Quodlibet
Friday, 3 October 2025
End Times?
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Serenity
I thought I’d try something different today. I will practice Oneing, as described by the mystic Julian of Norwich: experiencing union with God.
“Union with God,” may seem a little far-fetched to the vast majority of people, including Christians—although it’s likely that Buddhists have already reached that state, let’s call it, “self-emptying,” and we Christians are trailing behind.
It’s amazing that most religious people don’t practice Oneing, because the very Latin word, “religio”, from which “religion” is derived, means to “reconnect.”
We Christians have a perfectly adequate myth to describe disconnection with The One: the story of Eve (First Lady) being deceived by a serpent into eating an apple, and persuading Adam (First Man), in turn , to do likewise. For this apparent misdeed, the entire human race disconnected from God and now lives in a state of separation.
I’m not entirely convinced of the literal facts of the story of Adam and Eve—so don’t tell my friends who are convinced it’s true—but I sense there is a deeper truth: that once this soul of mine was connected to the cosmos, and maybe by choice now lives a separate identity, with a deep longing to be one with the One once again.
So what did Oneing look like today?
I deployed all my senses. I found a twig covered in lichen and moss, and I touched it with a deeper awareness of its texture. There was something very healing in that connection. It would be ridiculous to say I became the twig—but it’s not too far-fetched to say I knew it to be exactly what it is, and that brought me joy.
From touch to smell: it has rained heavily for two days here in Redmond, and the lakeside woodland was giving up a delicious scent. Laugh if you must—it would be ridiculous to say I became the woodland—but I stayed for a few moments with the presence of the forest.
Sight:what did I see? A bright blue sky quietly surrounded by forest. In the distance, mountains. Beneath the trees on the green, a group of women slowly moving through Tai Chi poses. Swimmers heading for shore. A mother with her baby in a buggy, returning his gaze. It would be ridiculous to say I became a mountain or rolled in with the lake—but I looked upon those things with great pleasure, and I felt a desire to tell all those people how much they are loved.
Often at times like this, I look around me at natural beauty and I give thanks for the bouquet of the day—wild, asters this morning- and an orchestra. Today that was different birds going about their business with varying degrees of tuneful intensity. It would be ridiculous to say I became the orchestra—but I conducted it in my heart, and I bowed to the beauty around me.
I finished my time sitting on a branch that reached out into the lake. It would be ridiculous to say I became God—but in truth, I felt His presence in the silence and in the song.
And I believe I understood what Lady Julian meant when she spoke of Oneing.
Sunday, 20 July 2025
Being A Godsend
Thursday, 5 June 2025
I Believe
My inner- writer will give me no rest until I do this. That is, write a Statement of Faith.
This is SO HARD. What possible purpose would it serve? Who knows or cares?
I'm time-wasting, because as of this very moment, I have no idea what I'm going to say. So it's down to my subconscious to bail me out again: I shall take this opportunity to give my Right Brain the reins, and let rip:
I know that the Cosmos of which I am a speck, is more than 99% void. I look upon the void with wonder. I wonder that I am matter, and I wonder that I am conscious. Life is of inestimable value, conscious life even more so. I, you, everyone: so rare, so precious.
There rises from deep within me a profound gratitude for Being. This gratitude is unfocused, but real. I delight in every manifestation of life, especially in those three lives I helped to bring into Being. My children.
I have searched and searched for meaning, and for a purpose in my life, and have not arrived at any conclusions. This is what I think today, tomorrow I shall be as happy as I am now to write something quite different.
As there are as many purposes in life as there are gurus to tell me what they are, I may as well invent my own. Like you, I will do this in accordance with my personality, my upbringing and my circumstances.
I discovered that ' I believe ' is too passive. So I ditched it for, I will. And maybe I will. I hope so! Here I am:
I will do what brings me peace.
I will pursue happiness.
I will revel in adventure.
I will make myself laugh, and in doing so, I hope to make others laugh too.
I will endeavour to gladden the hearts of those I meet, and I will not always succeed.
If I have to be angry at all, it will be FOR others, and not with them.
I will try always to be kind.
I will react to the suffering of others - in all it's manifestations - with compassion, and I will,when I can, do what I can to alleviate it.
I will retreat into silence from time to time to connect with Gratitude, and give thanks for Being.
I will never forget how to play.
I will accept that this form will fade and die. Whether there is another form to come, doesn't matter: this one flawed, but perfect, life will have been enough.
I will make every day count by continuously calling myself back to being conscious and present in every moment.
I will remember love: that it is the most lavish and beautiful of gifts, that it never dies, and is never wasted.
I will try to remember how flawed I am, and bring no judgement down on others.
I will forgive myself for my imperfections, and offer the same gift to others.
And finally:
I will remind you, wherever you are, whoever you are, that you are loved.