March 30, 2025

I am reading the classic 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience, by psychologist William James.  James describes the psychological condition that precedes the making of any dramatic change in one's way of looking at Life – particularly the experience of embracing a faith of a religious nature – as "self surrender."  Someone who is desperate to escape from self-loathing for countless perceived sins, or exhausted by the travails of Life such as illness, failure, brokenness or purposelessness may basically give himself up to – he knows not what.  The unknown and invisible net that catches him is his subconscious mind, within which there is a subliminal protective power - a constantly available Source of comfort, strength and wisdom.  He may call that Source by any name, but what he has found is what we Quakers call "that of God" – the Light, the Holy Spirit – which everyone has within.  Upon that thrilling discovery, he often realizes that he is both the steward of that Spirit – and its agent.

A dream: changing the script

In my dream this morning, March 1, 2025, there is a tradition that, in a certain situation, one must have a certain kind of dream: a martial dream, a dream about triumph, power over others, domination.  One in that situation receives a script, a psychic template, for that kind of dream: though the details are created by the dreamer, it is always a dream of at least psychological violence: of power over others, but also insecurity, isolation from others, loneliness.

In my dream, I have  - I happen upon - the power to change the script or template that is given to people in that situation.  What the script or template will be is up to me. Changing the script will be to break with tradition - a revolutionary act and, as I see the alternative, a liberating and joyful one of giving the dreamer the freedom to choose their dream using a script or template of peace, joy, play, and beauty; of love and appreciation of others, not domination; of connection and cooperation with others.  

I choose the new script.

Belief is Enough: A Friend’s Thoughts about God Within and Personal Responsibility

Belief is Enough: A Friend’s Thoughts about God Within and Personal Responsibility

I do not know –

Whether God, however named, exists in any form, dimension or place other than everywhere – in every human being and other creature, every planet and star, every law of Nature – and always.

Whether God, except by operation of Nature and choices of our parents, caused you and me to be born; had any purpose in doing so; and now has any purpose we are to pursue other than whatever purpose we choose.

Whether God, except by random operation of Nature and by individual and collective human choices and actions, afflicts anybody or saves anybody.

I do know – at least I am comfortable and confident in my convictions –

What other people know – others’ truths – are as valid to them as mine are to me.

The true personal experiences of every person – physical, mental and spiritual, waking and dreaming – have always been, are, and always will be as real to them as mine are to me.

Not everything happens for a reason other than the random operation of Nature, sometimes together with choices made by one or more humans.

To my great benefit and comfort, “I have drunk from wells I did not dig.  I have been warmed by fires I did not build.”  I have traveled on trails and highways I did not plan or create.  I have been protected by laws I did not make.  I have enjoyed freedoms and opportunities won and protected by champions over the centuries – military and law enforcement, public servants, and nonviolent civic activists – often at great personal cost, even their lives.  I should, and I can, do my best to live up to the countless heroes who have served humanity with devotion and at great sacrifice – and to the examples of ethical living within my family and circle of friends.

I believe:

My beliefs and values about God, service and responsibility, summarized here, are well worth living by, whether or not they are objectively correct, or even unreasonable, in the eyes of others. 

Anyone who serves humanity motivated by beliefs and values different from mine deserves my gratitude and support.  If belief in God, however named, is part of others’ motivation, such service will keep them right with God.

God, as a spirit an innate holiness, is in the heart of every human being.

So, each of us – believer or atheist – is, consciously or not, an agent of God.  People’s individual and collective choices and acts – and inaction – are, at least in effect, God at work in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations.

I am not responsible for any other person’s values, beliefs, judgments, decisions, or actions.

I am fully responsible for my own values, beliefs, judgments, decisions and actions – so I strive to choose them consciously and with care.

I am responsible for every choice I make and for their consequences, whether or not I foresee them.

Whether or not I am aware of it in the moment, I best represent God as a source of peace, justice, love and joy by striving to foster peace, justice, love and joy wherever I go.

Fostering peace, justice, love and joy is much easier when I am unburdened by thoughts or feelings of entitlement, injustice or deprivation.

Whether to focus on what I might feel entitled to but do not have or to focus on what I have to which I’m not entitled – that is, whether to focus on reasons to be cranky and sorry for myself or reasons to be grateful – is a choice.  I choose to cultivate gratitude.  After all, other than what is provided by law or by reciprocity in my relationships, to what am I entitled but life (for a while), liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Happiness comes from being the best agent of grace – or God, if you prefer – I can see to be.

I have neither need nor reason to strive to earn an eternal spiritual existence, however pleasant it might be.  For me, it is enough to seek and experience grace, peace, justice and joy in this life when they come; to do what I can to have them come more often; and to experience, as I do from time to time in this life, what seems to be the most that can be hoped for in heaven: that everything is all right just the way it is.

Trusting one's experience and "inlet to the divine."

I am reading - rereading, I thought it so good - The Varieties of Religious Experience, a series of 1902 lectures by psychologist William James.  I recommend it to anyone interested in an open-minded, erudite and rigorously scientific discussion of human truths that cannot be verified or tested by any instrument: our personal beliefs and experiences.

"[A] current far more important and interesting religiously than that which sets in from natural science towards healthy-mindedness is that ... to which ... I will give the title of the 'Mind-cure movement', ... a deliberately optimistic scheme of life, with both a speculative and a practical side."  Id., Penguin Classics Edition, p. 94. 

"[I]t is the life that tells; and mind-cure has developed a living system of mental hygiene which ... is wholly and exclusively compacted of optimism: 'Pessimism leads to weakness.  Optimism leads to power.' 'Thoughts are things,' ... and if your thoughts are of health, youth, vigor, and success, before you know it these things will also be your outward portion.  No one can fail of the regenerative influence of optimistic thinking, pertinaciously pursued.  Every man owns indefeasibly this inlet to the divine. ... [O]ne gets, by one's thinking, reinforcements from elsewhere for the realization of one's desires; and the great point in the conduct of life is to get the heavenly forces on one's side by opening one's mind to their influx."  Id., p. 107.

In 1902, James wrote, "To the believer in moralism and [good] works, with his anxious query, 'What shall I do to be saved?' Luther and Wesley replied, 'You are saved now, if you would but believe it.'  And the mind-curers come with precisely similar words of emancipation.  They speak, it is true, to persons for whom the conception of salvation has lost its ancient theological meaning, but who labor nevertheless with the eternal human difficulty.  Things are wrong with them; and 'What shall I do to be clear, right, sound, whole, well?' is the form of their question.  And the answer is: 'You are well, sound, and clear already, if you did but know it.'"  Id., p. 108, italics in original.

I had such an experience over 30 years ago.  It could not have been detected, let alone verified, even if I had been hooked up to brain activity measuring device when it happened - or now, when I remember and relive it.  If anyone thinks I must be making it up - that's all right: others' skepticism doesn't change my reality.  However, dear reader, even if you don't accept my experience as real, for your own sake I urge you to trust your own experiences that cannot be verified.  James writes of "the enormous diversities which the spiritual lives of different [people] exhibit.  Their wants, their susceptibilities, and their capacities all vary ....  The result is that we have really different types of religious experience...."  Id., p. 109.

James's point applies to any kind of personal experience and, over a century ago, he was blunt in urging readers not to dismiss on account of their strangeness the experiences of others: "[N]othing can be more stupid than to bar out phenomena from our notice, merely because we are incapable of taking part in anything like them ourselves."  Id.

December 15, 2024

For centuries, Quakers have believed that every person has direct, individual access to God, however named, and, much more, that there is divinity - "that of God“ - within every person.

These beliefs bring to my mind this thought experiment: what if the parts of God within each person who has ever lived, who is alive today, and who will live in the future are, collectively, God?  What if every person, whether she or he believes it or not, is the host, guardian and agent of her or his unique part of God - and those parts are all there is to God? 

God would still be amazingly complex and powerful.  God would have been there at the conception of the first human.  God would have been there at the invention of language, the wheel, and the atomic bomb.  God would have been there every time a law was decreed by a king or voted – or disregarded - by a group of people.  God would have been there at the start of every war, with every person during every day of every war, and at every war's end.  God would have been there for the building of the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and Machu Picchu; the writing of every word of The Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, and the I Ching; and the painting of every cave image, the Sistine Chapel, and Guernica.

In this thought experiment, the will of God would constantly be at work through each person and humanity as a whole.  Human civilization would be like a spiritual democracy, with some people gaining and exerting more power than others; some people opposing abuses of power; some people deciding, consciously or unconsciously, not to vote - or being unable to vote - on many issues; and people variously happy or unhappy with the way things have been, are, or are headed.

Whether those who, now and in the future, want peace, the rule of law and truth, basic human rights and reasonably fair opportunities for all, security of every neighborhood and nation, and an end to degradation of our earthly environment fail or succeed in requiring or persuading those who do otherwise - those whose actions devalue others' lives and work, lead to conflict and wars, or harm global habitats and production and distribution of food for humanity - to change their ways, God, through people, will have brought about the end of humanity, be it ten or ten thousand years from now; or humanity, as God, will have saved itself.

This is just a thought experiment. But it helps me think about what I'll do today.

Thought experiment: being one among billions of cells - part 2

I have described in these pages a thought experiment  —  imagining oneself as one cell among billions in the body of humanity.

Since then, the woes of humanity have mounted. Wars, famine, pandemics of health, hatred and anxiety. Though historically common, these seem to have become more numerous, more intense, and more ghastly in their human consequences — deaths, injuries, hunger and starvation, including countless civilians and children; homes, hospitals, schools and jobs destroyed; forced mass migrations; alienation of neighbors one from another, even in communities far from war or famine, due to toxic political climates.

How does one cope? How does one person, with one voice in the seeming din of shouted harangues, both practice self-care and contribute in a sustained way? 

Return with me to the thought experiment. Even for an imaginary, single cell in the body of humanity, Life is a best efforts proposition. Each cell has its familiar set of chosen responsibilities within the body of humanity and fulfills those responsibilities in what it perceives as its best effort under its circumstances. 

Imagine that to a cell comes the knowledge that the body is in danger. For reasons other than self-defense (or far beyond it), some cells in the body are killing, maiming or starving their fellow cells and destroying or threatening to destroy organs in the body which are the sources and homes of those other cells. Yet other cells, for power or distraction from the effort to gain power, are trying to get cells to attack each other or to diminish the ability of cells work together, particularly to work together to reverse and deter the degradation of cellular cooperation that is needed for the health of the body. 

How does the cell respond to that knowledge? Just by pursuing its previously chosen set of responsibilities, however far from danger that may be, perhaps reasoning, “what difference could one cell make?” 

Or does the cell recognize the danger to the body, recognize that its duty of best efforts applies to care for the whole body, and recognize that it could make a real difference, especially by joining with other cells, and resolving to find out what it, that one cell, can do — what it can do beyond what it previously did, beyond what it was previously comfortable doing — to help in a loving and persevering way to protect and heal the body? I believe that the cell that chooses to pursue this resolution, this path of growth and service, will find that choice fulfilling and entirely consistent with self-care and having a life of joy.

September 22, 2024

Life will always take care of itself, whatever we do, and whether we think about it or not.  But if we consciously attend to Life as it unfolds, and do our best to honor and protect it, something magical and very powerful happens.  It's as if the Holy Spirit is telling us,

"If you lovingly take care of Life, Life will lovingly take care of you."