Sparks from the Fire

I read these truths yesterday morning.  This morning I woke up very early from an end-of-the-world dream where I was stuck in LA after a massive world earthquake and a resulting war with deranged people.  I couldn’t get home.  I couldn’t find anyone I knew.

I woke up in a sweat.  Disturbed deeply.  Frightened by the seeming reality that had just engulfed my life.  Wondering immediately what that was all about.  Carrying forward the feelings of the dream into my waking consciousness.  As I crawled out of bed, the Missus moaned and thrashed about lost in the throes of her own nightmare… (more…)

I believe it was in The Universe and Dr. Einstein by Lincoln Barnett that Albert Einstein said, “We think that an object is there and so we see it, but rather, the truth is, we see it and so it is there.”  I paraphrase this quote, but it’s a startling concept that has stuck with me for years since I read it.

Einstein

I’ve always been fascinated with this wonderful little man with the big mind.  He turned the world’s perception of ‘things’ inside out on so many levels.  I have read or struggled to read many of the books about him over my lifetime and though I nearly always get my mind blown by some historic revelation that he had, most of the time I’m frustrated because I can’t keep up with the mathematics.

But this one idea has always stuck with me — that what we perceive to be true about matter is, in fact, false.  It’s not that we see something because it’s there, but rather, it’s there because we see it.

So we’re each making this all up, this material existence.  This revelation by one of our foremost thinkers and physicists has been supported in so many ways by other great thinkers like Guatama Buddha, Lao-Tsu and Jesus over the centuries and now the discoveries in quantum physics also support the idea that we are living this life experience in an illusion that is being made up in our mortal minds.

I love to contemplate this stunning consideration and laugh at its consequences.  I am making this all up – all that I experience through the five physical senses.  What I see, what I hear, what I taste, what I smell, what I feel with my hands and body.  How does one even get out of bed in the morning?  What are we to do with this?

(more…)

Not so long ago I wrote a posting called “He’s One Of Mine” and in it, I played with the idea that God is the same God of all religions. I received the following reprimand soon after the posting:

“Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father, except through Me.’ So… the god of Buddha (or Mohammed, or Confucious (sic), or any other religion) is NOT the same as the GOD of JESUS. They are completely different, and all religions do NOT lead to God. The only way to get to heaven is through a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ who died for our sins. HE IS THE ONLY WAY. ~God Bless ! — Beth Lightle”

Posted by Beth on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 – 7:27 PM

First of all, Beth Lightle, thanks for taking the time to write in. A little controversy is always good for the soul. It keeps us alive and thinking. Though I doubt that you think your thoughts are controversial judging by the number of caps in your missive. You’ve made it clear here that you’re absolutely sure of yourself.

I too am a huge fan and follower of this man Jesus. I’ve spent my life studying the Bible and especially his words and teachings, and have used these teachings to better my life, to heal and be healed. I do not in any way discount his statement, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father, except through Me.” I only slightly interpret the words in a different light than you do. When he says, “…except by me.” I take that to mean, ‘by my teachings, or by the truths that I teach.”

(more…)