all hallows' eve: the fun

Hallowe'en (Halloween) is the night when the dead walk the face of the earth or when the weirdos walk the earth if you live in NYC. It's the night of costumes, mischief, pumpkins with candles and a good excuse for freshly baked pumpkin pie.

It's simply my favorite time of the year (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/10/autumn-pumpkins-apple-pies.html) -- an old Pagan celebration of the occult (the unknown) followed by All Saints Day. It's no surprise that these two traditions are intertwined as the dead are celebrated in a variety of customs.

To me, it's a bit different though. The day before Hallowe'en is my brother's birthday (46). It's a two day excuse to party and drink before going to church. Well at least, this is what it could and should have been (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/10/no-bother-no-sisters.html). Nowadays we're older and dull with children, work and other mundane obligations. At least, we still have Hallowe'en to act like children or at least make our children silly.

autumn: pumpkins & apple pies

Although winter's the calmest time of the year with its blankets of fluffy snow, autumn is my favorite part of the year. The weather cools. The wind chills. Foliage starts with its beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. The airs smells of pumpkins and apple pies. Halloween is mere days away and we wait eagerly for the lost souls to walk the face of the earth.

In all, this might simply be the most Pagan time of the year, but it's simply beautiful as vegetation dies off -- death yet not barrenness. The beauty of nature in this time of the year surely reminds me of the presence of God (Lectio Divina) -- as much Pagan as Christian.

hacking the source code of faith

In a perfect world or rather in a perfect religion, the perfect faith should have the complete and correct understanding who God (whatever name) truly is. In my sole opinion, all religions have this concept partially right and fairly wrong.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach us that there's only ONE GOD. At the same time, Christianity also teaches us that God has three persons or rather interpretations (Trinity) -- not three gods in one.

Krishna (my favorite religion or set of beliefs to read about) teaches us that all creatures on earth have some specific purpose to comply with the will of the Godhead. It also gives us the belief of cleansing of the soul by correcting our previous mistakes (repentance, atonement of sins).

Pagan beliefs also tell us that God is in nature as an undeniable a part of nature. This is the same belief of Lectio Divina, in which all creation's an extension of God.

What'd the perfect faith be like? It'd teach us (1) that there's ONE GOD all around us, all knowing, all mighty, (2) that all of his creation or lack of in the cosmos is an extension of God and (3) that this creation works together for a greater good or purpose. We could even see creation as an object in the palm of God's hand. Hence we're one with God and in God.

no God, no Heaven... what if?

This might be sacrilege just to ask, but it's a valid question nonetheless (followed yet by a another for emphasis). What'd happen if there was no God, no Heaven, no reason to exist other than inhabiting this planet? Does this mean that our Christian values are worthless?

Said all this, I know God exists. I don't think anyone could make me change my mind. Ironically enough, I don't have any tangible proof for what I feel and hold as true. I only have my experiences (what I've seen, felt and lived) and my beliefs.

I admit that we don't know for sure as we constantly doubt, but we still believe in this invisible God (http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/08/invisible-magical-man-in-skies.html). After all this irrational belief is what we call "faith."

Nonetheless, if there was no God at all, yes, we'd have wasted part of lives in a senseless effort to hold on a faith. At the same time, you'd have still learned to be good people.

The problem with that last comment at times is just too obvious. We're usually only good to those like us (similar core values, beliefs, interests, etc) and we reject everyone else.

miracles

Some say that waking up to a new morning is a miracle within itself. From the point of view of Lectio Divina (Latin for Divine Lecture; http://project05952381.blogspot.com/2010/08/invisible-magical-man-in-skies.html), nature as well as all creation is a representation of the divine and the goodness of God.

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
- Genesis 1:1-31 (KJV)

As a mentioned during the class I took on Lectio Divina when most of others talked about the people who had died in their lives, for me at least birth was a true miracle that I admired. After all, how we -- earthlings -- are the only creatures alive in the known cosmos still is the biggest mystery (hence miracle although not referred to it as such).

invisible, magical man in the skies

For many, God (the concept of the Godhead) is merely an invisible and magical man in the skies.

The idea of sky comes from the three-tier ideology of the nature of earth with God residing in the skies (Heaven) while the demons living in the center of earth (hell) and humans merely inhabiting the face of earth. At the same time, the idea of God being invisible and magical is merely the limitation of our human understanding as we try to personify God to understand him. We commonly fail to see God in nature, the ground we walk on, the skies, the seas, the cosmos, other worlds, all known, all unknown and creation as a whole (Lectio Divina). Alas he's all around us -- hence in all places at the same time, looking after us all the time, knowing it all at all times (omnipotent, omniscient).

In any case, I do worship and have faith on this invisible and magical man in the skies -- as irrational as it may seem, beyond human understanding.

sky walking with God

One of favorite movie sagas growing up was Star Wars (New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back & Return of The Jedi). In these movies, there's a close relation between what we understand as religion and The Force.

The concept that The Force is the combined force of all living creatures is similar to the belief in Krishna and Lectio Divina. In Star Wars, this same combined force has a dark (evil) side.

Darth Vader -- my favorite character -- is the representation of evil second only to the Emperor (what we could see as the devil). There's no one-character representation of good, God or heaven. The aspect of good is represented by the Jedi Order (sort of guardian angels with light sabers), in which Luke Skywalker is the main figure. In such scenario, Yoda could be seen as a prophet, master (not a lord) or holy man.

The whole formula of good against evil is as old as earth itself. In Star Wars, the Old Republic (good) protects itself from the Empire (evil). In real life, God protects us from the devil (sin and evil).

In the end of the Star Wars, the Emperor is destroyed and Darth Vader repents from his wrongdoings. Continuing my analogy, God will defeat or has defeated the devil. At the same time, evil the worse of sinners can become good and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

drugs, nirvana & God

A good friend of mine during Bible study mentioned that a person can feel God in a state of self peace or level of meditation. To this I mentioned the word "nirvana" that perhaps fits the concept better. Then I mentioned that some drugs cause a similar effect of relaxation (during the high, not the after-effect). I immediately asked her if being high (like an acid trip) was a good way to get closer to God. Her response was a weird facial expression on disbelief and surprise. I just laughed and quickly explained that I was playing with her.

Joking aside, I do have that theory that many people do drugs to find a connection with God (heaven, nirvana, peace, etc) -- while escaping from material (earthy) realities. Now I'm not saying that one has to take drugs like LSD to "ascend" to heaven, but meditation and being one with creation (like Lectio Divina) is one of several ways to feel God's presence and love.