Day by Day

I believe the Bible is a collection of metaphors.  People just have this colorful way of speaking.  It’s how we communicate.  A lot of symbolism in religion is intuition.

It’s about energy.  Very scientific, really.  Call it what you want.  But I believe when people congregate in a place of worship we create energy that connects us to people.

A friend wanted to go to church, so I went with her yesterday.

However, I like distance from organized religion because ministers are just vehicles for the spirit, but they are flawed humans.

I love Jesus — the symbol Jesus.  He carries our sins because we’re weak – it’s the way we’re made.  That’s why spiritual leaders have spiritual leaders.  They need someone to advise them so they don’t form cults, and tell people God told them to have sex with them, or to drink Kool-Aid with cyanide in it.

I do need a spiritual leader, some authority.  I have to appreciate that the spiritual leader is human, to have compassion for that.

Religions and spiritual texts have exercises where at the end of the day you assess your behavior – it’s necessary to function in a healthy way.

There are people who take the message too literally, tainting the idea of religion.

There is no cosmic Santa Claus, as the minister of my family church has said. God’s not going to save me from disease, death, debt – maybe to an extent.  I don’t think it makes sense for me to think that I made it through something death-defying because God loves me.  I’m sure there are people involved in some of the myriad tragedies who believed and who were worthy of this “salvation”, but didn’t “make it”.  We’re so self-centered.  I do believe it’s okay to thank God that you did come through.

God is my higher consciousness.  When I’m aligned with it, I get the answers to problems, because I open my energy up by being willing.

My spirit life is about radiating positive energy within challenges I face with people day to day.  It’s also about facing death, my own death, the death of loved ones.

I think the way we look at death encourages gluttony, greed, and hatred.  We believe it’s so final, that we cling to temporal things, including other lives.  That energy is transformed and not final.  I don’t know what happens when we die, but I should be okay with it because it’s natural.  So why is death bad?

You see it on refrigerator magnets, but really, we only have today.  That’s where my joy and so-called blessings are – not in the future after I’ve obtained my goals.

My spiritual quest is about learning how to stay in the present and being alive where I am now.   This makes my life more manageable and I can start new each day.

The minister who preached at my family church was intellectual, but he would build up a fervor, after he captured you with reason.

Reason is what keeps me faithful, despite outward appearance.  I say vile things, and contemplate evil, but in the end my spirit strives for moderation.  Mostly I walk in a certain direction, despite what I say.  But sometimes I am mischievous.  Sometimes I don’t want anything to do with God.

I don’t want to preach.  Maybe I have here – fuck it.  This is just my experience.  I believe that the universe is vast, and that the possibilities are just as vast.  And there’s so much I don’t know.  Why shouldn’t I embrace the idea of God? There, I said it.

Asshats

Westboro Baptist church gives Baptists churches a bad name.  Asshats.  I went to church today.  Speaking of hats, a few church ladies still do wear those hats and stuff and they all seemed to be sitting on the left side of the church.  They’re adorable.  Guess what I wore?  A huge pink flamingo hat with purple plumes, a mink stole and white patent leather pumps, three inches high.  I DID NOT wear that!  I wore the same clothes I’ve been wearing all week.  God doesn’t judge me for it so neither should you.

The minister is the best.  I haven’t been there for a couple of years, but I ran there today.  I couldn’t take the shit going on in my head about the children in Newton.  I still haven’t seen one news report or read any media on this.  I’m a mess without it.  When I go to Aol to get email, I look to the right, away from the media crap.  I think the media needs to be pulled in.  I hate them now.

On Saturday, I called my Auntie.  She’s also the best.  She’s a minister.  Really down to earth and like a social worker I guess you could say.  Very easy to talk to.  That helped.

Today Rev. Jessie T. Williams delivered — I tell ya what.  The altar prayer was also amazing.

I’ve mentioned it before that this minister is intellectual, and he definitely has the spirit.  Intellect and spirituality are not mutually exclusive.  Some philosophers will tell you that.

He broke it down today!  I almost feel that what he says coincides with science.

A man came late to the service and sat down between a woman and me.  Not only was he fidgeting the whole time but he was chatty as hell toward the end.  I wonder if he was trying to get his rap on.  All I know is I flew up out of there when it was over — didn’t want to find that out.