describe your tools, methods and your idea of the ways the universe works. Find at least
three other peoples explanation of the theories that make up their belief. Was there ever
an event that cemented these beliefs for you?? YOU be the teacher, explain and outline
these beliefs in your choice of forms. Tell the Story of Your PERSONAL faith.
Three other explanations:
1. http://bbs.annex.com/raven/my_road.htm
2. http://www.starkindler.org/arion/bio.htm
3. http://www.starkindler.org/dianis/who-is.html
"What I Believe About the Universe" or "How I got where I am and who the heck
knows where I'll go from here?"
An Essay by Hollis, for Lesson Four in the Second Circle
Life has made an effort to teach me several seemingly conflicting Truths:
1. Life is hard.
2. Life is considerably easier if you make an effort.
3. Regardless of what you do or don't to life can still be hard or it might be great, you never can
tell what will happen next.
4. If you insist on doing it your way, regardless of what the gods are telling you, you're bound to
be miserable, or at least in limbo (which is really annoying).
Now, these are my lessons, I'm not trying to say that all that holds true for everyone. I have to
say though, I've seen enough evidence around me over time to suggest that these four points do
hold a good grain of wisdom that most folks should look into. Just something to think about! So
what do I believe about the universe? This is a topic I spend time mulling over occasionally but
don't usually spend a lot of time putting down for others to read. Maybe I should start with what
I believe about the Divine and go from there.
First, I believe that there is only one GOD (the Creator). Shocked? Don't be, I'm not finished
with the subject yet. This Creator, whatever It is, is responsible for all existence. But whatever It
is we can't even pretend to understand It or Its motives if It ever had any. We can't know It,
touch It, or see It. It is beyond our puny human comprehension, except maybe to postulate that
It does indeed exist somehow, like I'm doing here. Somewhere along the lines part of It gained
something like self-awareness as we know it. Curious about the Universe, the Creation and
everything in it and wanting to better know Itself it divided in two, now even further separated in
consciousness from the Creator but still wholly part of It. (Does that make any sense to you? I
know what I mean, but about half the time I can't tell if anyone else does.) To learn, they
differentiated. Perhaps at first they more closely resembled Yin and Yang, opposites
complimenting and containing still a bit of the essence of the other. Maybe the concept of gender
didn't even occur to this pair until after it occurred in nature, I think it's impossible to know. But
eventually They did accept this duality as a part of Themselves, and they are the Lord and Lady.
One God, one Goddess. Both of these have many aspects, They are complex beings. I still say
it's arrogance to think that we can fully understand or know Them, but we can know parts of
Them, we can interact with these parts or aspects. That is our connection to the great Divine as
it exists outside ourselves. They are actually interested in us and can take a hand in our affairs,
answer prayers, smack our hands when we need it, and offer comfort and guidance. They do
not need us, but in my opinion we do need Them. We need God, however you see It. The
Divine within us cries out to the Divine without and all around, and to deny that is to remain
incomplete forever.
When the Creator caused the universe to be, I believe It had some sort of intention which is
what has given us order. Once It set the wheels in motion (so to speak) It went back to
whatever It was doing before and things have progressed on their own from then. The best way
we have to describe what happened at this time is the Big Bang theory, that all the universe
began as an infinitely small, infinitely dense point of matter existing in every dimension at once (so
do we have parallel universes encompassing other dimensions? hmmm...). As this point of matter
exploded, its remains traveled outward at amazing speeds at amazing temperatures and then
began to gradually cool and adhere to each other. This is where the theory generally breaks
down scientifically. You see, if the point of matter really did explode it would have evenly
distributed matter over the entire area of the universe. There wouldn't be any clumps. No
galaxies, no stars, no planets. We wouldn't be here. Heck, we wouldn't even have atoms, they
are far larger than their parts. This is where I find that Original Intention taking over, giving us
some order, something for physics to explain later.
After billions of years (11-14 at best guess right now) the Earth formed. Who knows where else
life may exist and in what form. After all, our little back-water planet is a relative newcomer. But
we know life formed here millions of years ago, starting simply and getting gradually more
complex. Calling life (even at the beginning) simple is a bit misleading. The processes even of the
simplest cells are so remarkable, so complex...I'm finding intent here again. To me, it's to much
to have happened wholly by chance. I'm a strong believer in evolution (which I consider to be
scientific fact) if you couldn't tell. So life evolved on its merry way, and here I am sitting amidst
six billion of my fellows as we slowly destroy our surroundings and make it impossible for us to
continue thriving. Aren't we a bizarre species? There's a line from "The Matrix" that goes
something like "There's only one other organism that uses all its resources and destroys its own
environment, condemning itself--a virus." Wow, and fundamentalist Christians get upset at being
related to apes! I'd personally like to rise above that assessment.
But anyway, back to me. Here I am. I was born about 27 years ago (1974) into a family that
would prove to be dysfunctional at best. (Are there any "normal" families out there? If you
belong to one would you email me about it? I think I'd like to hear the novelty of your story.)
When I was a kid I was always curious about nature and I had a habit of anthropomorphizing
absolutely everything. That made it very hard for my mother to get rid of my worn out stuffed
animals, and it made it very easy for me to get along with trees, plants, small furry creatures, and
celestial bodies very well from an early age. It never occurred to me that they weren't alive in the
way we think of other people being alive, and while I can now understand that one might be able
to make a case for our consciousness being a bit different than a tree's I still pretty much hold to
the ideals about life I had as a child. And what's more, these "things" have souls, just like we do.
This may have been my first point of dissension with Christianity as I was raised to it. As a child
it didn't really bother me that people thought animals didn't have souls, I just thought they were
so stupid it was funny. Children, however, often miss seeing the consequences of that kind of
thinking. The cruelty people exhibit because it's "just a dog" or conversely the kindnesses like
euthanasia we grant our animals that we deny humans out of fear for their immortal souls
continue to appall and amaze me. Now it sickens me to hear people insist that our little cousins
are soulless so that they can feel superior in the eyes of "God," meaning Jehovah, of course.
Feeling this life all around me and having a few skills with clairvoyance and a very little telepathy
eventually got me thinking (oh to have those small skills back, to never have squashed them
down...). What kind of people could do what I could do and felt the same way about things?
One of my cousins had heard the story about how my grandmother had used a Ouija to find out
the name of my mother--before she and Dad met. My dear cousin didn't tell me the story, she
just related that grandma was a "witch" and wanted to know if I wanted to help look for stuff in
the big scary basement (we did a lot of rummaging in there anyway, that was one of the beauties
of grandma's house). So maybe I was a witch too. I decided to ask my Mom, who else knows
everything? Mom's reaction was unfavorable at best, and from what I remember a little panicky.
I couldn't be a witch, she said, because witches were evil and they went to hell. I was saved, she
said, didn't I remember that? Sure, I said, but what's that got to do with all this stuff? I'm not evil
but I can hear the tree talking to me. You aren't a witch because you aren't going to hell, and
that's final, she said, and anyway, witches come in families and there aren't any witches in this
one. Sigh. I think I was nine. Later she would throw away a book I found on ceremonial
magick. Like I was going to sell my soul for a buried treasure...come on!
What's this "saved" thing? you may ask. The side of my family (my mother's) that's very
concerned with religion are all fundamental, independent, churchgoing Baptists. They believe that
no matter who you are or what your religion is, you are going straight to Hell for eternity if you
don't at some point utter the words "Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I believe you died for my sins,
please come into my heart and save me." My maternal grandmother discovered that I, at the
tender age of seven, had not yet said this prayer. One Sunday she hauled me out of the pew and
into the isle, to the front of the church and made me pray it with her. According to her, she "led
me to the lord." According to me, she set me up for years of fear. You see, at the time we
prayed and then she asked me if I felt Jesus in my heart. ??? What the heck did that mean? I
told her I didn't feel any different, and I think she almost panicked. So we had to pray again, and
she asked me again. She was upset and I was upset, so I lied and told her yes the second time
so we could go sit down again. I spent many, many nights as a teenager crying myself to sleep in
fear, because as much as I prayed and begged for salvation I never had any indication that I was
guaranteed a place in Heaven. The "religious experiences" I was having always took place in or
around nature, not in church, and not when I was praying to "God."
Continued---->
