God is a Very Useful Word

The reality of consciousness: the consciousness of reality

We must not say the word ‘God’ without first realizing that no such thing exists! But once we realize that, ‘God’ is a very useful word. More than a concept, it is a waypoint in awareness. It points us, backward or forward, to a place where the veils of ordinary perception are lifted, and the walls of consensual reality crumble. It points us to the vastness of consciousness itself, consciousness without object, residing in a mind that, at least for the time, has let go of positionality, self-reflection and separateness. It points us to the one, pure consciousness that animates us and every sentient being, yet is not the sole property of any.

This one consciousness, just because it is not a thing, is indestructible. Every living thing dies, but consciousness itself is immortal. Consciousness, just because it is not a thing, is out of time and place. Consciousness is the infinite no-where or now-here (as in Ram Dass’s book ‘Be Here Now’). Consciousness and only consciousness meets all of the standards we have set for God. Consciousness is immaterial (spirit). It is not separated (everywhere/nowhere). It is non-local and non-temporal (infinite), and as the essence of mind itself, it is all knowing.

Interestingly enough, this very description of consciousness, which also meets the standards we have set for God, is the same description of reality that has emerged in the discipline of quantum physics. So, we now we have a three-part equivalence.

Consciousness = Reality = God

But where consciousness is a scientific word, and reality is a philosophical word, God is an emotional word. We can feel good about God in a way which we cannot do about consciousness or reality. We can pray to God; we can hold God close; we can believe in God, his goodness and that he is watching over us. People that do not have a scientific or philosophical turn of mind, people who are in the trance of ordinary perception and consensual reality can still touch the vastness of reality through God. However, there are some of us for whom belief in and prayer to a parental personage is an unwelcome prospect. Yet, properly understood, God is or could be a very useful word for them, too.

Consciousness is ubiquitous. You cannot buy it or sell it. You cannot take it or give it away. You cannot monopolize it, and you cannot take into the grave with you.