WHAT IS THE DIVINE NATURE OF REALITY?

MY CONCEPT OF GOD

Sometimes I feel like I’m on the fringe of every group known to humankind. I tend to be a bit too open to Eastern Philosophy for the taste of most people within my own Church community, Seminary or not. The philosophers find my blending Jewish mysticism with the teachings of Heraclitus a bit much for their rational minds to accept. Twelve steppers are often receptive of a Divine being beyond comprehension and completely open to the individuals interpretation but they tend to shut down if you mention a path other than theirs in terms of continued sobriety. Yet somehow all of these differences of opinion are hardly ever ended in argument. I believe that quarrels hardly ever arises because people who are genuinely seeking the truth are more than willing to hear about a different point of view.

For years I’ve struggled to understand my place in the Cosmos and how we all ended up here. Being raised in a Pentecostal Church planted Christian values in my mind early on but I struggled with the concept of G-D. Sure, Christianity has its roots in Judaism which is by far one of my favorite mystical systems ever created but we aren’t exactly known for our savvy in unraveling the mysteries of the Cabala. Members of my Church family have never shied away from our faiths roots and are surprisingly open minded in that regard. Where the breakdown tends to happen is around talk of Eastern Mysticism. I disagree with Apologists spreading misinformation and deeming any sort of reconciliation between the East and West impossible. Granted, Hinduism has a tendency to absorb any new concept into it’s ever changing pantheon and Christianity tends to reject anything outside of itself, but this is not the fault of the Divine presence at the root of all things. This is the fault of human beings and a result of their desire to be right. We divide each other when we claim we have the gospel truth and condemn others to burn in hell if they don’t worship and believe exactly what we do. Think of the analogy behind the Tower of Babel where the human family is scattered to the four corners of the world with different languages and what not. Our cultural differences don’t matter to the Divine.

The two paths, at their root, speak of the same Cosmic creation. The operative word here is speak. Think of the creation epoch in Genesis, “and G-D said.”  John 1:1 expounds on this a bit when it states “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Since the Gospel was originally written in Greek we see Greek terminology come into play a bit. The Logos being a philosophical concept that adds another layer of understanding. The idea of logos was thought of as a Divine wisdom manifested in the creation and government of the world. This is often thought of as the second person in the Trinity who represents the controlling principle of the universe. This definition is essentially combining G-Ds creative words we see in Genesis “And G-D SAID” with Wisdom, or the Artisan, as G-Ds instrument of creativity. Greek philosophers coined this power as “the word that shone in the darkness.”

As Heraclitus put it, “the Logos was before the Earth could be.” We could write this off as a simple Greek dialectic expounding on Near-eastern mysticism if the power of spoken words were an isolated belief. Now I’m not just talking of the Saxon concept of Galdre- If I speak I am- or the power of prayer in general here and I’d like to veer East a bit. According to ancient India, every vibration of the known universe has it’s very own corresponding form. Every letter in the Sanskrit alphabet is believed to be the primal sound from which existence came into being. Sound familiar? The base vibration that gives power to each of these forms beneath the ENTIRE cosmos is Om, or the hum of creation. This is also the sanskrit word for God- the vibration of the Supreme. Let that marinate.

Now, ever being a student of Wisdom, I’ve continued my research and meditation beyond the first time I shared this aforementioned knowledge in my post Why Words Have Power. Being a firm believer in reaching the root of a matter to understand it’s nature I followed this line of thinking quite a ways. It eventually lead me to read the Sefer Yetzirah.

This ancient text talks of the 22 foundational letters of the Hebrew alphabet being the actual forms of energy through which the creation was brought about. These letters are arranged in various forms that make up words as we know them. Obviously, I can’t speak Hebrew so I took to YouTube to deepen my understanding. One Rabbi Yaakov Cohen said something about the concept of foundational letters I thought was amazing. He said the way that Hebrew is written literally represents a form stretched between two poles. It’s the vibration between these two points that holds the creative power of G-D.

We are the result of these Cosmic vibrations. Science alludes to this principle when we talk of molecules which are in a constant state of vibration. Everything that matters anyways. Yes that’s a pun. Matter is comprised of molecules and according to material realism it’s also the only thing that is real. Our consciousness being epiphenomenon of how this matter is formed. This is why rational people who have accepted this material model of reality will never accept G-D.

So what’s the alternative?

A TALE HALF-TRUE

Dr. Amit Goswami frames monotheistic idealism in a truly beautiful way. He says, “consciousness is the ground of all being and our self-consciousness is (that) consciousness.”

If G-D is infinite then there would be no restrictions, limitations or boundaries to said G-D, ruling out the Theological concept of a separate being that oversees all things. Some choose to name the Universe their G-D but even this doesn’t hold well under scrutiny. G-D is immutable and everything in our Universe is in a constant state of flux. O.G. Heraclitus said “Everything is constantly shifting, changing, and becoming something other to what it was before.” This alludes to us being restricted to our material world wherein we are to follow the rules of its existence. That being said, even matter melts into mystery in light of us furthering our understanding of the subtle play of energy encompassing all that we experience.

So is G-D the energy moving through all Living things? How would Life evolve from energy? The Hermeticist say “nothing evolved unless it is involved.” What they are alluding to is the belief that the entire Cosmos exists inside the Living Mind of G-D. This is how they clear up the Divine Paradox of “All is in THE All and all are the all.”

Some people take to the belief that they are in fact gods themselves. They base this on the idea that since our reality has a Divine Nature and all things are but extensions of the Cosmic Mind that their consciousness alone makes them G-D. They go on to sell you their belief and offer you freedom from a life of servitude to the Divine will of whatever nasty depiction of a merciless and vengeful G-D they can conjur. This begs the question: are they right or are they projecting their egos and insecurities out into the world?

Think of the mental energy involved in asking that question. Consider how it forms in your mind and take son a life of its own. Follow me a minute. We can visualize entire solar systems in our heads and whisk ourselves away to unseen lands. Does the fact that it only exist in your head make it any less real to you? An artist sculpts a figure out of marble. In the artists mind this character has ideas, dreams, thoughts of their own, but are they independent thoughts or extensions of the artist mind? Thus is the mental nature of reality.

Am I a dreamer clinging to the Wisdom of the ancient Mystery Schools?

Am I psychologically incapable of accepting a world where things just are?

Maybe.

There’s two sides of this coin. There’s the nihilistic version where I am no more than an illusion in the dreamscape of the Cosmic Mind. Where the things I touch, taste, see and smell are but cleverly put together holograms. Where my senses are so convincing with their folly. The atoms vibrating are but trappings of the intellect. Where I am a soul in a meat suit awaiting to return to the all encompassing Infinite.

The other side of the coin says  this absolute truth is but one of two poles in the grand scheme of things. My existence on this plain is relative, and our deeper truth is there. So long as we wear this body we are a part of its physical reality. That being said, understanding there are higher worlds is the beginning of Wisdom. As above so below. Why quarrel with where G-D has placed me or trust my finite mind can even begin to unravel the mysteries of the Infinite.

No. I’ll serve the Infinite and do what I know is right and when this life cycle ends I will move on knowing I’m returning to the Cosmic source from which I came. With that I leave you a quote from Macbeth:

“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.”

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