Who is God?

Who is your god? Who is my god? My god can beat up your god. More humans have been killed in the name of an ineffible, invisible "being" than can be counted. Currently the Buddhists of Tibet are facing annhilation. Muslims fight for their right to adhere to their strict, antiquated, customs; Christians have killed scores in the name of their faith (based on millenia-old texts that have been reinterpreted numerous times). It doesn't make sense to me that entire faith is based on books written by man - whether that man (or woman) had the voice of God to help. Reinterpretations aged texts have skewed the ideas. And one must also bear in mind that those texts were written by fallible humans in THEIR ERA. We now live in a technologically-advanced (is advanced the right word?) world where communication with others across the globe is possible. New ideas and understanding are still evolving.

Why is it so hard to understand the basic precepts that all humans should follow?

1. Love your fellow (wo)man. Show compassion for all.
2. Don't kill
3. Don't lie, cheat, steal from another
4. Do your best to make this planet a better place than you found it
5. Be a responsible procreator in-line with the Universe. (This one is easy. Don't make babies unless the planet can reasonably sustain more humans and you can devote 100% to the child so they grow to understand and follow the general ideas on this list).

So - what god do I worship? I get that question a lot because of the misconception that the tarot is strictly a tool for pagans, witches and or dark element (devil) worshippers. Well, the easiest way to explain my personal concept of god is that I see all things as energy. There is a main power source, and we are reflections of that source (i.e. we all carry a spark of the divine).

Imagine the Sun as a god (which is not a far stretch considering our ancient ancestors worshipped the sun). Now if the sun is god, the planets in our solar system circle that god - they are magnetically in-line with that god. Each planet can then be construed as a lesser god, or even an angel if you will. Those angels watch over us and provide for us.

See, I don't necessarily worship a specific deity. I often call up on the energy of Kwan Yin (ancient Asian mother/goddess - kind of like the equivalent of the west's Virgin Mary). For me, the energy in calling that name, is strong, fast, nurturing and loving.

I call upon the name of the Archangel Michael when I am in need of strength and support. I also ask him to bring me truth and understanding. I see the Archangel Michael as the equivalent of the Holy Spirit.

Archangel Raphael is always there when I need help with healing - myself and others. I envision bringing health in a warm green glow.

I also have my own spirit guides that I call upon. My master guide is named Shauna (long story that I may relay some other time - let's just say she came to me during a guided meditation, and then made it clear that it wasn't just my imagination or an illusion).

But back to energy. I envision my god as a power source, a ball of energy that holds everything in my universe steady. I envision the mother energy as the energy of compassion (and change). I feel that giving my gods and guides names helps to place that energy in a more concrete form (does that make sense?).

Finally, I believe that we are all splinters from the same Tree of Life or even sparks from the same Fire. There is a spark of Truth to be found in all things, and finding god is an individual process. It's like we're all fingerprints of god which means we are ALL a little different from the person next to us. This means that our quest for our god is an individual process. In that vein, religions and religious leaders can put us on a path to find god, but in reality, our search is really our own.

To know your god, you must first really know yourself.