G-O-D: A Re-Boot

“I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Psalm 82:6

Many of the CenterPoint subscribers have asked for more content on “God”. My response to find and understand Divinity is multiple choice:

1. Look at the Natural World, in all of its beauty, majesty and strength.
2. Reflect upon the highest human accomplishments in art, philosophy and thought.
3. Remember your most loving experience(s) and companion(s).
4. Look in the mirror.
5. All of the above.

The author of Psalm 82 has been taken to be Asaph, the chief musician and seer in the court of King David. He led the worship and played the cymbals before the Ark of the Covenant.  His name is associated with 12 of the 150 psalms. They are taken to be the Judgment of God and how the people of the Bible should live harmoniously with the Law of God. Psalm 82 is oft taken to show what happens when we stray from that Law…but it also carries a (hidden) message to awaken to the fact that we are all children of the Most High (God), and as such have both a heavenly origin AND a heavenly mandate to realize our “God-ness”. 

I am contextualizing this blog as a “re-boot” of God. Of course, “God, G_d, Allah, etc. is partially (and eternally) transcendent and unchanging. But if His/Her/Their manifestation (aka the Earth) is continually changing (perhaps even “evolving”), is it not likely that the same is true about our collective understanding? If this is so, then it IS possible for a “G-O-D” re-boot.

As I write this, a most dear and loving in-law is about to have a cardiac reboot due to a condition of Atrial Fibrillation.  Her heart is literally out of sync. The (able) doctors momentarily deliver a synchronized, low-energy shock to the chest to force a natural rhythm. This cardioversion procedure is done while sedated, and the heart keeps on beating, and the success is deemed 95%. (I shall be praying, nonetheless). 

This is (medically speaking) a most mild “reboot”. What does it, or will it, take for a Spiritual Heart Reboot? I can only speak from my personal experiences with my own evolution and issues. My understanding of the nature of Divinity and my relationship with it has grown over what is now just shy of three-quarters of a century. 

My mother (family legend) says that my first word was “God”. Now, I must admit that my memory of that is quite fuzzy, but I like the idea. Of all my (oft fraught) relationships, it is the one that has been the most abiding. Everywhere I look for it…everywhere I seek to have It find me. When I was ordained as an inter-faith minister some 45 years ago, it simply reflected my acceptance of my relationship with God. Of course, as in all relationships, things change…

I have been (soul) troubled with the state of the world since I was 8 and had my first out-of-body experience in 3rd grade English class due to sleep troubled angst due to the conflicts occurring in the Congo in 1960-61. I remember so vividly not being able to sleep due to the stories I heard about the violence in Leopoldville and Stanleyville. This profound angst came to a head in the class when I suddenly saw the top and back of my head as I was being pulled up to the stars. A great Angel (with a scale in its hand) told me not to worry as the Universe always had Balance and He afforded me the experience of that Equilibrium everywhere. The angel (Michael I found out later) said that someday this would be understood. It has taken me a lifetime to realize that Truth, and it is still a work in progress as I work (and struggle) with the human condition. 

A major step forward in this understanding came in my 20’s as I sought to find Inner Balance and Peace. That thrust led me to the most uncomfortable Truth that God is indeed inside as well as outside. Finding that “god-ness” inside IS the Journey, for me. It has involved pushing past my most mundane and ordinary set of emotions and thoughts. The good news about that is that it is so common, so human. As such, ultimately there is nothing real to hold onto, or even permanent to hold us back. The questions are more: “When”, and “How”, not “If”. It is in all of our destinies to ultimately realize the “Ultimate”. The Realization of that ends with the understanding that we, in fact, are “gods” (small “g”, not big “G”). So, what is the nature of our “god-ness”?

This “god-ness” comes to us each in our ways, each according to our gifts (and challenges). This would be a good time to go back to that multiple choice offered at the beginning of this message. How do you experience Divinity, the Good, the Beautiful, the True, the Loving, the Merciful? As a multiple choice question it need not be just one, AND it can change. The important thing is to stay with the Questioning, until you feel complete. Again, this completeness comes in stages as well as wonderful transcendent moments. Work at accepting them all… But do choose…do take the time…

All of our Journeys ultimately come together, but it is so much more joyful and fun if we recognize that, and work to help each other on the Path. For me, the “G-O-D” re-boot involves a collective Enlightenment and Unfoldment and can only truly be found…together. Again, for me, the final stage of the highest self-awareness comes in the form of Service. In that unitive moment, with God, Creation and each other, we are drawn by that same Divinity to some form of Service. Mine is supporting the realization of “Community” through the Arts, Science, Spirituality and Healthy Lifestyles. What calls you for “Service”?