Belief In God

Last week’s post dealt with politics. This week, I’ll round things out by writing about the other subject one’s advised to avoid at the dinner table.

Do you believe in God?

It’s a difficult question for me to answer because I’m never sure how the questioner defines God. So, I ask, which always sparks an interesting conversation.

Believers generally tick off one or more of the following attributes:

- Creator of Heaven and Earth

- All-powerful and all-knowing

- Present everywhere

- Infinite goodness

- Eternal

-Loves and cares about me

Answers like those put me on the spot. I don’t know what God is, but my experience doesn’t fit those categories for a couple of reasons: First, they portray God as a noun, and second, they place God ‘out there.’

That creates confusion. Believers admit they don’t know what God is either, saying that’s where faith comes in.

Faith was central to how I was raised in the Presbyterian Church. But the popcorn never popped. My lack of faith worried me. It felt like a betrayal; my parents were devout Christians who rarely missed Sunday services. Organized religion didn’t appeal to me, and yet, something inside prevented me from giving up.

I studied religious and philosophical literature for years but didn’t find the answer there either.  It wasn’t until I began a contemplative practice that Spirit found me. I don’t have a clear description of what that means; it’s an experience rather than an understanding, best described in verbs rather than nouns.  As my practice deepened, I experienced a pervasive sense of unity.

Is that God?

I have no idea, but the experience changed me; I no longer worry about faith, death, or what happens after I die. The experience gives me the overwhelming sense that I am about life, rather than life being about me.

A few years back, a good friend who is a Deacon in the Catholic Church asked if I was a Christian. I told him that I lived by Christian values, but didn’t resonate with institutional ideology in Spiritual matters. He obviously disagreed.

Fortunately, the conversation didn’t end there; out of respect for one another, we searched for common ground and found it. He reminded me that the Bible says “God is Love.” Love is the ultimately expression of unity, which is the foundation of my Spiritual experience.

We agreed that God is love.

Love can be either a noun or a verb. As a noun, love is conceptual; as a verb, it is experiential. When I suggested to my friend that Spiritual experience is more important than conceptual understanding, he agreed.

So why am I dragging you through my spiritual journey?

Our secular society is increasingly turning away from organized religion; In doing so, I fear that many are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Science answers many questions but is silent on matters of personal transcendence.

In a technology-driven society, religion can feel like an antiquated myth. But that doesn’t subvert the importance of spiritual practice. I like what Joseph Campbell, writer and professor of comparative mythology and religion, said about myth: “Something that never happened, but is always true.”

Personal balance requires attending to body, mind, and Spirit. The importance of conditioning the body and mind is obvious. Spirit is perhaps less so. Spirit is an energy that exists in the in-between, showing us where we fit in and giving us a sense of belonging. Spiritual practices expand one’s context beyond the confines of Self.

When Self is the center of one’s being, suffering follows. Loneliness and social isolation are public health epidemics. Self-absorption creates a false sense of isolation. This is not the natural order of things.

The universe exerts an observable ‘pull to union’ at every level, from atoms to organisms, and from planets to galaxies. What one calls this force (God-Spirit-Unity-Energy), or the specific ideologies attached to it, is secondary to the transcendent power this ‘pull to union’ can have in one’s life.

Specific beliefs and organizational affiliations contribute to the spiritual journey for many, but they don’t guarantee personal transcendence. I searched for years for outside solutions to bolster a lack of faith, only to find the answer from within.

Emerson was right: “The riddle of the age has for each a private solution.”

I don’t resonate with questions about belief; too often they’re tribal. However, practices (whatever they may be) that lead to spiritual union and self-transcendence are critically important.

My message to the increasing category of religious “nones” is to find a way to embrace the energy of Spirit in their lives.

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If something in this post resonated, why not share it with a friend?