baby steps

God didn't exist until God was an idea.

I had to write that down before I forgot it.

In my last post I wrote that I am (or was ) (or still am) on the verge of some big ideas. New neuropathways are slowly being etched into the carbon-based mass inside my carbon-based skull. The pathways are being reinforced, each crevice dug a little deeper, with every repetition of the old words as they collide with one another in a new way.

I was watching the History Channel tonight and there was this segment about how the Earth's moon was created. There is some evidence to support the idea that roughly 4 billion years ago there was a "Great Impact". An "asteroid" for lack of a better term was dislodged from it's orbit around the then-molten Earth by the gravitational pull of the planet Jupiter. It flew toward Earth at 25 thousand miles per hour. The asteroid "nicked" one side of the planet and upon impact was shattered into a million pieces, spinning out into space in a long, arm-like shape. Because the asteroid was made up of metals and because gravity already existed in the universe, the scattered pieces began to amass creating Earth's moon in about a year.

A wise man once told me that science and religion lived in different houses and that I was not to imagine that they lived together. He said I could not be a "Dieistic Creationist". (I think he meant I could not choose to believe that God created atoms and thus the atoms have intelligence and thus the universe was created out of divine intelligence). He said that the Greeks referred to the Heavens as the Cosmos which means Order in Greek. The Greeks understood that the world (the WHOLE world - people, animals, plants, tides) all acted in accordance with natural laws. They knew this thousands of years ago.

But it was considered impious to suggest that lighting was "thrown" by anything other than the mighty hand of Zeus. All the knowledge in the world in ancient Greece was rendered useless.

To believe in God is to believe in the irrational. And for "belief in God" to actually be a belief there has to be behavior to accompany it. (Otherwise it's just an idea). (Hence religion??).

I think I am getting closer to the reason why I cannot accept that science and religion live in the same house. I think - I thiiiiiiiiink it may be because if I attribute the natural order of a universe, a solar system, a planet, a moon, and six million known species to the intentional agenda of a divine being, then I am getting the irrational confused with the rational.

That's the danger. Don't call something that is not rational rational and don't call something that is rational not rational. They are separate. Science and religion do not live in the same house. They are both here ('here' meaning part of my experience) but they are not the same.

God it feels good to get that out. I think some of the pathways are secure.

A word on the Dalai Lama

A friend of mine shared with me recently that she had some fears about living a spiritual life. (It has been suggested to me that I "continue to enlarge my spiritual life" as a solution to my particular brand of self-centeredness). My friend told me that she feared she was not being spiritual enough. She said she was also afraid of getting comfortable - what if she thought she was being "spiritual enough" but it turns out she wasn't and she screws up again?!

I told her that I had those same fears - how will I know if there is enough spirituality in my daily life? Will I know right away if my prayers worked? If I just say them and I don't hum with Divine energy while I'm praying are me prayers good enough? If I could do it better, would I know by now? Will God think that I could pray better and punish me if I don't hum with Divine energy?

One thing my current spiritual adviser has impressed upon me in this last year is that I can invite God into every stream or avenue or area of my life. God can be the thing that connects them all. I don't have to choose what "parts" of my day are for God and what "parts" are for me. (Like that Kahlil Gibran poem I put in one of my posts).

I told my friend these words of wisdom that my friend had shared with me and encouraged her to just let God be a part of everything that she did. I told her that if she did so (brought God into everything) then every act could be prayerful or at the very least spiritually connected. She could be spiritual all day every day. (Not perfect, just aware and humble).

Then I came up with an example.

The Dalai Lama. His Holiness travels all over the world speaking to millions people. I got to see him in Minnesota about ten years ago and I found his presence truly magical. He was this tiny old man in bright red and orange robes with big, coke bottle glasses and I think he was missing some teeth. He was answering questions from audience members and I remeber thinking, "Gaahhd! He seems so . . . normal!"

He spoke English, he said something about McDonald's, I remember he laughed at himself. He was sharing a story about how he had made a mistake and he laughed at himself.

So it dawned on me the other day - if the Dalai Lama travels all over the world and eats McDonald's, and makes mistakes - he doesn't cease to be a holy man just because he does those things.

The Dalai Lama is still the Dalai Lama even when he's in line at Cinnabun in the Newark International Airport.

They are not separate.

If I chose to invite God (or God-awareness) into as many minutes of my day as I can, then it doesn't matter if what I'm "doing" is standing in line at the DMV, or waiting tables, or putting my boyfriend's niece down for a nap.

Thank you to the Dalai Lama for His Holy Human-ness!!

I can do everything today with gratitude and humility - it is my choice.