OMG

When talking with people, I notice that there are many who are concerned with "truth". They want a definitive answer on what is true. This can be truth about any number of things, especially things surrounding the nature of God, Consciousness, Oneness, or whatever you want to call it. People seem to believe that there is somebody or something out there that can give them a definitive answer on this. My question is, even if someone did give you a definitive answer, would you believe them? Jesus himself could come down and declare the Messianic Era, and all that would happen would be a media storm of criticism and a slew of tabloid articles churned out by the papparazi that would follow him around waiting for him to get drunk and show some skin. People think they want answers, but what they often want are arguments. Answers, arguments, agreement... a Jedi craves not these things. :)

But... There is a framework for figuring out on your own what you hold to be true, at least in regards to God. This is straight out of a book called "How to Know God" by Deepak Chopra, so it's not my material. I am only paraphrasing below, as usual.

Your ability to know god is limited by the electrical impulses in your brain and nervous system. (Keep in mind that Deepak Chopra is also a physician.) Every physical sensation, and even every non-physical sensation, comes from impulses or lack of impulses in certain parts of your brain. When you look at it that way, there are basically seven different possible types of perceptions (or stages) in your brain to that thing we call God. I'll talk about some here. Keep in mind that even though I am giving these stages in a certain order, it does not mean that one is better than another or that it is somehow beyond another. They all just are as they are.

Stage 1: In this stage, God is some awesome and incomprehensible force that does things you do not understand. Your relationship with this God is based on fear and appeasement. Common examples would be those civilizations who depended on rain for crops and had no idea about the theories or principles behind rain. They were at the mercy of this terrible force for their survival. If God is angry, it won't rain. If God is appeased, it will rain. This God has qualities that echo these principles: Vengeful, Jealous, Oppressive -- Think of Yaweh in the early parts of the Bible.

Stage 2: I call this the "Get Ahead God". In this stage, God is not so scary or vengeful, but can be reasoned with. This God watches over you and judges your actions as "good" or "bad" according to its principles. If you are "good", you are rewarded with things like money, health, and cool stuff. If you are "bad", you are punished with things like poverty, bad fortune, and genital herpes. From this perspective, it makes sense to have a good relationship with this God. People who are in this stage believe in following principles to the letter so they can stand the best chance of reward. They firmly accept that this God has a genuine care and stake in the person's life. Qualities of this God are generally: Judgmental, Personable -- Think of most of today's modern Judeo-Christian religions.

Stage 3: In this stage, the character and nature of God changes. Instead of seeing God as a human-like entity that has thoughts, feelings, cares, etc., people start seeing God as some type of force. In this stage, God is no longer anthropomorphic. People who are part of this stage envision God as some kind of formless thing in the background someplace, a silent witness to everything that is going on. This silent witness watches everything, but does not interact with it because it does not relate to things in any sort of human way. It does not "care" or "have emotions", so it cannot get angry, mad, happy, or sad. Those who are in this stage are not really sure what God does at all, if anything. They know that this God exists because part of them can truly feel it and experience that presence first hand, but all it is is a presence, little more. Qualities of this God are generally: Passive, Accepting, Non-Judgemental.

Four more stages to go! Stay tuned!