The question comes up now and then, "Do you believe in God." I have a tough time with that because I don't believe in a magic man in the clouds who looks over us all. It just defies logic and science too much. There are also the wars that have been fought and are still being fought in the name of some god people have chosen to worship in an organized religion.
Then there's the idea that the ruling and monied classes keep the poor people poor by promising a wonderful reward after they die. All I can say is good luck with that.
However I do experience a spirituality that is founded in nature, not in a supreme being, but I have never been able to explain it well. The following quote from Richard Nelson who produced the "Encounters" series and who died recently sums it up nicely from a Koyukon teaching:
“I’ve often thought of the forest as a living cathedral, but this might diminish what it truly is. If I have understood Koyukon teachings, the forest is not merely an expression or representation of sacredness, nor a place to invoke the sacred; the forest is sacredness itself. Nature is not merely created by God; nature is God. Whoever moves within the forest can partake directly of sacredness, experience sacredness with his entire body, breathe sacredness and contain it within himself, drink the sacred water as a living communion, bury his feet in sacredness, touch the living branch and feel the sacredness, open his eyes and witness the burning beauty of sacredness”
A memory of Richard Nelson
Find episodes of "Encounters" here
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