I AM THE CREATOR!

Blasphemy? Maybe not. Of course the majority of the religious types have been taught that God is the Creator of the universe. That's good information and, as God is the Universal Spirit of the Universe, true in that context. But true as it may be there is a dangerous loose end that needs to be tied down: that God is my Creator. It sounded plausible until I gave it some serious thought.

After I got my mind back from the Crazy Old Man in the Sky, the Christian [God], it became quite clear that I am my own creator. Until that time the Old God gave me everything I had. I was still fearful, restless, and thoroughly confused, a state common to the " faithful ", never certain just what this [God] would send my way, or what [He] would take away. I was assured by the ladies in the way-out-of-style wardrobes ( nuns ) that we " all have our crosses to bear." We just have to make the best of it. Sort of like the mantra from an old tv detective series, " Life's hard, then you die."

This [God] gave me things and took things away, often it was the same thing, especially if it was something I liked. Whenever I questioned these random ocurrences I was told that [God] had a purpose, [He] knows what's best, and stop asking questions. My life, in other words, was none of my business. I only haveto be thankful to this ersatz [God] for giving me crosses to bear and for taking stuff away from me. Not such a bargain after all.

Nonsense, in fact.

My life IS my business and no one else's. I am my own creator; my feelings, thoughts, and actions, determine the quality of my life as nothing else ever has. And it's a good life, in fact there are some times whan I have to remind myself that I am not dreaming. But this may require a bit of explaining, so here goes.

The Spirit of the Universe is eternal; without beginning, without end, so the idea that [God] manufactured everything from nothing is wrong. It's bad physics too. So how can God be the Creator of the Universe if it was never created: brough into being? The answer is: the same way a Beethoven could creat wonderful symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, and romances for the violin, without having to invent music. The music was ( and is ) already there! So there's the answer.

God provides the tools and materials I need to live well. The Will of God is a legacy to which I am the heir, not marching orders, not as many believe, what to do. If I use the gifts that the Spirit of the Universe gives me, it matters not at all what I do but how. Am I loving, considerate of others, unthreatening in every word and deed, helpful where a need arises? All my prayers bring success. Of course, you may be wondering how that can be.

Next time you're down on your knees beside the bed, with your hands held a ceratin way, just like in Feudal times, and talking to the ceiling, ask yourself this question; What am I praying for? Are you asking for something that the Big Fella in the sky has somehow neglected to give? Are you praying for something to happen that just has to happen? Something outside yourself?

That's not praying; it's begging for a favor from some non-existent figment of the Medieval imagination, a Zeus clone that is no more real than unicorns or flying horses. That's why the response rate is so low, and when these " prayers " seem to be answered it is always the outworking of something that was going to happen anyway. But if we can reduce the entire object of prayer to a single word to describe what we pray for, that word would be - results. Talking produces no result, only action. Have you ever taken an action that did not produce a result? And were these results not perfectly consistent with the action taken? They always are.

The Spirit of the Universe, Universal God, provides every man and woman everything we need to lead happy, successful lives. True, there is poverty and suffering in the world, horrendous dislocations and abject misery, but if you are reading these words then these conditions don't apply to you. Yet, you can be as miserable as the poorest Ethiopian if you live with a Poverty Mentality. It's not about money or property; rather, it's all about attitude. It's the old bromide: If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade; if you break an egg, make an omelette.

These are simplifications, thumbnails of approaches to life's problems that may take time and effort to realize, but they can come into being - if you work for them. You are the creator of your own fortunes, and these are determined by your attitude and outlook on life, the quality of your choices, and the energy you put into right action. There are no shortcuts, no free lunches, no free rides, but that doesn't mean that life has to be hard. Æsop told us about the tortois and the hare to make the point that slow and steady wins the race: it was true 25 centuries ago, it's true today.

Creation takes place every instant, everywhere in the universe. The Spirit of the Universe handles all that, but as concerns the quality of my life it is the quality of my own words and deeds that determine whether I will be happy, outgoing, and prosperous, or miserable, isolated, and perpetually lacking. The Bible speaks of retribution, usually considered to be a cautionary negative but which in fact can be positive as well: What goes around, comes around. It's all about what I send around. It's all about what you send around, too. Imagine if enough people could learn to live in love, gratitude, patience, and forgiveness; it would only be a matter of time before the love would be returned many times over.

Guaranteed.