Tell me how this God of yours works?

Seems like a great number of folks believe that if they believe in a “Saviour” God, then God will save them from bad decisions, taxes, and overeating. Others believe in one of those “Redeemer” Gods who will liberate them from bad relationships, bad governments and inclement weather. “Destroyer” Gods are less popular today although remain extremely central in certain social and religious circles.

What strikes me as odd is the segment of our society who define themselves as “non-religious” yet continue to foster a relationship with “Spirit,” “Source” or “A Higher Power” who will still somehow do everything for us. This has been popularized by the Law of Attraction and various programs of manifestation that become so oversimplified as to promote a similar projection of responsibility as the great religious traditions who suggest that if we place our faith in their God, then things will just work out.

While I am a firm believer in the notion that thoughts become things, I have not relinquished my relationship with my rational mind, personal experience and twelfth grade physics.

I believe in God. I do not, however, believe that God will do things for me that I do not want to do for myself! God is not my “Four Hour Work Week.” God is not my winning lottery ticket. God is not choosing the right candidate in an election.

God is my PARTNER.

We co-create. We manifest stuff together. We negotiate contracts, discover relationships and find parking spots together. God is literally my co-pilot.

I believe in personal responsibility. I know that when I make a decision rooted in a low frequency of my SELF that it will likely lead to low frequency outcomes. God, my understanding of God at least, doesn’t appreciate being a part of low frequency business deals, relationships and various other life contracts. God will reluctantly go along with some of these decisions because God loves me and wants to be supportive, but God will not use the vastness of God’s abilities to turn water into wine and make a lemon turn into a Ferrari just because I am a good person.

On the other hand, having God in my court is a huge plus. When I realize I have made a decision that is counterproductive; when it becomes clear that I’m not living at my highest frequency, it is really nice to have God around to consult with and recalculate the plan. God is always there for me when I need support. That feels really good.

While I don’t align myself with the billions of atheists on the planet who believe that God is an escapist fantasy, I do understand how it must seem to them when so many millions of people resort to their faith in God to fix what needs fixing in their lives.

To me, faith is a wonderful supplement to some good old fashioned common sense, hard work and smart choices.

For days before the “Blizzard of 2011,” I interacted with a number of people from friends and neighbors to random strangers. Everyone seemed to have something to say about the storm.

Some were skeptical. “They don’t know crap about predicting these things. They never get it right…”

Others were apprehensive. “Geez, I’m not sure what I’d do with all that snow. I mean, I guess I’d be ok, right?”

Then, there were a surprising number of angry people. “”God, I need this like a need a hole in the head. Another damned storm. I hate this.”

Once in a while, however, I’d run into someone who seemed simply delighted by the prospect of being snowed in for a couple days. “I love it when we can watch all the white flakes flying across the sky from our warm window! And then we get to go play in it when the sun comes out!”

So, the storm came and went and yes, it was The Big One they expected it would be. While there were some real inconveniences for a small number of Chicagoans, most of us got home early enough before it hit, stopped at the supermarket for extra treats and grabbed a video to boot. When the sun came out, neighbors came out to cross country ski, shake their heads and smile and help each other dig out.

We survived. And how quickly we forgot about the feelings we had about the storm before it came…

One of the things I am so grateful to have learned in my time HERE is that my attitude really does matter. Not just for myself and for what I manifest for my personal well-being, but also for what I create for the people around me. I actually have an impact on the world whether I like it or not. Whether I choose to be conscious of it or not.

What a difference it makes in our world when we share hope, joy and excitement with those around us instead of fear, anxiety and anger. In fact, you have a unique gift to share with those around you in every situation, in every moment!

So, please remember this: The words you use matter. You matter. You matter to me.

There’s a moment in the 1946 classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when protagonist, George Bailey, becomes so discouraged and frightened that he had failed himself, his family and his community that he positions himself on a bridge for an icy, suicidal plunge. He jumps in, too, but to save someone else who jumps in first. While the story is compelling and does a great deal to inspire and warm our hearts, this moment is the core of the film.

For years, friends and teachers repeated the mantra, “one must pass through a challenge in order to get past it,” however the depth of this concept eluded me until I had taken enough plunges of my own to truly appreciate its wisdom. George jumps into the very same icy river that under different circumstances (despair) would have killed him yet when he feels pulled to the darkness in order to help someone else to the light it is not threatening. We have a tendency to project our fears, anxieties, worst case scenarios onto something and typically, it is that which we create. Likewise, if we project our hopes, dreams and fantasy outcomes onto a thing, we find the motivation and strength to keep pursuing that vision until it is realized.

George Bailey isn’t quite ready to grasp this kernel of truth at that point, so his guardian angel, Clarence, takes him down a path to see what the world would have been like without him. This profound experience is the thing that truly snaps him back into his positive, loving, compassionate self: “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

If you haven’t seen this amazing film, I highly recommend it. We watched the film with a sold out crowd last night at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre and it was a gas to see it with such an engaged and adoring group of people. Each time the villain, Mr. Potter, said or did something, the theater hissed and booed. Every time an angel said or did something, the theater crowd jingled their bells. While there is a Christmas theme at the very end of the film, it is far from a Christmas movie at its core but rather a “spiritual being having a human experience” film.

I believe we are here to encounter a series of third dimensional challenges and triumphs in order to come out at the same place that George does: We are all interconnected and if we focus our love and hope onto something, we will manifest it. The shadow can swallow us into oblivion or can serve as the point of creation from which we are re-birthed.

2010 has been an amazing year in my life. I have been both grateful for incredible blessings and awestruck by intense challenges. I have been touched and surprised by the goodness and love in people as well as pained and dismayed by spite and projection from people. I have experienced moments of greatness from myself and moments of personal disappointment and frustration. Above all, I have been both a witness and a creator of my life, moving through time and space as a willing partner, striving to be more conscious, loving and at peace.

So, when I consider the past year and the year to come, I acknowledge that I stand at the intersection of two profound places: That which was, and that which is to come. The point where I stand, is of course, the present moment where everything exists and everything is possible. What powerful consciousness it is to be in this place!!!

Which brings me to consider the level of intention that I place on New Year’s Eve. When the clock strikes midnight, where am I, really? Who am I being? What am I manifesting, creating, promoting? So, I ask of you:

What makes your New Year happy?

How do you usher in the new year? Are you the kind of person that has three parties on tap for the night and you don’t leave each one until you’ve tapped three drinks from each spot? Are you the stay at home and watch the ball drop from the couch person? Or perhaps you’ve got reservations for two at a swanky dress-up for foam dinner with champagne included?

No matter what you’ve got in store, the question that matters most (in my opinion) is the intention you set for whatever you choose to do. I am fascinated by the common belief that a person needs to be inebriated when the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve in order to really “do it right.” What a funny way to set the tone for a new chapter in your personal history. It goes something like this on the first day back to work:

“How was your New Year’s?” “Oh my God, I was SO inebriated!”

“Awesome!”

Really? Awesome? Is this how we do it? That’s how we roll? I am often curious whether we are actually celebrating or numbing. What does it really suggest about where I’m at in my life when I start my new year semi-conscious or blacked out? Or is it about the year I have just completed? Am I celebrating the fact that I survived a horrible year by drowning its memory from my awareness?
What would happen if I were to stand at the intersection of two units of time and space with the conscious awareness of what I have accomplished, survived or experienced and the intention and potential of that which I choose to create in the future?

Years ago I joined author Natalie Goldberg at her home in Taos, NM for a Mindful New Year’s Party. Her meditation teacher led a small group of her friends in an evening of chants and meditations, gongs and bells, tea and rice. We were so entranced that we missed midnight by twenty minutes.

Another year, I joined a group of mostly strangers at a private home in Santa Fe for an evening of Native American totems and animal guests, break-out process sessions geared to raise awareness of personal challenges and intentions for the coming year. There was also some killer green chile dip.

Don’t get me wrong, I have had my share of drunken parties in my time. I’ve stumbled through the mayhem of Times Square, oinked my way through a pig roast luau on Maui, and I have even yawned at Dick Clark from my couch with sparking cider. They were all fine experiences and I have nothing against a good party.

But when it comes to intention, I have some opinions. How do I choose to live my life? How do I create my reality? Where is my focus? Am I mindful right now? Is this the human I want to be? Where am I really going in my life starting tomorrow, today, yesterday?

Try it. Whether you shell out large bills on dinner or shell it out into a porcelain bowl, you choose the person you are being at any given moment. Set your intention, create your reality, manifest your best self. It’s just another opportunity to be awesome!!!