Hopeful Thinking

Spring is the great overcoming. The acknowledgement of truth both within us and within the world. It is the awakening of things once dormant or seemingly lost. There are parts of ourselves which have been folded away, like sacred origami, preserved, ready for the day when enough light and warmth has reached into the tightened bud to call it out into being.  This arrangement of leaves within a bud is called its ‘vernation’ from the latin vernal for spring. Vernal equinox. Veritas aequi. The unfolding truth of balance and equality. The reality of its own future, neatly folded inside. The flower, the leaf, the tree, even we humans, all begin this way. We feel as if we are unformed when truly we are simply yet unfolded. I saw a documentary on origami recently and its technical applications. Things like going out into space, collapsible robots, and a fair amount on the art of contemporary origami itself. One point that was made is that the structure of the leaf already exists in the b...

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve evolved in my way of imagining That which we most often call “God.” I don’t say that as a declaration of increasing maturity. Rather, the various visualizations I’ve used, and the framework in which I’ve described God to myself, has become less anthropomorphic and human-like over time. In fact, the way I view God now is not as a being at all. Even thinking of It as an entity doesn’t quite do the feeling justice. The feeling I have inside about God is that, primarily, none of us have it right. Not a single one of us can imagine the true nature, existence, purpose, and will, of God. I am respectful of those who believe there is no God at all. I certainly can’t argue with them. For I have no more proof of It than they do. All of us have only religious opinions, no facts. Atheism is another way of questioning the nature of God. A pursuit which I highly regard.  It has occurred to me recently, while pondering for the thousandth time the way to answer the quest...

We have arrived at an age when the specificity of our words is important. Now more than ever, it matters what we say. We get frustrated with having to say the right thing all the time. Political-correctness fatigue is real. We can forget to remember that the person we are speaking to is a human being with feelings and history and complicated reasons why they do the things they do. We are faced with so much when we face our neighbor. It’s a challenge to see the sacred in another person when they smell bad or when they act strange or when they hurt us. It’s nearly impossible to commit to the idea that our worst enemies are equal to us in divinity. Because if there is divinity in the universe then there is divinity for all things equally. If there is none, then there is equally none.  Namaskar is a Sanskrit word that describes a traditional act of bowing to show respect. It’s when we put our hands together in front of our third eye or heart and bow towards someone. Namasté is a typica...

I admit, I’m terrible at remembering to ‘say grace’ before a meal. Of course, that statement, in and of itself, is quite self-judgemental. For, after all, who says we need to say grace in the first place?  Remember that, despite those who’d prefer we obey without question, questioning has value too, so long as it is done with an open mind. I’ve always been curious about the physics behind religious obligations. I approach them with an assumption that there’s some potentially intrinsic human benefit to be discovered. Often, when exploring various rituals, traditions, and ceremonies, I remember the things I’ve learned about quantum physics. Granted, I’m no expert, but some of it is quite rudimentary and accessible to even a non-scientist such as myself.  In particular is the evidence that an observer’s expectations influence the outcomes of atomic particles. That seems hard to believe, but it’s proven to be the case. Atomic particles behave differently when observed, and when th...

  A long-held pet peeve of mine has been rearing its prickled head a bit more than usual lately. I’ve gotten into a few religious debates with people, both online and in person, about the problems with making concrete interpretations.  To assert that something is true and factual, and that others must also believe it, despite that it cannot be proven, for instance, to a court of law, or by repeatable scientific processes, is both irresponsible and dangerous. Great harm has occurred through the misuse of scripture in this way.  Now, this is not to say that some things people hold to be factual yet remain unprovable aren’t true. There are many likely true but unprovable facts out there. How does one prove love, for instance? One could say we prove our love through our actions. But is that definitive proof that love exists? How does one point to love? Or measure it? We could point to actions which we deem loving and declare that to be proof of love itself. But is it? To say ...

It’s funny the words we see all the time and use regularly, yet when called upon to spell them, we blank.  When I decided to write about ecstasy I misspelled it. I could have sworn it had an X in it.  Which made me laugh to myself at the irony of it because we do often equate ecstasy with X-rated things. Perhaps it revealed a bias in me.  Conversely, when one describes having an “ecstatic experience,” many first think of religion and spirituality, or a view from the mountaintop.  I would argue that, at some level, they might all be the same thing. I say this by way of making a belated New Year’s resolution for myself. And perhaps suggesting one to you as well. Have more ecstasy this year. A lot more of it. The word ecstasy comes from the Greek ekstasis meaning to stand outside oneself; to leave one’s body. I also read that it was a removal from one’s “proper place.” Ouch. That almost seems like religious judgment against potentially religious experiences when put tha...

Did you know that for all our talk about the ‘pursuit of happiness,’ we actually take a very dim view of people who seek it? We see the pursuit of pleasure as hedonistic. Old religious paradigms that encourage austerity and sacrifice and suffering as the only path toward true salvation have caused us to doubt the relevance or even the spiritual safety of just being happy.  We are taught to be of service to humanity, but what good is raising the level of the water in the harbor so that all boats go up if your anchor is still tethered at the old water level? Everyone’s boat goes up but yours. Is that what we are meant to do? Where’s the logic? If I consider you to be more important than me, how is that a respect for all of creation? Aren’t I a part of creation, too? These are the ideas we have been ingrained with which confuse us when it comes time to express our compassion for others.  We have become infected with a belief that we do not matter. And how is that a good posture f...