But Where is God?!

By Christine Rose Copyright 2009

Having just read my last entry, I realized that unless one reads very carefully, the answer to Where is God is hard to find.

God is in you.
God is around you.
God is the presence you sense when you feel you are not alone.
God is what is missing when you have lived your life to serve only yourself.
God fills your heart with warmth when you recognize the true importance of love.
God is generated in your life by love, faith and obedience to the highest moral standards.
God pushes you to extremes in order to show you the work you have left to do.
God comforts you when you are at your wits end.
Ask God to take your pain, anxiety, sadness...and it WILL disappear.
God is in the love you offer.
God disappears immediately through hateful actions.
God is knowing you are doing the right thing, all the time and recognizing the empty gut feeling when you have taken steps away from God.

God is NOT a person who acts and reacts as man would.  Man is animal.  Man is physical and instinctive.  Man rarely acts in the best interest of others if it does not also suit him best.

To be Godly one must put others before themselves; to stand for truth and justice even when to do so results in personal pain; to respect ALL life as deserving of equal respect to man; to recognize that ALL life is equally important to God;  to love others no matter who they are, what they believe, or how they live their lives; to offer mercy to offenders; to realize that to think is often contrary to acting in a Godly manner.

Hopefully, by the time the blog is complete, all of these ideals will be easily understood and manifested within you.  Ask God to take you there, ask with a kind and gentle, humble heart, and you will not be denied.

The journey is an exciting ride that never ends......

Where is God?

By Christina Rose copyright 2006, 2007, 2009

Where is God?

A friend asked me this evening why there is evil in this world.† She wants to know why God allows so many bad things to happen, and why some people who live corrupt lives manage to thrive, while other really good people seem to struggle. These common questions are often asked by atheists, agnostics and others who just cannot figure God out.

† While some religions express confusion about why bad things happen to good people, others recognize that profound experiences, even awful ones, mold and shape us. Imagine that life is like a training ground, a spiritual boot camp, and that everything that happens to us in our lives will help us to become spiritually stronger and more compassionate people.† We are here to learn lessons, to become strong,† and to become the best people we can be.† Everyone of us will have our challenges to face - and for each of us, those challenges are as hard as they need to be.† Each individual's life is all about bringing them into relationship with their Creator and each other, with respect for all of magnificent creation, whether we acknowledge it, accept it, believe it or not.

Our lives are like personalized roadmaps, with challenging pit stops we must endure along the way. How we deal with those challenges will reflect what we have learned at the end of our physical lives. Will you ask God to change the course of your life in times of trouble? Accept your fate as God given and for the betterment of your spiritual development? Or will you insist your life is in your hands and that you will control the outcome of all of your predicaments?

How you answer these questions reflects your belief in God. When you have a deeper understanding of the purpose of life, you will also have a deeper understanding of God.

Because we are all individuals, with very different strengths and weaknesses, it is impossible for us to assume God would give us identical and predictable paths. However, when one understands how God works, God does indeed become predictable.

Our individual paths are reflected in our weaknesses, which is why we should never judge each other.† We cannot wonder why someone is so jealous or another is so vain.† Instead of judging, recognize that our faults are the very reason we are here. We are here to change, and in order to do that we must be molded. At some point, each and everyone of us will have to face our weaknesses, and it will be just as difficult for everyone else as it will be for us. What is simple to overcome for one may seem like torture to another,† so we must respect each other’s journey (usually the things about them that drive us crazy!) and know that sooner or later, each of us will be called to account - in this lifetime- for whatever situations we have not handled well.

People often wonder why God does not rescue us from tragic situations. Since we are here to learn, it would not make sense for God to intervene when we face difficulties.† God’s interference would undermine the personal work we all must do to better or strengthen ourselves.† If we know that God is not only behind the beauty of this world, but also behind the hardships, and that they happen for a reason that will ultimately change us, it can alter our whole outlook on life.

Many religious people, and even those who cannot find God, see hardships as random; or worse, as God’s punishment. Instead, look objectively at each event in your life, both for better or worse, and see what can be learned from it. Gauge your responses to hardships. Do you strike out at or blame others? Pray for strength? Blame God? Therein lies some of the work you have been given to do to improve yourself. Forget about how others have hurt you or let you down. That is their work to do. Instead, recognize and accept your faults, take responsibility for your mistakes, improve yourself, and pray for strength and guidance. Above all, accept your hardships with grace, with the knowledge that when you have sufficiently learned, you situation will become easier, all on its own.

Acceptance is an uncommon virtue. Life will absolutely get easier when you resist swimming against the currents. When you accept your lot, and place yourself humbly in God's hands with the understanding that your life is not in your control, the battle to overcome hardship is over. (I can already hear the resistance to this one!) In fact, when you do that, that is when the miracles start to happen.

When you trust that God has put you squarely where you need to be, amidst what you need to endure, no matter how hard or terrible it is, this philosophy will help you cope. (Much more on this later.) With that in mind, we should be able to put into perspective the importance of our daily stresses.† There is a book called Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.† I haven’t read it, but I wholeheartedly support the title.†

One man I know, who calls himself an agnostic, will argue with me all day long that God is cruel. He says that if everything I am saying above is true, then God is just plain mean. It is certainly easy to understand that perspective. There are far too many horror stories in the news each day to imagine that it really is all okay for God to have a hand in those things. The problem is, to deny God's hand in all aspects of life is to deny the reason we live. Throughout the centuries, mystics and philosophers have pondered the meaning of life, and the ideas I propose are not new, but are not popular because they truly are too hard to handle.

However, there is another way to look at all of this. Spin the prism around and look at the colors from the other side.

One night I had a dream that my father in law was going into the hospital for one night, then he would be fine. The very next day, he took ill, went into the hospital for one night, and died. This shows us that God's idea of fine is very different from ours, and that is the direction we must try to face. It is the direction of the eternal perspective, which is that we are like stones placed in a polishing drum. Life turns us this way and that, until we have bounced around so much, we have become smooth and polished. Then we are ready to return to the higher planes.

Life is our job to come out smooth. There are the easy ways and there are the hard ways, and that is where you do have control. Those who take the low road may get off easy for a while, but if they are having a negative effect on the lives of others, that's where the true life tragedies reside.

In order to pave a smoother path for yourself, judge the effects of your actions on others, and the gentler you are on others, the gentler life will be on you. Why? Because the harder you are on others reflects the polishing that must be done on you, and the polishing is rarely fun!

Surrendering to evil invites eventual hardship and unhappiness. The problem is that we no longer even recognize evil in so much of our everyday life. We have gone so far from being a spiritual society that evil, without our even knowing it, has become a major force in American society. How? Because our ways as a civilization have allowed us to believe that it is okay NOT to love our neighbor. We have fallen far short of the love we need to bring with us in every interaction and every action.

How do we define evil?† Where does it come from and what can we do to keep it out of our own lives?† What is the relationship of God to evil, or as Christians call it, the devil?† For sure, evil is a dark force and definitely exists.† When people become so distanced from a personal relationship with God, or even just the concept of GOOD, they are no longer bound by a specific code of ethics based on caring about others.† So, evil can be gauged by the amount of hurt one is willing to inflict on another. Evil is the complete absence of love.†

Some people who have suffered a great deal of hurt and abuse, or to put it another way, have suffered a lack of love, may have no problem in hurting another.† In many ways, our society encourages that. The phrase, An eye for an eye, was actually discounted as WRONG by Jesus. To react hatefully to hate is vindictive, and vindictiveness is evil.† It is based on hurt or anger, not love. One who feels justified in being vindictive may see this as justice.† However, it is never our place to judge or to punish another, and therefore vindictive behavior can never be truly justifiable.† God can do the judging, and the subsequent molding. It is not our job.† We must learn to love no matter how angry we are, which is what Jesus meant by turning the other cheek. It is having faith that God will take care of it. I have seen that come true!

If we see the vindictive, or even abusive, person as someone who is hurt and acting out their pain, how can we judge them?† We must pity them.† Sometimes we must avoid them to spare ourselves unnecessary pain - and we do not have to like them,† but we must view them with compassion for what they have endured that caused them to react so negatively.† They are fellow beings who have been hurt and are here to learn their own lessons.† If we judge them, can't we also be judged for our own idiosyncrasies?

In the last ten years, I have spent time with people from many different Native American nations, and have learned to see the “devil” in a different light.† Depending on the tribe, they may call him Coyote, the trickster, or Iktomi, and many other names as well.† But the trickster is not necessarily evil.† He is there for a very valuable purpose.† He is there to teach us, to help point out our faults so that we may recognize them and avoid them next time.† Some say the trickster is who we encounter when we are at a crossroads in our life.† We may be unclear about the right choice, or we may even choose the less admirable path simply because it is easier, or often just because we want to.† This path will lead us, in a roundabout way, back to where we need to go - the right path;† but it is the long way home.†

While on this path from wrong to right, we will encounter negative situations (jail, hospital, divorce, etc) that will teach us to reassess our actions.† The consequences of bad choices are indeed lessons,† and they will go on and on until we learn and stop doing the wrong thing.† If the right path is not clear, then it is always best to choose the path of peace, the path of hurting the least people, that results in the least guilt, the path that makes us say, “Ah, yes, that is what I must do in order to end my pain or change my life.”

There are times when we want desperately for something in life to change or happen but no matter what we do, life does not seem to budge. If you are beating your head against a door that will not open, look for another door. Forget the one you want because God is letting you know that you are chasing down the wrong road, and fighting the universe is a losing battle.

Everyone has been hurt or letdown by life in some way.† If we never see that there is rhyme or reason to misfortune, we can become bitter, angry, distrustful, etc. When we understand that everything happens for a reason, and we put our faith in that, life is much easier to live. When we make choices based on self-discipline and reflect kindness and open heartedness towards others we will be happier people. When we choose to live under God's rules (yup, those Ten Commandments) God will honor our lives and answer our prayers. The Commandments are not just lofty recommendations but truly are rules that have been written in stone. Ignoring them results in lessons learned the hard way. Read them again. Apply each one to your life and see where you fall short. Work on that, on yourself, and God will be easier to find.

We have become a spiritually lost society, one which has become so disconnected from life in a spiritual way.† People wonder why the world is such a mess. This is the reason! We must learn not only to find God in the world outside of us; we must learn to find God within us as well.†

All the things you have heard since childhood about what God wants from us are real. The more seriously we take God, the more likely it is that God will show up in our life. The more we live life as an invitation to God, the more likely it will be that God will show up. The more we surrender to God’s will, the happier we truly will be.

Someone once said that inside each of us lives our spirit, which is like a perfect polished diamond.† For some, that spirit is shining and pure; for others it is caked with soot,† but within us all is that shiny diamond.† All we have to do is polish it up and let the love within us become our most influential motivation.† Love is the road to spiritual living.

Filling the Hole in our Hearts

By Christine Rose

Part 1

When I was young, † my parents never had to worry about guns or violence in our schools.† Technology was a telephone and a television, and we were living large! Today, kids go through toys and fads in the wink of an eye. When was the last time you saw a teenager voluntarily making eye contact with anything but their digital camera, their iPod or the latest phone that does everything under the sun?

Are your children grateful for all of these toys? Maybe sometimes, especially if they have worked to gain them, but very often, our children seem to have a sense of entitlement about their techno-gadgets. Unless our kids are exposed to poverty, they can have no understanding that many in our country go without basic needs such as socks and underwear, even food. They don't have any understanding of the difference between Rights and Privileges.

When you were growing up, how many times did you hear about the starving children in India? How much of an impact did that have on you? Probably not much. The media is no help. Foreign scenes have no relevance to children's lives but those commercials constantly promotes More! More! More! sure speak to them. And sadly, MORE is what our children have come to expect they deserve. Did you hear about the gunman who fell to his knees in prayer with the woman he was about to rob? He wanted the money to buy his daughter a birthday present. How many of us would have gladly given him $20 for his daughter? I know I would.

Unless your kids are in some sort of community service program, there is no way they can know firsthand just how dire life can be for thousands of people in this country.

Yet its the wealthiest children, who have so much, that seem to be bored and dissatisfied. No matter what they've been given, they are not happy for long.† They may yearn for some toy or other, but within days or weeks of getting what they want, they lose interest in it and want the next one.† Why does it always seem that the thing their best friend has is so much better than what they themselves have?† And how many parents of teenagers feel like the souls of their children have been sucked into the latest technological instrument? Worst of all, how many teens are drinking, doing drugs and having random sex? Want to know how this all ties together? Our kids have holes in their souls.

While there are many wonderful things about our culture, there are also many gaps.  Even as adults we strive to keep up with the Joneses, or spend endless amounts of money on fashion.  But shopping is not the way to achieve happiness!  If we are only focusing on dressing up our exteriors, without freshening up the interior, we will never feel complete.  But what can we do? How do we do that?  How do we create a beautiful interior…or soul?

Ghandi said that the best way to find yourself is by losing yourself in the service of others.  Mothers do this automatically by putting their children's needs first, but a truly spiritual person would somehow serve the world in exactly the same way. Throughout spiritual literature, whether the scriptures of Christ, Buddha, Ghandi or anyone else, you will find that putting others before yourself is a spiritual philosophy.  It is a tough philosophy to teach our kids when there is nothing in our culture that requires that of us.  When you think about it, how does the idea of being required to serve others make you feel? Bored? Tired? Stressed?

Have you ever called upon God for help? Most people have at one time or another. But an interesting fact is that God calls upon us for help, too. You want blessings? Answer God's call for help and you can be sure your own calls will be answered promptly.

God expects us to sharing our bounty.  There is no such a thing as being “generous to a fault.”  But it is hard to share when nothing in this country encourages us to do so. In fact, the American way is, “God helps those who help themselves.” So why do we need to share our wealth with those outside of family members or friends in crisis?    Many people believe if anyone in this country is poor, it is their own fault.  This being the land of Opportunity, why should we share with the poor, anyway?

Well, lets start with the kids.  Do you ever feel like you cannot come up with a good reason why your children should share? If you have a comfortable amount of money, and you can afford for each of your children to have his or her own possessions, do you wonder, “Why do  they have to share? What is the point?” 

Sometimes it is a hard question to answer.  Tantrums are often the result of forcing an unwilling child to share, so where is the benefit?   I promise you, if you always give in when the tantrums start, you may be saving yourself a moments peace, but stand back because the person you are creating might very possibly grow up to be a selfish, self-serving, manipulative child who will do anything to get what he or she wants, because they will believe they are entitled to what they want.  And wait until that child becomes a teenager!  Boy, will you be sorry then!

Little in life is harder than getting a four year old to share their favorite toys!†  †When we know how much a child values their treasures, we usually allow them to keep it for themselves and dismiss any idea that they should share the things they care so deeply about.† When we do not understand why they really must share, it makes it very hard to force the issue.

Children need to be taught to share, and the more valued the toy, the more they should learn to share it.†  It's easy to give up the things we no longer want but all of the best spiritual qualities come up when someone asks us to give up something precious.  Feeling compassion for someone else's need over possessive  ownership is a beautiful thing.  Putting another's happiness before our own is selfless and generous.  No one will ever dislike another person for those qualities! 

Materialism is a spiritual issue and is more recent then you might think.† In times gone by,  not even so long ago, in our own culture as well as many others,† materialism was not such a priority.† Sharing was a way of life.  People lived in smaller communities all over the world, and most people had farms or small businesses or cottage industries.  Trading was acceptable when one did not have the money to purchase needed goods.  Before communities became so large, when people knew all of their neighbors and generations of families remained in the same place, everyone knew who was in need and helped them out.  Some cultures peoples were so enmeshed in their community that they rejected any idea  of ownership.   Sharing what they had with their community assured they too would be taken care of. 

Until the Europeans got here, Native currency was simply trading.  Trading and sharing.  Even today I have friends who live on reservations who lend out their possessions to those who need it, and those possessions may pass through many hands before it is returned again, when the original owner needs it.

I have a friend who lives on a Reservation in the South West who told me that when someone on her block got a washing machine, the whole community came to do their wash.  She told this story with her delightful giggle, and I can only imagine the looks in the rest of this country if that happened on their own suburban Main Street. 

Another story that I love is of a man who told a friend of mine about having spent $1400 on school clothing for the kids.  My friend was stunned, knowing that he only had four children, and he asked him, “Why did you spend so much?”  The man replied, “I am the only person on the block with a job.  I bought for all of the kids on my street.”  Isn't that a beautiful story? Can you imagine doing the same? 

It is not impossible to imagine that the day may come when we are completely reliant on others.  Look at what happened with Hurricane Katrina!  If there were a major catastrophe, we might soon find that all but the most important goods become unnecessary.  We revel in so many man made goods, but in the past, there was much more respect for the things that God created.† That respect came from understanding that nature was the provider of what we needed to survive.† People took care of nature† because they understood† that nature took care of us.† There was a definite connection and respect for the relationship between man and nature that has disappeared with the growth of large corporations and  mass production.†

Farmers in the mid-west heartland are heavily impacted by the  decades of pesticide use that destroyed the nutrients of their land and has poisoned the water.†  In South Dakota, cancer rates are through the roof, the infant mortality rates are among the highest in the country, and many people are suffering painful digestive ailments and cancer of the breast, stomach, intestine and other organs.  Ranchers and Native Americans are now working together to return the earth and its water to its original condition,  because those ranchers now really understand the connection between their life and the land.

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

   Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.  Job 12.

Indians and animals know better how to live than white man; nobody can be in good health if he does not have all the time fresh air, sunshine, and good water.  Flying Hawk (1852–1931)  chief (Oglala Sioux)

In suburban life that real, connected respect for the connection between nature and man is long gone, though of course, many people are striving today to be more aware of how their actions effect the earth.  However, that does not help the kids understand the spiritual connection to the earth as provider, and is one of the reasons our children do not show the kind of respect and appreciation we want to see in them in other areas as well.†  As far as they know, money does grow on trees, and there is an endless supply...or at least that is how they act.

When people are disconnected from their spiritual selves and the sustaining world around us, we not only do not appreciate what we have, but many people feel lost.  This disconnection with nature and each other causes people to become depressed.  This is why so many people have a hard time finding meaning in their work or their lives.† That's when the Prozac and excessive shopping comes in.  What do you think people watched before TV? The rivers flowing. The birds flying. The clouds passing. All of that allowed our brains some down time, rather then filling it up with More! More! More!

If we restore our connection with nature and our responsibility for each other's happiness and well being in order to survive, our responses to the food we eat and the gifts we receive will be very different, and much more meaningful.†

† As it is now, we work as hard as we can to achieve the most that we can, and to be proud of the amount we accumulate.† We are patted on the back for our accomplishments and encouraged to “do our best.” † † For the majority of the middle class, survival is assured, and financial achievement is admired. So where is the real meaning of life?  In our boat?  Our home?  Has a shallow ring to it, doesn't it?

Materialism make us believe that we are just one possession short of happiness, which is why nothing will ever satisfy us for long.  Unless we fill ourselves up with spiritual nourishment, we will be left with a hole in our gut, never knowing what it is we are really starving for. When you are hungry, do you want a meal or a sugar high, followed by the crash? Think about what you are using to fill up your soul. Think about what you are really hungry for, and think about what you want to feed your kids. Surely a hollow heart is as tragic as a hollow stomach. Surely inner strength comes from a well balanced diet of Spiritual Living.