Author Archives: jimwdollar

The Mystery at the Heart of Life and Being

Something larger than we are flows within us, through us, around us. The connection is stronger, clearer, deeper, in some times and places than in others. In some times and places, there is a veritable YES! coursing through us in response to our life experience. It may be the birth of a child, or makingContinue reading “The Mystery at the Heart of Life and Being”

The Heart of What Matters Most

The word “God,” is among the most useless of words because its meaning is lost on us. Whose God are we talking about when we talk about God? Whose idea of God is under consideration? Fundamentalist Christians have an idea about God. Fundamentalist Muslims have a different idea about God. Reformed Jews have a differentContinue reading “The Heart of What Matters Most”

The Holy Mother

The Feast of the Assumption doesn’t get much press—good or bad—these days. It may have received such little press in your lifetime that you would be hard pressed to say what it is. It is the celebration of the day the Blessed Mother was gathered to the Eternal Habitations. Holy Mary, Mother of God. ProtestantContinue reading “The Holy Mother”

The Wall of Death

There was nothing about being born from above, or toeing the straight and narrow, or minding your P’s and Q’s when Abraham was taking God up on the deal for progeny and promised lands. It was just a straightforward “I’ll be your God, and you’ll be my people” kind of understanding. There was nothing aboutContinue reading “The Wall of Death”

The Source and the Void

We have exactly the same access to the Source of Life and Being, to the presence of the sacred, to the Numen, as anyone ever. They weren’t closer to the Source in the old days—they weren’t holier than we are, or wiser. Their only advantage over us was that they had fewer illusions/distractions/escapes with whichContinue reading “The Source and the Void”

Ten Short Thoughts

1. The “Other World” Primal peoples always believed that the visible world is grounded upon the invisible world. The invisible world is the world of the unconscious (because we are not conscious of it), and it is the source of consciousness and life. It is the spiritual world, and the ground of the physical world.Continue reading “Ten Short Thoughts”

The Six Statements

There are six statements, which cannot be denied, yet cannot be affirmed without transforming Christianity as we know it. They are: Our Idea of God Is Not God. This is as self-evidently obvious as any statement ever. I don’t know of anyone who would dispute it. It flows from the Bible. “My thoughts are notContinue reading “The Six Statements”

The Evolution of the Idea of God

One of the 10,000 Spiritual Laws states, “Our idea of God is not God.” The Bible can be seen as the history of the evolution of the idea of God. If you read the Bible carefully noting inconsistencies, contradictions, incompatibilities, discrepancies and divergent views, you will come across a number of different ways of thinkingContinue reading “The Evolution of the Idea of God”

Influencing What Can Be Influenced

One of the things I like most about life is that we never know what’s coming. The universe is full of surprises. Who knows what tomorrow—or the next five minutes—will bring? Turn a corner, and life changes forever. We can’t count on anything. We spend all our time getting our ducks in a row, andContinue reading “Influencing What Can Be Influenced”