Free Will?

I believe, and many priests, ministers, rabbis and imams have told me, that we are given free will by God. Ted Scott former Primate of the Anglican church in a conversation with me once said that God made the rules and free will was one of them. God will not interfere in what people do bad or good because that would be breaking his rule of free will. Now all of these religious leaders also say, and there is scientific proof of this as well, that prayer works. And this makes me wonder about what “prayer works” means. Not in the effectiveness of prayer but in the implication the impact God answering prayer has on free will. If God or the Creator answerers prayer then S/He is interfeering and fere will is compromised. I once heard an old Cree medicine man tell a physician that “people are not machines, when the body is hurt by disease the soul is also, by neglecting to heal the soul modern medicine does only part of the job.” The physician eventually came to agree. The argument was about what purpose if any the drumming and chanting had when healig the sick. In an earlier blog i stated that prayer was directed energy. I think also that the soul, which is the imortal part of our being, is energy and linked directly to everything in the universe. Now I also stated that when we pray we direct the healing thoughts and energies to the ones we are praying for. Prayer works in my opinion because we direct some of our health to others who need it. It does not work, in fact I believe cannot work because of the rule of non interference giving us free will, because the Almighty Creator heals. It is fairly well known that the attitude of the sick person is as much a factor in the recuperative process as the medicines they are given. Knowing someone cares enough to light a candle for you or to pray is often a boost we need to feel better within ourselves. I think that the prayers of others, no matter what form they take, help us heal both by giving us much neaded healing energy and by making us feel more of our own self worth. Knowing you are loved is as important as the pill the doctor gave you.

More on Five Elements

In my previous entry I talked about the five aspects of some spiritual paths and how in some ways people are like the five elements. The ending was unclear in my mind and required further comment so here goes. We are all thought, cognition and ideas. What we think is a huge part of us. We all feel emotion, fear, anger, joy and love. In my opinion our spirit, lives below the emotions and thought. It is our motivator, the over all love and awe we feel at being alive. The true appreciation of the creation around us its beauty and terror shapes our spirit. The awe at the beauty of nature like a sunset or a rainbow forms our spirit. Our underlying belief in justice, freedom and what is right and wrong are from all three parts of us as human beings. The foundation of how we act this reality is our spirit. But w are more than this physical being. We’re connected to the greater whole in some inexplicable way. Our soul is that part which connects us to the universe around us. It is where we came from and where we go to. This part of us is larger than us and yet defines our boundaries. It is the most difficult part of us for us to understand. Our spirit emotions and thought make us act and our soul reflects back the ripples in the universe our acts make. Our soul links us to creation is an incomprehensible way. Difficult to grasp though this is the fifth element is more so. This is to goal of all spiritual paths. A perfect balance of all the elements we are. Perfect understanding of all the fours aspects of what we are and making them balanced into something whole. Total awareness of what we are and do. This makes eternity now present and complete. The fifth element is often referred to as the temple or the circle or a unity being or the holy. Such true self knowing is very difficult. Balancing the awareness of what we think feel and the underlying motivation with the understanding of how we are all connected to creation and each other, is very difficult. I have seen some people obtain glimpses of this. They were all remarkable people and fit many spiritual paths. They were Christians, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims. They all said prayer or meditation was the main thing that enabled them to touch briefly that unknown we call God. And this fleeting touch of enlightenment helped them become better people helping others. So it doesn’t matter what the path you prefer as long as you attempt the journey.
Namaste

We Are Five

It has struck me that in many spiritual paths there are five elements. They are usually earth, fire, air, water, and spirit with spirit being the unity of the other four. I find that people seem to be four elements combined into a whole so this might be the reason for this mythological spiritual construct. People are physical, and energy, it’s how we move our muscle folks. Also we are mental or thinking beings and we have a soul, whatever that is. I tend lately to think that our emotional being is our spirit. All together this makes the soul that we are. The main problem we have spiritually is that we think too much. Our mental state combined with our physical bodies dominates our world. We all know there is more to us than that and that it requires our attention. I think that our thinking about food, and what we’ll do for fun, when do we get paid, does the laundry need doing, etc. all dominate our lives so much that we neglect what we truly are. It is this neglect that makes us unhappy. We are all souls. We are all united together in the greater universe. I personally think our soul outlasts this lifetime. Our thoughts crowd out what we feel because the brain is too busy to know to process what we really feel. I find that by meditating I do get to know what I am feeling more accurately. This is not always comfortable but it does help me grow. Lately I am trying to figure out why I react a certain way. Is it because I am afraid of something? I do not yet know but I will meditate and let what comes, come. Who knows, I may actually find out in the stillness of my mind. Stillness of my mind, oh if only… my committee in my head seems to want overtime.
I have found that if I make the meditation a ritual it is more effective. I think this is because the repetitive actions for setup and the candles being lit help the mind and body realizes what I am going to attempt to do. It also makes the symbols of the elements more present in my awareness. Who knows maybe one day I to will become enlightened. At least for now I become more aware of what is around me and more aware of what I feel about things. It is funny how unexpected emotions arise during a meditation. I find dealing with them by recognizing them and then letting them go so they have less control over my actions is very helpful to me being a better person. I truly believe only I can make me a better person. This is frightening and liberating at the same time. So balancing all four aspects of what I am is both very hard and very rewarding.

Namaste