Hope&GOD #73

Strange as it seems I have this fleeting, sudden thought about hope. Perhaps it is the fruit borne of listening to the celebration during the early hours of dawn of Nelson Mandela`s life;  for whom I have never given a fleeting thought I -infact, while I was growing up in a comfortable cocoon, being blind, deaf and dumb to the struggles of souls around us--though now it seems that I seem to have been in an entire different country to that which only now has my eyes been opened. Sadly my only introduction to it was in almost a "fairy tale" way when doing the research of Proteas--but now it has touched my heart and soul and realize that so much was going around of which I was totally unaware of-yet a large part of my life belongs to South Africa.

This popped out from a recent  letter-I don`t even know the date, but it encompasses all that which weights on my heart: a dialogue between a friend and I, in red.....Yes, about hope, inspiration and spirit, that "aha"-moment.

Believe it or not, the idea of calling followers of Hope ‘The Hopeful’ was pure last-minute inspiration.  That sort of thing isn’t something one can ignore, even if it hadn’t involved any actual discussion or planning.  Inspiration is our personal spiritual work-bench; from this bench, some of our greatest ideas have been born.  From inspiration, we can gain our Hope, and our faith or religion can be that inspiration.  It’s a matter of not only what religion we’re discussing, but also what practices and dogmas the religion adopts for its followers. 

 Hopeful sounds good, but I would call it perhaps—`In Spirit` as you so succinctly put it—all   arises from inspiration. What is inspiration? For me it is our `non human `aspect that is the whisperings of God or maybe our higher self. That which is ever seeing, ever knowing –our  divine part. All that from which hope springs from.

  Talks of what our Gods won’t tolerate will never be as affective as talks of what pleases them; this is always going to be true, unless talks of what they won’t tolerate is also rich with talks of damnation. The success of such sermons are always going to be debatable, because while followers might be just frightened enough to do as their expected, they’ll never be inspired to do so on their own.  At the same time for me, a sermon that presses us to act as our Gods want because we know it will make them happy might sound better, but doing as we’re asked because we wish to go to heaven isn’t any different from doing what we’re asked because we don’t wish to be sent to hell.  The end-result would be the same.

Personally I don`t think that God wants anything from us—pleasing or non pleasing. Talking of salvation or damnation is strictly a religious concept, made by man. One has to transcend beyond the dogma of religion.  However if  one wants to use religion, they are if one wants to use them –simply as `wayshowers` for man to more easily navigate the way. One does not come to God through fear but by love only. If it is through fear then it means nothing, it is totally of no value—as you have demonstrated.

You talk of sermons—Do you wish to establish a new religion? If yes—than maybe I agree, but also then you are no better than any of the other religions just putting a different spin on it.

  It is my belief that being told what our God or Gods ask of us by yet another human being, is where we’ve gone wrong.  How our Gods feel, and what they want, should be determined only for ourselves, and from within. The need to speak to another for guidance shows a lack of connection with our chosen deities, and being led by this guidance only weakens us; it makes us dependent on another, and there really isn’t anything beyond their personal accomplishments or connections with their own deities that qualifies them to guide the rest of us.  Not to put too fine a point on this, but what does the connection with their Gods have to do with you?  Even if they’ve taken their Gods to lunch and bonded with them on a deeply personal level, what does that have to do with your connection?

Yes—precisely where we have gone wrong—but you have to remember that the human soul is not `awakening to consciousness` at the same time. Some are ahead some are behind and some need an` aha moment` to realize how to proceed. In the past as the human psyche developed – some more enlightened souls—like Jesus, Buddha , various philosophers, theologians and saints—were the `compass`. Were they divine, were they God, were they mere mortals—I have no idea, but the message that they brought is the spark that enflamed our inspiration and understanding and our connection to the Divine.

GOD/Gods  want nothing except for us to have self realization, yes from within-, of whom and what we are—namely  part of the Divine Whole, (my description is simply language) –Yes, we have lack of connection if and when we feel insecure in our faith, if we allow our ego to reign, —there maybe some who seeks guidance be one religious or not. I don`t go to church because I need guidance, I go to church because I love God and wish to demonstrate it. The ritual comes with the territory of the church—but the church is not God—for me. You presume that  everybody who adheres to a religion is dependent and follow like sheep—maybe some do, many don`t. Neither do I pray because of want or need or fear, but out of love and gratitude—As always my prayer ends with--`As You will`. I think you are lumping all into one pot—we are all individual and with individual response to religion as well as God

  It’s reasonable to assume that our lives make it difficult to establish that connection. The world we live in, and our responsibilities make free time difficult to spend wisely; having a church to go to, and a supposed expert on the seemingly unattainable should make things easier, shouldn’t it?  While the priest, monk, or Rabbi believe in what they’re telling us, that doesn’t mean it’s correct.  It might be right for them, but only for them.  Sure they mean well, but just because it’s right for them doesn’t make it right for the masses they’re speaking to.   

You are presuming far too much as to how individuals feel—How do you know? How do you know what makes my life or faith easier, as I do not know yours. How do you know how deep one`s individual faith is? How one feels about their priest, monk or the ascended masters?
   
  What all of us need, is a chance to find our own personal avatars of Hope. Once they’re found, it is our time to hear what our God or Gods want from us.  The message will or should be unique to you.  They speak to us through our conscience.  If we’re righteous, and one of the Hopeful, their message will be cut from that same cloth.

Aren`t you proposing exactly the same as that which you are criticizing—namely a `priest, minister whatever`--aren`t you lifting yourself into that position of  guidance?  Many have found their avatar of hope a long time ago--be that whomever, whatever I am very sure. Our GOD/Gods have spoken clearly long ago—they/it simply want us to awaken into consciousness and GOD/Gods realization.

Now--`hope` as you are proposing regarding actions in the world  which requires each of us to act individually towards the less fortunate or ones who need help or have all our actions directed by all things positive, is different. That all goes in conjunction with Love,- under which is ; compassion, empathy, understanding, mercy, forgiveness—which GOD/Gods are simply manifestations of. God is but one word—LOVE.