What Is God?

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How can human beings possibly know the nature of God?  We can’t, of course. Yet ever since our species realized we were alive and part of a vast living Mystery, we’ve been trying. And whether we’re religious or not, most of us have some ideas about this Mystery.  It seems to me we look at God from three major perspectives.
Objective Facts: Using mathematics and tools like X-rays, electrocardiograms, telescopes and microscopes, Science looks for factual information about the mysterious origins, forces, and laws of physical life.
Abstract Theories: Religion interprets the Mystery of life in words, theories, symbols, scriptures, and stories about enlightened spirit persons whose wisdom, compassion, and passion for social justice bring healing and hope.
Personal Truths: Psychology encourages us to explore the mysterious workings of our hearts and minds for insights that bring awe, compassion, and self-knowledge, and to express our experience of the Sacred in creative ways that reflect our individuality.
Until very recently these three perspectives were sharply separated. Scientific investigations took place in laboratories, religious ones in places of worship, and psychological ones in consulting rooms, art studios, and asylums. Moreover, since the invention of alphabets, the viewpoints of religions have predominately shaped humanity’s God-images.
But all this is changing. The universal access to information that technology brings is closing the gaps, and our differing perspectives no longer totally  separate us from ourselves, each other, or God.  In fact, they are  merging into a deeper, more unifying vision. This is deeply disturbing to those who prefer separation to connection, simplicity to paradox, and certitude to dialogue.
However, people who seek truth and understanding above all else find it refreshing and inspiring. Why? Because the newest insights and discoveries from science, religion and psychology confirm the same intuition that spirit persons from every place and time have always shared: that a primary characteristic of the sacred Mystery is Unity in Multiplicity.

Consider the myriad forms of life on our planet. Each has a separate reality of its own yet all live together in one giant, inter-connected home. Look at the variety of religions that have sprung up over the millennia. Despite cultural differences they all speak the same language of love, compassion, tolerance, and the sanctity of life. Look at different individuals. No two are exactly alike, yet we all share the same matter, physiological systems, instinctual drives, and archetypal inheritance. And all our parts work together to help our bodies and species thrive.
Three perspectives; one Mystery. A Holy Trinity as it were. Unity in Multiplicity.
I can think of nothing more sacred than the miracle of life. Without it there would be no science, religion, or psychology. No miracles, healing, or compassion. No people with ideas about God. No God. If the nature of God is expressed in Unity in Multiplicity and we are each living, breathing participants in that Unity, then we are in God and God is in us. I wonder how things would be different if more of us shared this image of God.

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  1. I listened to Michael Conforti host a teleseminar with Powers of Place this afternoon; took a long walk in gently falling snow; and finished the day with a Buddhist gathering for meditation – Without thinking, I brought all of the pieces together and felt as though the day was sacred. You said it so well, Jeanie. Thanks.

    1. What a lovely synchronicity and perfect example of how one lives in this sacred integrated state! Thank you very much for sharing this. It adds so much. Jeanie

    1. You’re so welcome. Thank you for commenting. I hate to think how many souls are parched for want of a broader perspective on the miracle of their own lives. There’s so much beauty. Jeanie

    1. Thank you, Victor. Your comments are always so uplifting.
      I love the synchronicity of you and Viv using the same metaphor of water! And Robert wrote of gently falling snow—frozen water.
      For readers who may not know about the symbolism of water, in numerous creation myths it symbolizes the primal origin of all being! It is a universial symbol of fertility and life, and is also often used to represent spiritual renewal.
      It sounds to me like a few souls are plumbing the well of the archetypal unconscious today!
      Jeanie

  2. Jeanie,
    Right on, and so beautifully expressed! Yes, if only more people were comprehending the extraordinary Wholeness of the Mystery we all swim in together, what a different world it would be….and is becoming.
    Again, thank you for providing this bridge to that holographic understanding of the Mystery of God in us, through us, and in all that is.

    1. Your comment means a lot, Julie. I always know I’ve touched on something especially important and relevant when I hear from you! Thank you. And thanks for another great water metaphor! Jeanie

  3. Jeanie,
    It’s staggering to realise that we share with “All That Is” is a singular uniqueness. Every virus, every atomic particle and every one of us is different from every other. It intoxicates our brains, and our hearts sing when we truly contemplate this.
    The hand of God? Surely. Then there is infinity — we can’t even begin to get our heads around that one. And so it goes. In my next life I intend to be a mathematician, or a physicist, or a visionary, or all of these to try to reconcile these things.
    No wonder increasing numbers of people take refuge in some form of fundamentalist irrationality to try to cope with the emotional chaos that can so easily overwhelm.
    Thank you for expressing it all so well.
    Qestra

    1. I love your unique way of expressing what I’m trying to say. You’ve brought out different levels of meaning I haven’t addressed here. Emotional chaos frightens all of us and automatically leads to irrational thinking. But emotions only have the power to frighten us beyond reason if we aren’t aware of their power over us! As I see it, it is our lack of consciousness that causes fundamentalist irrationality. Everything changes when we see how our inner events influence our perspective on what’s happening in the external world. So for me, the most important factor in world peace is individual consciousness!
      Thank you for expressing it all so well.
      Jeanie

  4. How different would things be if we shared this view of God? Well, it would negate the oppositional aspects of much of traditional organised religion, which is so often an us v them mindset. The consideration of and encompassing within a unifying Mystery would would help connect that of Us which is inherent in everything. Your Holy Trinity is setting off little thought-bombs in my head. Can you imagine a world where people’s precepts and understandings were not threatened by science, religion or psychology? and could hold these disciplines in equal esteem?

  5. That would be a world in which I’d very much like to live but fear I’ll never see. But I see a lot of change heading in that direction. and know many people who think this way. Most of us want to be happy and have loving relationships. It’s just that we don’t see how our thinking contributes to our problems because we haven’t had enough exposure to healthier, more mature models of thought and behavior. I find hope in the internet. Like every other form of communication, there’s a lot of ignorance and mean-spiritedness on it, but there’s also a lot of wisdom and benevolence that I think will play a huge role in our collective awakening. Jeanie

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