June 7, 2005
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All the pieces of the puzzle of life fall neatly into place. I’ve thought about life, existence, the universe, and God for the first fifty years of my personal life. Now I wish to divulge my findings, and find my destiny in the second 50. This is the personal/universal journey of Michael F. Nyiri
“Those who misconstrue the lessons life teaches and do not learn by them are usually the ones who complain about the random nature of existence. There are those who passively become part of their own scenery, and there are those who carry around their own paintbrushes. ” MFN
This is an ongoing series of entries from my “spiritual website”, The Universal Blog. The following was posted on “The Universal Blog” website on Sunday, June 29, 2003
If all the world’s religious truly believe they worship the “one true God”, then why are there so many, and why don’t they realize they can’t all be right?
This question was tantamount in my search for the truth of mankind’s existence. Since I had worshipped in at least three somewhat competing protestant churches by the time the decade of the 1980′s had arrived, I knew that no one, in fact, must possess the ultimate truth, but like all truth, small bits of it were strewn throughout the religious dogmas and doctrines of mankind. Upon the termination of viewing a PBS documentary about the history behind biblical stories, I found that connecting threads of truth, the early version of it anyway, started to unravel pretty early in history. As competing and warring sects of one religion would break away, and as one dynastic world power subjugated another, religious truths morphed and multiplied, and it is very easy to spot, from a historical perspective, that these truths, far from being “self-evident”, have been reinterpreted and reinvented throughout history.
My prophecy is simple. All truth is subjective to the truth teller. He believes. He worships. He knows. Or at least he knows irrespective of listening to any and all of the truths competing for airspace with his. My philosophy would have to connect the dots of the competition, and find the truth through the lies. All of recorded religious history cannot be wrong. What if it were right most of the time? What if there are many “prophets”, all operating under the assumpition that they are really hearing the voice of God int their heads. God talks in many languages, and often at the same time. Is it any wonder that most of mankind has had a little trouble trying to make sense of what he says.
In the Pentecostal faith, “speaking in tongues” is not only believed, but encouraged, or at least it was when I attended services. One who is not completely immersed in the culture of that particular experience, might even scoff or laugh at the seeming ridiculousness of the proceedings.
I could, and do, embrace the many pleading questions Mankind has asked throughout his existence.
Since he has many voices, and only one set of ears, Mankind pretty much has listened only to what he believes anyway.
Hence the different Gods, the different Faiths, and the different ways of expressing it.
I listen to voice of the Universal Mind, which speaks silently in the language of The Ultimate Truth. It coaxed me to waive my belief in an “established system of belief”, no matter how steeped in tradition and history it would seem. I strive to find the similarities in Mankind’s search for Truth, and start from there. There is a higher power, and it is a power we all possess. Faith is not a covenant, but a realization. Why can’t our beliefs seek to find the similarities? That is the Universal Goal.
The following was posted on “The Universal Blog” website on Monday, October 20, 2003
Every life ends with Death, and that’s the way it is.
I know that the end is preordained, simply because there is an end to every beginning. My own personal life, as I age, telescopes: the days become weeks become years, and now they are becoming decades. I know that mankind’s life span on Earth is perfect. As one starts to accommodate all the data learned and absorbed during a hundred years, one realizes that technology and thought has passed him by. Each time he learns something else, he has to forcibly forget, or, sadly, have to see something dearly learned years ago, pass from humankind’s need to know, simply because the cultural technology passes, and passes one by.
The body then breaks down, dissipates, and decays. At that time the mind doesn’t need the body. At the time of physical death, at least that of old age, the mind has the perfect time to pass away from this life and into the next, where the limits are not imposed on the capability of the mind to understand. THAT’S ALL THERE IS IN THE “AFTERLIFE”. All is the mind. The mind is all, and in the “next life” we connect our mind with the Universal Mind.
An instant is an eon.
A leaf is a tree.
A rock is a world.
A mind is all minds.
Forever.
Through history.
Through space.
Through time.
Forever.
Now.
Comments (7)
Very interesting concept! I believ that everything is relative to ones own frame of reference. It gets complicated at times but it really is very simple. Everyone is looking for the same things only in their own way and it is hard to search if you are restricted by set rules. But then we need standards or policies or rules to avoid chaos. Oh! this all too much at this time of the morn. As Scarlet said < I’ll take care of that tomorrow ,tomorrow is another day…or something like that …. tomorrow or at least later today. K @-}-}–
Mike,
“Jesus gets crucified. His body is taken down and put in a guarded tomb. Three days later, some of his female friends come to the tomb, the door is wide open, and nobody’s inside. They’re shocked. But they’re even more shocked when Jesus shows up. He talks to them. These women are the first people to see this astonishing event and report it. The men don’t believe it until they see for themselves. Had somebody invented this resurrection story out of thin air, they would *never* have said that women found the empty tomb–because women in that culture were considered inferior and unreliable anyway.” –Perry Marshall
Hmmm… Made me think. I posted that quote just to show that I agree with what you said. There has to be some truth through all the lies.
Keeta
I once had an idea for a children’s story… and who knows I may have subconsciously heard it somewhere else too, or a variation on it… that “God” was a unity, like a light, that got broken into multiple pieces that were scattered everywhere, far and wide, and that the prophets and founders of the religions all found pieces of this light, which led them to a concept of God, and they created religions that thought they were the only truth, and the religions warred with each other, each believing they had the only access to “God,” the right access, that “God” was on their side always… Only such thinking was a terrible mistake, everyone only got a little bit of the light when the original unity was broken, and they need to put all the light together to see properly… All the religions need to respect the knowledge and understanding of each in order to realize the spiritual truth of all of our lives…
Perhaps one day I’ll write the story.
Many thanks for the beautiful and supportive comments you have left for me today, I deeply appreciate them.
An instant is an eon.
A leaf is a tree.
A rock is a world.
A mind is all minds.
Forever.
Through history.
Through space.
Through time.
Forever.
Now.
I shall carry these simple but profound words with me through my present difficulties, blessings, Brenda xo
Wow, you and I have similar views on quite a few things, our brains must work similarly.
First, I read your comment on Twoberry’s site regarding Woodward and Berstein and deep throat. I agree with you monetary gain of course, but he disillusioned more than one generation, and the end of Americas innocence can be traced to that, at least in regards to the government and our previous uber faith in it.
I was 8 in 1974, it was the year my Dad passed away, and I remember explicity sitting at the kitchen table watching a black and white Nixon resigning on TV. I didn’t understand a lot of it then, and I couldn’t debate it logically with facts, but I have learned quite a bit more since, and trust in the government will never exist so totally again. Is this a good thing, I don’t know, In some aspects yes, but in others…well I think there should be secrets sometimes.
Now as for religion, I too fell away from a mainsream Christian religion some years ago. I call myself Wiccan for lack of better terminology…Witch does not offend me, but my faith encompasses so much more that I generally prefer pagan as it encompasses lots of different religions. Pagan means “of the country” and religions were of the country, of the people really.
One God, one truth…I’m not sure there is only one. Did you ever read C.S. Lewis? His Chronicles of Narnia? In the end of “The Last Battle” you discover “God/Jesus” and who he has been all along in the series. But what he says to the principle Characters in this book really strikes me. He says that any act of good no matter in whose name is counted towards him, and any act of bad no matter in whose name is counted towards (the devil) Another Character.
I believe in a many faceted God. Each of us relates to him/her on a different level, and in order to have a personal relationship with God, we may need to relate to him in different aspects, different names, different ways. So many are Christian, and I have no problem with people who have their faith in this vein…wonderful that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many study Taoism, Buddhism, Shamanism, The Qu’ran, like you said so many faiths, and so many truths. But so many cross-over lines between them. Stories are the same, but names have been changed…holidays, myths, oh it goes on and on, and I find it fascinating!
It was great fun reading your blog today…I kept saying …YES! …I so think that.
Michael,
My criptic message… I will email you~It was a fun idea I thougt you could help me with that would be a progressive story … I write chapter one…tag you ~ you write chapter 2 tag someone else etc.
When Lacie was 4 she came to me and said “Mommy, I understand”…. Me… “What do you understand baby”?…”Well I understand that we will all die and I know that when grills (girls) get old their hair will turn red and then they will die and when boysssss get old their hair will turn white and then they will die…and it’s okay Mommy that is just the way it is”.
MMMMMMMMM out of the mouts of babes!
My higher power is mine~he/she didn’t rest after creating the world …
As children, we believe what we are taught through whatever our religious background may be. As we mature, we shed those beliefs we don’t like (religious and otherwise) and retain those with which we are comfortable. No one knows what lies ahead and personally, I don’t think we should know, as there would be no impetus to explore and learn. My personal philosophy: I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t, and die to find out there is. I like to think there is a God – a loving, forgiving God – and that wherever we go when we leave this plane, it will be a better place. Simple, maybe, but I am a simple soul and it gives me comfort, and I think that’s all anyone really wants. As always, JMHO.
there is a movie quote, (one of my most treasured favourite movies) that early on caught my attention years ago, and seems to ever be truthfull in it’s simplicity.
ENEMY MINE
Davidge: “If one receives evil from another, let one not do evil in return. Rather, let him extend love to the enemy, that love might unite them.” I’ve heard all this before… in the human Taalmaan.”
Jeriba Shigan ‘Jerry’: “Of course you have. Truth is truth.”
There was more Jeriba had to say after this initial tidbit. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I bless Lou Gossett Jr. for putting all the energy and emotion into that one scene that trully said it all, and in the spirit of love and acceptance that i believe it was written in.
Truth really is truth, whether said by a child with little understanding, a prophet many eons ago in some forgotten place, from Jesus, from a cynic, a teen flipping burgers somewhere or master of philosophy. Truth recognizes no barriers or boundaries, it simply is.
I’ve often thought, if these two fictional characters could so deeply display what two thinking, living, sentient beings can accomplish to abolish their own private war and See, Understand, Think, Love and Accept each other and what they come from to recognize not just the truth above, but many more, then why cant the rest of us who have far less not-in-common with each other? I know no Dracs personally, but i do know people. And in that context, it seems a crime that humanity is often so terrifically short sighted and narrow minded about truth in it’s many facets, and accepting those truths to form a whole.
I re-read One Part Of The Whole In Eternity just now. This whole discussion brought me back to that. The last lines seem to say some of what you’re saying Mike, and several others as well. For me, and perhaps i err in my thinking, truth is a large part of who many percieve as the Higher Being. More than truth of course, but truth is a very large part i believe. What goes with truth? Honesty, acceptance, confidence, courage, respect, honour, compassion, immutable authority, and so many other things, for they are all tied to truth. (Not forgetting Love, for without that, truth is useless, dry and somewhat lifeless, one must occupy alongside the other). In my mind, if truth is a very large part of the Almighty, and He/She yearns for us to strive to truth in all it’s aspects in our lives, then when we attain and live the truth we know, are we also gaining that which the Almighty is within ourselves? To be more like God is often the admonition of Paul the Apostle (for one). My logic may be flawed, but it seems to me that truth is in all of us, and every human that has ever lived. To me the real question becomes, how do we use the truth we know? It’s ending is as important as it’s begining and it’s definitions. For if truth is in large part knowledge of the Higher Being, and all that He intends for us, and His very being, and we all have that spark within us as well, then insisting on percieving God by only one definition seems to defeat the whole purpose and power of truth. This is why Brendaclews story touched me as deeply in comment. Parts of a whole.
(excerpt)
“Each man is a shard of the Whole.
Seperately, we are but slivers
Of the truth we all carry,
A conciousness beyond our lives.
Destiny and need, purpose and change;
All and more borne equally to all.
Shall we succeed and prosper?
Shall we grow and learn?
To each man is the individual’s answer.
Each man knows only his own.
So Eternity shall tell and decide -
Lived lividly through each of our lives.”
~Lynxkatt