Friday, May 05, 2006

Faith vs Reason continued

Jean-Paul Sartre claimed that the essence of God was in every cell. He said God didn't create the cells, but that the cells would die without Him." Here is the essence of perception. The miracle of ongoing creation. Creation is continuous and uniform. All of us have microbes in our bodies that would just as soon eat us up alive. What stops them? Our immune system.(Reason)The presence of G-d everywhere.(Faith) Technology the instrument, spirit the cause. Something is going on that is for sure.

G-d isn't about rewards and punishments. Our recognition that something is going on can only lead to a further deeper more intimate connection with the primal cause. That dash in the middle of G-d says that we do not know exactly what is going on but we are thankful that we (the dash) are in the middle of it all. There was a Rabbi who was being served his evening meal. His wife placed the plate on the table piping hot full of the fragrances of a sumptious meal. The Rabbi prayed to G-d to please send him food to eat. A guest there at dinner remarked, "how come you are asking G-d for food when it is there right in front of you?""I pray because of the miracle of my existence every moment. I do not know if I will be here in the next moment so I pray and am thankful for each instant of wonder that surrounds me and yes for the continuation of the enjoyment of the food set before me.

"Nietzsche said, 'Existence begins in every instant.'Why does the child so exult herself with a joy that cannot be contained? This joy overflows so much that the adults around her cannot help but join in some measure with this unbounded happiness. We love children because they remind us of a time where our bliss seemed endless. How much more so then would we be able to overflow with bliss connecting with the source of bliss as well as its reflection in our children. It is the moment that remains precious pregnant with connection. All we have to do is to remember to return our attention to this moment now and then in order to feel that sense of overflowing joy that we have experienced as children. As children our focus was constantly shifting. We had no need for plans because we were being taken care. In order to take care of ourselves we had to learn reason. Reason gives us direction and teaches us to focus our energies on what our heart desires. It shows us how words may be formed in such a way as to tell our stories and give our opinions.

Faith cannot be coerced or even argued into. It has to be felt. Your child is born there is a rush of feeling. Your book deal has been closed. You are in love. All of these experiences cause an outpouring of emotion. During this time we are especially aware of our connection to a wondrous universe. This feeling passes. Faith is then an effort to recapture this feeling. We can do this in various ways, doing things for others, acts of kindness, study of higher wisdom, loving a child, each other. All of these human acts demonstrate what we can give to each other. The person on the receiving end gets the feeling of receiving and we get the feeling of giving. This is mirrored in our connection with G-d. You don't have to believe in something you cannot see. Feel. Observe. Connect. Repeat continuously. This is the nature of creation however you choose to describe it.

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