, I also beleive that any real pursuit of truth will find it, regardless of the forum, however, it is easy in our finite human minds to grasp onto concepts and theologize them into grand designs, or to be enticed away from the whole truth by entities which desire this glory for themselves. Still, there is nothing that exists outside of god, so if a seaker will only dedicate themselves to the pursuit of ultimate Truth, they will in the end find it. Whether that takes place in the span of this physical life or not is another debate entirely.
So then the object would be to find a way to pursue this truth without fear of being lured away or self-decieved...
The only way I can find to accomplish this is to continually adjust one's perspective, and thus one's world, into any way that hints toward greater truth, with the uncompromising decision to destroy that world. If Truth is truely ultimate, as it must be by definition, then it cannot be changed. As a professor of mine once said, "Reality is what happens to you whether you like it or not." Therefore if we always seek to destroy any world we enter what will be left is those eternal unchanging nuggets of truth. Then we can build on those and eventually we will end up moving ever closer to reality and that which is eternal... or God.
This frees us up to explore anywhere we wish. We need not rely on spiritual bungees, or on our own intellect. For only that which cannot be destroyed will survive. And we can use anything that works to take us into greater understanding. This is Instrumentality. and this is a philosophy of Experiential knowledge, which is something we have learned from many disciplines and traditions around the world. It allows us to fully immerse ourselves in our existence and to soak up every smell, taste, sight, thought, experience, even the negative ones.
Unfortunately for many this type of existence is unbearably light (drawn from the novel title) and can in itself destroy a person... but only so far as they try to hold onto something that isn't eternal. I think this is much the meaning of the Biblical reference to those who are tried by fire and may survive but only as one escaping through the flames. There is no point in getting invested in anything that is less than eternal.
And for me... as John mentioned in his post below, one thing that is ever constant in my destructions is the face of Jesus becoming ever clearer. It is a love relationship. It touches every fiber of my being and only enhances every experience I encounter. I desire beyond desire to move eventhe slightest bit closer to my God and lover Jesus, and I am thankful that he would rather go to his own death than live without me. I live for those times when He plunges through my haze and embraces me so completely that I can't move... but then why would I want to.
Thank you Paula for being you and for bringing your insights into my world. your posts allow me to jump into such wonderous flights and reaquire those things which grow dim in the onslaught of materialism and distraction.
: I wrote the following for my web site about 3 years ago in response to a debate/disagreement John and I were having about our religious beliefs. I share it with you all now because of the "religious" war about to be waged that will change the face of the earth forever and because of the recent board posts. I feel today exactly as I did when this was written. Religious freedom is a right but it is also a luxury depending on where you live. I speak these words again with a thankful heart because I live in a country within which it is allowed and a forum on which religious expression is supported.
: A Discussion of God- The Divine Transcendent Mystery
: Each of us is placed or born upon this earth to discover God. This purpose is the sole meaning of existence. Our biology, psychology and physiology are orchestrated to allow us to see, feel, touch, taste, know, describe, paint, draw, write, etc. about the transparent, transcendent mystery. In our attempts to describe the indescribable, cultural constructs and environmental conditions shape our view of that which is the ultimate mystery.
: The Earth is divided into east and west as our psyche is divided into left and right. Within and upon both hemispheres are systems of beliefs, modes of thinking and biological functions that are required to work in unison in order for the human being to be a healthy, integrated, functioning person. When a person’s brain is functioning too much in one hemisphere or the other, biological misfunction takes place and they are left with finding ways to sort out how to heal themselves. The same principal applies to humanity. For the last few hundred years because of the schism between east and west, we have seen upon this planet a time of great strife, violence in unfathomable proportions, a dying off of animal species and a murdering of nature. However, we are now, in this glorious time, sharing cultural ideals from both east and west and through this unison forming spiritual systems that are helping to heal the collective psyche of humankind and the planet itself.
: The Pope is going to Cuba. The Tibetan Buddhists have come to America. Species are being taken off the endangered list. Women are reclaiming their historical and psychological identities. Men are coming to terms with their feminine natures and being more active fathers, husbands. There is hope and there is change. As a collective whole, humanity is coming of age and we are working toward something that is profound and holy. We are alive during a time when we are allowed to seek answers without fear of persecution or death. We are so very lucky.
: God can be personal or impersonal depending upon your religious origin. Most of all, God can be both. God can be alive in a man, Jesus, who found the Christos within and he can also be alive in us. At the same time and within the same soul, Buddha is alive along with Zeus, Hera, Adonis, Psyche, Isis, Osiris and Mithra. The personification of God will vary depending upon many factors but it is, has always been and will always be our longing to know him/her which makes God real in our lives. Regardless of whether or not we are here naming, knowing, preaching about or fighting over God, he/she will exist in spite of us- eternally. Because of this fundamental principle, no one person, religion, spirituality or mythology can claim sole ownership of an understanding of God- it is inherently impossible within the idea of God itself.
: It is no accident that symbols, archetypes, dreams, and rituals are present in cultures across the globe. This fact is a unifying force which is a reminder of our humanity and our desire to reach through dogma to get to the source of things- the One. It is in our aloneness, all- oneness, that we come to know this source and we come to it in birth and return to it at death. Because of this cosmic aloneness which is the paradoxical all-oneness we must believe that which our soul lives through. Also because of this we must have compassion and open-mindedness towards the beliefs of others. They too are experiencing God in their own terms, their own way.
: The most important aspect of transcendent experience is to remain open-minded and open-hearted. God can come at any time, through any avenue. The mythologists will tell you this and ask you to keep your gates ajar so that the pulse of the universe can beat through you. By closing one’s self to other beliefs or feeling that one’s experience is more elevated than another’s is truly, at its core, a self-inflicted injury. Sadly, this injury is born from fear caused by ingrained, rigid principles that although a protection can also be the weapons of soul-destruction.
: Growing is scary. One often rebels against change and stands firm in identities in order to ground one during a time of flux. Yet, over a period of time, the healthy soul manifests itself and allows one to work through the pain. The soul has been here all along and knows the answers and waits patiently for the rest of the body and mind to catch up.
: Each person must learn in his/her own way, in his/her own time who or what God is. Knowing God is a growth process. First, one embraces an image that connects him/her to the ultimate mystery but then, they must step past that image to understand the true source that lies behind it. They will always love and identify with the image that brought them to God just as one loves his/her mother for bringing them into this world. But ultimately, as one leaves the mother to grow the self, one must leave the image to grow the soul. All the growth that occurs will not destroy the image or mother but instead will enhance them, make them radiant and provide a deeper connection because one has experienced the mystery for oneself.
:
: © Paula Vaughan 1998-2001 Not to be reprinted without permission please.