Does what you believe matter?
About three years ago, on separate occasions, two men I respect deeply asked me the same question. In both cases, we were in a casual setting. Yet the question was in no way casual to me. Even though I had asked it of myself countless times, I don’t recall ever being asked this by someone else.
One setting was in the shadow of the highest cathedral in the world. The other was in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, just over a mile high. Do you believe in God? They each asked. In both cases, I was surprised and felt unprepared in my response. The beginning of my answer was an easy yes. I went on to say I don’t believe it is a white-bearded man, like Moses, Zeus, or Noah sitting in a central place with all knowledge of the universe exclusive to himself. If God exists in the nature that we talk about, he/she would be local, not central. God would be here on this balcony in Denver, Colorado, or in a café in Ulm, Germany. Right here, right now, I don’t believe God would be represented by an argument over “my guy” or “your guy” even though I have my own guy. To exist in the nature it is discussed, God would likely be inarguable. Both men responded by saying “So, something like Consciousness.” I said yes. They both seemed satisfied and the conversations moved on. I, however, was not satisfied. I knew my answer to the question still began with yes. Yes, I firmly believe in something that I think of and relate to as God. have had spiritual experiences comparable to the burning bush that spoke to Moses. I made a decision one day to stop drinking, prayed for help, and followed a spiritual process to leave the addiction to alcohol behind. Little did I know, that was the beginning of consciously learning and living on purpose. For me, it was as miraculous as “water into wine”. Or, in my case, what was once whiskey (Jack Daniels) into water. The dissatisfaction with my answer gnawed at me throughout the years. On Wednesday, September 27th, 2023, at 3:42 am, the question found its way back into my mind, demanding a better answer. If God exists in the nature that we or I think of and long to live by, then what is God would be virtually inarguable. I have heard that God is Love. I am a big fan of Love, yet we argue about Love. My eyes welled up with emotion and tears. What is virtually unarguable that I believe in? I took out a note card and wrote:
For me, this got to the heart of the matter. It is virtually inarguable in my experience of life. I understand some will argue with anything. Yet, there is no argument for me that these exist. I am not saying I have all six of them, or who controls them, or whether they are always accessible.
Simply put, these exist in our universe. Now I work to take these from belief to knowing and the ability to live, learn, and love true to them.
I returned to Germany and asked the man to ask me the question again, over dinner in Frankfurt. The other man who had asked me this revisited my response on a video call. I don’t know if their question or my answers impacted them in any way. I do know it had a deeply clarifying and valuable impact on me. I think this is a question many if not all of us have. What I believe and how I answer this question matters… at least to me.If you find yourself with questions, I encourage you to reach out. The journey to living On Purpose is 100% possible. Let me help you start your path forward.
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Does what you believe matter?
About three years ago, on separate occasions, two men I respect deeply asked me the same question. In both cases, we were in a casual setting. Yet the question was in no way casual to me. Even though I had asked it of myself countless times, I don’t recall ever being asked this by someone else.
One setting was in the shadow of the highest cathedral in the world. The other was in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, just over a mile high. Do you believe in God? They each asked. In both cases, I was surprised and felt unprepared in my response. The beginning of my answer was an easy yes. I went on to say I don’t believe it is a white-bearded man, like Moses, Zeus, or Noah sitting in a central place with all knowledge of the universe exclusive to himself. If God exists in the nature that we talk about, he/she would be local, not central. God would be here on this balcony in Denver, Colorado, or in a café in Ulm, Germany. Right here, right now, I don’t believe God would be represented by an argument over “my guy” or “your guy” even though I have my own guy. To exist in the nature it is discussed, God would likely be inarguable. Both men responded by saying “So, something like Consciousness.” I said yes. They both seemed satisfied and the conversations moved on. I, however, was not satisfied. I knew my answer to the question still began with yes. Yes, I firmly believe in something that I think of and relate to as God. have had spiritual experiences comparable to the burning bush that spoke to Moses. I made a decision one day to stop drinking, prayed for help, and followed a spiritual process to leave the addiction to alcohol behind. Little did I know, that was the beginning of consciously learning and living on purpose. For me, it was as miraculous as “water into wine”. Or, in my case, what was once whiskey (Jack Daniels) into water. The dissatisfaction with my answer gnawed at me throughout the years. On Wednesday, September 27th, 2023, at 3:42 am, the question found its way back into my mind, demanding a better answer. If God exists in the nature that we or I think of and long to live by, then what is God would be virtually inarguable. I have heard that God is Love. I am a big fan of Love, yet we argue about Love. My eyes welled up with emotion and tears. What is virtually unarguable that I believe in? I took out a note card and wrote:
For me, this got to the heart of the matter. It is virtually inarguable in my experience of life. I understand some will argue with anything. Yet, there is no argument for me that these exist. I am not saying I have all six of them, or who controls them, or whether they are always accessible.
Simply put, these exist in our universe. Now I work to take these from belief to knowing and the ability to live, learn, and love true to them.
I returned to Germany and asked the man to ask me the question again, over dinner in Frankfurt. The other man who had asked me this revisited my response on a video call. I don’t know if their question or my answers impacted them in any way. I do know it had a deeply clarifying and valuable impact on me. I think this is a question many if not all of us have. What I believe and how I answer this question matters… at least to me.If you find yourself with questions, I encourage you to reach out. The journey to living On Purpose is 100% possible. Let me help you start your path forward.