Who is God

Who is God?

For a long time there has been a debate asking “Who is God” and there have been and are many different answers.

For some people, God exists. And for others, God does not! Those who don’t agree with God’s existence always ask that if there is a God, who is He?

God is behind all creation in the universe, the creator of nature. Nature wasn’t created by human beings or any living things on the planet, and if we didn’t do it then something else must have done it.

Was it your mom? Was it your dad? 

They are very capable people and as parents they gave you all there is to give, but are they really able to create something as lowly as dirt? Even the President of the United States, with all the power he has, can not create a leaf from scratch. Let alone something as advanced as a worm. Therefore, there must be a supernatural power that created nature, humans and all living and unliving things on earth.

You can ask church or temple people, and you will mostly hear what they have heard about God and sometimes their experiences regarding how faith in God has affected their lives. But we are not much closer to understanding what He is.

What is God?

Some religions describe God as a personal being with emotions and will, while others view God as an impersonal force or energy. Belief in God often involves a sense of reverence, awe, and devotion, and many people turn to prayer or worship as a way of connecting with God. God is the one true God, the embodiment of all that is true, good, and just. He is the source of all existence and the sustainer of all life. As Christ dwells in us, we are united with God and empowered to live in accordance with His divine will, experiencing the fullness of His love and grace.

What is the Identity of God?

No one sees the wind nor air, but nobody can question the existence of wind nor air. All of us only can feel and experience it in many ways. We can identify and define God’s identity. We can feel and experience God in several ways whether we are believers of God or not.

God’s form varies according to cultural, religious and the forms we are living as here on earth.

For Black people, God could be Black, for White it could be white. It is same for Hindus. It could have eight hands. For animals, God may be a giant buffalo with four horns. And for Asian people, God has brown eyes and black hair. Actually, He could choose to be any or all of these things. I mean, we are talking about an entirely different way of thinking. Too often, humans tend to put exaggerated human characteristics on God, but that is like putting human characteristics on an atom. We have to think much differently.

God is not jealous, nor petty, does not hold a grudge. He is love. That universal love that does not require something in return. He loves his creations.

So first, we have to stop comparing Him to us humans in how He/She/It thinks.

What if we look deeper?

It is true that we cannot fully understand all there is to know about God. God is not limited by time or space as we are, nor is he constrained by anything else. He/She/It is in everything.

There are some aspects of God that are beyond our comprehension.

Our idea of God is just an exaggerated version of ourselves as we are still not able to define ourselves, but the definition about our self is not always correct. No one can define God. We can just experience and be in awe over it. We can’t really understand it fully. Whatever knowledge we have about God is mostly culturally based and depending on what kind of Culture you have, that is the type of God you have.  Have you heard the stories about people dying then coming back only to tell of the leader we know about – Christian, it is Jesus. And for others and atheists it is something else.  We can only experience this life God gave us, and that could be all there is – that we were given the chance to experience this gift of life God gave all of us.

What if we go beyond

God has been taught to most of us in the churches and temples and Mosques and from well-meaning people who have also learned it from religious organizations. But what if we dig deeper. What if we read other books, listen to other voices? What if we use science to explain God? Science has been used to try to explain our existence forever. The atom – the building block of everything we see, shows that everything we see is basically an illusion. An illusion of atoms and molecules spinning around so fast that it looks real to our senses here on earth.

But looking at science gives us more questions. Science does not tell us who God is, but only shows us how it was done. It also doesn’t explain why.

So let’s look at other books. And let’s use our compass to guide us. That inner sense of what is the truth. Let’s look at what some of the best known ancient and modern philosophers have said about God.

Some Quotes

Michael Beckwith, modern spiritual philosopher and motivational teacher, said God is not Superman in the sky. It is Beauty, intelligence and life. God is our life, and we are expressions of that life.

Neale Donald Walsh said God is in everything seen and unseen, there is nothing that exists that is not a part of God.

“Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one.” – A.W. Tozer

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

“God has no religion.” Mahatma Gandhi

“Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near, and He is real. He is not only aware of us, but cares for us. God is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.” Gordon B. Hinckley

Saddhguru says it is impossible to truly describe ourselves. How can we possibly describe the Great Creator? We can only experience it and dissolve into it.

“What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” Hans Urs von Balthasar

“God’s voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell.” Nicholas Sparks

Swami Mukundananda suggests if we want to know who He is that we ask Him directly. Why ask people who may or may not know? Ask directly to the source, and be prepared and open to receiving the reply in one or more unexpected places, such as from a friend or the radio or a magazine page or an ad, or from that soft tiny voice deep inside.

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Happiness thermostat

How to set your happiness thermostat.

By “Jim Chilson”

Happiness thermostat

Happiness thermostat has an emotional thermostat – if you feel down and ask yourself how I can make myself happy, here is how you can do it fast. One crucial way to find true happiness & even universal love is to track down where it comes from and then you can set your emotional thermostat to always be on to the max. There are still things in life that will bring you down, but hopefully, you can recover sooner and stay content longer. And you can do this at will.

Stop Judging – First of all, do not judge. Stop judging everything. Don’t judge anything as good or bad. Everything and everyone are just what they are. We want to judge and categorize everything, especially ourselves. 

What happens when someone says, you don’t make me happy anymore?

Suddenly feel hot? Emotions high? Well, it is not your fault because it is not your responsibility to make anyone happy. That is a guilt trip someone is throwing on you from people who don’t know they are responsible for how they feel. Not you. That is not your job.

I knew someone once who when it rained and she got wet she would make it my fault because the reason she got wet is she is with me and we walked outside.

Sound crazy? No argument from me. But our ego-driven brains act like that naturally and quickly. Like lightening, but who is to blame? We have to blame somebody or something else outside us.  

It is a human characteristic. Stop it. You are in charge of how you feel. Throw those chains away.

It is not anyone else’s responsibility to make someone happy. It is your job to think how to make yourself happy.

Why happiness is important?

It is up to each of us to choose whatever emotional state we want to live this life in. You can choose misery – a life of complaining and sadness and dreariness. One of fear where you think everyone is out to cheat you and you blame God for all the bad that happens to you. You forget of all the good things that happen in your life. We can easily forget to be grateful we are here.

For example, if we lose at love we hate everything. But there may be many reasons to find a little cheer. Maybe that other person was bad news you could not see and they were blocking you from meeting your true flame.

I know that is not much consolation, but think of this: you feel something. That means you are alive. You get to experience life. You get to recover and love again. Be grateful.  

And we all know when we are happy time goes faster, and when we are down the clock can slow way down. Why do weekdays drag on and weekends seem so short? You can help control that and know how to make yourself happier by setting your emotional happiness thermostat for life.

It is where you generally want to place yourself on the positive/negative scale. Of course, someone cannot be constantly happy all of the time. But how one sets their thermostat is where they will spend most of their time between the ups and downs of life.

When happiness doesn’t work?

Life happens. Your dog may chew on your shoes. Your neighbor may have just backed into your mailbox. Or far worse things could happen. Most people let outside incidents affect them and actually blame circumstances outside themselves as the reason for their mood swings. What happens to us can be out of our control. What we think about it and how we deal with it is not.

The amount that affects us throughout our lives can be influenced by our earlier choice to set our temperatures for the long term, knowing this will pass and sometimes we need time to grieve and feel sadness and that is fine. Please forgive the people who want to cheer you. They want to help. You have a right to feel how you feel. But when it is time to heal, please eventually return to the place you created on your thermostat.

Emotions such as happiness, frustration, love and fear are feelings. And we humans often let those emotions rule us. I have chosen happiness as the emotional thermostat setting for my emotional state whenever life happens. My feelings are all over the place in the background, but I know the thermostat will take care of everything, and I will return to the happier, more positive emotions I chose to set earlier. So, how to set your happiness thermostat?

Advertising people know it is not the steak but the sizzle that sells. It is not a thing, a person, and whatever outside thing that makes one happy. It is the feelings those things give you.

Love has become unclear over time; with too many different emotions, we have lost the true meaning of universal love. Happiness is that feeling or tingle of emotions that happens when we feel pleased. It could be seeing your loved one after a while or getting a bowl of your favorite ice cream.

So, what does universal love mean? Universal love is when one loves everything without conditions and can appreciate everything as it is. Give thanks for whatever you receive and move forward.

Love and happiness are different sides of the same coin. People or situations are responsible for love and happiness. But the fact is that we are responsible for all these things and particularly for happiness by where we choose to set the temperature.

How to make myself happy?

Now how to set your emotional thermostat up and make yourself happier: To turn it higher, remember to appreciate all the good things that come to you, all the things you receive. To make yourself happy, think of your relationships, favorite foods, your pets, and everything, and be thankful you receive it. And if you want to drop the temperature, do the opposite and start complaining.

We have the choices to see things as positive or negative. That does not mean when a box falls on your foot, for example, that should be considered a good thing. Of course not. Realistic common sense says, “ouch!,” or something more substantial. But if you continue to complain about the box and let that affect your mood about everything else in life, then it is a terrible thing that can affect your mood for a long time. Continuing to harp about that box can do much more harm than the original pain. Learn how to turn off your emotions quickly—our minds and what we think about is very powerful and can influence our lives. So be careful.

And stay away from the causes of negative emotions such as gossip from co-workers, the news, friends, judgment and family. 

It can be a balancing act, with emotions doing whatever they want. But as long as you set your temperature toward the positive, you will eventually return to the home place you set and get pleasure again from the little things in life. Then you will be just fine.

“Don’t worry, be happy.”

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