A God I Can Live With

God, the Puzzle Maker

While some rise before the sun to do their daily prayers, I head off to Starbuck's and the New York Times crossword puzzle, seven days a week. So, in the best tradition of seeing God in our own image, my God is the Great Puzzle Maker, and my work lies in trying to solve some piece of the Grand Puzzle, to contribute to the unraveling of the whole. I have good company in this quest; Albert Einstein spoke of trying to understand the mind of God; he spoke of great scientists as people who stand in "rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law." This harmony is not always beautiful; quite often, its consequences are ugly. I have, for example, written about the Terrible Dance Of Power in which one group has a vision of a better world (through fascism, communism, manifest destiny, Christianity, Islam, a new world order, or some other such inspiration) only to find some THEM who stand in the way of this vision, and then a predictable story unfolds, like a dance, of oppression, death, and destruction. There is a terrible beauty to this story as different factions arise and interplay with one another - moderates and radicals, gradualists and extremists, liberals and conservatives ? escalating from disagreement to debate to confrontation to minor skirmishes to colossal destruction. Makes for great drama.

Here is how I make sense of the awesome beauty and the equally incredible ugliness and unfairness of the world, and how this worldview informs my spirituality. As I see it, God, in whatever manner inconceivable to me, gave us a powerful gift, the possibility of awareness and choice, but just the possibility; and then God stepped back from the world and has not been heard from since. Whatever else has transpired is the result of how we have handled or botched that gift.

Organizational life, where I do most of my work, may seem to some like a relatively barren locale for spiritual growth; it is however rich with opportunity. So much can go wrong. "Stuff" happens: unwanted complications come your way; the service you've been waiting for is long delayed and when it does comes it is unsatisfactory; your working conditions are poor and "they" are not fixing them; try as you might you don't seem able to satisfy anyone; this one is angry at you, that one is disappointed, and the other one is not paying you the attention you feel you deserve. So many opportunities. When these conditions hit, it is as if we are standing before two doors: Door A and Door B. Right away there is a problem: We don't see any doors. Door A is all there is, and when it is all there is, there is no awareness and there is no choice. We go blindly through Door A, sucking up responsibility to ourselves and away from others, whining and complaining, making up stories in which we are either the hero or the victim, taking revenge, doing less than our best, comforting ourselves in righteousness, diminishing ourselves, diminishing the quality of our relationships with others, diminishing our contributions to our organization and to the world.

The beginning of spirituality, and the solution to the puzzle, comes with the awareness of Door A, when we see it not as the way things are but as a choice. And then there is Door B. Stepping through that door we abandon all victimhood and righteousness; we accept responsibility for our condition and for the condition of our systems; we accept our place as co-creators of these conditions. When we go through Door B - how can I say it? - we become better persons in and of ourselves, in our relationships with others, and in our contributions to our organization and the world.

Door A is predictable, but it is not inevitable. Door B is not predictable, but it is a human possibility. Every day organizational life gives us countless opportunities for spirituality: to be aware, and to choose. So that has been my puzzle. Why are we built this way: with both reflexive blindness along with its negative consequences and the possibility of awareness and choice? And who or what built us this way? The great Puzzle Maker?

Barry Oshry Chief Theoretical Officer Power + Systems, Inc. http://www.powerandsystems.com

---

Moslem America ,Part 1

Daniel 12:7-12:12Moslem America ,Part 1. Aljazira, is the propaganda machine... Read More

The Emmaus Journal ~ The Standards Of This World Are Not Our Standards

The Emmaus Journal The Standards Of This World Are Not... Read More

Harry Potter To Christians: Its Not Good To Hear Voices

That is the popular and, thank God (if you'll pardon... Read More

Treachery in the Midst of the Land

The term Scripture uses to describe the activities of those... Read More

The Freemasonic Order of the Golden Centurion

I think most people who will read this will not... Read More

Christian Books and Supplies

Christian books and supplies can be found at places that... Read More

What Does The Religious Right Really Want?

What does the Religious Right really want? Well, besides power,... Read More

The Stilling of the Storm

Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.General Pericope DistinctionsIn the gospel... Read More

Reading the Bible

A friend of mine had asked my thoughts on how... Read More

Real Nobility And Gods Love

Real nobility feeds on its own intrinsic value, as a... Read More

Is Your Life Significant?

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and... Read More

Smith Wigglesworth on the Power of the Word

You have all heard me talk about Smith Wigglesworth. He... Read More

Beauty

Some people say beauty is only skin deep, others say... Read More

Story of Solomon

Without question, the greatest story in the Bible of someone... Read More

Behold: The Prince of Persia. . . the War in Iran has begun!

DÉJÀ VU (Where have I heard this before?)(Note: May I... Read More

For Those Who Cannot Speak For Themselves: My Own Abortion Story

(Parental discretion advised)Please forgive me if you find any part... Read More

The Purpose of Creation: the Kabbalah of Transformation

"I want to know how God created this world. I... Read More

Mexican Catholics Forgotten

Many Mexican and Latin Catholics are dismayed that the Cardinals... Read More

Become Enlightened

The other day I had a meeting on the web... Read More

Jihad

Jesus spoke as much about Heaven as He did about... Read More

The Story of Adam and Eve

To really understand how we all got here, what it... Read More

Unholy Shadows: Gnosticism

One cannot begin to appreciate the early struggles of Christianity... Read More

Do We Really Need God?

The human being is endowed with ability. We have the... Read More

Knowing Hinduism or Hindu Religion

Hindus are concentrated in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and... Read More

The Power Source

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized ?in the name of... Read More

Moslem America Conclusion

Isaiah 55:7-55:9Moslem America conclusion Let the wicked forsake his way,... Read More

Pagan Philosophy, Unbelief, and Irrationalism

Biblically speaking, holding philosophical beliefs that contain internally self-refuting contradictions... Read More

Hope and Restoration in the Valley

The bible tells a story about the prophet Ezekiel who... Read More

A Time of Suffering

As the clock ticks down to the fateful day of... Read More

Battle of Armageddon

This will be last and final event of the Great... Read More

Imagine

Some people imagine what glory will behold them at the... Read More

The Christian Community Tries To Take Back What Belongs To Them!

"See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs... Read More

Armor-bearer Coach: Step Into the Ministry of Assisting

I am with you heart and mind..."Do all that you... Read More