There´s nothing like a beautiful summer day. We are in the midst of summer, here in Costa Rica. It is much warmer in this part of the Central Valley. Some would even accurately say that it is hot—very hot and dry. Even so, I think that it is much better here right now, when it comes to weather, than in the United States. There have been floods, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes, and now, since it is winter, there are floods in some places and snow storms in others. Places that were dry about two months ago are being flooded by ridiculously powerful rainstorms. All of these things happening at the same time are a bit frightening, because it seems like the biblical stories from Revelations are coming true.
Everywhere in the world there is violence, pestilence, famine, and even earthquakes in diverse places. People are fighting over issues that cannot be resolved. Many have cast aside their first love, the God of the religion that they proclaim, and have placed the God of politics in its place. They are full of hatred for the other and consider the level of their hatred a measure of how much love they have for their God and their religion. This is frightening. But this is the world in which we live.
I guess that the only resolution for such a dilemma this year is to actively make sure that we don´t get carried away by the hysteria of most of these religious people. It is important, especially at the beginning of a new year, to look into our hearts and to separate the will of God by whatever name, from the will of our personal and societal egos. The will of ego and the will of humankind no way reflects the will of God. The righteous anger of humankind also doesn´t reflect the will of God. God is a manifestation of love and justice, not hate, anger and revenge—or one-up-man-ship. When we as a species can remember this and can apply it by being true to the religious doctrine that speaks of love and truth and justice for all people, we will have arrived as a species. The Kingdom of Heaven will have arrived here.
Famines won´t be so bad then, because nations that love God will supply food. There will be no poverty, because those who have will supply the resources to lift the others.
There will be no energy shortages, because those who are responsible will create alternative means of energy and we will not need oil or oil wars. When we have internalized God and the mystical core of the religions of which we speak, and let go of the ego driven lifestyle that guides most of our actions and lifestyle in the material world we will be free. We will create an age in human history that will surpass all of the former empires that were supported by violence, slavery, racism, and nationalism. Until we do this, however, we will never be free as a human species.
The prophet Jesus once said, “If you commit sin you are a slave to sin.” Since today “sin” is a bad word—worse than the actions it describes, we can easily ignore this. I would like to rephrase it. The word sin was defined as separation from God, and the breaking of the laws of God and nature. If one continually breaks the laws of God and nature and cannot help to do so, one is a slave to sin. One is a slave to an outside force and has lost his or her connection to the greater universe and his or her fellow human beings; he or she can never experience the divine union with God of which all meaningful religions speak, so their religion is in vain. The inner voices of the ego—the voices that have been fed into one´s head by others, have taken control leaving him at mercy of other people´s thoughts instead of his or her own, and she is totally, behavior modified. In this state she cannot live out her own idea of fairness, justice and compassion. If one lives in a state where he can no longer make choices he, as Paul Tillich once wrote, is less than human. According to Tillich, the ability for us to make choices is the only thing that separates us from other animals. Without that ability and with the power that we have as a species, we are even worse than the animals.
It is important for us to explore the religion, philosophy or personal code that we follow more deeply until we can internalize the real core of it instead of the core as filtered through the human ego. If we can break free of the negative voices of anger, fear, and the need to be better than everyone else, we can apply the core teachings and live in peace and harmony. The Earth needs this to happen now. I have a feeling that troubling times are coming upon the human family. If we cannot work to dissuade these times together, they just might erase us of the earth, or create conditions so harsh and horrible that it would be better to be dead than alive.
Om Prakash John W. Gilmore, D. Min., is a writer, Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Body Worker, A Reiki Master Teacher and a Teacher of Free Flow Tai-Chi, and the Infinite Nine. He is a student and teacher at Sat Yoga Institute. You can read more articles like this at this e-zine, or in his Journal of Practical Spirituality on his web page at www.dswellness.com. There you will find a link to his Cyber Circle of Creation Spirituality which is a school and a religious service with meditations, messages, music and inspiring opening and closing words. Please join us at The Circle. All are welcome.