One Strong Belief

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

As a society, I think we are reasonably open-minded. Every generation that fades away leaves the following one more open to ideas, possibilities, etc. Globalization, in many respects, forces people to tolerate the beliefs of others. Tolerating something is better than nothing, but tenuous at best. When religion comes into play we see the minds close to the possibilities. One belief that I hold near and dear and believe strongly in, is the universality of God.

As our various cultures have become more global and widespread, our notion of God has narrowed. It used to be that our ancestors would see God in the sun rising, rustling through the leaves, in a thunderstorm, but now we think of God and He looks like us, thinks like us; God went from existing where ever life was to only being where we are; where we've built houses for God to live.

This belief was born during a high school discussion between me and two of my friends. One friend, a Christian, told another friend, an agnostic, that if he didn't believe in Christ then he would be damned to hell. Although, raised Christian, I felt in my soul that this belief was not of God. In my mind, there had to be more than that; another side to the story. So, my interest became the spiritual traditions of the world. I was on a search to find God's voice and hear Him whisper Truth; to let me in on the secret, which I felt, was right in front of our noses.

Thus, I spent the last 10 years exploring various faiths. My search for Truth took me to Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Taosim, animism, etc. I explored the mainstream path as well as took a look into the esoteric interpretations. I learned about the sufis, mystics, and yogis, who stated that the search for God was a search within. Today I find myself a vessel for Truth from many sources. My experience has been reading one book provides insight into a verse from another. My understanding has been enhanced by exploring how other cultures see God. If only people would dare to look, the similarities would shock and awe them.

Today has been a day of enhancing focus and moving from theory to practice.