The word “God” is always a metaphor
the word “God” is not God
nor does it tell the whole story
some traditions are cautious about even using the word “God”
whereas Hindus talk about the “million names of God”
if all is God, is nothing a Supreme God, is our ego our god?
when our false self becomes our god
we do everything to worship this idol
we do not thereby create anything evil
but we pervert our relationship with everything
we use everything to increase our attachment
to our illusory self
within us, what is not accepted is projected
on to others – perception is noticing negative things
in others without getting upset
projection gets us upset
because the negative thing we see in others
is something we don’t accept in ourselves –
some shadow-piece
Brother Lawrence accepted all his shadows
and believed the General Practice of the Presence of God
is far more important than following spiritual rules
or engaging in specific devotions
Christ and Buddha’s appearance on Earth
were meant for the wellness and happiness of all
and so we can keep Jesus and Buddha going
by enjoying life/practicing mindfulness/being in the NOW/
enjoying songs of birds/gardens/blue sky/breathing
if your spirituality is integrated
it involves both contemplation and action
and you can address the most pressing issues of modernity:
– the existence of consciousness (which baffles scientific materialism)
– application of spirituality to everyday life
– spiritual development
– eastern vs western approaches to life/culture/spirituality
– the role of meditation and contemplation in our hyper busy culture
– how religion relates to modern culture
– how postmodern culture relates to religion
and you can be a fish in/not out of the water of our culture.
Intelligent Christian Spirituality 