I find the concept of 'God' a tricky one, personally, in the way it is represented, traditionally in religion I suppose but it is such a widespread and almost universally-known thing. A tricky one to describe, really.
My biggest point of difference with 'God' is in the dominance of a masculine energy. Essentially, God is the masculine, and Goddess is the feminine. And there is so very little reference to Goddess, from what I can see, whereas God is so commonly referred to - He, Him, God. Yes, the feminist within me (or is the the Goddess energy?) has a problem with that.
See, the way I understand it presently, in speaking to the highest level of being I don't speak to either God or Goddess (what I mean is, I may regularly speak to aspects of God or Goddess, I just don't see that as the highest level of being). I speak to Source, I hold Source as my highest level of being; of being in unity with Source and all that I AM. And what I AM, is simply an extension of Source energy, taking shape in the physical realm here on planet Earth, at this time. To the best of my understanding, there are aspects of my 'self' that reach all the way to Source, and the one I experience in my physical life is but one of those. So even when I think of my 'Higher Self', I specifically refer to the highest aspects of myself in unity with Source, as I want to connect to the top level, you know? Not to the middle guy or girl, not to the one who's only a little bit above me, no; I want to speak to the top, thank you very much. Having said that, I envision a union of all those various aspects of self, all the way up to Source; hence I use the terminology that I do - all that I AM in unity.
Anyway, back to God. I suppose under my current model of understanding (which changes regularly, by the way), I would see 'God' as being somewhere 'up there', but not necessarily at the top, not really Source. From most of the references I see to 'God' about the place, I can only conclude that my 'Source' is the equivalent of what is commonly referred to as 'God'. The reason I see 'God' as somewhere lower down the spiritual food chain is that there have simply been too many 'Gods' - they are in different religions, in different aspects, with different focuses. And I liken it to Goddess - how many Goddess archetypes are portrayed? Many. Many many. As with the Gods. Think Egyptian gods, Pagan gods, more recent Christianity versions of God. I'm not going to name names - there are a lot of 'God' archetypes around, just as there are a lot of Goddess archetypes around, and they share characteristics in common and have some differences.
So, the thing I have the most difficulty reconciling when I see and hear references to 'God' (which is such a personal thing, as I absolutely believe that every person has their own belief systems which are entirely perfect for them) is that it shows a dominance of the masculine energy. When in (my) truth, God and Goddess are both aspects of the same energy. They are the balancing of each other. They cannot be separated, as they are one and the same. It is simply how we see, know and have been educated to see this energy, as a masculine energy. And obviously that has ramifications for the wider spectrum of life on earth, and the dominance of a particular energy over another. Equally there have been periods of dominance of the Goddess energy. But think - wouldn't it be nice to see an equalisation, a realisation that neither energy needs to dominate the other, but rather each brings different aspects of the one energy, and that they are intrinsically one and the same?
A pretty light brush-over for such a huge topic, I know, but so it goes sometimes. A lot around here, actually.
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Just some musings for a Wednesday night. I haven't done a Midweek Musing post in so long! But what are your thoughts? I would love to hear, and I openly state that to my mind there there is no right or wrong in the spiritual world, just different understandings that we all have and that are beneficial to us in our present moment, with none being greater or lesser than any other. And you know, I find this spiritual stuff the hardest things to write about, because it is so personal, but for some reason or other, I feel guided to do so. And it changes, my thoughts and beliefs, so I conclude there will never be a point where I say 'I know' the answer. I don't, I won't. I'm just walking the path and sharing what I find. And in sharing we grow, right?

I so love this post (which I read in the gloom of pre-dawn with a lamb on my lap beside a comforting fire). Your vision of the structure of the spiritual universe is so close to my own current understanding. Kabbalah study has taken up a lot of my time of late and it has given me some new names to solidify my thinking: Kabbalah calls the source 'Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Ur' which is the unknowable and inconceivable behind/beyond the structure of the universe. The first point of manifestation is called 'Kether' and the diamond is a symbol of this point (I notice you have Herkimer diamonds in the photo).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I also believe that we are a part of Ain and remain connected across all energy states and incarnations. I also speak to the many aspects of Ain by using the names of many goddesses and gods (this is a Wiccan belief). I believe that the gods (both male and female) are similarly a part of Ain. However, I am happy to work with the gods 'on the next branch up the tree' rather than go seeking the source; Ain is unknowable, we cannot grasp the infinite with a finite mind, and while we are bound in matter our minds will remain finite.
We very hard to get rid of stereotypical thinking about God. I was brought up in a country that I can say is the servant of the Christian religion. Wzmianie thinking certainly helped me move out, as of today we try to raise children, they would not be slaves to Christian thought, I do not say it's wrong, but it certainly limits our mind. Someone asks me: why are celebrating Christmas?The holidays are not owned by Christians, the celebration of change in nature, so why not celebrate. Most of god I find in the water. And if god is more male element or feminine over not thought about it
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