IS OUR UNIVERSE ALSO OUR GOD?
ELLA
I asked Sam if I could conduct the first part of our cohort meeting, and after a bit of explaining, he said I could. So, after everyone was seated, Sam nodded to me, and we both stood up. I went over to his seat in front of the whiteboard, and Sam took my seat. I began, “You all look a bit puzzled. I asked Sam if I could take over for him at the start of our Monday morning cohort meeting to talk to you all about an experience and discussion we had in our family, and get your feedback.
“First, sit back, relax, and close your eyes. Now imagine it’s a dark night, and you see nothing but a dark blue sky. Just slowly and quietly take in this vision in your darkened experience of blue. Focus on that blue for quite a while. Take your time and feel every part of your body as you continue gazing into your dark, night-blue vision. Now notice that there are little points of light twinkling in the darkness, and notice a slight feeling in your body, kind of like shivering, but a good feeling of vibrations in your body, like a cat purring. Imagine that it has always been there, but just now, for the first time, you notice and feel it. Now, gradually open your eyes and see a bunch of people around you. Quietly look at each of these people.”
I was relieved that everyone seemed quite relaxed, had a smile on their faces, and still looked a bit puzzled. Some glanced at Sam to see if he was going along with all this. He was. “It looks like you all had some kind of experience that was different from when you are normally sitting there. Would any of you like to tell us what this was like for you?”
Joe Jackson started, “Wow, Ella, you really got to me. I liked being in that nighttime and seeing, no, not seeing, but being in that blueness and feeling myself vibrating. I feel very uh, alive and calm, uh good.” I nodded to Joe.
Chris, “I’m guessing that you knew you had a very soothing voice, huh, Ella? Anyway, you lulled me almost to sleep, but I ended up floating into that great dark blue picture. I am radiantly alive. Thank you.” I folded my hands in front of me and bowed to Chris
Maria hesitantly chimed in, “I feel really good and even better than most of the times when I’m in church. All I can say is ‘Wow’.”
Olivia added, “El..el., can I, I take ya, you home wi, with me”. I thanked her and all the rest for their reports and cooperation.” Now I’ll tell you a bit more about our family’s discussion.”
“Ever since we got that Einstein letter over the Christmas vacation, our family has been discussing its possible meaning, and last night, Dad said he had a vision. He began telling us about his vision, which was very much like the one you all just had, and he interpreted it as our universe being a living, radiant, intelligent being in which we live. The universe is God – it is all that is and is alive and radiant and intelligent in a way that is more intelligent than we are or any other beings we can think of. It is a different kind of intelligence from ours, so we cannot figure it out and only waste energy trying. We can meditate and experience life and love more meaningfully, but we are incapable of completely understanding it.” All ten of my cohort fellows, including Sam, looked like they wanted more, so I said, “That was my dad’s reflection on his ‘vision’.” I used the quotation marks and added that his vision was just his reflection on his visionary experience. I told him I really liked his explanation better than the biblical one. But that is another story. Now, I’d like to hear your reflections on your experience. Who wants to go first?”
Evie volunteered, “I believe it is a great way to relax and be aware of my body and open my mind – something I need to do especially when I’m feeling uptight. I like it, and I plan to use the guided imagery repeatedly. Did you record it?” I told him that Sam had recorded it and that if it was okay with him if I wanted to share it, so I said okay to Evie.
Chris looked very serious as he said. “Ella, I really like your dad’s reflection on it. If it somehow became an easily accepted alternative to the traditional one, I think it would be an easily accepted new Christian set of beliefs. I want to hear what everyone thinks.”
Maria wanted to know if my dad’s interpretation would just reduce Jesus to just a nice man. I told her that Dad thought it enhanced Jesus’s message and encouraged everyone to nurture their own ability of love as Jesus himself loved – with the very power of god’s love within us. Several others joined Chris’s interpretation.
Danny said that he heard a lot of talk back in Mississippi about how Jesus really was God, and he added, “That if I wanted to go to heaven, I must declare that Jesus was my personal savior. I didn’t believe any of it because my dad, that is my PITA. believed it, and if that was being saved, I didn’t want any part of it. So, I’m glad that I can hear about another possible interpretation of who Jesus was and maybe even create my own story. So I didn’t experience anything like your dad, Ella, but I like what your dad came up with.
Sam interrupted me and pointed at his watch, “Ella, I am enjoying your class (he used the quote gestures), but you have gone a long way past the first part of our cohort meeting, and we will have to stop now. You all think about what Ella has brought up, and we’ll talk about it next time.”
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