True story
Some time ago someone challenged me to describe God. It should have been a relatively straightforward challenge. Christian tradition provides an explanation. God is three persons, God is in three persons, God the Father, God the son (Jesus), God the Holy Ghost ... and there is a very long list of attributes that have been added to our description of God. But these traditions are .. ancient traditions. Have we learned anything new? Where does the feminine belong in our understanding of God? Why do millions of women pray to the Virgin Mary? Is she God too? What do we mean when we repeat “I am the one God”? Does that conflict with the three persons idea? And by the way... What is the role of the Holy Ghost?
I procrastinated for days. But finally one evening a simple question firmly embedded itself in my thoughts. I could no longer avoid the challenge. “Who or what is God?”
That question echoed in my mind as I fell asleep
Then sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 AM I was gently awakened from a very deep sweet sleep by a clear and definitely firm male voice that echoed through my semi consciousness state...
“I am not a what”.
“Well... I chuckled gently to myself... that solves 50 percent of my problem”... and promptly fell back to sleep.
So... after pondering the theology of Christian tradition and the current theories of Quantum Science... here are several thoughts.... You don’t have to agree with me. I believe we need to refocus Christian theology on our spiritual relationship with God ... and bring our beliefs into the 21st century.
Tradition
Traditional perceptions imply a physical individual; The Holy Spirit is the third person found in the Trilogy (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost). However, the very name “Holy Ghost” implies it is not essentially physical in nature. It is not an old man with a long beard looking down on us from the clouds above us.
Who is The Holy Spirit?
God is best described as the Holy Spirit... a natural biological being. The soul of the Holy Spirit is the source and presence of conscious energy that permeates the Cosmos. In deep prayer, we make a spiritual connection with The Holy Spirit’s conscious energy.
The term “Holy Spirit” infers spiritual energy. The activity of the Holy Spirit would be impossible without the intellectual, emotional and physical transfer of energy. Therefore, in contemporary terms, we can characterize The Holy Spirit as being both a physical and a metaphysical essence of a living reality. The Holy Spirit is a conscious divine life force. The Holy Spirit is the absolute and perfect expression of a living soul. The Holy Spirit is virtuous, pure, and without blame. The Holy Spirit is the personification of wisdom.
The Holy Spirit is a vibrant living conscious soul whose presence permeates the entire cosmos. The Holy Spirit is the source of all the laws, physical and not-physical, that govern how our Cosmos operates. The Holy Spirit created every law of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, cosmology and all other sciences; every physical characteristic of the Cosmos, including all matter and energy; and every law of moral behavior and human interaction including all human emotions and intellectual capacity.
The Holy Spirit is a transcendent spiritual person. The Holy Spirit (sometimes identified as The Holy Ghost) exists as a separate persona with God the Father and Jesus Christ the son. The Holy Spirit communicates with (and through) the prophets who speak (or teach) what they have heard from the Holy Spirit. The word “Holy” means the Spirit is blameless, without fault, and without sin. The Holy Spirit is the source of all wisdom.
Conscious Energy
Philosophers and theologians of multiple faiths from all over our planet have long believed we humans are all interconnected. Consciousness is energy. Energy is the basis of all life and matter. The energy of consciousness enables awareness.
We humans are certainly conscious beings, and we are capable of experiencing the spiritual as an extension of our awareness. We become aware of the spiritual through prayer, meditation, our sensitivity to the thoughts and feelings of others, the awe and joy brought forth by a beautiful experience, and our emotional response to someone we love. There is no physical dimension to love, loyalty, honor, integrity, morality, or righteousness. These are embodied in the spiritual nature of our being and the values of the Holy Spirit’s Cosmos.
It would appear our active conscious, semi-conscious, and core conscious thoughts are influenced by quantum connections (or coherence) with an intelligence whose character we can only guess at, but whose universal principles frame our understanding of what is moral, what is virtuous, what is beautiful, and what is true. This omniscient cosmic intelligence ( the Holy Spirit) is the creative source of our universe and all forms of life.
The conscious energy of the Holy Spirit would exist, even if we did not.
Infinite Connections
There is a key question: How is the holy Spirit able to make a conscious connection with an unlimited number of humans (and other life forms) in an unlimited number of places .... all at the same time?
Actually, it’s easy to understand.
We humans (and some other life forms) have the ability to be aware of multiple mental stimuli at the same time. A mother speaking to a friend while also being aware of her children’s activity – even in another room. A teacher who (somehow) seems to know what every member of her class is doing... even when her back is turned away. While landing an airplane, full of passengers, the pilot is aware of the flight controls, the weather and wind conditions, the approaching runway, a conversation with the control tower, and the comments of the co-pilot... all at the same time.
Our ability to be aware of... and interact with... multiple mental stimuli at the same time is a fact. The physics of Quantum Mechanics suggest that inter-dimensional interactions may occur simultaneously without regard for distance or time. For me, it does not take a big leap of faith to realize the Holy Spirit obviously has this same capability - on a much larger scale.
Personas
I am the one true God. Do not create other Gods or icons to worship.
The personas of God the Holy Spirit exist in another universe that parallels and interacts with our universe. Although these personas may exist as a form of energy that is unfamiliar to us, they are everywhere. There is no limit to the number of simultaneous appearances that may occur at a moment in time, nor is there any limit to where they may happen. The Holy Spirit can appear (or connect) to us as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, as the Virgin Mary, a stranger, a family member... or in whatever form serves his purpose. These personas surround us with compassion, love, and the energy of life. The more open we are to them, the closer we get to the biological life-force that exists throughout the Cosmos.
God the Holy Spirit is a source of inspiration and inspires us in many ways: the words of a person who seeks to help us, the loving actions of an animal, the sudden discovery of a lovely flower, the colors of a sunset... and so on. God the Holy Spirit is a source of wisdom and he may convey the knowledge we need to us in moments of introspective thought. In these activities the Holy Spirit takes the proactive role of a loving God.
Consciousness, awareness, and interaction with The Holy Spirit transcend ordinary perception. Our experience of The Holy Spirit is transcendent, mystical, and inspiring. These experiences come alive, and have meaning, as materializations of divine energy.
After Death
When we are judged by God, the criteria for judgement have been established by The Holy Spirit.
For those who are worthy, there is a similar connection after we transform into the spiritual self that will live in Heaven. In simple terms, we are like the river that flows into and becomes one with the ocean. Although the waters of the river still exist, they are now intertwined with the waters of the ocean. We connect with the consciousness and awareness that is the Holy Spirit. We are aware of God’s divine unity. We are able to find and communicate with those who have also ascended into heaven.
Let us connect.
The Holy Spirit is a person whose majesty and power we can only imagine.... a singularity whose unlimited wisdom and genuine love can be discovered through prayer and meditation. Let us seek to make that connection.
Ron
A Note: Native Canadians and Americans Revere The Great Spirit
Native Canadian and American Indians have a deep respect for The Great Spirit. These beliefs are the basis of their spiritual values. Prayer to The Great Spirit embodies the very essence of spiritual connection.
The Great Spirit transcends the barriers of time and space and is sometimes described as the god of creation, history and eternity. Harmony with nature and the universe is essential. Everything that exists is interconnected. The Great Spirit is the great omnipresent unifying and universal life force that flows in and through all forms of life.
The nature of the Great Spirit is beyond human understanding. In Lakota tradition, the Great Spirit is also known as the Great Mystery. In the Haudenosaunee tradition, the Great Spirit is known as "the Creator" that lives in all of us.
A prayer might start with “Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.”
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A little family history: In 1819, my ancestors established a successful mission (Methodist Church) among the Ohio Wyandote. It’s first to Native Americans.