GODS -TAKE CHARGE!
Buryl Payne

Who Me? Yes You! You, Dear Reader, Divine Spirit,

The image of God as a wise old man who watches over the favored people of Earth needs updating. Scientists and philosophers have been arguing the existence of God for centuries.

Not much has come of it. Human's place in the Universe in relation to God has been a topic of perennial interest. The observations of Copernicus and Galileo gave a jolt to the older notion that humans were favored children of God, commanding a central place in the then-known-Universe. In the last century, a profound jump in consciousness occurred when photos of Earth from the Moon were taken.

Now modern supersensitive telescopes show us the presence of stars without end in what appears to be an ever expanding Universe. Stars whirl and swirl by the billions around giant central stars (black holes). More than a billion star whirlpools, called galaxies, have already been detected. The galaxies themselves appear to form clusters, which in turn form super clusters, and other forms so gigantic they cannot be made out from our limited viewing point on or near planet Earth. The Universe is so big....! The place of humans in such a huge universe has been diminished to practically nothing. Our former notion of a God, needs to be expanded to fill the entire Universe, not just Earth circling round its little Sun. Our speck of individual life energy, lasting but a microsecond, in galactic time, on a little ball of warm, wet rock, whirling around a star which is only one among a thousand million billion, makes it harder to conceive of a personal God who looks over us in our daily affairs.

Although some egotists still argue for our importance, we know in our hearts they speak weak truths, no matter how loudly they shout. Who watches over the millions of useful or potentially harmful bacteria that inhabit our bodies? Probably no one. They each do their part and, hopefully, the whole is served, for our bodies need some bacteria to help us digest food. What do you suppose a God needs us for?

No matter what we think, observations show that the Universe, already huge beyond comprehension, is steadily growing Stars form continuously in distant galaxies. Many stars have planets and most stars are expected to have planets since they appear to be surrounded by dust clouds when newly born. Most planets probably have Moons, and some planets undoubtedly have biospheres which may support life similar to what we know. It's very likely, since there are trillions and trillions of stars. Just as stars are born every minute in distant galaxies so, probably, are babies.

The ancient theological position that considers God to be distributed in everything makes sense in terms of modern science. The more carefully biologists look, the more they find evidence of intelligent, creative behavior in many so called lower animals. Each cell of our bodies appears to make decisions to open and close its walls to let in or expel what's needed and what's not needed. Even complex protein molecules appear to be responsive to external information, changing structure accordingly, according to cellular biochemist Bruce Lipton. Conscious creativity seems to be present in all living matter. And since the difference between living and non living matter has been slowly fading as modern scientific instruments advance our understanding, conscious creativity probably exists in every particle of matter, no matter how large or small, alive or dead (it seems to us). Nevertheless, God burns brighter in more complex forms.

We don't know the limits, but it's obvious that consciousness and creativity cannot spring from nothing. Although we cannot see their uniqueness, atoms must differ; each may have its own decisions to make - to unite with which other atoms to form which other molecule? Or to stay single? There are rules of molecular formation, certainly, but these are only statistical. Like insurance statistics, which apply to masses of humanity, not to individuals. Each atom, like each individual, has conscious free will within the limits of the relevant mass or group laws.

Conscious creativity must be as fundamental as mass, energy, spin, spaces, and times.

Consciousness is not something added to matter like a dab of paint. It is probably the fundamental property. Every particle of matter emerges from the weaving together of mass, energy, electric charge, and spin. Christopher Hills argued that light photons are the fundamental units of consciousness, carrying information from the most distant galaxy to our Sun and to Earth. I think neutrinos might be more likely candidates, although experiments have yet to be undertaken.

Thoughtful scientists have just begun to realize that there are other forces; forces which organize matter into structure and form. (I discovered one in 1978.) In physics, a force is defined as something which moves matter. This definition may have to expand to include that 'force' which organizes matter. And that force may be one attribute of a conscious, creative process which could be called God. I certainly don't know, but I propose it for research (not philosophical discussion).

The organization of matter into every larger and more complex forms flowers everywhere at every level. The Universe sparkles with aliveness. We are all little Gods playing, we are not God's playthings.

As the universe expands, so does God, for God resides in the Universe and continuously creates the Universe. Astronomers would find their studies made more sense if they assumed the Universe was a living entity. (Is Sun a Conscious Being? is the name of a paper I presented once at a conference. I was upstaged by another paper called: "Is the Universe Alive".)

There are universes in smallness which are continuously being discovered as well as in largeness and sideways. Parallel universes, like virtual particles have eluded detection so far, but anecdotal reports and one apparatus supports their existence. God dwells within those too. There is no time, no size however small, no super cluster of galaxies, in which God doesn't dwell. Although the word 'God' is classified as a noun, it is not a person, place, or thing. To use God as a noun may subtly influence our conceptions making it harder to perceive the presence of alive, conscious creativity everywhere at every level.

People look for God out there or for God within, yet people are just another expression of God.

What kind of mirror do we need to see God?

Because of our complex nature, our highly developed system, do we humans have a larger responsibility than lobsters or mosquitoes? What is our responsibility? Where do we start? How do we play God?

When we examine current and historical concepts of God and what God is supposed to do or help us with in our daily lives we see that it is usually in the area of health and personal life challenges.

People traditionally pray for God to help or intervene in their personal lives. God does not seem to stop distant stars from exploding, as far as we can tell, or galaxies from colliding, or black holes from gobbling up neighboring stars. People don't usually pray for such events not to happen, though who knows what disasters may have occurred. How many million babies on distant planets have flamed into ashes as their Sun went supernova? In the older notion of God, he was not thought to mess with the Universe, only our personal lives (if we pray desperately enough, or are 'good' enough to be rewarded by his favors). People in modern times speak of 'spiritual healing, or 'spiritual guidance', by which they mean information or intervention from other than what the ordinary conscious mind could manage.

In this view, we don't need to have a Master God of the Universe help us. We can do it ourselves, using in an organized systematic fashion the God spark of creative force that exists in every cell, every atom, and every molecule of our wonderfully alive bodies. Only moderate intention and focus of our thoughts can have significant effects.

Whatever we believe, think, do, or say, has some effect on our bodies and the world. When we consciously recognize this and take charge, things will get better and better. To change even one electron counts! And we can do so much more than that. Creativity is the essence of life and that means free will to change behavior patterns or our biochemistry.

Modern scientific research and ancient wisdom concur. We all have, to some degree, however slight, the ability to influence the physical world. Every thought we think moves millions of charged atoms, called ions, to and fro in the brain. We are part of the web of life on the planet, and as such can apparently communicate with and influence plants, pets, and probably all life forms. Brenda Dunne in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University published a comprehensive study showing that people can influence the random fall of balls in chutes (like pinball machines). Eventually physics will enlarge to take into account the force of thought along with other forces.

The conclusion, supported at every level, from biofeedback studies, to experiments in psychokinesis, demonstrate the power of thought can help us heal or obtain our heart's desire.

It's often claimed that our thoughts create our realty. It seems to me that's only a partial truth; all matter participates in a co-creation of 'reality'.

So Dear Reader, Divine Spirit, you are invited to not wait for God to be found, residing in some secret place in the Universe, but to take charge, access the indwelling God sparks that exist everywhere, and join the fun. Since we all have a bit of thought power, however small, we might as well accept and use it, and ask for help from our spiritual brothers and sisters when we can't do it ourselves. By each striving to do our bit and by combining our efforts with others, we will gradually create a better Earth for everyone.

So, gods! Take charge of your lives. No one else can, or needs to.