Imagine---the song by John Lennon, "Imagine there's no heaven.....no hell below us....above us only sky.." For many people, this is very easy, because it is how they live their life. When we are thinking about Faith, and a Higher Power, and the concept of God...to truly have our OWN understanding that we can claim as our own...we must start from scratch. Those of us who have beliefs, must empty our vessel: it is said "how can we fill a vessel with new life and new living water, when the vessel is already full?"...So use John Lennon's lyrics, and Imagine a clean slate, that in your own mind there is no heaven, and there is no hell...no afterlife, no one greater than yourself..." Please continue reading...
With this feeling that you are an island, you may begin to realize that everything is futile. Everything becomes a means to an END, because your life will END, and there is nothing after...but you begin to notice nature around you. You begin to experience love and compassion from others; a smile from a child. As christmas comes around, you feel good inside when you give a gift to your friend. You start to feel uplifted and like life is a little better when you help someone in need. These observations slowly start to make your conscious thoughts aware that there is something deeper than the superficial. Below the flesh and bone, deep inside--behind the curtain of our constant thoughts---and at the same time, it can be "seen" everywhere. What is this "fuzzy" feeling?...how is it that this unkown phenomenon can be experienced in nature, with other people, when we read, when we think, when we give to others?
Combine these questions and experiences with the dark side of the moon: we question the pain we feel, the heartaches, the struggle, financial difficulties, lonliness, depression...trying to find an answer that is beyond ourself: We seek endless answers in the world around us. A child with autism calls this search "Sensory Stimulation"....but for us Sensory Stimulation (in this child like search for faith in our imagination as you read this)...has meant looking at people, places and things as a way to find meaning in something beyond ourselves. But it resulted in feelings of emptiness and despair. Then, one day, we hear someone mention God, a higher power, Jesus, the Great Comfortor...and we realize...now well into our adulthood, after many mistakes, that the concept of the Being that is Greater than ourselves, bringing comfort... is the force behind all those feelings of goodness....the magical and mysterious force behind nature...and the wonderous instigator behind the child's smile which miraculously warms our heart and makes us feel better for no apparent reason.
This spark of understanding is also the beginning of enlightenment...global consciousness, a spirit world, and undertow of TRUTH that is beneath the flesh and bone, beneath our conscious thought, and permeates our inner most being....and our outermost world.
And, at last, we start to BELIEVE.
If you already have a faith of your own...I hope this helps you understand what it might be like for a non-believer to go through life, and be the VISITOR in your worship gatherings...looking for answers.
If this describes who YOU are and have been....the seeker, endless searching for answers in the wrong places, getting burned, time and time again. I hope you find peace in knowing that if you keep seeking, you will find answers...and indeed, you will be comforted by THE GREAT COMFORTER!!!
Peace and Love
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