Spiritual Freedom

God, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Jehovah, Odin, Zeus, Mother Nature, Great Spirit, Holy Mother, Heavenly Father, Mwari, Fu-Xing, Kitchi-Manitou, Numakulla…
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If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.
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When I was a kid there were many things my parents did that confused me. But one thing I never let my mom live down, was her inability to answer my childhood questions about religion.

“Mom, if Adam and Eve were the first people on earth, does that mean Adam was a caveman?”

“Hey mom, it says here in this book that dinosaurs were around millions of years before people. What’s up with that?”

“Mom how come we only have one god but other people have lots of gods?

And then later…

“Mom I think you’ve been lying to me about God, just like you lied to me about Santa Claus!”

“In fact, I don’t believe there is a god, and I think you and many other people have been conned. I think the bible was written by a bunch of fearful men who made god in their own image and put themselves at the center of the universe because they were all really afraid and they wanted to be in control. Plus, it was a good way to make sure that men could be allowed to rule the women. I think all those priests and preachers were just trying to get laid!”

“And another thing! How come there is no gospel according to Jane? How come the word of god only comes from men?”

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My poor mom. Eventually she got it right, though. She finally gave me an answer I could run with: “How the hell should I know! Figure it out for yourself!”
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Years later, after traveling down more intellectual, philosophical, theological and physical roads than I can count, I came up with some things that work for me. Some things that set me free. Have no idea what any of this could mean to you, but one thing is for sure…
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The day I got really frustrated about being unable to tap into that same source of strength and courage that so many other people seemed to be able to access, that mysterious force or power that has helped so many amazing people achieve so many amazing things – athletes, musicians, artists, millionaires, billionaires, humanitarians, people with loving friends and families…so many people all thanking GOD every goddamn time something wonderful happened to them…well that was the day I decided to start changing my approach.
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That was the day I decided to figure out how to tap into MY own highest power. An idea of God that worked for me. However, being an atheist at the time, I really had no way of doing that. I had no way of finding any kind of god I could actually embrace.
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As an entrepreneur I knew how to be resourceful. And yet I knew my overall strategy was lame, because it gave me no way of accessing any concept of a power greater than my challenges. And I needed that kind of power. I needed that kind of confidence. Desperately. So I decided to be more flexible. I started thinking in terms of powers I could believe in.
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For me the first door was nature. Being outside, being myself, being natural…I always felt Nature was something good and true and real. Being constantly outdoors, it was always very easy to find things I could believe in.
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My next real glimpse of God came through conscious breathing. A friend introduced me to the idea that slowing down my breathing was a good way to slow down my thoughts, and therefore “control my universe.” I definitely felt the effects of that, so I explored the idea of “conscious breathing” a little further.
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Then came a better understanding of the Creative power of words. How powerful it is to keep your word. The cause and effect of words. How sounds bring things into being. How words identify, label, contain, and ultimately manifest experience. A guy once said to me “You don’t believe in god, but you do believe in nature. So try this: G.O.D. = The Generating, Organizing, Delivering / Destroying principles of the universe.”
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That gave me a way of looking at the word “god” without having to personify it. This finally gave me the flexibility I required to consider other points of view. For example, I could apply my interpretation to the Gospel of Thomas: “The kingdom of heaven is within you and all around you. Turn over a stone and you will find me. Break a twig and I am there.” Where others might only be seeing “Him” there, I could now see Him, Her, It or Anything-Else-I-Needed there.
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My teacher Yogi Bhajan helped me clarify this. He said: “If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”
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And then I realized that all these people fighting about religion, they all had one thing in common. They were all looking for certainty. They all needed to believe. But I already believed that “nothing has any meaning except the meaning we choose to give it.” And I had already surrendered to the fact that in a world of infinite possibilities, there are going to be some things I cannot understand. Things I cannot know for certain.
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Having learned that the mind’s primary functions are to record, label and assess information – to make sense of things in order for us to act – I simply accepted that my mind will always try to define, label, limit, categorize and know…everything! It will even try to know things that are boundless and unknowable. So I decided to put a leash on my mind’s incessant mental meandering, and allow my soul to take the helm.
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And suddenly there I was, feeling very much at peace, feeling happy and productive, and feeling better than ever with an understanding of God that worked for me. It was like somehow I had woken up, and was able to see things clearly. I was able to keep things in perspective. Eventually, my new-found awareness led me to become a Kundalini Yoga teacher, where I decided that part of my purpose in life is to “Help people tap into their own Highest Power.” Whatever that means to them.
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And because we haven’t spoken yet, I’m not sure what any of this means to you. But it has certainly reminded me that it is time to step away from this computer and go for a nice long walk in the park!
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Enjoy your day!
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