God & Me

I recently had to fill out a form for a class that I am taking on how to teach mindfulness meditation. One of the questions on the form was: “what religion do you follow”. That is the only question besides what do you do for a living that makes me really uncomfortable.

The reason why it makes me uncomfortable is because there is never an option that adequately represents what I feel and believe. On this particular form my choices were the following: Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Protestant and Other.

I sat there looking at the question and was about to skip it when I realized that I might as well tell the truth, the whole truth. So here is what I wrote: I am a Jesus loving Buddhist who believes all religions are equal because God loves everyone.

I am sure that whoever reads that form is going to have a good laugh because religion (along with politics) is one of those subjects that everyone seems to have an opinion on and let’s face it, there is no right answer when it comes to religion.

For the record, I view God/The Universe as an energy force that acts out of love. I used to think God was this huge dude on a throne somewhere in the sky, casting out light and dark depending on what was needed. Ironically, whenever I feel like I need to have a talk with the man in charge, I reflexively look up.

 

 

 

Anyway, God did not appear or rather I did not take Him seriously until I was nineteen. I have Marianne Williamson to thank for introducing God into my life. Until then, He was like a distant relative that you know exists but lives far enough away from you that you forget about Him.

The year had to be around 1993. My mother and I had seen an interview with Marianne Williamson and my mom was really interested in reading A Return To Love which had just been released as a paperback. I thought the interview was great too but that is all that I thought. About a couple of weeks later, I had to buy a present for my mom for either Mother’s Day or her birthday. I don’t remember the occasion but I do remember finally deciding to buy her A Return To Love.

A few days after giving my mom the book as a present, I asked her what she thought. She said the following: “It is a great book. She writes like you or rather your writing style is like hers. You should read it”. I had no intention to read the entire book. My mom handed it to me and my plan was to read the first two pages and go on my way. I ended up reading the entire book in about a day because the content spoke to what I was feeling.

I had a bad childhood and I was taught that I was to blame for all the things I had experienced. Reading Marianne’s words made me realize that things sometimes happen for a reason and that God works in mysterious ways. So what happened had to happen, I just did not see the reason because I was so immersed in my pain.

I carried that book as if it were my Bible. Finally, I realized that there was this force that was looking over me and I  had to learn to trust it. At that stage in my life, I just wanted to make sense out of the pain. Reading her book helped me to make sense out of everything that happened. It made me realize that fear was the big problem in life and that the best thing to do was to go from living out of fear, to living from a place of love.

It would take me another ten years to master that but at least the seeds had been planted. However, in 1997, Buddhism crossed my path and that took my awareness to a whole new level. Buddhism, in my mind, teaches that life has suffering and you just have to accept how life is and find a way to make the best out of it.

What made me fall in love with Buddhism was how simple and logical it was to practice and follow. By saying it is simple to follow does not mean that it is easy but rather it is so powerful yet presented in such a humble manner. Buddhism also taught me to see the power we all have in how we choose to act and perceive life. The Middle Way, which Buddhism promotes, is a life of no extremes and represents a peaceful mode of existence.

I eventually realized that although I loved Buddhism with all my heart (and I love it even more now), I could not discount the fact that I did believe in a God. So I finally came up with the following in my mind: I have to make the most out of each situation I am in and do what is essential. I am responsible for how I choose to be in the world. However, what becomes of my actions is not in my hands. I have to surrender outcomes for I cannot control them. I can visualize the outcome that I want and chances are it will come but how it will manifest itself is out of my complete control.

So that is how I live my life and to date, it has served me well. Live your life by whatever philosophy or religion that resonates with your soul. However, ultimately, it is all about love.

Note: I am happy to report that I have been given the opportunity to be a regular contributor over at Elephant Journal. Here is the link to my first article.

 

Other Articles that Might Inspire You::

• Project Revealed: Welcome to the Launch of Happy Lotus Lifestyles, LLC
• Forgot About Mission Statements…What’s Your Creed?
• William Shakespeare & The First Step to Becoming Extraordinary
• Passion…It’s A Way of Life
• War, Love, The Allure of Travel and “The Lotus Eaters”