~Sacred irReverence ~ God, Ritual and My Big Toe ~ November 5, 2011
~Galactic Love Reporter Rachael Ehrlund~
My God
my elixir
my teacher
my providence
my every inspiration
my ability
my blunder
my opportunity
my kindred spirit
my satisfaction
my liege
my beloved
my immortality
my hope
my dreams
my king- my queen
my secret remedy
my life
my breathe
my amour
my true solace
My God
lives in me.
-
The word God is something that countless religions and individuals have sought to define for millennia. In the English language, those three letters connote a serious tone and strong opinions- worship and reverence… anger and discontent. It has brought many people together- united in a common understanding, in a common faith. And it has driven countless people from one another- divided in the idea that there version is somehow superior than another.
Many of us walk the middle ground between Atheism and Religion, as people who attribute our Faith to something less defined, and more fluid in its formlessness. Agnosticism doesn’t quite capture it either, for to say that we do not know whether or not there is some mysterious and magical force pervading the Universe is inaccurate. Personally, I KNOW it is there, I just don’t KNOW exactly what IT IS. Only- that IT IS. I enjoy my seeking and research, my continued dedication to furthering my understanding through experience and open mindedness… but I am also ok with sitting comfortably with my inability to ever know with the logical mind. The reverence for the journey fuels my enthusiasm and persistence.
This article was a spontaneous arrangement of ideas that originated several months ago with a conversation about Ritual and irReverence with my dear friend, Kim Upton. We were talking together on a weekday afternoon, as we so often do- about the grander questions of Life and Life after Life, about our children and their wild daily happenings, and eventually about Toes- Big Toes. Though I am pretty sure that I’m the one that instigated that part.
Sitting in my living room, surrounded by shelves of disheveled books, tacked up art posters, brightly colored baby toys, vintage furniture, fading flower bouquets, strewn shoes and baskets of randomness- she in her own nook of chaos and artistic confusion- we marveled at the majesty of the Sacred together. Though we live across the country from one another, we were connected in our simultaneous agreement and understanding of everything holding as much God-ness as everything else. I gazed over at our altar and thought about what it meant beyond the confines of its shelf there- about my understanding, my version of God and ceremony.
We have kept an altar in our home for years, a Sacred Space where we gather together bits and pieces of that which we hold to be holy and sacred. Bits of drying flowers from old arrangements, rocks and gemstone crystals, tiny carved statues and half-melted candles, letters to the Universe, pieces of prayers and Buddha statues, images of deities and culturally diverse religious figures, incense, artwork, a hornet that had passed and left his beautiful body to be found in the corner, a piece of robin’s egg scattered in the garden. Anything that speaks to us as we go about our daily lives- anything that makes us stop and recognizing the spark of Holy NOWness in that moment.
“This moment. Holy” – Caveh Zahedi
The Holy Moment Scene from Waking Life
For me, God is not as delicate a word as others. I use it in the same way that I use the Universe, All that IS, or The Powers that Be- and all are interchangeable in my writing. Although I was raised Southern Baptist, and part of my journey to self discovery involved the dismantling of this belief structure, the word God doesn’t cause any adverse reactions to my system. It seems rather comfortable and safe- accessing a part of my childhood when the word meant pure Love, before it took on any complex and hypocritical connotations. I never believed in the idea of a floating old man in the sky to begin with, as my intuition always told me there was much more to the equation than I was being told. For some people, the word God is not comfortable at all, and I can certainly understand why. (Admittedly I have this reaction to the word “Jesus”, but it is something I am working through, and hardly has anything to do with the person himself.)
Others may have a similar reaction to other words or indicators of God-ness, finding it perhaps tres New Age, or indicative that there are too many feathers in the writer’s hair. The word gods or goddess are equally as controversial… even I, as a proud and empowered woman, have a hard time with goddess, because I have certain reactions to some of the reading I’ve done which has claimed this word for its own purposes.
And there we have the underlying issue with any word in any language we may encounter: association. We are reacting to the word as it was first and repeatedly presented to us, and those associations have wired themselves into our psyches and now contain an entire realm of unprocessed emotion and reactivity. God, Universe, Great Spirit, All that IS, gods, goddess, etc- these are simply our best offerings, our best attempts at describing something wholly and completely indescribable. The Powers that Be (one of my favorites) are so much more complex (and simple) than any collection of vowels and consonants we can imagine. When you look up at the stars, or into the eyes of a child, or smell the fragrance of an heirloom peony- do you need to use a word to describe that moment. THAT moment is God, et al, and it doesn’t require anything from you. If you are in want of something to give, it will honor your quiet observation and a moment of passing irReverence. (Just as it honors your free will choice to refuse to see it at all.)
There is no cell in your body, no leaf, no rock, no blade of grass, no cloud, no rat, no creature great or small, no moment- which is devoid of God. God, by it’s own nature, and in it’s own ineffable irReverence for itself, shows up in every breathe that it has breathed into life. In every thought, every motion, every possible potential. God will meet You anywhere. We are holders of the same Sacred Space within our very Being that we so often seek to find and attend outside of ourselves. We Are God incarnate.
God is here… there, right inside our big toe.
I cannot fathom passing the color purple in a field and missing its beauty, and what a great oversight if we fail to notice the majesty within our very Selves, our own Reflections, the genius in the construct of our anatomy… of our humanity. And the world around us and it’s very lack of humanity… it’s unbounded enthusiasm for persistence, for self actualization, fully realized without a need to be defined as anything other than what IT IS- the Holiest of Holies lives and breathes within every spark of Life. All That Is is ALL There IS.
Are we truly more aware because we believe ourselves to be, because we practice at it? The tree stands tall and mighty, and it knows itself to be God, perfectly imperfect, completely sacred and sufficient in its own majesty. The hawk knows its place in the Universe, and within our Mother Earth- the Hawk knows that it does not know, but it knows EXACTLY what it NEEDS to know. The whale song is a mantra of self empowerment and righteousness not unlike the hymns we sing in worship, but those songs are true originals, as if we had spontaneously created those very rhythms for ourselves!
Ritual is another aspect of God that tends to complicate spirituality for people. Here we find another vat of emotional reactions to certain approaches, meditations, prayers, habits, ceremonies, etc. What may work or fit for one person in one form, may be a complete deal breaker for another person. Just because something is ancient and revered as holy of holy, doesn’t mean that it is any more relevant or sacred than the personal and spontaneous, or the (gasp) New Age. There are so many techniques and options available for someone seeking to connect with the divine- individually or collectively. The single most important aspect of any Ritual is intention. If you are intent upon opening yourself up and connecting with Higher levels of Being, that intention IS the “rainbow bridge” (Arguelles). Your presence makes it so.
There is no wrong way to connect with the Divine, and there are no qualifications necessary to get you there. I always suggest experimentation when it comes to navigating the realm of ritual. Try new things- seek out others who think and feel as you do, and engage in conversation that will challenge you to think outside any boxes you may still be holding on to. Try spending time alone and with groups, finding someone to facilitate for you, or stepping into a role of facilitator yourself. As with any other aspect of your life, allow yourself to get excited about your connection to God. Look for new ways to connect with all that IS, and see what magic you can discover.
I feel than my entire home and life is an altar to God’s presence, as much as any intentionally made collection of fragments of faith would serve to be. As our scientific understanding begins to re-merge with spirituality, we find that those tiny atoms we learned about in elementary school- the bits of vibrating mass that make up every visible piece of our existence, turn out to behave differently and are dependent upon our observation. They are in essence, performing for us- a grand cosmic play of pure energy dressing itself in form, and we are playing our part as it unfolds.
Dr. Masaru Emoto’s experiments with water crystals are an excellent and beautiful example of this phenomenal fact.
As a parent I find the subjects of faith, spirituality, God and religion to be of particular importance, because we are responsible for passing on a greater version of the Truth than was handed to us in centuries past. We are responsible for putting an end to suffering through separation and discrimination, by admitting that our well intending religious organizations have gotten carried away with their exclusivity, and there is no longer a time or a place for leaving ANYONE out in the cold. Race, Creed, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Age, Number of Legs or lack-there-of… we are a United Whole. And a Loving God- my God would never discriminate against any of its creations based on the name that it was given or called by. As a parent, you learn to respond to whatever Loving name your children call you by. (Even if at times, it’s not so very loving. God responds to that, too.)
“How do you feel about the question?” “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God,” I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face. My embarrassment was contagious. No one said anything. It happened that we were not far from the statue of Gandhi on the esplanade. Stick in hand, an impish smile on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, the Mahatma walked. I fancy that he heard our conversation, but that he paid even greater attention to my heart. Father cleared his throat and said in a half-voice, “I suppose that’s what we’re all trying to do—love God.”
Excerpt from Life of Pi by. Yann Martel
I believe in teaching our children to Love unconditionally, and to be the best version of themselves that they can Be. I believe in Being a light unto others by shining with Love and Faith from within. I do not believe in limiting my relationship with God. I believe in Peace. I believe in finding the best possible version of Truth for oneSelf. I believe in Tolerance. I believe in the beauty of the diverse cultures of our world and the stories they have passed down for centuries to their own children. I believe that God exists in every crevice of every corner of every piece of the Universe, and therefore I believe that all beings are Blessed- and all beings are Loved. Salvation is not reserved for any one person of any one belief. Heaven is available to anyone who believes that a life without suffering is possible, and who recognize that all of life is a gift to be experienced, and to learn from.
I also believe that we live in a world full of good people. In fact, I believe that everything is essentially good at it’s core, on a quantum level, at the bottom of the rabbit hole- where all the mysteries are explained into order from chaos. I believe that all things originate from the same light, and are sensical in their harmonic origins, in some reach of understanding that eludes my present ability to comprehend. I’ve always been just as reliant on scientific evidence to justify my beliefs as I am intuition and psychic nobilities. I like to know how and why things work, and like so many others I prefer it to be proven to me visually. To see something with “my own eyes”. But even My Three Eyes don’t see it All.
As I continue to grow through this mysterious and complex life that is so filled with unpredictable beauty, I find that my range of visions has widened, my dreams have become more palpable, my concepts of reality looser around the edges and more open to interpretation. I find that meeting God in any building with a predetermined leader holds less credence for me than meeting God beneath a giant Oak, or down on my belly in the green grass to observe an almost microscopic flower. But I also revel in communion with others who resonate together on a Soul Level- in Friendship. I find that my understanding of God has shifted to include the Universe, Great Spirits, The Powers that Be, gods, goddesses, and my firm and comfortable statement of un-knowing. Sometimes we can sit together in our un-knowing, and harmonize therein, bridging the space between gnosis and confusion.
I used to frequently say, “I believe in everything and nothing”, and I sort of got a kick out of the look on people’s faces. The God in my big toe and I, we sit and laugh at nonsensical contradictions. We bow ever so irReverently at the majesty that is each passing moment. And we spontaneously dance, sing or paint our way to personal rituals in new ways every single day. We rather like it that way. Maintaining (or reconnecting) with our sense of humor is an essential part of the journey to self discovery and personal spirituality.
“Laughter is the Language of the Gods”
Letting go of any pretentious ideas about having all of the answers, or having any of the answers in a way that you aren’t comfortable with surrendering if the situation presents itself as having shifted (which it will)- helps to keep you balanced on your journey. Finding joy in moments of certain uncertainty, laughing with yourSelf- the Grand Self that IS, and venturing to see the Trees and the Forest at the SAME TIME… that is where the stuff of milk and honey flows.
God WILL meet you THERE.
by. Rachael Ehrlund
http://www.birchnest.com/2011/11/05/sacred-irreverence-god-ritual-and-my-big-toe/
