I love talking to my younger brother, because inevitably the conversation turns to philosophy. I love all of our conversations, but our philosophical ones are so great because they really make me think. We challenge each other, compare ideas, and have truly fascinating dialogue together. It's awesome!

Today we were talking about what God is. We both believe that God is everything -- living beings, the land, inanimate objects, the entire universe. We also believe that our spiritual ideas correspond really well with science. For instance, my brother pointed out that quantam physics ties in really well with the theory of God being energy.

According to quantam physics, if you break down an atom to its smallest part, then you have energy. Energy is what matter comes from. So absolutely every particle in the universe is made up of energy. I believe this energy IS God. And that every individual perceives God in different ways. Some, not even as a deity at all, but just as the amazing world in which we live. So I believe that all gods are the same god, the same energy that people perceive and refer to when they speak of their deity of choice.

When I told my brother that I try to put myself in the perspective of different belief systems, to contemplate them, and see what it would be like if that particular religion was The Truth, then he replied, "They're all true."

I also told him my idea that even if the world weren't made of energy and even if there were no gods at all, then prayer would still work. Because prayer works on a psychological level. If I pray for inner strength, then my conscious and subconscious minds are attuned to the fact that that's what I'm seeking. And because I've just heightened my awareness of a need for strength, that is what I'll focus on, and that is what I will perceive as growing within me. Not because of any outside forces, but because of my own mind's power to grant me what I'm looking for. And G replied, "And that in itself is proof of God."

The profundity of that statement struck me so that I asked him to expand. He thought for a while, and said that he'd need to think about it longer before being able to explain what he meant (he had to go soon, so was sort of in a rushed state of mind anyway).

He also told me that he thinks the mere fact that we exist is proof of God. Since we are here, we are a product of that universal energy, that giant soul, if you will. And that is God. Our existance is proof of God. What an amazing idea!

I can't wait to ask him about his beliefs on the afterlife.

I felt so good after talking to him. I feel like I've been reawakened to the presence of God, within me, all around me, in everything that is. And that I can perceive God in whatever form I wish... God, Goddess, etc...

Other thoughts I had were that if angels exist, as some people believe (I think I'm one of them), then why not other "mythical" creatures? If angels are one type of energy, then perhaps faeries or elves are tiny incarnations of other kinds of energy. Or maybe they are tiny angels. Or something.

It's all just fascinating to me, is all.

The reason I am contemplating any of this at all is that I received a letter from my Latvian penpal. She told me of an experience in which she felt she was literally being held by the hand of God. She was amazed when she read an article two months later in which a man described the same kind of experience, feeling like he was lying down inside the hand of God. Even stranger, I have yet another friend who told me an almost identical story. And I have known several people who told me that they felt a white light, a warm presence, and suddenly felt calm after they had been in a severe state of depression, at some point in their lives.

The question is, why are there such similar religious experiences? Why would three different people have the same vision of being in the hand of God? Maybe there are more, but these three are the only ones I know of with certainty. Why do people describe a white light and say that they want to "go home" when they are close to death, even if they are in their own houses? Why do parallels exist in all these different situations?

I don't know. I don't think anyone can ever really know. But I like to believe it's because we're all experiencing the same energy, the same kind of god, even if we see him/her/it differently. And because we are all connected; all of our souls are of this same energy, the energy that is God.

I love this idea. I love it, because it's something I can relate to, something I can believe in. It's my own set of beliefs that I can have faith in. And it makes sense to me.

And if nothing else, at least it makes me happy.

~~Meg