I chuckle every time I think about an interview I once heard with Ray Charles. The interviewer asked Charles what the one question is that he most often is asked. Charles smiled and said, “People always ask me if I’ve been blind all my life.” The interviewer followed up by asking, “And your response?” With a wide grin Charles said, “I always tell them, ‘not yet’!”

I think that question is actually something that should be asked of everyone and often. Each of us is born blind, born into the false-self of egoic grasping and darkness. Along life’s way, if we’re fortunate, we come to learn the way of living with eyes wide open – we come to be ‘born again.’ The first birth is in blindness to the true self. The second birth is the day we come to own who we really have been created to be. And that day is the greatest day we will ever know. Continue reading…

It’s a question that is asked umpteen times a day regarding all sorts of venues: So, what’s up? What’s the word? What do you hear ‘on the street’? What’s the word from management?

So I’ll ask it of you: What are you hearing… from God?

For me, that’s a question that holds great significance and probably one that we should be discussing more often with our friends and family. I think we might be surprised at the answer(s) we get. I have a close friend who often does conferences for churches and has them answer the following: If God is so good, then why do I feel so (fill in the blank)? You’d be surprised at some of the responses. Without exception the negativity of what people are thinking/hearing/feeling regarding God is astounding. Continue reading…

Yesterday I got an introductory message from a new FaceBook friend who recently came across the blog and found it to be an interesting place to ‘hang-out.’ In briefly relaying her story she mentioned that she had left the ‘church scene’ and now found herself dealing with loneliness and perhaps a sense of isolation.

I can relate. Though I’ve been out of the institutional grind for about 8 years now, I certainly remember how strange it felt the first few months of not attending anywhere. Not only was there a sense of loss but it was accompanied by a ‘now what?’ feeling that I couldn’t escape – ‘what do I do, should I start my own group, do I just sit around and watch TV, what about my old friends and how do I make new ones?’ And of course the ever-lingering question: ‘Is God disappointed in me?’ Continue reading…

What kind of delusional idiot would say ‘amen’ to a post such as this on Christmas Day?!

I’m guessing the same sort of delusional, idiotic person who, in the name of religion and all that is holy, would forbid others to celebrate this day to begin with!

I’ll explain… Continue reading…

When reading Judeo-Christian sacred literature, it’s astounding how quickly the idea of religion and violence merge. In the earliest part of the Book of Genesis there is this odd account about a sacrifice that eventuates in murder. After reading this text, many questions remain as we’re given scant detail – did God command the sacrifices or is it just a story about two brothers following rituals similar to those performed by the surrounding culture(s) of the day? [I guess you figured out I don’t take the story literally…] Continue reading…