For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing. - H. L. Mencken

Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable. - H. L. Mencken

I think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability. - Oscar Wilde

Osho: The moment you start seeing life as non-serious, a playfulness, all the burden on your heart disappears

The moment you start seeing life as non-serious, a playfulness, all the burden on your heart disappears. All the fear of death, of life, of love - everything disappears.
- Osho

Corporate financiers die just as dead as bag ladies, and sometimes they have twice the worries and half the fun. Life is a game - a game you can never win. You already know the final score: Life 1, You 0. When the game ends, you will be dead.

The great news is that the game can be wonderful fun while it lasts as long as you remember that it is a game and keep it light and playful. Tease life, taunt life, never attack life head-on.

Arthur Schopenhauer: Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they should think.

Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they should think.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

Have a Conversation with God, Today

For many, the phrase "conversations with God" refers to the Neale Donald Walsch book of that title. Do I doubt that Mr. Walsch has dialogs with God? Not in the slightest. But I don't find conversing with God to be an exceptional or unusual occurrence. Is it miraculous to speak with God, to gain access to the wisdom of the ages, or just to ask God what he thinks about having maple syrup on your pancakes? Of course it is miraculous, but only in the sense that all of life is miraculous.

Conversations with God are very different from the usual nature of prayer. Prayers are commonly only in one direction - the one praying speaks and hopes God is listening. Prayers also tend to focus on asking for specific things or outcomes one wants, rather than seeking to better understand the mind of God.

Some of you already have daily chats with God. Some, like my Mother while she was among us, have a daily talk with Jesus. Others, are sure that the idea of a personal two-way conversation with God is poppycock. For those who have not yet experienced an intimate exchange of thoughts and feelings with God, let me offer a few suggestions for beginning the process.

1. Don't expect a blinding light on the road to Damascus. Don't expect a booming voice offering you stone tablets with the Ten Commandments inscribed. For most of us, the voice of God is very subtle, and can only be heard when we pay attention and listen.

2. Believe. Because the voice of God is usually a quiet voice, the slightest degree of skepticism allows us to dismiss God's message as just a daydream or as the result of something we ate for breakfast.

3. For some, conversations with God occur spontaneously. For others, structure and intent work better. Try the following sequence and see if it helps:

... Exercise or take a quiet walk for at least half an hour to quiet your body.

... Stand or sit quietly while breathing deeply for five minutes to quiet your mind. If you know Qigong or Yoga, these are even more effective ways of quieting your body and mind.

... In total silence, sit with your back straight, your hands on your thighs with palms upward, and your feet flat on the floor. Raise your head slightly, close your eyes lightly, and raise your eyes. It is natural, and a sign that you are open to communication, if your eyelids begin to flutter.

... State your affirmation that you are in communication with God, and begin your conversation.

4. For some people, the voice of God expresses itself better in writing. Try holding a pen as you talk to God, and let His words flow onto your paper with as little thought as possible on your part.

Don't be discouraged if intimacy with God evades you at first. You are equally the child of God whether you are able to tune in to a personal dialog with God, or whether stress, worry, and fear interfere and create static on the line. Seek out others who do share intimate conversations with God and let them share with you the comfort they receive from direct communication.

How to Choose a Religion - A Prudent Shopper's Guide

What are the most important choices you will ever make in your life? You may first think of the big-ticket purchases you make. A house is probably the the most expensive purchase. Replacing your car every few years is another major choice. But several other decisions have a far greater impact on the quality of your life. Your choice of spouse, or your decision not to marry. Your choice of career.

Other crucial choices may not even appear to be choices at all. Your choice of which community to call home is a choice that has great impact on the quality of your life, yet many people never approach that decision in a conscious fashion. Many people simply remain in the community of their youth without making a conscious choice among all the towns, cities, states, and countries in which they could live. Perhaps the town in which they were born is the optimum location in which to spend their entire lives, but should that choice just be abdicated to habit?

As with the choice of a home town, the choice of a religious home is often left to habit. There are people who choose communities far from their place of birth to call home, and there are others who carefully consider such a move before consciously choosing their birth town as their lifetime residence, but such people are in the minority. Likewise with religion. While a few choose a new religion, or carefully compare religions and consciously choose their birth religion, most remain with the religion of their childhood out of habit.

If you were to move past habit and decide to consciously choose a religion, what would your criteria be? Let me suggest several questions you might want to ask.

1. What is the single most important function you want your religious organization to serve? To have a statement of belief that agrees with your vision of the nature of God? To provide ceremonies in which you feel comfortable participating. To offer inspiring weekly sermons? To provide fellowship with like-minded people? To provide a structure for civic action and community welfare? Or to answer some other primary need?

2. Are you looking for an organization that supports your personal relationship with God, or a church that offers a single level or hierarchic structure of clergy to act as intermediaries?

3. Are you looking for an organization that aligns with your beliefs about the nature of God, reward and Heaven, damnation and Hell, sin, forgiveness or not, vengeance and compassion, civic responsibility, and a myriad of other questions? Or do you want a church that is acceptive of varying beliefs among its members? Or are you unsure of your beliefs and values and are looking for a church that will tell you what you should believe?

Have you ever attended a service of a different denomination? If so, were you able to identify what you liked and didn't like, or were you caught up by how "different" the experience felt?

This week, consider attending a religious gathering of another faith. If nothing else, you may gain a greater appreciation of others in your community.