I was reading a post on a friends Facebook page the other day and someone was complaining about people referring to "the Universe" or "Source" or "Spirit" instead of saying "God." It seems they felt that anyone who didn't just use the name "God" was somehow lacking in some kind of knowledge reserved for a devout few in a particular religion. I have mentioned before that I have no interest in trying to convince anyone else to "believe" in a particular way, it is beyond my ability and beyond my desire. But it did cause me to pause a moment and question why I use certain words or names in referring to how I think the world works. I do say the word "God" quite a bit in describing the force or power I think of as evident in this existence, but I don't actually think of "God" as an actual "name" of an entity or being. I admit that I believe there is an intelligent force or power behind all that we see, but I cannot imagine this force having an egotistical desire to be called by a certain moniker, and being somehow pissed if I don't. Whether you call it (It, Him, Her....for the purposes of this essay, I will use "He" and "Him" just for consistency) "God" or "Spirit" or "Source" or "Harvey" makes no difference to me. I cannot imagine a force that was able to call forth the entire physical universe from nothing (from NOTHING!) via a 7-day exercise or a "Big Bang" worrying for one moment about what we call Him in conversation. Just that when we do reference this power, we have at least a slight humility and reverence about what this power actually does on a day to day basis.
If we think of physical stuff in its simplest terms and form, we focus ever more narrowly down to a molecular and then atomic and then sub-atomic level. At the atomic level of things, we conjure up a picture of what an atom actually looks like. That late-sixties space age diagram of a center surrounded by circling electrons. The space between these electrons we tend to think of as empty space. If that is so, then over 99% of everything physical we see is made up of EMPTY SPACE! That alone freaks me out. But theoretical physicists tell us that this space is NOT empty. Some refer to "anti-matter" and "dark matter" to describe this seemingly infinite amount of potential. There is an idea called the "Planck Scale" named after Max Planck which refers to the base level of matter. On this level there MUST be some kind of communication or intelligence operating, or otherwise, why do the atoms and molecules that make up a physical object like a rock stay together for almost eternity AS A ROCK? Why don't physical objects like trees, birds, or even tables and chairs constantly morph in and out of form as the molecules and atoms shift and dance? What holds them and US together? Some kind of power is at work!
I even love how our own Solar System resembles such a thing as an atom. A power center being circled by a number of objects, some themselves being circled by even MORE objects. And even our Solar System is a body circling a vaster and larger group in this galaxy. And on to infinity. And this "empty space" also acts like an INSTANT communication device with seemingly NO impediments. If you have time, look up things like "bi-location" and "entanglement." Again, theoretical physicists have done experiments where ONE thing can be in TWO DIFFERENT locations AT THE SAME TIME! And also, two cells plucked from your heart can be MILES away and when one is stimulated in one laboratory, the other cell responds IMMEDIATELY through some kind of communication we do not yet understand. Plants respond measurably to human emotions. Dogs "sense" when their owners begin to head home from miles away. The things we think we "know" in this world are miniscule when compared to the things we do NOT know. And things we THOUGHT we knew years ago are being re-thought or sometimes dis-proven everyday. Some estimates are that over 95% of what we "know" at this point has been learned in just the past 50 years.
So really, whatever it is that holds this Universe together, or makes it run, or may someday tear it apart, I care little in what fashion someone else relates to it. As for me, I seek to try and have a personal relationship with it. Further, I seek more and more to respect other people more on a day to day basis. Please be patient with me.
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