Sparks from the Fire

I have no idea what it means to be enlightened, but I’ve seen the light enough to know that that’s what I should be doing here – what I should be living for. Does it mean that I should go off and live on a mountaintop somewhere? I hope not. I think not.

I’m probably far too caught up in the minutiae of daily life now. Founding and building a company, Watchfire Music, is a task that takes inordinate amounts of my time and energies and sometimes I go weeks without even thinking of the word.

Then again, I live my life these days considering the many ramifications of Inspiration so I like to think that I’m somewhere on the road to enlightenment.

I just have no idea how long that road is and how far it is that I have to go. There aren’t a lot of roadmaps to buy and I don’t have a GPS system to point me the way.

Well, then again, maybe I do.

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My son, Dustin, was 8 years old when the heavy steel front door of our apartment smashed his finger.  He was leaving for school, and sometimes when the terrace door is open up here on the 38th floor, there is a wicked compression that happens and doors slam all through the place – especially the front door.

His scream had me running through the living room immediately.  The finger was still caught in the door when I arrived and Dust stood in shock just looking back and forth between me and where his finger disappeared between the steel door and the door jam. I quickly reopened the door and let his finger out.

It didn’t look good. The finger from the first joint to the tip was already bright red and turning a wicked purple and swelling immediately to twice its size. He was horrified and began to scream again. The thought immediately struck me, “How could his finger have possibly fit between door and jam?” There was only 1/8 to 1/4 inch of space between.  The picture in my imagination of his finger caught in that narrow space was not pretty. (more…)

My own personal definition of God has changed rather dramatically over the last several decades.  I was never formally taught to believe in an anthropomorphic God, rather a God that is Love, Life, Principle, Truth, Mind, Soul, and Spirit.  However, growing up in America, or perhaps even in this world of television and public schools and diverse peoples, it was inevitable that I should accept a God of Him or Her or Father or Father-Mother.  So when I prayed, it was also inevitable and perhaps forgivable that I would pray to an anthropomorphic concept – not exactly that guy in the sky with a long white beard, but often somewhat close to that.  World thought seeped into my little brain and I gradually took on an anthropomorphic concept whether I wanted to or not.

Sistine Chapel

Around 25 years ago I had my first rock the boat experience working with my religious teacher where my God concept was so severely challenged that it shattered and broke to smithereens.  At the time it was a devastating experience.  Looking back, it was, of course, a great turning point in my life and actually spurned a huge amount of growth on my part because I needed to have my false concept exposed and done away with.  For a couple of years I even stopped praying because I had no idea who or what I was praying to.

Gradually, through study, meditation and certainly a form of prayer, I built back my concept of God on a different and more scientific and, you might say, natural gut level.  I took great steps to eliminate that “guy in the sky” concept from my understanding as much as possible.  I stopped using the gender words of He or She in reference and decided that in this English language, God would simply be, for me, an It.  I changed my prayers from requests basically to acknowledgements – acknowledgements of gratitude, acknowledgements of infinitude, acknowledgements of goodness, etc.

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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.”

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“I always thought I should be treated like a star.” – Madonna

“Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations, but it also has its drawbacks and I’ve experienced them both.” – Marilyn Monroe

“Now there is fame!  Of all — hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public — fame is by far the worst. It is the castigation of God by the artist. It is sad.  It is true.” – Pablo Picasso

If you fail to succeed in any case, it is because you have not demonstrated the life of Christ, Truth, more in your own life…” – Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health

I find it interesting to note that Mrs. Eddy says nothing here about money, glory, good reviews, or fame. I personally have experienced all four of the latter, and I can’t say as I have gotten much of anything out of the four. The money, I spent — the glory, only served to confuse my ego — the good reviews, no matter how good, were never good enough, — and the fame — well, let’s just say, “it was all a bit on the hollow side.” in fact, let me tell you my favorite story about fame.

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