Thoughts Change Lives

A practical spirituality teaches us that we can’t cling to old ideas or patterns that are no longer useful or positive. We can think better thoughts. We can think higher thoughts. Our emotions are influenced by people around us. While we may not sense, observe or describe the differences as vibrations, we are aware that some people are more uplifting. Others bring us down.

We choose those who surround us. We choose which thoughts and emotions dominate our lives. Each mental or emotional state has its own rate of vibration. We can transform that rate at will and maintain a mental calm, unaffected by the opinions around us. Negative beliefs do not have to alter our positive state. We manage our thoughts. We do not have to get caught in the up and down drama of family, friends and associates.

Our challenge is to rise above the normal, material thoughts and be more positive, more evolved, and more spiritual.

Is Our Definition of God Evolving?

Imagine that our definition of God is evolving, in our world of shifting knowledge. While many argue it is self-serving to have a changing God that fits our constant demands, history shows us that this is not the first time God has evolved. Tribal societies believed in magical gods, goddesses and superstition that merged into the mythic, or theist, view. Psychologists teach that people progress in consciousness from one level to another, and every time we go up a level in consciousness, our world view changes.

Jim Marion, author of "Death of a Mythic God" in an EnlightenNext magazine interview, claims that the last 3000 years held to a mythic God after magical gods gave way to “a ruler, a punisher, a patriarch (97). Why would we expect this view to remain unchanged?

Whether we accept a spiritual intelligence, co-creator, integral spirit, or use other words, perhaps we believe in God, even if, or because, our definition and understanding of that entity have changed significantly.

Marion, Jim, an interview by Carter Phipps, “The Death of the Mythic God,” EnlightenNext, Issue 38, October – December 2007, 95-102.

The Demise of our Old Definition of God

There are five basic approaches to God:

· theist
· atheist
· agnostic
· pantheist
· panentheist

For the first three, God is defined as an entity “outside of time and space who created the world and judges, rewards, and punishes everyone in it” (Shapiro 16). While theists believe in the existence of this God, atheists do not and agnostics aren’t sure.

The Pantheists’ God is the same as nature; god is nature and nature is god. Panentheists, however, believe in a broader definition that “includes and transcends the universe” (16). This is the belief that “everything is within God.” Panentheism includes pantheism, since nature is part of the universe but goes beyond to include more than just this physical world.

The theist view of God is the one that most of us grew up with and the one has dominated. Many writers, however, are recording the demise of this old definition. Current views include a more integral God, as many people are moving away from the director and controller.

Shapiro, Rabbi Rami. “Why Aren’t You An Atheist?” Spirituality&Health, March – April 2007, 16.

There is a Reason for Everything; Nothing Bad Happens

There is a reason for everything. Nothing bad happens; only the right things occur in the world and in our lives. As difficult as that is to accept at times, this is the rule. This is life. This is what we learn from spiritual concepts. Life isn’t about the way we think it should be or the way we want it to be. There is an order to the universe. There is a reason for everything, even if we not aware of that reason.

Law and order exist in the universe. There is a cause and effect in the world. We are not victims. Our decisions create certain effects; we cause the outcomes that occur. And we can change our events to include better reactions. We can begin this moment to perform the actions that will have the results we want. When we accept we are part divine and reflect something bigger, we can change and become better humans with smarter decisions.

This is an excerpt from my Do It Yourself Guide to Spirituality: Seven Simple Steps, available for only $3.00 as an immediate download at http://nottinstitute.org/

We are Connected to One Another and to the Divine

What if we realized that no matter how down we felt, we were assured that we are not alone, not separate, not all by ourselves, but part of something larger? We are connected to the world; all is one. While that might not provide any immediate or definable solace, the idea promotes a long term sense of security, a sense that whatever happens, we are never disconnected. We are never really alone. We are connected to everyone, and we are connected to our Creator.

A bond with everything in life. On a practical, daily basis, might we be happier? Most often moments of sadness relate to a belief in isolation from someone or something. If there is no separation, despite a seeming physical one, the sadness lessens. If there is no separation, why would we continue a deep sense of feeling abandoned?

This is an excerpt from my booklet Do It Yourself Guide to Spirituality: Seven Simple Steps, which can be purchased and downloaded at http://NottInstitute.org

Louise Erdrich's novel, Love Medicine - a spiritual comment

I admire Louise Erdrich's characters in this novel. She portrays Native Americans with their strengths and weaknesses, and while we may not initially like many of the characters, they grow on us as we experience their stories. Despite lives ruined by government interventions, booze and hard luck, there is a resilience that generates our respect.

I write about spiritual books, books that provide a connection to the divine without being religious. There is spirituality in Erdrich's characters: in the commitment to themselves, to each other, and to the return home to their past. This is a practical spirituality, a belief in something greater than ourselves. Spirituality is not about naming a God or a Higher Being; it is living as if such an entity or belief exists and matters.

Despite all, her characters rise up as an admirable group, a group that deserves respect for their strength and reserve. Yes, that is the human spirit overcoming the mundane. That is a practical spirituality, a larger-than-life view.

Her characters force us to care. And we do. We want to be better people without realizing why, as we watch them rise above the human condition, no matter how depressing or abusive their lives. Her characters do that. So must we.

Spirituality is More Than an Academic Pursuit

Spirituality is more than an academic pursuit. We must practice our faith. While for some that is obvious, many focus solely on cognitive awareness and intellectual study. As Ken Wilbur, my current favorite philosopher, points out in Integral Psychology, we need personal involvement to know what it "feels" like to be spiritual, not just theoretically know what others say.

Wilbur talks of the need to "transform consciousness," not just change our view of the world, which is an intellectual activity. Practical knowledge of how to save the world is important. To complement that, however, what are we doing to change and save ourselves?

Thinking is not enough for spiritual development. We should interact differently with ourselves, others and the world. This change is precipitated by interior stages of growth. Inner transformation is crucial to balance the outward actions. Getting in touch with our own thoughts and ideas helps. Meditation or alone time is important. We can't just read about what it is like to meditate; we must be quiet and listen. Somehow, we must "experience" the spiritual.

We should weigh our daily demands

with our spiritual quest.

In that search, we need personal and internal growth,

not just mental pursuits.