Rabbi Brian's Religion-Outside-The-Box Blog: 77% Weekly

35.40 LCK Surprised by Arrogance

2009-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

O God, I am so surprised at how alive and well the arrogant spirit is these days.

I can even see it in the sandbox where sometimes one little child thinks he or she knows what is right for all the other little children in the box. I see it in the intimacy of friendships and loving relationships where one or both partners seeks to control the mind or behavior of the other. And, I am most surprised that arrogance appears to flourish the strongest in the hallowed assemblies of religious communities. It is there, in the inner sanctum of the sacred, where humility seems to suffer its greatest abuse.

So-called holy leaders pronounce with the greatest certainty their gospel of truth. Seldom do they waver or even hesitate in the boldness with which they speak on your behalf, O God. The one thing I have observed about arrogant people is that they are never tentative. They never hesitate in the face of the overwhelming task that finite creatures have in trying to understand the infinite mind of God. They make truth-seeking appear to be absurdly simple. One would think that such an awesome thought would afflict us all with a great sense of humility. Sadly, dear Lord, the arrogant seem to not be so afflicted.

Keep me humble and open to your continual correction and guidance, O Lord. Empty me of my conceit so I can be more filled with your spirit. Don't let me be so full of what I think is right that I cannot see what you think is good.

34.40 God's Name!

2009-11-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing God-beliefs investigation. This one is about God's name. It's good to know about. - RB

While it might seem obvious to some, it's not to everyone: God does not have a particular name.

Naming something is to have dominion over it. (I wish there was another word other than dominion. It seems so stilted, but awkward language is the least of our problems as we try to understand what we mean by the word God.) The logic is that if God had a true name, then saying that name would imply the ability to control God. Therefore, God can't have a name and we ought to be careful whenever we use any name for God.

I want us to look at a fascinating truth about God's name that we find in the Bible. In Exodus 3:14, Moses straightforwardly asked God what he should say God's name is, should the Pharaoh of Egypt ask. God replies in an untranslatable phrase, translated in the King James Bible as, "I am that I am." No name. Just something that the creators of the Popeye would later co-opt. Other translations have the equally enigmatic — but more grammatically accurate according to the Hebrew — phrase, "I will be what I will be."

(Did you notice the Hebrew is in the future tense and the King James translation is in the present tense? Martin Buber wrote that this phrase in the future tense teaches that God is willing to offer comfort in the future to those who will need God to be there for them.)

Erich Fromm, a twentieth century German-American psychologist and humanistic philosopher, believed that God, is just a placeholder for our highest ideals and has nothing to do with the supernatural. He wrote:

"God" is one of many different poetic expressions of the highest value in humanism….

The point is that the English, three-letter word consisting of "gee," "oh," and "dee" is just a placeholder in the same way that these letters in the opposite order are a placeholder into which we place our collective concepts of canines. In Hebrew, the letters "yod," "hay," "vuv," and then another "hay" — also known as the Tetragrammaton — are a different placeholder for the same concept. (Jehovah is an attempt to say this name — YHVH — aloud; traditionally Jews will substitute “Adonai,” the Hebrew word for Lord, instead.)

Think about it: would it matter to God, to the universe, or in the grand scheme of things what placeholder you use? Of course not. That particular groups have different names for God is interesting, but please remember, they are all just arrows that point to the same destination. The arrow isn't the important, the destination is.

It does not matter what you call God — Tao — Allah — The Force — HaShem — Ram — Jehovah — Jesus Christ — Mother Nature — Sally Johansen-Peterson. It doesn’t matter if everyone around you is calling God by the title "Higher Power" and you feel more comfortable with the Aramaic word for father "Abba." (Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke; Abba is also the name of a fabulous, Swedish rock group.)

So why do we use the word God when we refer to God? Look at it this way: the person on the aisle, three rows behind you in a movie theater — his or her name doesn’t matter that much to you because you’re not likely to refer to them. For God, well, we often require a convenient reference, so a name helps.

Moreover, and this is worth remembering, within all monotheistic traditions more than one name placeholder is used for God – God, Lord, Almighty, etc. — and no one thinks this is polytheism, nor are there holy wars within a group over how God is referred.

I use the phrase “(the) God (of your understanding)” to describe God. It allows you, the reader, your own interpretation — which, as you know, I think is very important.

Let me restate the point here: We use the word God as a placeholder. Words are linguistic conventions, containers for ideas. The topic of God is greater than its particular word container.

And to not use the word would lead to greater confusion.

To paraphrase Lewis Carroll in The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland when I say God, I mean nothing more and nothing less than what I mean.

There is room for everyone’s understanding of God and all of those understandings are God.

It doesn't matter to me if you believe God is "out there," "in here," both, or neither — I just want us all to be comfortable understanding that the word God means all of those things. The word God is a placeholder for different people quite possibly meaning different things for each.

I want to make a special note to people who don’t believe in an active, external deity. Please, please, please use the word God to mean what it is that you mean when you use the word God. The reason is that if the only people who use the word God are the people who believe in an active, external deity, then people will only be used to hearing the word God to mean an active, external deity. If, on the other hand, more and more people with active spiritual-religious lives use the word God to mean their highest ideals (or whatever they use the word God to mean) then people will get the sense that the word God can mean something beyond the limited notion of an active, external deity.

To reiterate: I’m not saying whether or not you should believe in an active, external deity. Just that we need to understand that we all have, can have, and should have different understandings of what we mean by the letters gee, oh, dee.

Here's something I have found that might help to explain this:

Science : Truth :: Art : Beauty :: Religion : God.

We know that truth and beauty are concepts. Try to define them and, well, you can't. We know that each is an ideal, something in the distance that can never be contained. The same can be said about God.

Truth is the goal of science. Beauty is the goal of art. Similarly, God is the goal of religion. What we call the goal doesn't matter. And, for that matter, it also doesn't matter if we believe that reaching the goal is attainable.

What matters is that we are facing in the right direction and moving forward.

And, we are.

Spiritual-religious advice for the week: face the right direction.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

33.40 A Stressful Glass of Ice Water.

2009-10-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Pretend you are making the kind of toast where you raise your glass into the air.

If you were holding an average sized glass of ice water, how much do you think it would weigh?

While absolute weight does not vary, the perception of weight does. The glass will seem to be heavier in correlation to how long you hold it. If you hold it skywards for just a moment, it would seem light as a feather. Conversely, it would feel like a feat of Hercules if you had to hold it up and out until the ice had completely melted.

Back in 2007, in issue 09/40 of The 77% Weekly, I wrote about frogs and boiling water as an analogy for how we deal with stress. If you raise the temperature slowly enough the frogs wouldn’t notice (to their own detriment and boil to death). However, if you raised the temperature quickly or dropped the frogs into boiling water, they would save themselves and jump out. You can read more about it on Wikipedia.

Let me offer the heavy glass of ice water as an analogy with a similar moral: the stress in our lives, in small increments, weighs down on us unless and until we put the proverbial glass down.

The stressors in our lives won’t stop happening. But we do have some ability to choose how we deal with them.

Let me repeat that: The stressors in our lives won’t stop happening. But we do have some ability to choose how we deal with them.

Stress is real. Ignoring it and pretending that it doesn’t weigh on us will not work. Imagine telling someone who has been holding up that glass of ice water with an outstretched arm for five minutes that the glass is light and they should ignore the discomfort they feel.

We need to learn to release our stressors before they cause us more harm than necessary.

Spiritual-religious exercise for the week: admit to yourself that all the little stressors in your life can add up.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

32.40 LCK Tears that Help

2009-10-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

Dear God, I'm not usually at a loss for words but the other day the right words simply would not come.

A dear friend related a personal tragedy to me. It broke my heart to hear her tell her story. The tears welled up in my eyes and I ached for her. I wanted to say something that would take her awful pain away but no perfect words would come out of my mouth. All of my training, all of the books I had ever read, the many life experiences I have had in life, none of it came to my defense, or more importantly, to her aid.

I felt so foolish and helpless.

I had plenty of tears but no words. I didn't want the tears. Lord. I wanted the words. But only tears came. No words came. And then she finally said to me, "Thank you." And I said to her, "But I didn't say anything." She said, "Yes you did." Then she cried and a great peace came over her. I learned in that moment that it was not a time for saying. It was a time for doing. So I did the most eloquent thing I knew how to do. I wept.

31.40 Help

2009-10-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

We all need help from time to time.

You.

Me.

And, yes, even those people we don’t want to help or have compassion for.

We all need help from time to time.

Some of us, need help more frequently.

Some of us are brave enough to ask.

Some of us try to never ask.

But, we all need help from time to time.

All of us.

It behooves us all to remember that.

Spiritual-religious exercise for the week: ask for help.

30.40 God Changes!

2009-09-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing God-beliefs investigation. This one is AWESOME to know about. Many Bibilically literate folk have never learned this stuff. - RB

Just as our image of God changes as we age, the God of the Bible ages and changes — in attitude, attributes, location, and sovereignty.

Some see these character changes throughout the Bible as controversial or inflammatory. But, really, they’re not. (Read this and you'll see why.)

Character changes.

God starts out in the Bible as a jealous totalitarian ruler. That's the Biblical God that many are familiar with — the one who does all the smoting and the smiting. Do something wrong, disobey, and you are killed, turned into salt, swallowed by the earth, etc. At this stage in the Bible God is corporeal — God walks, smells, and even closes Noah’s ark door with a hand — a fact that people aren't as familiar with.

If you look at the last word of Genesis 7:16 in Hebrew you will see that it is ushc (b’yad’o) — which means “with his hand.” I can find no English translation that reflects this, so you’ll either have to study Hebrew, ask someone you trust who has studied Hebrew, or just take my word for it.

The traditional explanations as to why the Bible describes God having a physical form is that the Bible was written in language meant for the common people to be able to understand. The inference is that you, asking the question, are more evolved than the common person. (Yikes!) As I understand it, the Bible is humanity's attempt to talk about God. And as time has progressed, we have come to more and more sophisticated understandings of God and reality.

Next, beginning with the stories of Abraham, we see God portrayed more like a constitutional monarch: there are rules and contracts to be followed. If the covenant is kept, then God will do God's part for the people. If agreements are broken, God will follow through appropriately. If you know the story of God and Abraham negotiating the number of goodly people who would have to be found in a city so God would spare it, then you’ve got a good sense of this stage of God in the Bible.

Then, starting in the book of Exodus, the Bible portrays God as the nameless deity of history. God, now, is mainly bodiless — except when God speaking out of the wind allows Moses to see God's back. God self-identifies as the God who took the people out of their constrictions and as the God who was the God of each patriarch and matriarch. This version of God won't tell Moses what God's name is. Just that God is.

Geographic and other changes.

Throughout ancient times, gods were always associated with specific lands. The earliest biblical texts are very clear about this. (And remember, in the ancient Near East, the God of Israel was just one of many gods.) If you moved, you might take a favorite idol or two with you, but you did not continue to worship the major deities of your homeland; instead you worshipped the God into whose jurisdiction you moved. (It's similar to sports teams today — people root for the home team.)

A fantastic example is found in II Kings 5 where Naaman , a commander of a foreign army, is healed of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha. Having had this religious experience, he wants to return home with the God of Israel. So, very creatively, Naaman solves his predicament by packing two mule-loads of earth to go, thereby allowing him taking the God of Israel to go.

After the destruction of the first Jerusalem temple < and the mass exile to Babylon in the late 500s BCE, the unthinkable question is asked in Psalm 137:4 — and made famous in the musical Godspell — "How can we sing, sing the Lord's song, in a foreign land?" Barring packing up a lot of dirt, it seemed impossible.

Today, we take for granted the solution to this problem: God is not limited by geography. It was only after the Babylonian exile that the notion of God being the only one and true God really took off.

(Holdover notions of God’s divinity being somehow more potent in a certain land is seen to this day in the practice of Jews and Muslims facing a certain direction in prayer and in Jewish cemeteries offering the family of the deceased the option to have some dirt from the land of Israel interred with the coffin.)

So what's the point here?

The point is that just as you and I change and in changing have different understandings of the reality we live in, so too does that which is portrayed as unchanging — God — change.

I'm on a bit of a mission to help people to see that the word God isn't as monolithic (or scary) as it might at first appear.

Spiritual-religious advise for the week: try to be comfortable with the fact the only true constant is change.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

29.40 LCK Child Abuse

2009-09-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

"Can I divorce my parents?" That is what the young girl said to me. Lord. She wanted to divorce her mother and father. Her parents had abused her in many terrible ways as a child and they continued to do so to this very day. She felt that she was forever bound to them because they had given birth to her several years ago. Her parents thought that by giving birth to her they were permitted and entitled to brutalize her. This grieving, wounded girl didn't understand that her parents had already divorced her through their abusive conduct. Their parental contract had already been broken by their shameful behavior. The names 'mother' and 'father' were no longer appropriate names for them to wear. I told the young girl, O God, that we usually deserve the names we are given by others to wear. Names like: 'loafer,' 'freeloader,' 'addict,' and 'friend' are all earned names. I said to her that she didn't need to divorce and separate herself from her parents at all. They had already done that a long time ago. They had given up and discarded the good names they no longer deserved to wear. No child should ever have to divorce her parents, dear Lord. No parent should ever make them want to.

28.40 On the side of the road.

2009-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Years ago, my wife Jane and I were on the highway when her car's engine stopped.

Our forward moving velocity quickly approached zero. Cars approaching us from behind were forced to swerve to avoid hitting us.

Jane managed to put on the hazard lights before panic overtook her.

I sprang, surreally, into calm action.

When I noticed that a large truck had purposely stopped behind us to block traffic, I told Jane to put the car in neutral, quickly exited my side, and pushed the car to the side of road.

While on the shoulder, Jane’s panic subsided and she telephoned for help.

We made nervous conversation until the tow-truck arrived. Then, my legs started to shake. Shortly thereafter, my whole body started to convulse. Although I had been "cool" under pressure, afterwards on the side of the road, once I was safe, I fell apart.

I have found that many of us have this "on the side of the road" experience — falling apart only when we feel safe enough to do so.

In my counseling with couples, I have frequently found this to be true. Often it is only when one member feels loved, truly loved — on the proverbial side of the road — that they feel safe enough to deal with old trauma. As another example, often after the death of a loved one, people find they are able to handle the funeral arrangements, and it is only later, once they are alone, that their loss becomes real.

No one likes to fall apart. We might like the cathartic feeling we have afterwards, but the process isn’t enjoyable. With this in mind, there is no spiritual-religious advice for the week. Instead, I encourage you to find or make for yourself a safe place — a side of the road — where you can fall apart when you need to.

Spiritual-religious advice for the week (which reads a bit like the copy of a horror movie poster): remember that sometimes it is only when you are relaxed that you can feel anxieties you thought you got away from.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

27.40 Steam Power!

2009-08-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Less than ½ of 1% more.

Water at 211 degrees is still water.

But, add just one degree more, and it boils and becomes steam.

That one degree is what powered the steam engines that revolutionized the world. (Steam is still vitally important today, nuclear powered ships run off the steam produced from the reactors.)

One extra degree changed so many things.

What in your life can you give one more degree of effort and thereby revolutionize your world?

Spiritual-religious advice for the week: give one degree more effort to something worthwhile in your life.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

(Special thanks to Nagy who pointed this concept out to me.)

26.40 Some Notions of God

2009-08-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing God-beliefs investigation. This section comes from the book I'm working on writing and workshops I've run. - RB (Here's a link to my previously published book.)

There is a classic Indian fable, made popular in America by 19th century poet John Godfrey Saxe, about six blind people each encountering a different part of an elephant and expressing a different hypothesis on the nature of the elephant based on that one part. "A snake," says one with the trunk. "A tree," says the one with a leg. "A wall" says the one at its side. The pachyderm is, in fact, none of those.

We each can have a different interpretation and relationship with God. (And, for all you monotheists, God can still be one.)

Part of why I'm writing this article is in attempts to help you to see that the terribly divisive phrases, "I believe in God" or "I don't believe in God" are somewhat meaningless as different people quite possibly have different notions with regard the God they do or don't believe in.

Most common Gods.

According to a Baylor University Institute for Studies of Religion survey, America's most common four notions of God are: authoritarian, distant, benevolent, and critical.

Note: assumed in this study are a few commonly understood notions about God. These notions are that there is only one God and that God is good, all-powerful, and all-knowing. (Remember: you are not required to maintain any of these beliefs or to feel guilty or awkward if you don't believe.)

Here's a run-down of each:

Authoritarian God.

Angry at earthly sin and willing to inflict divine retribution. (Approximately 32 out of 100 who profess to believe in God most closely align themselves with this image. Regionally in the United States, this image is predominant in the South.)

Distant God.

A faceless, cosmic force that launched the world but leaves it alone. (Approximately 23 out of 100 who profess to believe in God most closely align themselves with this image. Regionally in the United States, this image is predominant in the West.)

Benevolent God.

Sets absolute standards for man, but is also forgiving — engaged but not so angry. (Approximately 25 out of 100 who profess to believe in God most closely align themselves with this image. Regionally in the United States, this image is predominant in the Mid-West.)

Critical God.

The classic bearded old man, judgmental but not going to intervene or punish. (Approximately 16 out of 100 who profess to believe in God most closely align themselves with this image. Regionally in the United States, this image is predominant in the East.)

Other pieces of the Elephant.

While those four archetypes are the most common views of God, they are pretty sterile. In my conversations with people over the years, I've gathered many more colorful attempts to encapsulate the limitless — different notions that different people have come up with as stabs at trying to define God. And, that's why I am going to ask you in a moment to do the same.

None are exact — none are right — none are perfect.

All are wonderful in their own way.

Remember: I am not asking that you subscribe to any one of these notions, just that you read them.

Great Clockmaker

The existence of a clock necessitates the existence of a clock-maker — even if we never see or know this clock-maker. Similarly, the existence of the world necessitates some sort of creator. Moreover, God is like the clock maker who made the clock, wound it, and then stepped away.

Reluctantly Invited Guest

God is treated like an unwanted guest invited to the dinner party — invited out of guilt and then treated poorly.

Highest ideals

Twentieth Century German-American psychologist and humanistic philosopher Erich Fromm tells us that God is “not the internalized voice of an authority whom we are eager to please and afraid of displeasing; it is the voice of our total personality expressing the demands of life and growth."

Everynothing

Sixth Century BCE philosopher and author of Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tsu wrote that God is simply perfect and beyond words:

There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternal. Present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it God.

Post-it^® Note

Sometimes I put a Post-it Note up in a place so that I will be certain to see it repeatedly. And, for a while, I see that note.

But then, after time, the note seemingly disappears; it becomes part of the background.

God, while plainly visible to me from time to time in different manifestations, similarly disappears.

Television

I don’t understand the entirety of how my television turns the wires that come into it into pictures and sound. I can still enjoy it. I can feel the same about God.

God, driving the cart

God is the driver of the cart that I am sitting on the back of... I can clearly see where I've been, but not where I'm going. I wonder about how much faith I have in the driver.

Pet : me :: me : God

My dogs don't understand why I have to take them to the veterinarian for shots that hurt. (Of course, this is somewhat of a guess as my dogs don't express themselves in words as much as they really drag their feet when we get to the vet's office.) Neither likes visiting the vet much more than I enjoy trips to my dentist to get the plaque scraped from my teeth.

Perhaps God causes me "pain" for reasons that are beyond my understanding?

God-hole

While I cannot define what it is that I mean when I use the word God, I do know that there is a hole inside of me.

Nothing seems to fill that hole's emptiness no matter what I try to cram into it — food, thinking, or any compulsion.

It is a God-hole.

I cannot describe the emptiness of that hole, but I can know the shape of its perimeter in me.

Nothing but God will fit this God-shaped hole.

I-Thou

Martin Buber, the turn of the 20th century philosopher, proposed that interactions between people and others can be categorized into two groups – I-It and I-Thou. The I-It relationship is the normative interaction between objects; it is a connection of experience and using. The I-Thou, while more rare, is when the two parties fully accept each other — and this connection he explains is an aspect of God. Others are not obstacles on the path to the divine, they are the path!

Magicalness.

God is that mercurial, magical difference between a body and a corpse, between a painting and art, between unconsciousness and consciousness.

God, Me, and You.

William Blake once was asked if he believed Jesus was the only true God. His response is at first enigmatic, but indeed brilliant: "Jesus Christ is the only true God…and so am I. And so are you."

A friend.

God is a friend I can reach out to and be with at any time I feel the need to reach out and share.

A daughter, the mall, & God.

A woman I know had an "a-ha" moment understanding her relationship with God after her daughter asked to be taken to the mall yet again. "I realized that all I ever do is ask God for things…that must be very annoying."

God-ding.

Predicate theology is the notion of “acting” godly. God, not as a noun, but as an active verb.

As an analogy, a person can act Scrooge-like whether Ebenezer Scrooge was an actual person or not. Accordingly, people — no matter what they believe or don't believe — can act godly.

Not the "good" child.

My friend, Alan, expressed that he had spent his entire life, up until his father died, being a "good child" in God's eyes – never complaining or asking for anything. After his father died he cursed God for making death. "It was only after my cursing God that I found I could have a real relationship with my Higher Power."

Not it.

One of the wisest women I know said — and I'm basing how wise she is on this phrase that I overheard her say — "I don't know much about God, I just know that I'm not it."

Ground-of-us.

Twentieth century German-born, U.S. Protestant theologian, Paul Tillich referred to God not as being out there, but as being "the ground of our being."

Panentheism.

Panentheism is the notion that everything is in God and that God is in everything. (This is not the same as pantheism — without the "en" — which maintains that "everything is God.”) Panentheism maintains that there is more to God than the material universe, that God is transcendent and non-personal, and that God is both the creator and the original source of universal morality.

Humorous Answers.

On a website, I found a collection of the following "notions of God" that were written as jokes. Nonetheless, they encapsulate some profound views of the divine:

Noncommittal — God loves humanity, but isn't "in love" with humanity.

Codependent — God enables us to sin so that we'll need rescuing. 

Common-law — Since the beginning of time, God has assumed sole responsibility for Godlike acts, but has not legally been established as "God."  

Sports — God occasionally intervenes when a big play is needed. 

Chairgod of the board — God sets the agenda, but doesn't get involved in day-to-day operations. 

Some of your own.

How about you?

Write down any encapsulations of God that you like or that work for you.

_________

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
________________________________________________________.

__________

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
________________________________________________________.

__________

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
________________________________________________________.

__________

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
________________________________________________________.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

25.40 Dying Slowly.

2009-08-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

This poem by Pablo Neruda is worth printing out and reading a few times.

(Print it out, you’ll read it better that way.)

You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.

You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.

You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you don’t know.

You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.

You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…

Spiritual-religious advice of the week: reverse the dying process! Promise you’ll do one of those things this week.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

24.40 Greener grass.

2009-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I crochet my own yarmulkes. I learned to crochet as an elective in 5^th grade and picked it back up a few years ago.

While crocheting, I thought to myself, "Crocheting is all right, but knitting, knitting is really cool."

So I set out to learn how to knit.

And, I did.

What I learned was:

1) I have a tendency to discount what I do and know.

2) I think that what I don't know how to do is cooler than what I do know.

3) I don’t like knitting.

I know I'm not alone in 2/3 of those.

Few of us are satisfied with our current situation; we always think things could (and should) be improved.

We all think the grass is greener on the other side. We act as though things might be different (and we would be better off) if they were other than how they are. This longing runs counter to the spiritual-religious law of acceptance.

Spiritual-religious exercise for the week: Notice your tendency towards longing for other than what you have. (When the situation arises, notice what your thought process is, and what you tell yourself about it.) The first step toward change is to notice what needs to be changed.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

23.40 Belief in God.

2009-07-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing God-beliefs investigation. It's good to read NO MATTER WHAT you believe or don't believe. Really. - RB

Do you cringe when someone asks if you believe in God? If so, you’re not alone.

It often seems like the answer divides us more than it brings us together, so why answer?

I believe we all ought to answer in the affirmative (and that we can do so with a clear conscious) to prove that there just might be more common ground between "us" and "them" than "they" would have "us" realize.

Let’s examine why.

(Note: it doesn’t matter which group you believe is “us” and which you believe is “them.”)

Belief in God: what does it mean?

At its etymological root, the word belief — among other definitions — means 1) "to hold dear," 2) "to desire," 3) "to have faith," and 4) "to accept as true."

Therefore, the sentence, "I believe in God" can mean any of the following:

"I hold dear to the notion that there is a potential for each of us to act in accordance with the highest expression of human ability."
"I desire to feel loved by an unending love."
"I have faith that God revealed the Bible as a book upon which I should base my life."
"I accept as true the notion that an active, all-powerful and all-good, external deity exists."

As you can see, there's quite a bit of disparity in those four statements.

For example, the people who agree with statement #1 and those who agree with statement #3 might both say, “I believe in God."— even though they have very dissimilar creeds.
And that's part of my point — depending on whom you ask, the meaning of the letters G-O-D and B-E-L-I-E-V-E can vary greatly. And that variation makes the question moot.
(Most people never realize this.)

The science of belief.

Great books and articles have been published about the brain’s desire for answers and how our DNA is preprogrammed to believe in something greater than us. This is a truly interesting way of looking at all of this and I give it a lot of credence.

Some scientists argue that humans can need an active, external deity so much that, regardless of the actual existence of this ultimate parental figure, they will convince themselves to believe. These scientists believe that God is created from fundamental human longing. (This is a essentially a modern, über-scientific take on the classic notion that we created God in our own image.) The theory is that humanity, as a group, experiences such a strong need for God that it causes us to believe in God.

One of my hobbies is the study of group dynamics. It is very interesting to observe the way a group tends to perceive its authority figure(s) as all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. For example, imagine that a group of people is told to go to a room and wait for something, but nothing happens. As long as the group has trust in the formal authorities that sent them to the empty room, that group will invariably put forth a theory to explain away the inconsistency: “The powers-that-be planned for this to happen to teach us a lesson.”

In doomsday cults where predictions are made for specific date, what happens if the expected event doesn't happen? Does the group disband? No. Instead, they come up with an explanation that shows how the previous prediction was somehow misunderstood.

Why belief doesn't matter.

It really doesn’t matter whether or not you believe in an active, external deity's existence. (I know that may seem a bit shocking, but it's still true.)

Let me explain why.
Let’s look at this logically starting with the following two statements:

Either an active, external deity exists or not.
Either you believe in an active, external deity or not.

If an active, external God exists, you still have to get through your day, right? And if there is no active, external deity? Well, you still have the same mind-boggling number of things to do from the time you wake-up until the time you go to sleep. So, really, God’s existence as an external deity involved in your life doesn’t matter.

(For a further exploration of this, click here to read my article about why it behooves us all to believe in Santa)

The second statement is also irrelevant. Believing in an active, external deity doesn't automatically make someone a better person. It doesn’t mean the believer becomes incapable of lying, theft, or worse, murder. And lack of belief in an active, external deity doesn't preclude someone from living a god-like or godly life.

Belief and actions aren't necessarily synonymous. But you knew that already.

It is possible to live a truly religious life filled with spiritual completeness without believing in or ever mentioning an active, external deity. Just as it’s possible to believe in God and still be a schmuck.

A final note on belief in God

I’ve attempted to explain that there is little reason to bother defining yourself as someone who does — or does not — believe in God. And there’s no point in pigeonholing others based on their answers either. Remember, actions are more important that words.

Treat yourself and others as though they are the incarnation of the divine.

22.40 LCK The Terrible Feeling of Loneliness

2009-07-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

My house seems so empty, dear Lord. My life's partner has been away for a few days and there are no sounds in the house except my own. How empty a house can be when there are no sounds in it except ones own. I have been thinking lately of the many people I know whose mates have died and have left their partners with soundless, empty houses. Empty houses that will never be filled again with the sounds of give-and-take partnerships. Empty houses that are never quite filled when only one person is in them. How empty a kitchen table can be, dear Lord, when there is no one on the other side of it looking back. How much less melodious a song is when there is no one else nearby to hum along with. How much less funny a humorous story seems to be when there is no other person's laughter to mingle with our own. Be with us lonely people, dear Lord. Sit across the table from us. Hum with us. Laugh with us. We need to hear some sounds other than our own. Make some noise, dear God. We need to know we are not alone.

21.40 The "What I Know About God" List.

2009-07-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've found that a lot of adults don't know what they know about God. (Even the ones who say they don’t believe in God don't know what they mean by that.) That's why I've come up with this simple spiritual-religious exercise, The “what I know about God” List.

Don't worry, you don't have to believe in anything to do this, nor do you have to worry that I'm going to try to convince you of anything. This exercise is just something to give your spiritual-religious muscles a workout.

Let's start with this analogy.

Sometimes when I go to the grocery store, I choose to keep my shopping list in my head, instead of writing down the items I need. As I maneuver around the market, I mutter the list to myself, like a madman, so that I won’t forget an item. I continue to repeat the list as I add my items to my cart, because at this point the list has become an unalterable mantra. It’s exhausting.

When I take the time to write the list down, my shopping experience is always a little more comfortable.

Writing something down frees your mind and leads to having a much more pleasant experience. That's exactly the idea behind this — "The What I Know About God list."

Many people are reticent at first. And we can certainly come up with reasons not to try this simple exercise. But let me encourage you to give it a go. This is not a permanent, once-and-for-all type of list — it’s just a chance for you, in this moment in time, to express what you know about God.

And, yes, I really do recommend you write out your answers. (That's what the grocery list analogy was about.)

In a moment, I'm going to give you a chance to write down a few things that you know about God. But, before that I have two recommendations that usually help people get started:

1. Write out five different declarative sentences about God a day for the next five days. Don't worry whether or not they’re good sentences. Just do it. Then, after a week's time, look at your 25 sentences. Pick out your favorites and place them on the list below.

2. E-mail your friends and ask them, "What do you know for certain about God." When a person's response resonates with what you also know to be true in your soul, write it down and add it to your list. (Don’t be afraid to ask the question, in my experience I have found that adults are often starved for the opportunity to converse about God.)

The list.

In the first column, list the things that you are certain know God is or does. In the other column, place all the things you are certain that God isn't or doesn't.

(Remember, this works a lot better if you print this out and fill it in.)

"What I Know About God"
I know God is /does:	I know God isn't / doesn't:

Spiritual-religious advice for the week: Fill in your list.

When you are done, feel good about yourself that you now have a better understanding (at least for today) of what it is that you mean by the word God than most people do.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

20.40 The Reality of God.

2009-06-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Our investigation into God-beliefs that will continue on and off for the rest of the year begins in earnest with this short article and will be revisited in greater depth in issues 21, 23, 26, 30, 34, 38.- RB

The reality of God isn't defined, but experienced.

It doesn't matter what your beliefs about God are, the reality of God isn't defined, but experienced.

Spiritual-religious advice for the week: stop thinking you can think your way to an understanding of God, reality, and the world and try experiencing it!

19.40 Religious Baggage.

2009-06-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This article serves as an introduction into an investigation into God-beliefs that will continue in issues 20, 21, 22, 26, 30, 34, and 38. My hypothesis is that most adults have stagnated in their theology and I hope to jump-start you back into thinking about these things. - RB

I want to share with you a beautiful spiritual-religious story; it is an ancient, religious legend of some people who live in the hills of northern Thailand. Read it slowly and take it in.

Long ago, one human being wronged another and tried to un-do that error. But, the record of the error was lodged in time, never to be undone. While amends were made, a scar forever remained in history. Time passed, more blunders occurred, and the toll of humanity’s sin grew. After a number of generations, the amount of wrong in the world was seemingly infinite, and humanity could hardly stand to breathe.

The heavens had compassion upon humankind and wanted to help.

A deity had an idea: to balance the scale, an infinite sacrifice — something beyond human ability — would be required. This deity, infinite by definition, became human – finite – a man. And then, as a human being, this divine being killed himself thereby making an infinite sacrifice on behalf of humanity and forever wiping out their collective debt.

I think this is a beautiful tale of a god's love and compassion for humanity. Now take a moment to note your own response to this story: favorable, lovely, charming….

I have to admit that I’ve purposely misled you a bit.

While it is true that this is a legend of a group of people who live in the hills of northern Thailand, I didn’t tell you that those people are modern day Christians living in northern Thailand. It's also the story of many Christians in the rest of Thailand, and also of Christians the world over. If you re-read it, you’ll find it is really the story of Jesus dying for the sins of humanity.

Here’s my point — we tend to have baggage with regard to organized religions with which we are familiar. A dear reader of this newsletter told me that she cringes whenever her born-again relatives say “God bless you,” but she was fine when religious folk in India bestowed upon her their exotic blessings.

If you are like most people, your response to this beautiful tale of God's love is not the same as your take on the basic Christian doctrine of John 3:16 translated into over 1,100 languages and read by billions upon billions of people — "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son."

A favorite quote of mine speaks to this:

If we dislike someone, the way they hold their spoon might offend us. If we like someone, they could drop a plate of food on our lap and we wouldn’t care.

In other words, our preconceived perceptions get in the way.

This is very important to realize — our assumptions that things, people, or religions are a certain way can make us see them as only that and not necessarily as they actually are.

It wasn't until after I was able to drop my baggage about Jesus that I was able to see this story for what it is — a beautiful Midrash that speaks about God's love and compassion for humanity.

As in airports, I will advise you to keep your eyes on your own baggage.

Baggage can tarnish and ruin the most beautiful aspects of religion.

(And, please, for the love of God, let’s not let that same baggage get in the way of what I’m talking about here. I know some folks can get confused when a Jew, not to mention a rabbi, mentions Jesus in a favorable light. Let’s not get bogged down in that.)

With love,

Rabbi Brian

N.B. What I have written reminds me of the article by Horace Miner about the bizarre culture of the Nacirema. If you enjoy anthropology at all, I encourage you read "Body Ritual among the Nacirema .")

18.40 LCK Read My Lips

2009-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I was talking to you in a public place the other day. Lord. My words were so softly spoken I could barely hear the words myself. My lips were moving quickly to express some urgent feeling I wanted to share with you when a woman interrupted my soliloquy and said to me: "Pardon me, were you speaking to me?"

"No," I said, "I was just speaking to myself."

I wasn't really just speaking to myself, O God.

I mean, I was speaking to myself but I was also speaking to you, too. But I didn't say that to the lady. I don't know why I didn't tell her. She certainly looked like a nice enough lady. I think I was a little embarrassed. I was caught off guard with my spiritual side exposed. But, in this two-dimensional, materialistic world I was quickly brought down to earth by her question. I felt uncomfortable. I felt as though she wouldn't have understood where I was in that special moment of my spiritual reverie. I also felt disturbed to have been removed by her from the sacred place I had been lifted to and abruptly forced by her to return to a place of such ordinariness. I should have told her the truth. Maybe my truth would have lifted her to a better place as well.

Help me, dear Lord, to keep speaking to you in public places. Help me to have the courage to simply let others read my lips and to not be bothered about their wondering about my private wonderings.

17.40 Frustration!

2009-06-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

We all get frustrated in our day-to-day lives.

Why? I think it might be because we all have expectations on how things ought to happen, but reality is not affected by our wishes. Consequently, we get frustrated.

This week, as a spiritual-religious exercise, I want you to practice getting frustrated. Just to practice.

(You don’t have to.)

Let's face it, you are going to get frustrated anyway; so here is a chance for you to learn about yourself in a safe environment.

What you will learn in this upcoming exercise is going to be personal to you. You will learn answers to the question, “what do I really do when I get frustrated?” (A lot of us think we know, but frustration isn’t a thinking, it’s a feeling.)

Here’s what I've learned about when I get frustrated:

· I chastise myself for not being clever enough to think myself through whatever problem I’m having .

· I get excited fantasizing of having solved the problem and feeling accomplished in having done so.

· I spend time trying and re-trying solutions that I already know won’t work and then chastise myself for rehashing instead of solving the problem.

· I tend to hold my breath a little bit and don’t notice it until I make an audible, forceful exhale.

Now it’s your turn.

Try to figure out the following:

What is the next number in the following series:

· 1

· 11

· 21

· 1211

· 111221

· ___________

Note your reaction until you either figure it out or give up on it. I advise that when you do either (figure it out or stop trying), you spend a few moments writing a recollection of your experience.

Please notice your reaction to both the problem and to this entire exercise of learning from your reaction.

Spiritual-religious advise for the week: try to learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of being frustrated.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

For those of you still wondering about the answer? The solution will be revealed in the next issue of The 77% Weekly.

16.40 Get Out.

2009-05-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know of many, many people whose greatest spiritual-religious experiences have been when they were out in nature.

(Have you had a sense of spiritual-religious connection in nature? If so, then you might be one of those people.)

Oddly enough, many of those same people haven’t been out in nature in a long time nor have plans to be out in nature in the near future.

Isn't that bizarre?

If you like a certain readily available food that is good for you, but you do not eat that food, what does that say about you?

Please, please, if you are one of those people whose greatest spiritual-religious experiences have been when you were out in nature, get out to nature.

Spiritual-religious exercise for the week: If you know of a spiritual-religious activity that fulfils you, schedule it.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

15.40 LCK The Joy of Playfulness

2009-05-11T04:00:00.001-07:00

I was watching the little children stepping on their shadows, dear Lord. They were actually trying to run after their little child-like shadows. Their game went on and on for several minutes. They were lost in their playfulness. I looked at their faces and I saw my face reflected in one of them.

But all of a sudden my face vanished and it wasn't my face at all. My vision of my own childhood passed away as quickly as it came. My own playful spirit vanished too. Just a vapor for a moment extinguished by adult realities.

I miss that little child in me.

I miss those playful moments when the most serious thought I had was to successfully slip away from my own shadow.

I think I understand why adults look so longingly at children at play and why children absolutely never look the same way at adults who are busy working. I think children understand something the rest of us adults don't.

Please, dear God, revive some of the child in me so I can remember and understand what a magnificent gift I once had and, hopefully, can have again.

Love,

Larry

larry@rotb.org

14.40 Religion?

2009-05-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

If you are pressed for time and can only read some of today’s article, skip the beginning and go straight to the section towards the end entitled, “Religion Defined.” -- RB

There is no real history as to the origin of religion. So, here’s my version:

You are in a cave. It’s raining. You are scared. Really scared. Thunder. Lightning. You are terrified. Those with you huddled around the fire are also worried, distressed, and anxious.

Someone suggests asking the tree outside the cave for help; since this makes as much sense as anything else, you do.

Together, you beg the tree that seems unaffected by the deluge to make the water stop pouring down from the sky.

And, miraculously — or by coincidence (it's hard to tell which) — the rain lets up. The tree, it seems, helped.

As a symbolic way of thanking the tree (and perhaps to curry favor with the tree in the future) you place ashes from your fire at its base. This both nurtures the tree and keeps you remembering the importance of gratitude.

The next time it rains, you know what to do.

Religion is born.

Note: There is a difference between religion (connection with the holy) and organized religion (a set of goals and paths to the holy). The main difference is the inclusion of the word organized.)

The view that the origins of religion is based in totemism was put forth by 20th Century Polish anthropologist Bronisław Kasper Malinowski . He theorized that as societies mature, what once was considered magic becomes religion. He continued to say that what once was considered religion becomes science.

And, I think he is right.

I would also offer that we live in society so removed from the origins of religion that we frequently lose sight of the magic in our lives.

Religion Defined.

From the short tale about the tree above, we can learn what religion is really about. Religion, when you boil it down, is about a goal and a path to that goal.

I know that might seem too easy an answer, but it’s true.

· Religion = Path --> Goal

Religion is about a goal and a path to that goal.

This is what people mean when they say, "She exercises religiously." The goal is physical fitness, the path is physical activity like jogging or tennis or skiing.

And, right away we notice something. There can be more than one path to the same goal. If your goal is physical fitness, you can do many things to achieve it.

Moreover, let's examine the goal of physical fitness itself. For some the goal of physical fitness is bulking up and looking buff. For others, the goal of physical fitness might be having a healthy heart. For others, the goal of physical fitness might be flexibility.

Let me present an example where (I think) the path and goal are clear: this newsletter. The goal of The 77% Weekly is: "To encourage you to take your religious life into your own hands — helping you create paths and goals that fit your lifestyle — in order to help you find and be with (the) God (of your understanding)." The path: " this e-newsletter of something spiritual-religious to think about, delivered 40/52 weeks a year."

Now, let's look go back to examine the story of the rain and the tree. The goal was "keeping it from raining" and the path "pleading with the tree."

Or, the goal might be "finding comfort" or "being less frightened."

And, the path could be "imagining results" or "petition prayer."

You can begin to see how what was at first simple, actually is open to interpretation.

Triggers

There is one more element we need to add to our definition that religion is about a goal and a path to that goal. We need to take into account triggers.

Chronologically, a trigger is the first element of any religious path towards a goal. A trigger reminds you of a path and points you towards a goal. It's what triggers you.

In our example about the tree, the trigger could be the rain or feeling the sense of fear.

Triggers are either sense or time related. The former start with sensations: seeing, hearing, etc. The latter start with an event: every new moon, at meal times, in winter, etc.

Almost anything can qualify as a trigger event: picking up your keys, touching money, getting into bed, eating something larger than the size of an egg, seeing a string you tied to your finger, April 15, the last Thursday of the month of November, turning on a light switch, hearing a car horn, seeing a rainbow, feeling a twitch in your hand, knowing that the calendar says Tuesday, being scared, etc.

So, to review, triggers remind you of a path and point you towards a goal.

Numinosity.

Of course, the word religion usually has something to do with the numinous, which is just a fancy word for "of or relating to holiness, spirit, and/or God."

So, using what we learned above, the goal of religion — most of the time — is connecting with the numinous — or, as I like to write it — connecting with (the) God (of your understanding).

The paths (including the triggers) to that goal will vary with the individual.

What Real Religion Ought to Be.

Jiddu Krishnamurti, the 20th century writer and lecturer wrote in 1929, "I maintain that Truth is a pathless land."

How true. How true.

The paths and goals of religion are quite illusive and difficult to define.

Nonetheless, I am going to offer some definitions that I like. Hopefully they can help us remember the goal of our spiritual-religious lives.

Real religion is:

"[Real religion is...] seeking the face of God, striving both to live in God’s presence and to be holy.” (Arthur Green)

“Real religion is surrender.” (Muhammed)

“[Real religion is...] recognizing our inherent connectedness and knowing that we belong to the drama of the universe.” (Larry Hoffman )

“False religion is about how to get to heaven and how to avoid hell... real religion is about how to get through life once you've been through hell.” (Author unknown.)

“[Real religion is...] is not about self, but rather, about self-transcendence.” (Linda Thal)

“Real religion ought not shackle or limit people in their coming to an understanding of reality, God, or themselves; true religion sets people free.” (Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer)

Now, try adding a few of your own statements or favorite quotes.

Add your own: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

12.40 LCK Seeing Stars

2009-04-13T04:15:00.000-07:00

from the desk of Larry Keene

Seeing the Stars
Dear God, I have noticed from a lifetime of observing people, that there are two distinctly different kinds of individuals I seem to encounter on a daily basis: those who look upon their circumstances in life and see nothing but mud, and others who look up and around themselves and only see stars. Mud and stars. They are both there, to be sure, but most of us tend to only see one or the other. I saw a woman the other day standing knee-deep in mud but all she could see were stars. I have seen others standing on the crest of a high mountain on a crystal clear night and all they could see was mud. What people see in life,O Lord, doesn't seem to have much to do with where they are in life at all. It seems to have so much more to do with who and what kind of people they are.

Help me, dear God, to see stars even in muddy situations. Give me hope, dear Lord, when I am up to my knees in discouragement. I am not asking you to change my circumstances, I am just asking you to help me to change the way I look at them. Keep me from seeing less when I could be so much more wonderfully blessed by seeing more. Don't let the mud in my life keep the stars from shining for me.

11.40 $2 Angry!

2009-04-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

$2 Angry!

When I drove into the parking lot, the attendant asked me for $10. I handed it to him and he gave me a receipt.

When I drove up to exit, he lifted the gate and I noticed that the posted rate for the amount of time I was there was $8, not $10.

I asked him for my $2 back.

He told me that I should have told him when I arrived that I wasn't going to be there for more than 2 hours. I calmly explained that this was not my fault, but his for asking me for $10 when I drove in, and that I wanted my $2 back.

He pointed to a sign that read, "No refunds given."

“Come on,” I said and waited.

He waited, too.

A car behind me, sensing that no transaction was happening and seeing that the gate had already lifted, honked.

I said, "I'd like your supervisor's number."

He looked at me stone-faced me and waited. (At this point I realized that he had probably done this before, that I wasn’t going to get my $2, and that the longer I waited the longer it would take me to get home. He, on the other hand, was probably paid by the hour; plus a few extra dollars on the side ripping off patrons like me.)

The one beep from the horn behind me multiplied.

"Asshole," I said as I punched the gas and left. (Hey, I'm human — and, like most other human being, I then chastised myself for my being human and losing my cool.)

On the ride home, I called my friend Marla and told her about the incident.

I exclaimed to her, "I can't believe I'm so angry over $2."

She said something very wise that made me feel better, "You have every right to be angry, you were ripped off."

How right she was.

The amount wasn’t the important thing and my telling myself that I shouldn’t be upset was not helping me.

When I'm angry or upset, I often tell myself that I shouldn't be.

And I know I'm not alone.

So many of us commit spiritual-religious violence to ourselves when we tell ourselves that we ought not feel the exact way that we are currently feeling.

What if, instead of berating ourselves, we all heard compassionate voices telling us that it is all right for us to feel exactly as we feel?

Spiritual-religious advice for the week is also the title of a Cat Stevens song: If you want to sing out, sing out.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

10.40 Three things

2009-03-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

There is a song in the musical Godspell that I just love. Chances are, you know it and love it too. It's called “Day-by-Day.”

So simple, so profound, so wonderful.

Day-by-day,
O dear God,
Three things I pray,
To see thee more clearly,
To love you more dearly,
To follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.

While it sounds like Biblical language, this prayer-in-three-parts isn't in the Bible. I've done a little bit of research and found that it was inspired by the prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester who wrote it this way:

May I know you more clearly;
Love you more dearly;
And follow you more nearly.

April 3, officially, is the feast of Saint Richard.

While I don't know much about the traditional ways in which Saint Richard is celebrated, I do think a fitting tribute to him would be for each of us to pray some version of his prayer.

(Really, you can do so regardless of your individual conceptualization of the divine. The prayer works if you use the word God as a placeholder for your highest notions of ethics or if you believe in an active, external deity.)

We can all benefit from "seeing" or "knowing" God more clearly; from loving God more dearly; and "following" God more nearly.

A happy Saint Richard's Day to all of us.

Amen.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

Rabbi Brian's Religion-Outside-The-Box Blog: 77% Weekly

35.40 LCK Surprised by Arrogance

34.40 God's Name!

33.40 A Stressful Glass of Ice Water.

32.40 LCK Tears that Help

31.40 Help

30.40 God Changes!

29.40 LCK Child Abuse

28.40 On the side of the road.

27.40 Steam Power!

26.40 Some Notions of God

Authoritarian God.

Distant God.

Benevolent God.

Critical God.

Reluctantly Invited Guest

Highest ideals

Everynothing

Post-it® Note

Pet : me :: me : God

I-Thou

Magicalness.

God, Me, and You.

A friend.

A daughter, the mall, & God.

God-ding.

Not the "good" child.

Not it.

Ground-of-us.

Panentheism.

Humorous Answers.

Some of your own.

25.40 Dying Slowly.

24.40 Greener grass.

23.40 Belief in God.

22.40 LCK The Terrible Feeling of Loneliness

21.40 The "What I Know About God" List.

The list.

20.40 The Reality of God.

19.40 Religious Baggage.

18.40 LCK Read My Lips

17.40 Frustration!

16.40 Get Out.

15.40 LCK The Joy of Playfulness

14.40 Religion?

Triggers

Numinosity.

Real religion is:

12.40 LCK Seeing Stars

11.40 $2 Angry!

10.40 Three things

Post-it^® Note