Metaphors and Stories of the Spiritual World

The spiritual world is filled with stories and metaphors, which some people find intriguing, but others find frustrating. However, when religious thought is codified to simplified doctrines, it can equally prove a dilemma for those not raised with this mindset. From my perspective, it is best to accept the inherent mystery of spiritual language and concepts, which are due to the virtual impossibility of human minds trying to grasp the Infinite.

Let me illustrate this challenge with a metaphor. I have traveled more than many people. In my career as an international banker and later as a company executive, I took as many as 50 – 150 airplane flights per year. I often traveled to other countries and continents. When I returned, I found it difficult to convey adequately the places and cultures I had seen to friends who rarely traveled overseas.

Similarly, in my career in the world of finance, I worked with the invisible world of finance, dealing with millions and tens of millions of dollars in countless financial transactions. I found that trying to explain this financial world was even more challenging than telling about my travels to other parts of the planet. I made public presentations about finance for various audiences, both academic and professional. I found out quickly that using stories and metaphors was crucial to getting my points across to non-financial audiences.

But my most difficult challenge is trying to communicate about the spiritual world, which seems as real to me as foreign continents and the mysteries of finance. However, the challenge to find apt language is more daunting. I have found stories and metaphors are more useful than abstract theories to explain a world where there are no pictures and videos available to convey the hidden wonders of the spirit.

Take for instance trying to describe God: while every known language has words for the Highest Power in the Universe, sometimes it appears that the various concepts of God found around the world are irreconcilable. However, if we consider both the names for God and their meanings as metaphors of a greater Reality, rather than as precise descriptions, the conflict diminishes.

Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Muslims. It literally means "The One Worthy of Worship”. In the Aramaic language used at the time of Jesus, a similar word Alaha was used for the name of God. The Jews have many names for God, such as Yahweh, Adonai, El Shaddai, Elohim, and Emmanuel, each with slightly different meanings. Christians tend to use the Jewish names plus Deus (Latin Catholic), Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit), and others. In Chinese, the name Shang Ti (Hanyu Pinyin: shàng dì) (literally King Above), is the name given for God.

Meanings for the name of God in various cultures include: Lord of the Universe (Ethiopian Orthodox), “The Holy One, Blessed is He” (Orthodox Jews), The One, The Great, The Supersoul, The Ineffable, The Ground of all Being, The Eternal, The Nameless Power, The Great Spirit, The Master of Life, and The Force (in Star Wars).

Not all of these names and concepts are equally appealing, but they all suggest a universal intelligence and power beyond us that connects everything. Fortunately, this Power seems congenial towards us.

Beyond naming or describing the Highest Power, there are equal problems in describing the human spirit or soul, and other spiritual beings like angels without using metaphors. Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, wrote:

Calling an angel a metaphor says nothing one way or another about the reality of angels as such. Metaphor is a primary means by which language deals with what is unseen and yet real. If we say, as the psalmists often did, that God is a rock, and that “rock” in the sentence does not refer to an idol but is a metaphor for God there is no implication that the rock is not real on its own account. Angels as metaphors provide a means for making story and sense out of illusive energies and forces for which abstract terms seem unsatisfactorily thin.

I find that metaphor, poetry, and story work best in trying to convey the Indescribable. We humans must stretch to comprehend a Cosmic Power capable of creating and maintaining billions of galaxies, and yet also to keep the infinitesimal world of subatomic particles functioning. Ambiguity and mystery are inevitable for us in face of such awesome Infinity.

Doing What I Think I Should & Doing the Best That I Can

As a much younger man and an aspiring folk singer, I used to play Green Back Dollar by Hoyt Axton on my Gibson steel-string guitar:

Some people say I'm a no count

Others say I'm no good

But I'm just a natural born traveling man

Doing what I think I should

Oh Lord, doing what I think I should

Well, I don't give a damn about a green back dollar

Spend it fast as I can

For a wailing song and a good guitar

Are the only things that I understand

Oh Lord, the only things that I understand

After nearly a lifetime of studying and observing the human species, and of investigating every possible moral philosophy, religion and form of spirituality, I have come back full circle to simplicity as the best approach to life. “Doing what I think I should” and “Doing the best that I can” may seem like a poor excuse for pursuing my highest ambitions, but the alternative looks worse.

A large number of people have given up trying to live a good life altogether, since it just seems too hard. Others are still striving valiantly to achieve perfection as best they can understand it, but are getting battered by the unceasing storms that blow them off their desired path.

Perhaps it doesn’t need to be this hard. As most of us move into an increasingly complex and complicated (“complexicated”) world in our large metropolitan areas, we have become rich in money and possessions, but poor in free time, leisure and simplicity. Just driving or commuting to work is arduous. Managing a successful career is increasingly challenging. Maintaining relationships, a solid family, and caring for the wider community seems more like an impossible dream than a present reality. Add to this the complications of exploding technology, communications, entertainment, and new systems for doing anything better (which usually disappear overnight), and we moderns are working full-out just to meet our minimum obligations.

The irony is that while we have ever more knowledge and educational degrees, we have less understanding of how to live life well. By contrast, although my parents and grandparents faced life-long economic hardships and health challenges, they didn’t spend their days in unfathomable complexity. They could come home after a hard day’s labour to sing, garden, cook, chat with neighbours, and to keep their simple faith.

Our generation seems in danger of losing what matters most in life. We may own cars that perform beyond the wildest dreams of our grandparents; and we accumulate home furnishings, travel to distant places, and live like royalty in some respects; yet, we suffer the severe modern anxiety where the speed of change has left us utterly baffled.

So I come back to simplicity and to manageable goals. At age 60, I have no illusion that just around the corner I will encounter a new success formula to bring great wealth, better health, effective government, or perfect spirituality. Rather, I see much unhappiness in those still striving for impossible levels of perfection in every dimension.

I remember fondly the days of my youth when I had few “green-backed dollars”, but lots of fun and leisure. I enjoyed never-ending days at the beach or in the mountains with friends and family. We sang around the fire. We cooked simple food. We made plenty of mistakes. But life was good.

I hope for the generations that follow that our material ambitions, our pursuit of education and knowledge, and our desire to achieve human perfection in every aspect don’t ruin what could be a good life.

My advice: just do what you think you should and the best that you can. It doesn’t get much better than that.

From Oppression to Freedom

One of the oldest recurring stories throughout the world is that of liberation from oppression. Countless foreign occupying armies have been driven out and oppressive rulers overthrown around the world in almost every century. In recent history, Simon Bolivar, El Libertador, freed Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia from Spanish colonial rule during the 19^th Century. Slaves in the United States were freed a bit later by Abraham Lincoln; and in the next century racial discrimination was finally outlawed under the leadership of Martin Luther King. Colonial rule was pushed out in India, Africa, and China during the 20th Century. European nations were also freed from Hitler; and later Eastern Europe was freed from Soviet rule.

These liberations brought ecstatic celebration by immense crowds in the streets, in cafes and private homes; normal life now seemed possible again for all the oppressed people. Liberation stories are endlessly wonderful. They are the stuff of legend, song and film.

But there are in fact different kinds of oppression. One type is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. This would include foreign domination, economic exploitation, misrule in companies and in other institutions, unhealthy media influence over our minds, and even extortion by criminal gangs, to mention just a few. This kind of oppression is usually caused externally.

The other kind of oppression is usually on a smaller, more personal scale. It the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc. It may involve mental and emotional oppression, often self imposed, such as addiction to drugs and alcohol. It may occur in families and in other important relationships. Whether oppression is due to large external circumstances, or to more subjective internal causes, it can be equally debilitating.

One of the recurring themes in liberation stories is powerful outside help. Nearly every story points to a Moses, a Gandhi, a Mother Teresa, or some other person or group who rescues people lost in helpless despair. Frequently these stories have religious themes. For instance, when Jesus began his mission of spiritual liberation, he quoted from the Prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Spirituality is almost always linked to this quest for freedom from oppression, involving liberation both for ourselves and also for our friends and families. This quest for freedom may be expressed in political and economic terms, or in psychological, emotional and spiritual language, or often by a combination of these.

There is a powerful desire in the human heart to break free from whatever enslaves us, from whatever is holding us back, in order to soar to the heights like an unfettered eagle. Often, we can recall our spirits soaring at a younger age, perhaps in childhood. But now they seem so heavy and constrained by overpowering circumstances that liberation seems only a distant dream.

Spiritual wisdom has always taught that freedom is reachable, particularly freedom of the heart, soul and mind. Not every struggle for political or economic liberation will succeed during the lifetime of those who struggle. Nor can we all find perfect health and the physical freedom that allows us to run effortlessly. But there is a kind of inner freedom that is reachable despite oppressive outer circumstances.

This is the kind of freedom that Helen Keller discovered despite her blindness and her inability to hear any normal sounds; she reached out of her darkness and found a source of joy and normal functioning notwithstanding these drastic physical limitations. Of course, she had powerful help through a teacher (liberator) who showed her how to train her mind and spirit to thrive despite her seemingly helpless condition.

That is our situation today. No matter how rich or poor we may be, we all face struggles to survive, particularly in our inner world. We face sickness, loneliness, despair, anxiety, loss of direction, old age, and fear of death. So we should all seek spiritual healing and liberation.

Our spiritual quest will involve finding wisdom and powerful help along the way, since it is too difficult to achieve within our own limited resources. But the first step is an aspiration to find freedom of the soul.

As long as the dream of freedom is alive, we have good reason for hope. One day we too may sail to new heights like the eagles that I often see flying outside of my windows. Never give up this quest to go from oppression to freedom!

The Listening Soul

Spiritual seekers are always listening to hear what is crucial to know beyond the mere sensory world. However, we also try to sharpen our ordinary senses to see all that there is to see; to hear every audible sound; to feel the slightest touch; and to taste and smell the wondrous scents around us. These too inform our souls.

But ultimately, to survive and grow spiritually we need to “hear” what is beyond ordinary hearing or seeing. The hardest challenge of our lives is knowing how to live, knowing what to do, and what we should avoid. How can we possibly distinguish the right course, among the countless influences and suggestions within ourselves and beyond us? How can we find a reliable way in such a perplexing world?

Since ancient times we have been told that if we “listen” intently enough, we can acquire special wisdom to guide our path. Sometimes this has been described as extra “sight” or “vision”. Some have even described a metaphorical “third eye” in our forehead. But what we are discussing here goes beyond any physical hearing or seeing, or any of our other senses, as important as they are.

The difficulty with a spiritual quest is the lack of adequate vocabulary to describe this invisible realm. We readily acknowledge the reality of taste or smell, although finding an adequate vocabulary to express what we have tasted to someone who has not tasted that substance is agonizingly difficult.

To illustrate this dilemma, look at the story of Helen Keller who lived in the 19^th century without being able to hear, see or speak. She lacked these ordinary senses completely since a childhood illness destroyed them at age two. Yet, with the help of an astute teacher, she was ultimately able to learn language, to speak, and even to write some best-selling books. She attended Radcliffe College, part of Harvard University. Mark Twain said that she along with Napoleon was one of the two most extraordinary people of her century.

We are all like Helen when it comes to learning about the spiritual world. However frustrating it is, trying to understand what seems almost incommunicable, the alternative of not “seeing” is unquestionably worse. Like Helen, we may be tempted to rage at the undecipherable nature of this hidden realm, trying to find language and concepts beyond all our ordinary senses.

And yet, this is exactly what every spiritual seeker has done throughout the ages. They may benefit from books and astute teachers, hopefully, but it is still a tremendous challenge. Often we give up, and decide we just want to enjoy normal existence. But then something brings us back to the challenge.

Life is full of unknowables if we face it without spiritual discernment. How can we tell good people from bad? How do we decide on difficult ethical and moral questions when there is so much unhelpful and conflicting advice? How do we know when we are getting it right?

Finally, how do we ever mature spiritually, so that we can stand on our own feet without constant dependence on teachers, however helpful they may be? This requires learning new ways of “hearing” and “seeing”.

The rewards for “listening” are ultimately life-changing, although at first they might seem unattainable. Guides are needed, but they are not enough alone. We need the ability to distinguish between false guides and reliable ones, between those who are only a few steps ahead and those who are mature. Even that requires listening and discernment.

This is a difficult challenge for us. However, walking in spiritual darkness, like the darkness and silence which Helen Keller had experienced, is even more frustrating.

We need spiritual perception to navigate the fog of life. Our friends and family will get sick or die. We will face dangers and challenges of every kind throughout our days. We need to decide where to live, whom to marry, what career to take and many more questions. These questions will all benefit from direct spiritual knowledge.

I encourage you to open the “ears” of your soul to hear. Begin this spiritual journey!

Aspiration

I am looking for truth, ultimate truth.

I want to see, touch, feel and hear that which is beyond ordinary sense.

I want to find the world of silence, where prayer, meditation and reflection breathe.

I want a spirit within me that is connected to all of human kind and the cosmos beyond.

I want a guide for life, struggle, adventure, pain, and eventually death.

I want to live intensely with my family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Let me hear their words and sense the longings of their hearts.

I want all my senses to be finely tuned to the world about me. I want a vivid imagination also.

I want to work and create even better things.

I want to sing with joy and excitement about what I experience, the good and the bad.

I want my life transformed so I can become the best that I can be.

The Nitty Gritty of True Spirituality – Generosity, Graciousness and Compassion

There are various definitions of spirituality (some quite bizarre), but if there were a worldwide poll, I suspect that the characteristics of generosity, graciousness and compassion might be agreed as about the best evidence of true spirituality. The descriptive words vary from culture to culture, but the ideal of love, generosity and kindness, even in the face of hostility, is a universal principle.

This is the spirit of Mother Teresa caring for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. It is Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, and Martin Luther King standing up to powerful oppression, yet refusing violence and hatred. It is the spirit of bestowing little acts of kindness whether in the middle of a cruel war or just in the haste of modern rush and traffic.

Generosity is giving far more than required by reciprocity. It goes well beyond just being fair. For instance, generosity in a marriage (or in other relationships) means giving far more than required on a “50 : 50” arrangement; rather, it would mean giving 60% or 80% or sometimes even 100%. Generosity doesn’t require giving in to every need or request, but being willing to give liberally when our heart tells us it is right to do so; but this discernment requires a generous heart.

Graciousness means acting with grace and dignity even when everyone else may be behaving poorly. It means being pleasant, kind and courteous in all circumstances, however trying or difficult. It requires control of our emotions and reactions, especially when facing provocation.

Compassion means helping the weak and poor beyond what they may deserve. It is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate their suffering. It is sensitivity to the situation and needs of others, regardless of their own responsibility for their misery.

Most ancient religions affirm these qualities in one form or another, however different the words may sound in each language: love, sympathy, empathy, consideration, patience, open-mindedness, charity, bigheartedness, affection, civility, politeness, courteousness, sympathy, concern and care – the list of synonyms goes on.

Generosity, Graciousness and Compassion are necessary for the optimum functioning of all humankind – for ourselves, for our family, for our community, and for the whole world. They require giving space, giving time, giving attention, and always giving the benefit of the doubt, particularly when we are tempted to make harsh judgments.

These virtues are best shown in the face of their opposites: like stinginess, selfishness, rudeness, insensitivity, coercion, anger, aggression, cruelty, exploitation, tyranny and the other horrible faces of evil.

Not everyone may agree that generosity, graciousness and compassion are the best evidence of true spirituality. I leave it to each of you to reflect on what you consider to be the most convincing evidence. (It is a question worth pondering.)

But even for those who agree with this perspective, there are other significant questions which arise:

• Is it possible for large numbers of people to reach this level of spiritual maturity, or is it reserved for a few “saints”?
  
• Do people come by these qualities accidentally, or through genetic traits and social environment, or there reliable paths to reach this?
  
• Spirituality involves some level of sacrifice, but does it require extinguishing our ego entirely, or can a person enjoy a happy, fulfilling life while being spiritual?
  
• Can leaders in government, business and society be spiritual, or do authority and power invariably require elements of cunning, deception, ruthlessness and manipulation which preclude deep spirituality?
  
• What difference would it make to our world if a large part earth’s citizens became more deeply spiritual?
  
• Does spirituality require somehow anchoring ourselves in a deeper reality than that which we can see and hear?

There are more questions associated with this subject, but these are a few to consider.

Immortality of the Soul & Existence of a Spiritual World

Following the death of my mother a few months ago I have been thinking a lot about the nature of our souls, how they communicate, and the age-old question of what happens to the soul (or spirit) after death. This week I read an article by Kevin J. Corcoran, a self-defined Materialist-Christian theologian, who does not believe in the existence of a human soul that could survive the death of the body (A New Way to Be Human – A Christian materialist alternative to the soul). Corcoran wrote of his experience when his father died:

“My father was lying lifeless before me. How could he be with God in heaven? I came to understand that my mother believes what most Christians have believed down through the centuries: humans are immaterial souls capable of disembodied existence. Try as I might, I cannot bring myself to believe what my mother, and most Christians, believe about human nature.

[He concludes] Finally, a materialist view of human nature serves to protect us against turning our longings for a new day into longings for a disembodied existence in some far off and distant heaven.” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2006/006/16.33.html).

I am delighted that Kevin Corcoran would raise such an important question in mainstream Christian circles. I suspect that he will get a torrent of rebuttals based on ancient Biblical texts. I could join in such a reply based on Scriptures, but I prefer to approach this from a different perspective, since I am not trained as a theologian.

Immortality of the soul is an age-old question that will never finally be put to bed, not until we reach “the other side” beyond death. Two thousand years ago this issue had already divided the Jews (Pharisees vs. Sadducees) at the time of Jesus, and it bedevils us still.

The question of immortality transcends the major faiths. There are many strong traditions all around the world about the survival of the soul (or spirit) after death. I will not even begin trying to review these. For a summary, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality

I have never dabbled in communication with the dead, or seen ghosts, or had visions of dead people coming back to life. But I have experienced strong intimations of immortality when I encountered the deaths of the people that I loved.

For instance, at the passing of my Uncle Joe (who is worth a story) I felt a profound sense that he had traveled on to Another World. I cannot describe this sensation here except to say that I was so deeply moved at my innermost core that I wrote a eulogistic poem about my uncle’s passing to the world beyond.

This same experience was repeated at the deaths of both my father and mother. When I saw the bodies of my father, and later my mother, lying dead in their coffins, my strong sense was that this was not actually my father or mother, that their indefinable essence had moved on to their Eternal Home, wherever that may be.

My belief in a spiritual world beyond the material also comes from apparent telepathy or “thought transference”. For a mundane example: a few days ago, I was thinking about taking the garbage out to the road for the weekly garbage pickup, when within 60 seconds I received three different messages by phone asking me to see that the garbage was removed before we left our coastal home to return to Vancouver. How could these different people, in different places, without talking with each other, all be thinking about precisely the same topic at the same nanosecond, when five minutes earlier, none of them had been thinking about this mundane subject?

I run into this kind of mental telepathy very often, particularly during communications with my wife or close friends. I think of them and suddenly the phone rings, often to discuss the very topic of my thoughts. This can be explained away as sheer coincidence; but being an old skeptic who has survived harsh wars in the world of business, I wonder if materialist logic is adequate to explain away these mental phenomena? I have experienced thought transference so often that it seems ludicrous for me personally to deny this phenomenon.

Let me tell you another story. My wife and I have made friends with a collection of special people who might be described as handicapped in some way. These people have appeared spontaneously into our lives at various times, so we try to take care of them as best we can. One of these friends was Mel Chang, a man in his 50’s who lived in a Salvation Army residence on the worst block in Vancouver (where more murders occur than anywhere else in this city).

Mel Chang had visited with us often for many years. The last time he shuffled into our house was just before Christmas about 15 years ago; just out of the blue, it occurred to me to ask Mel who we should notify if he ever got sick or died. With some effort, he pulled this information out of a small book and my wife Kathy wrote it down. This incident seemed uneventful at the time.

A month later, our friend Bill Walsh called to say that Mel Chang was in hospital. Then, before we had any chance to visit him in hospital, Mel unexpectedly died. We waited to hear about funeral arrangements, but none were announced. Then we got another call from Bill asking if we knew anything of Mel’s relatives, since the health authorities had tried for several weeks to find his family, but without success. Mel apparently had been adopted, of Chinese and Korean origin, but due to a changed spelling of his name, his family became untraceable. I asked Kathy to look up the information we had recorded on Mel’s last visit to us, which turned out to be the vital missing link. His relatives were then found and so the chapel was full at Mel’s funeral, even though it was held a month late.

What was so utterly strange about this experience was that we had seen Mel hundreds of times before this last visit, but we had never asked him (or any of our other special friends) for this type of contact information; the thought had never even crossed our minds. However, Mel would have been buried anonymously if I hadn’t followed a sudden impulse to get this crucial information.

I cannot explain this away as random chance. I believe that this was an example of spiritual insight supplied from the beyond the human realm, so that Mel could be buried with celebration and dignity.

I believe that the same precise thoughts occur simultaneously to unconnected people all around the globe, beyond materialistic explanation. Trying to rationalize these curious mental phenomena on the basis of global media, or by other materialist explanations, seems very inadequate.

These matters will never be decided by absolute proof. However, I encourage you to consider these questions about the soul in the stillness of you own heart and mind.

I believe that a rich spiritual world is available to all of us. It can not only help to explain our lives, but it can also provide comfort and strength to face sickness, misfortune, death, and other hard realities. I am now happily past my student days when I tried to face the world alone, as a determined materialist-atheist. My life now has purpose, direction and meaning. At age 60, facing both old age and eventual death, this is of great importance!

Anxiety – the Modern Curse?

Getting ready for my 60^th birthday party this week showed me something in myself that is typical of our generation. I get anxious. I think too much about little details. I get slightly irritated with Kathy, who is one of the world’s best wives. I spend money. I eat and drink too much. Nothing is actually wrong, but I create stress for myself and over-react.

Then I start talking with my family and my friends and find that they too are anxious: about business; about family relationships; about life in general.

I go shopping at one of the nicest shopping malls in Vancouver. At first I am overwhelmed at the wonderful atmosphere of Christmas, with wonderful choral music, abundant merchandise, glittering colours, and enticing scents. But the shoppers rush by looking more worried than joyful at this immense banquet of material pleasures. They stop to gamble at the government run lottery. They fret in the long line-ups at the cash registers. They look tired and withdrawn. They too are very anxious.

Our responses to anxiety are often unhealthy. We take drugs, both legal and illegal. We eat and drink too much. We overspend. We worry and plan. Some of us barrage ourselves with loud music, games, and electronic entertainment. Others become depressed or withdrawn. In fact, together with loneliness, anxiety seems to be the curse of our modern world.

Strangely, our anxiety seems mostly unjustified. Our world is richer and safer than in any previous generation. We are living longer. We can travel safely and quickly. Many if not most of the things which worried our parents and grandparents are now better than ever. Yet we worry and stress ourselves and fail to sleep soundly.

There are cures to this anxiety at many levels, although these are intertwined. I would distinguish between the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of our beings. Curing anxiety successfully takes all three.

I find regular exercise most helpful. A good diet of healthy food is important. Regular routines and intentional forms of relaxation, like music, help a lot. Slowing down to talk with friends and strangers is calming.

What we feed our mind is equally important. Our mental diet is as critical to total health as the food we eat. What do we read, talk and think about? What movies do we see?

Then there is the spiritual dimension. The ancients have always maintained that there is a part of us which transcends the body and the mind which is our spirit. This in turn connects in some mysterious way with the Great Spirit beyond all worlds.

The ancients believed that we must shape our lives in accordance with certain patterns of behaviour which put us in right relationship with the Great Spirit and how the spiritual universe is formed and governed.

When we encounter stresses, setbacks, disappointments and storms in our inner and outer worlds, our spiritual reaction determines how we will come through.

Do we trust God totally, or are we in rebellion against this supreme power? This may seem academic when all is going well, but when intense storms grip us, our spiritual attitudes determine the outcome.

Trusting God completely with our lives and with our future destiny is the ultimate cure for anxiety. No drug or medicine or even healthy living can protect us from life’s ultimate crises, such as: broken relationships; sickness, pain and suffering; career or financial misfortune; getting older; and facing death, whether our own, or the death of those we love.

I will talk more later about the implications of trusting God, because it requires us to reshape our entire lives. But for now, I simply want to affirm that in the storms of my life, however minor (like a party) or major (like facing death), taking care of the body and psyche are both important, but not enough alone. We must also nurture our spiritual being daily to live life well!

It is not a Perfect World

Recently the headline in Vancouver’s major newspaper said 70% of the people surveyed in British Columbia believe that humans will destroy the world as we know it within two or three generations.

I have shared these fears since I was a young child. Whether we destroy the world in a big bang by nuclear war; or by some slower method like depleting all the forests and oceans; or by simply polluting the land and the atmosphere by our filthy disregard for our planet, hardly matters.

Some say this danger is due to our colossal ignorance, so better education could save us. Others think we are fundamentally flawed and evil, so we need moral regeneration. The most pessimistic believe that humanity’s capacity for evil, (whether personal or corporate) knows no bounds, so that we are fatally bent on self-destruction.

My study of history suggests that things are not much worse today than a thousand years ago, or ten thousand years ago, except that our ability to do harm (to the earth and to each other) has grown immensely. But fortunately, we also have mostly stopped being cannibals, which is a fairly recent development. Slavery was outlawed only in the last two centuries, and the concept of universal human rights is a virtually new political concept, hardly known in previous centuries. Humanity has improved in some respects.

I am neither an extreme pessimist, nor a total optimist. Humans have certainly demonstrated their capacity for violence and destruction: in our homes, on the streets, by business methods, by unceasing warfare, and by ecological destruction. But since none of this is new, I am not terrified. Only the universal media coverage of our inhumane tendencies is really new.

But though the world is far from perfect, it is beautiful beyond any poet’s ability to describe. My little property at the base of a mountain has trees, flowers, shrubs and wildlife (even visiting black bears) that are exquisitely beautiful, even in the rainy winter months. The beach near our house has such immensely lovely scenes that one almost cries with delight and happiness! So the world is both lovely beyond description and also flawed by the presence of humans everywhere.

A young man told me recently that he does not believe in God because of all the evil in our world. My response to him was that in creating a world where human beings had free will to choose actions and attitudes, God indirectly permitted evil because people might choose to act violently, cruelly, and destructively. On the other hand He also thus allowed humans freedom to save lives, to write symphonies, to invent submarines, or to teach philosophy. This free will is mostly a good thing; without choice, we would be limited like animals or robots. The young man responded that he would rather we had no choice. It is certainly true that choice involves risk. The Creator has elevated the state of humans far beyond animals to be more like gods; our creative capacity for both good and evil is truly incredible.

One of my reasons for believing in a Higher Power is the evident design of the world about us. It seems inconceivable to me that this world has evolved by pure chance alone. Take the behavior of water, as an example. Water is a necessary exception to the universal pattern of constant shrinking of all the basic chemical elements as they grow colder. (These elements include copper, hydrogen, mercury, sulfur, gold, silver, etc.) They all grow colder when they change from a gas state to a liquid; as they get colder still, they become solids.

But fortunately water does not follow this universal tendency; it alone expands when it becomes a solid, or else our lakes and oceans would gradually freeze solid, starting from the bottom up, and the entire planet would soon be covered with ice! One little exception was needed from a consistent pattern in the laws of nature to make life on this planet possible. The very existence of our amazing planet with just the right temperatures, just the right amount of oxygen, just the right sort of vegetation amidst millions of inhospitable spheres shows the hand of an intentional designer.

I delight in the delicate beauty of all nature: in the ocean, the trees, plants, animals, sky, and with stars and galaxies beyond, all swirling in endless beauty. The Creator God gives me hope for the future of our imperfect world.

However imperfect this world may seem at times, it is also infinitely lovely.

Why I am not an Atheist

When I was a young student at Harvard, one of the most popular books on campus was “Why I am not a Christian” by Bertrand Russell. I devoured this book with glee, gratified by its sophomoric arguments, some of which I had already thought of by myself as a teenager living in rural Christian community. Russell heaped blame onto Christians for many of the world’s misfortunes, from the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition. Russell’s book has thankfully passed into the obscurity which it deserves, but the argumentation it contained surprisingly still commands the attention of many academics, scientists and journalists.

However, now the target has been expanded beyond Christianity to include devout followers of any religion on the planet, who are all labeled “fundamentalists’. The front cover of Wired one of the technical magazines on the news stands in November 2006 proclaims:

“The New Atheism; No Heaven. No Hell. Just Science."

"Inside the new crusade against religion”.

The article begins “the New Atheists will not let us off of the hook simply because we are not doctrinaire believers. They condemn not just the belief in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it‘s evil”.

I would not for one minute deny that many crimes have been committed in the name of religion; that is obvious. Whether the religious people so charged were truly following their own scriptures and teachers when they committed these offences is a separate question, too long to address in a short post. It could well be argued that the most devout of any religion do not hate and kill, but rather they feed the poor, care for the sick, and try to rehabilitate those in prison.

Whether religions are sufficiently tolerant is a harder question, and I suspect that often they are not. But then, who else in our world is sufficiently tolerant?

But those who pick up a sword should be prepared to be cut by a similar weapon. I could not begin to list all of the crimes committed in the name of Atheism, Reason and Science. But let me try to suggest their potential scope.

Let’s start with the French Revolution, which is perhaps the first modern example of a government officially pursuing the Rule of Reason. Its inauguration was accompanied by a huge bloodbath which forever immortalized the Guillotine. Whole classes of society were persecuted and exterminated. Vast mobs of unruly citizens attacked any available targets in unbridled class warfare. People starved, looted, and killed, until finally a dictator seized power and restored public order; but he then commenced wars on every front until most of Europe was consumed in a bloodbath. So much for the birth of government devoid of God and ruled by Reason.

But this movement was not squelched by the abject failures of the first attempt. In particular, Karl Marx, Lenin, and Stalin were fervent admirers of the French experiment, so no wonder that their government pursued similar means to reach their objective, using the pernicious slogan “The End Justifies the Means”. However, in Russian and China today you would hardly find anyone who would justify the terrible offenses committed in the name of Socialism, Reason and Atheism.

But the worst monster was likely Adolf Hitler; he was not the avid atheist as were Mao and Stalin, but he had no use for Christians or Jews, whom he exterminated in record numbers. And his Nazi movement extolled Science as never before. Indeed, the diabolical German Scientists in his employ threatened to enslave the planet with his bizarre ideology.

On the more positive side, consider the monumental achievements by believers of the major faiths, like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, St. Francis of Assisi, and many other sublime souls. What about the role of innumerable religious leaders in caring for the poor; establishing schools, hospitals, orphanages; and in eliminating human slavery in most nations (which had been a universal curse in every society throughout known history)?

Finally, in response to the claim that religious people are plainly ignorant in their simplistic creationist beliefs, please consider that the greatest Scientist of the last 100 years, Albert Einstein, believed in a Cosmos designed by a Higher Intelligence, based on his own experience and observation. This theory is still a valid hypothesis, not just ignorant superstition.

Atheism is waxing stronger these days, particularly among the better-educated, academics and scientists. I have no issue with those who find religion difficult to comprehend and who wonder about the evils committed in the name of God. These are important discussions we need to pursue. But substituting a new ideology of atheistic intolerance is not progress.

Facing a Fathomless Future

Next month I will celebrate my 60th birthday with a big party with many friends, lots of music, a warm fireplace, stories and laughter. I have been doing this every five years since turning 50, since annual birthday parties would come too close together at my age.

The decade of my 50’s has been remarkably fine for me, and the next decade seems equally promising. My Father lived to age 95 and my Mother reached 97 last month, just before she died. Who knows, I might pass 100. Right now my health is better than it was at 50, thanks to early retirement, active swimming and gardening, plus a better diet. My wife and I are building a dream home on the Sunshine coast of British Columbia with countless guest rooms, lovely gardens, and a 3 minute walk to the beach.

But clearly, this can’t go on forever. My primary concerns are for my family and friends scattered literally all around the world. How will our civilization navigate the challenges of constants wars, spreading nuclear weapons, a looming energy shortage, climate change, and economic instability? There appear to be almost equal grounds for great hope or great despair.

At my age, long term planning includes a will and an estate plan, but that is not all. We all must face our own mortality, sooner or later. I got a direct chance to experience this last month with the death of my Mother.

I sat at my Mom’s bedside for the last 12 days before she passed into a coma and died. Since then, I have been reflecting on the span of her life and its implications for my generation.

Mom was born in 1909 in a small prairie town and traveled by covered wagon across trackless wilderness as a small child. She and my father watched the first cars and airplanes arrive, not to mention electric lighting, telephones, central heating, and all the other wonders of the 20th Century.

But she also witnessed the Great Depression of the 1930’s, two world wars, nuclear threats, and other potential global calamities. She raised ten children and at age 50 started university without ever having attended high school. She succeeded in realizing her life dream to become a teacher. She published her autobiography and traveled and spoke at large gatherings until last year. In some ways, she seems fortunate now to be spared from the immense challenges still ahead.

My mother lived her whole life with a simple faith in God, with wholesome values like frugality, honesty, and generousity to family and community. My Harvard professors taught me less about how to live my life than did the simple country folks who were my parents.

My Mother also died well. She died at home, surrounded by her children, grand children and great grand children, plus other family and friends. She enjoyed good health until one month before she died, when she had a stroke. She still laughed, sang songs, and looked almost normal until the end. In her final week, she had dreams/visions of Heaven and of countless angels which were so lovely that she didn’t want to return back to her normal world.

As a modern well-educated person of the 21st Century, I could easily discount her primitive mindset, which is not much different from older people of other faiths and cultures all around the world. As a young student I was an atheist and a complete skeptic. Now with decades more of life experience, I have glimmerings of a spiritual dimension beyond our ordinary waking world. I am more hesitant to throw out the wisdom that has been passed down to me from countless generations, regarding both life and afterlife. In future posts, I will explore some of these musings with you.

At age 60 nears, these ultimate questions loom larger for me, even though I have health, wealth and a world of opportunity still ahead. My future is bright, but seemingly unfathomable.

PAY ATTENTION

In July, my family came close to major disaster on the highway, while driving back from a wedding in Denver. My son Michael (who is normally a superb driver) switched lanes on a 6 lane highway and moved in front of a semi truck. Just then, all the cars ahead slammed on their brakes. The huge truck struck us and spun our car around three times, but fortunately sent us safely onto the roadside rather than into the heavy traffic. A one-second lapse of attention nearly cost the lives of my wife and me, with our three sons.

Most of us are unaware of how scattered our attention is for what matters most to us. I know of a husband who has left a decades-long relationship with his wife not because of another woman, but because he feels he never gets the significant attention he deserves.

I sometimes watch myself drift along in a conversation with my sons, where we give each other perhaps 20% of our full attention. How often do we try to talk with someone staring at a computer or TV screen?

We half listen, but another part of our mind is very far away. We are all neglectful sometimes, whether in attention to important people, or to our jobs, or to other things we value highly.

Most people have trouble concentrating on one thing. We expect loss of concentration during times of stress, fatigue, illness, or crisis. But it comes equally from a somewhat careless attitude.

People today often blanket their minds with loud music, TV, and other electronic media, which provide a hypnotic relief from the outside world, but avert their attention from what is actually going on around them. Drugs and alcohol provide the same shelter from unwelcome reality. But they worsen our problems, rather than helping us. We are far better off to notice the pain or discomfort and to find out its causes, rather than relying on anesthetics.

Full attention involves a decision, a choice of priority. To concentrate on one single focus, you must deliberately ignore competing interests.

There are special exercises for building up our powers of concentration. This has always been a major objective of meditation and of other spiritual disciplines. By regularly focusing for an extended period on our breathing, or on our heartbeat, on a mantra or a prayer, we can learn to concentrate far better. (Academic disciplines, some games, and sports can similarly develop our capacity to concentrate.)

When we try to engage in such mental exercises, the first thing that we notice is the distractions which pull us away from our focus. For instance, we may be counting our breaths, but we lose track quickly because of the noises, competing thoughts, and other distractions. However, sustained practice over several years on such simple concentration exercises can bring tremendous benefits.

I find attention and focus to be highly important in every major sphere of my life: in my Work; Family; Health; Creative Projects; and in my Spiritual Development.

My ability to concentrate is partly a function of my health and general well-being; but it is also a faculty which can be developed with continuous practice. Years ago, I observed that while my ability to speak persuasively was excellent, my listening skills were mediocre. So I started to focus regularly on the faces of everyone talking with me. While I have not achieved Olympic level listening skills, I am now a better listener than before.

Full attention brings more tranquility and harmony into our lives. It enhances our enjoyment of life’s pleasures. It deepens our understanding. It enriches every facet of our lives.

You might want to challenge yourself to pay FULL ATTENTION in some area of your life where you want real progress.

Good luck!

Artificial bread and real bread

Artificial bread that does not satisfy: gambling, pornography, prostitution, illicit drugs, junk food, mindless entertainment, investment scams, and insatiable materialism are all linked. These all depend on our normal desires being redirected to objects which promise much, but ultimately fail to satisfy our deep spiritual longings. They are examples of artificial bread that does not satisfy. An old prophet wrote:

1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.

(from Isaiah 55)

Real bread that satisfies includes: honest work, true romance, intimate sex with a life partner, financial investments with integrity, wholesome food, compelling stories, live music, and quiet prayer.

The Pope said it well!

I am not a Catholic, but I have been impressed by the last few Popes. The storm of Muslim criticism of Pope Benedict's address at the University of Regensburg in Germany led me to read his address in full. I was favourably impressed. If you are curious, here is the link.
The Pope's address at Regensburg

His address was entitled Faith, Reason and the University Here are a few quotes from his address:

ON UNIVERSITIES

"I began teaching at the University of Bonn. That was in 1959, in the days of the old university made up of ordinary professors. The various chairs had neither assistants nor secretaries, but in recompense there was much direct contact with students and in particular among the professors themselves."

ON FORCED CONVERSION

"Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death."

ON REASON AND FAITH

"While we rejoice in the new possibilities open to humanity, we also see the dangers arising from these possibilities and we must ask ourselves how we can overcome them. We will succeed in doing so only if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically verifiable, and if we once more disclose its vast horizons. In this sense theology rightly belongs in the university and within the wide-ranging dialogue of sciences, not merely as a historical discipline and one of the human sciences, but precisely as theology, as inquiry into the rationality of faith."